Had a real blast today at Antelope Island.

Found a small horned bird I have never seen before.  Probably real common.  Just never had one in my view finder.  Tons of fun stuff.  Birds, buffalo, etc. all made for a fun morning.  Then it was time to pack.  So I just finished packing.  I have to get up real early to catch my flight.  This photograph was an accident.  At times I will shoot through brush with my long lenses.  For the most part the auto focus stays on the subject. But once and a while it catches something a little closer.  Just had to post it…..

The day before our first decent snow storm I was at FBWR very early.  Beat the sun by at least two hours……….

Back home tonight.

Drove from the Monticello, Utah area through Moab.  Not enough time to visit Arches.  BUt stopped and took rock shots!

It was the middle of the day.  Light was not the best.  Everything looked black and white to me.  I did notice little critter prints everywhere.  Here it has been extremely windy and rainy.  The sand was fresh with prints….

I wonder if the critters where out the night before?  Or was it early this morning?  I imagined the tiny things running around……

Gotta love that Southern Utah Black and White!!

It is definitely WINTER!

Snowing all day today.  Did not even get out this morning for the early bird shots.  Oh well.  Dug deep into my memory for that one spring shot that still to this day brings back the true smells, temps, and aura of spring.

Near Soda Springs Idaho.

This is an 8 image compiled HDR image using the new NIK software HDR Efex pro.   Holy cow is it incredible.  Little or no ghosting.  Almost negative hot spots.  and an awesome color balance.  ( I drop the awesome word now and then to stay hip) Are we just down right blessed, lucky, fortunate or just in the right place to live with all the cool digital advances?  Imagine just 10 years ago doing what we are with digital photography.  The photo above of the barn really exemplifies how simple we have it in the digital dark room.  I would almost argue that maybe the talent factor is not as needed nowadays.  I mean – look at my stuff.  I was born with two right hands, little or no talent, and now have one bad eye.  Thanks digital world inventors and visionaries.

A very long drive today.  SLC , Utah area to Buffalo, Wyoming.  At least 9 hours in front of the wheel.  I was lucky today for two reasons.  My wife is with me on this trip.  And I found this cool barn…..

This is Mesa Arch.   A pretty small arch by “arch” standards.  At 5:00 am in the morning it can be the most populated spot in the valley.  The morning sun reflecting off the red rock up to the arch is an iconic photograph.  It was the case when we were there last week.  60+ people crowded around the small area just in front of the arch.  Being the one of only two natives of Utah I was surprised to learn that there was more than just the arch.  Off to the east is a rock formation that I guess is called “Washing Lady”  Look close and see if you can see her in the photo below….

OK look close…………

All I can say is this world is beautiful!  And I was fortunate to be there for this shot.  Luck strikes again!

For three days I was like a kid in a candy store.  Never broke an ear-to-ear smile.  I have to say however, that the last night was the best!  The clouds where incredible.  Joe McNally was on a role.  Moose was making abrupt stops with the caravan of cars to get “that one” shot!  It really was a wonderful night.  I hated it to end.

That night the clouds where setting the stage.  As I framed the scenery I kept taking my camera upward.

I really was seeing this scene as black and white when shooting it.  What do you think…color or black and white?

I’m going with the Black and White!