San Rafael Swell - part 2

Temple Mountain - 20 mm
Nikon D200, Sigma 10-20 mm f/4.0-5.6, 20 mm (30 mm FX), 1/160s, f/8, -0.5 EV, ISO 100

 

Sometimes it is tempting to keep the wide angle lens on the camera all the time, especially when dramatic clouds frame the landscape. During our stay in the San Rafael Swell I wanted to try things a little different than the first time I have been there. I have never done much with my Sigma 150, f/2.8 when it came to landscape photography, but I like the results I have seen from other photographers with their 70-200 mm lenses at 200 mm focal length.

The first image of Temple Mountain was made from our second campsite. A strong, very cold wind was blowing and the appearance of the clouds changed constantly. The wide angle lens catches the scene very good, although the branches are a little blurry because of the wind.

 

Temple Mountain 3
Nikon D200, Sigma 150 mm f/2.8, 1/320s, f/8, -0.5 EV, ISO 100

 

The second image was made from about the same location, just ten minutes earlier. I really like how the light brings out the structure of the foreground and how each level of rocks up to the snowy mountains in the background has a different color. Both pictures reflect the mood of this stormy evening in a slightly different manner, but my favorite is the shot with the 150, f/2.8. I guess it will not be the last landscape image I will make with this lens.

Weekend in the San Rafael Swell

Campsite  

A week ago my wife Joan joined me on my business trip in Utah and we spent the weekend in the San Rafael Swell, about three hours southeast of Salt Lake City. I have been there before and was happy to go back again. This area has everything you may expect in Utah, mountains, desert, canyons, and rocks and it is geologically very interesting. It is off the beaten path and you may not meet very many people. My daughter Anke, who studies geology in Germany, would really get a kick out of it and we hope she can visit the San Rafael Swell together with us soon.

We camped at the bottom of the Buckhorn Wash, a canyon that ends near the San Rafael River hanging bridge.

Utah's Grand Canyon

One of the best vistas in the San Rafael Swell is from the Wedge Overlook. From there you have a great view over the Grand Canyon of Utah. It is not as big as the Grand Canyon in Arizona but still quite impressive. Unfortunately we chose the "wrong" time to be there. Boring blue sky didn't deliver much dramatic for my landscape photography. But it was very clear and so I tried to work with the structure of the canyon, carved out by the San Rafael River since thousands of years. I can't be get really sad about weather issues. I have enjoyed being there despite the clean sky.

Clouds over Grand Canyon of Utah

What difference clouds can make shows the next image. It was taken the same day from our campsite, just minutes before sunset. It has all the dramatic I was hoping for earlier in the day. Wonderful final of a great day...