Yellow Southwest

Second night at Old Faithfull, Yellowstone NP. Annick is definitely bored waiting for me and the stars! OK, I am ready, you can lighten the tree, darling...Never before had I seen so many stars in the sky. A testimony of how wild this park is.

Une partie de La Voie Lactee. The picture does not do justice to what we witnessed. And I am really only experimenting with the camera so, the result is not that great. Hopefully, I will improve the next night!

Somewhere, between Mammoth Hot Spring and the Lamar Valley. No, it's not dawn or dusk, but noon! Just underexposed. Just cool effect to me.

Coyote hunting, Lamar Valley, Yellowstone NP. There were two cars and two photographers stopped on the side. It's how you can spot wildlife actually. This little guy was looking for food on the side of the road. I've never been this close to a coyote before (still too far though). That's very exciting and trully a wonderful experience (see, I am still doing science!).

See the clouds behind us? That's actually a huge fire in the park! It was a natural fire that is apparently very important for the hole park ecosystem. Great opportunity for us. Also, you can see the upper Yellowstone Falls next to Annick.

Oups, where are we?

Is that sunrise or sunset? It's a sunrise. A very cold morning on the Yellowstone river in the Hayden Valley, Yellowstone, NP where and when wildlife is the most abundant. I could not move my finger for 10 min after taking this picture.

Cute? This bison was very close and scared me to death just by breathing and looking at me. They are very aggressive and will charge anything. Am I crazy???

Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone NP. Most people visit this spring from the flat trail next to it. Bad mistake. You have to hike up a hill to see how incredible this is. Most photographer are aware of that. For an explanation to the colors, I'll let you google it!

Well, I had to make this pic for Annick (and my mother!).

Female elk.

And baby elk (what is the right word?).

Old Faithfull Inn, fire and geyser, Yellowstone NP. The geyser eruption is taller than me...

Can you recognize the mountain in the background? A hint: it was taken in Grand Teton NP.

Grand Teton reflection, Schwabacher Landing, Grand Teton NP. A photographer's dream place...if you are able to come at sunrise. I was too lazy, as usual.

Since I could not take a good photograph, I took a nice picture of us.

Goblin Valley near Green River, Utah. We are now in the Southwest. It's definitely warmer than Yellowstone. Barbecue time... Goblin Valley is unique. I'll rank it among the best landscapes I have seen. And you can just walk anywhere among the Goblins!

From the far end of the Goblin Valley. Just a few minutes before sunset, the rock is at its best red and not yet in the shadow.

Post star trail shoting. Annick and I spent more than an hour looking at the stars...

Horseshoe Canyon to the Great Gallery, Canyonlands NP, Utah. Fighting, backscartching, smoking pot, aliens...We had a ranger telling us about all the theories available on these things.

We are in Monument Valley! The sheeps were guarded by two dogs. When I approached to close, they move the troups away! Amazing dogs.

Fortunately, my own sheep is here!

And I am taking a close eye on her!

Well, Monument Valley was not all fun. The night we arrived, there was a sand storm. It was completely crazy, gusty winds, sand everywhere. The worse thing is that we have an ultralight tent that does not stop the very fine sand. So, it was really was like sleeping in the desert...

All is well. I had my Navajo style burger to compensate.

See that? It's actually not that big!

Fresh early morning...

Lake Powell (Glen Canyon, Page AZ). We arrived late and drove along the shore. BEAUTIFUL. Cecile, thank you!

Beam of light, Upper Antelope Canyon, AZ. Do yo have a wet dream? This is my photographer's wet dream. The real story (fake for those who know me) is that I had to kill 10 other photographers to get any spot. No time to thing, At htis time of the year, there a re only two beams visible at only 5 min interval. No time to think!

Here is the other beam.

What would you remove on this picture?

An horizontal beam that we were lucky to spot!

...the floor is actually not flat.

You can point the camera in any direction, there is always something to shot.

We did not see any bear in Yellowstone. How ironic is that?

Here is our small group of photographers. One guy was from Korea, three from Germany and one from California. One German is missing.

On the way back to the campground...

Just at the end of sunset. Amazing how the colors turn.

Lower Antelope Canyon, AZ. To me, even better than Upper Antelope Canyon. Less crowded, more diverse. One of my nicest picture, I think.

And there are beams of light too. And nobody else to disturb you looking at it.

Devil's Garden, Grand Staircase, Escalante, UT. A stormy morning. To go there, you have to take Hole-in-the-rock road. Easy for the first 17 miles, but after, a 4x4 is really better. Devil's Garden is easily accessible. I am planning on going back for startrail shots later...

Devil's Garden, Grand Staircase, Escalante, UT.