It seems like forever since we have been to the Rim, the Mogollon Rim, that is. I used to post photos from the Rim all the time, but life has been busy and we just haven’t taken the time.
But last night was a great exception, and reminded us that we have to go out more often. Put the shovel down and just GO!
We camped at an awesome spot off of Milk Ranch Road. The overlook was absolutely surreal. I even managed to get a few star pix.
Toroweap Overlook is a viewpoint within the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, United States. It is located in a remote area on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, 55 miles west of the North Rim Headquarters.
Grand Canyon National Parks own brochure says it best: “At 3,000 vertical feet (880 m) above the Colorado River, the sheer drop from Toroweap Overlook offers a dramatic view. The volcanic cinder cones and lava flows in this ancestral home of the Southern Paiute people make this area unique. A visit to Tuweep provides an opportunity for an uncrowded, rustic, and remote experience. Access is challenging and demands skill at negotiating difficult roadways. Services are non-existent: there is no water, gas, food, lodging, or phone service.”
Backcountry Permits are required from the Grand Canyon National Park in order to camp at one of their only 8 spots. We felt lucky to reserve our permit in advance. It made for a fascinating and stunning overlook for a few days.
When we moved up north, I think we had seen a grand total of 2 bears in our entire life time in the wild… and those were pretty fleeting and far away (except that one in Alaska – OMG, but never mind that!).
Since we’ve moved here we have seen 5 bears on the rim alone, including that one we found getting into our bird feeder on our front deck as we looked out our dining room window while having dinner! But this one, we saw yesterday on the rim, was the biggest and best yet. He stood on a log and looked right at me, as the light lit up his side.
Awesome!
If you know me, or have followed me at all… you know that it has been a dream of mine since I was 15 years old, to be a photographer.. and have dreamed of being published in AZ Highways. Tears are welling up in me, as I share this amazing news to the world….
I am now published with a full page in the August 2017 AZ Highways with my bobcat photo. I am beyond ecstatic. Words cannot even convey my excitement. I LOVE LIFE!
Happy 4th of July. Celebrate your FREEDOM, INDEPENDENCE, and the Beauty of LIFE.
The advantages of driving down long bumpy roads and hiking steep treacherous trails are found at the end of the road, wherever that may be, and the views one can take in. Such is the case with this special AZ treasure, where we discovered Indian ruins now several decades ago, up high in the cliff wall overlooking the amazing landscape below.
The morning glow and first sunlight as it peaked over the hills were enough to give one pause as we relished our recent visit to this treasured place.
They say, take time to smell the roses. I say, take time to enjoy the beauty around you, wherever you may be.
We just got back from several days in the Grand Canyon. Not the popular and tourist heavy South Rim… but the more out of the way North Rim. More over.. not actually in the National Park itself, technically outside of the park. We camped in the forest outside the Grand Canyon – North Rim, finding amazing spots that overlooked the back side of the Grand Canyon.
We didn’t have to fight the crowds, or make reservations at jammed lodges for a year in advance. We camped on our own, brought and ate our own wonderful meals. We went for hikes along amazing trails and took in views that took our breath away.
As I sat one morning, all by myself, waiting for the sun to come up over the canyons, I took pause to feel thankful for this amazing state we live in. How fortunate I feel to live in a place where we can see this amazing landscape, in the solitude of my own company, feeling quite safe and extremely comfortable.
As the light shifted and changed over the canyon walls I thought how challenging Arizona photographers have it to photograph these vast ravines and sprawling cliffs. The shadows and light changing like a curtain being raised slowly over a work of art, waiting to see what moods today will bring about… clouds, blue sky, storms, dust, or haze.
We camped in several stunning spots, including Jump Up Point, Crazy Jug, and Rainbow’s End Trails. Each had their own beauty, foreground, and atmosphere. It was a great peaceful, relaxing trip…. one we’ll have to do again.
Somewhere I wrote about ‘my’ gallery in Cottonwood. It’s a small little space that I rent to sell my photographs. It sells all sorts of fun and creative art like jewelry, woodworking, cards, purses, etc.
The Gallery just published a new video on YouTube. While I’m not featured in it, my photographs can be seen over Viki’s right shoulder.
It’s a fabulous video. Check it out…. here.
I learned this cool technique. I learned it as ‘Picture in Picture’ which reminds me of that feature I never use on my tv. Apparently it’s all the rage with Snapchat and such. Being behind the times (where I pretty much live), I had never heard of or seen it.
The idea is you take a photograph of your hands holding your phone, and put them on a blank layer (transparency) in Photoshop. Then you take a photograph and fit it to the background. Cut and paste the same photography INTO (Paste Special) your picture of your phone. (Use the polygonal lasso tool to make the selection of your phone screen.) Don’t forget to blur background layer for best effect.
And wa-la…
Cool, hunh?!
I have lived in Arizona most of my adult life. While I was born in Phoenix, I have moved around quite a bit… but settled into AZ when I went to college, and never left. I now live outside the big city, away from the traffic and the crazies. The biggest drama I have these days is the elk eating my tulips… or the deer pooping in my drive way… Or where to go for our outings.
We just got back from exploring some of the back roads outside of Flagstaff in the Woody Mountain Road (FR 213) region. This area has some amazing overlooks that just continue to amaze me with their stunning beauty. As long as I have lived in Arizona, I never tire of it’s wonderful vistas, stunning ridges, and deep canyons.
This particular trip took us to Forest Road (FR) 792 outside of Flagstaff, and in particular Buzzard Ridge Point. The end of the road yields this stunning overlook that just takes your breath away…. simply amazing.
I have read a lot of Photography books in the last few years. When I started reading that a photographer has to choose what type of photographer he/she wants to be, I resisted. Photography is photography…right? It’s the technical aspect of choosing the right aperture / shutter speed combination, and lighting… and the artful aspect of style and composition. What one shoots could be anything.
Yet, in the last few years as I have attempted to perfect my images, I have to finally agree that one does migrate toward certain styles and formats. For some it may be wedding photos or portraits. For me, it is clear… it’s landscapes and wildlife.
So as I build a Best of 2016 for landscapes, I have to also look to my wildlife photographs for a ‘Best of’ collection.
This past year we have traveled far and wide through the U.S., so my photography has been on the go, and not in blinds or frequenting the same wildlife habitats. Instead it has been more happenstance of what wildlife we might have seen in our travels. So this ‘Best of’ is more a collection of different types of animals with it’s wide variety, than a collection of best composed animal stories.
So here are my Best Animal Photos of 2016 with a focus on different animals we have gotten to see this year.
1. Big horn sheep on wall in Zion National Park
2. Big horn sheep close-up in Zion National Park We saw these sheep watching the world go by in November (2016). There wasn’t a lot of traffic or cars in the park this late in the year, so these ram were just hanging out watching cars go by.
3. Black bear in our front yard! I can’t believe we saw a black bear out our window while having dinner! I had to wait for it to get off the front deck eating out of our bird feeder before I could pursue it to get this photo. It was about 5:30pm and the sun was just waining. Easily the most thrilling animal sighting of the year for me.
4. Elk in Happy Jack, AZ It’s not uncommon for us to see elk where we live. But this bugling baby was a treat as he bugled to his mom in the snow.
5. Elk call Speaking of bugling elk… I caught this mom hollering about something out in the woods.
6. Elk mom & babe It’s always a treat to see the new born elk with their spots. It doesn’t happen often, but when we do, it is a thrill. The new moms are always so watchful of their playful and energetic new borns.
7. Elk in the Middle. It’s fun when we get a group of elk, as you can see the different ages and sizes and interaction with the elk siblings, cousins, moms, and gatherings.
8. Newborn Elk I could do a Top 10 on Elk alone.. but I have to move on to different animals. I had to include this one though, as this little babe still had wobbly legs and was just too precious to not include.
9. Canyon Owl I love owls, but rarely see them. I’m lucky if I see one a year. We saw this guy carefully watching us from his little perch along the canyon walls outside of Canyon X in Page, AZ
10. Puffin Wave While I’m on birds, I have to include this awesome puffin we saw in Englishtown, Nova Scotia.
11. Eagle Flight I would have been happier if this eagle had a fish in his mouth… but nonetheless, it’s a close up eagle in flight, so it goes to the diversity of animals (in this case birds) we saw in 2016.
12. Gobble gobble. I don’t know about you, but it’s not everyday you see wild turkey. I have never seen one in gobbler mode strutting his stuff…. but I’m happy with any opportunity to photograph a turkey in the wild.
. 13. Chippies. Moving on to little animals, I caught these two little chipmunk ‘talking’ to each other. If this photo had sound you would hear the chirping the one on the right was making. She saw me and stood there with her foot up and just chirped incessantly until this other little chipmunk came up to see what all the ruckus was about.
14. Tufted Ear Squirrel. I love these cool squirrels with their tufted pointy ears. I really like the texture of this tree bark against the furry critter and blurred wooded background.
15. Tufts in Flight. Then there is this guy caught in flight mid air jaunting across the rocks looking for just the right pine cone to nibble on.
16. Porcupine Scowl. I’m not sure how many porcupine’s I have ever seen… but I caught this fella scowling at me on an overlook in Northern California. He was not too happy that I was in his face with a camera. I took his portrait and backed off and left him in peace as he wasn’t nearly as happy to see me as I was him.
17. Ground squirrel pose. We stopped at an overlook in Utah outside of Lake Powell for lunch. This little guy wanted hand outs in the worst way. He was a riot to watch because he didn’t want to get too close, but he really wanted a nibble. What a curious fellow he was. We tipped him for his entertainment, took his photo for posterity and went on our way. We left him an apple core that was about as big as he was. He dragged it off like the coveted prize, but not before he posed for us and flitted about trying to get our attention.
18. Hiding among the Daisies. This little bird was digging up bugs amongst a field of daisies. He squatted down as if I couldn’t see me. Can’t hide from my camera, little guy.
19. Young ‘un. I had this young elk’s attention, until it realized I was no threat and went about it’s business. She looked right at me, as if to say, ‘what ya doing?’.
20. Ram Alert. We saw this young ram munching on these trees on the White Rim road within Canyonlands National Park. The road was thrilling all by itself, but made more fun seeing this guy along the way.
I could go on and on, as I have a ton of animal photos, many of which are contained within this blog as I take them…. but these are some of my favorites for the year. We got to see a wide variety of interesting and fun animals throughout the year in our far and wide travels. I count myself lucky for each and every animal portrait, capturing their moods and feelings at that point in time, and the ability to be able to share.
Thanks for stopping by…. again, as before, feel free to pick your favorites.
