“Autumn Trees, Red Rock Cliff” — Cottonwood trees with fall foliage in front of a red rock cliff, Capitol Reef.

From what I’ve seen, the fall color season in Utah can be quite lengthy. On my visits I’ve seen the tail-end of aspen color at the beginning of October, implying that it peaks in late September. Out in red rock country the cottonwoods and oaks and other trees tr...

“Four Desert Star Flowers” — Four tiny desert star (monoptilon bellioides) flowers, Death Valley.

The desert star flower has become a bit of a… star here at the blog recently. It is one of the small flowers that you might easily ignore in Death Valley, but once you spot them they are everywhere, poking up just above the ground, often in small groups. They are pretty flowe...

“Wetland Island and Fog” — Tule fog mutes the wetland landscape beyond reed-covered islands.

For can make photography difficult when I go to California’s Central Valley to photograph migratory birds. There are practical issues, such as driving on roads that are dangerously obscured, or even seeing the birds in the murk. It is cold and damp. But I love the atmosphere that ...

“Wildflowers, Playa, and Mountains” — Desert gold blooms on gravel hills backed by Death Valley playa and desert mountains.

This was one of the first photographs I made on our late-February visit to Death Valley National Park. It was literally the first time I took the camera out after arriving, and the second exposure I made. We had entered the Valley, crossed it, and we...

“Blue Playa” — Intensely blue dry mud on Death Valley’s hidden “Blue Playa.”

I have photographed in Death Valley National Park for almost three decades. I have heard whispered rumors of this remarkable “Blue Playa” for years, but no one would share anything definite about it. All I knew was that somewhere in a remote and seldom-visited area of this vast park there was pur...