Arches National Park in B & W

On our trip back from Denver, we were able to take a day to visit the Arches National Park. In the past, we have visited all the other National and State Parks in that area, but we somehow missed this one. In these ever changing wonderful rock gardens, I always tend to see images from the beyond and the now. Thank you for looking.

The gods from beyond



The Pharoh on top of one of the Mayan Gods



WE come in Peace



Monkey Man backed with Fish Lips



The giant protective bird


Those human aliens



Survival



And just because the rocks are so beautiful



Thank you for your indulgence.

While we often avoid interstates, highway 70 form Salina Utah to Green Rver is one of the most beautiful drives anywhere.




[Edited on 2-25-2015 by DianaT]

Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo

A nice study in black and white! I like it, because as spectacular as the colors are in those parks, it sometimes camouflages the texture and detail of the rocks themselves. Thanks for sharing, and good job!

Quote: Originally posted by Maron

WOW, thanks for sharing. GREAT photos.

Thank you glad you enjoyed them.

Quote: Originally posted by bajabuddha

Wonderful nostalgia! Your black and white images capture a very special ghostly appearance rarely noticed, wonderfully crafted. And as I'm sure you found, the light changes every hour to expose a different feature or color. When you mentioned the I-70 corridor from Salina to Green River, the first half through the Manti-Lasal Mountains is gorgeous, and the eastern leg through the San Rafael Swell is my old back yard. Friends and I would go into the area and spend a week at a time, just concentrating on one 'section' of the Swell. Dozens and dozens of trips there, backpacking, 4-wheeling, boating, and still many parts I haven't seen yet. There are some of the most remote and wild areas on earth there; from the depths of the center of the Swell until you exit on either end, you traverse over 200 million years of exposed geology, a rock-hounder's paradise. Cowboy and outlaw history, old mining camps from the uranium boom of the late '40s and '50s, rock art going back a minimum of 2,000 years, thousand-foot-deep canyon overlooks... truly a desert paradise. Summer temps over 110, winters below zero. I've been blessed to boat the Muddy River down through the 'Narrows' 4 times.... a canyon so narrow and deep the sun has never shown in the bottom of it, and log jams crammed into the walls... 40 feet above your head. Thanks for the memories. What a magical world.

Quote: Originally posted by Meany

Great shots. Almost looks Lunar....Thanks

Quote: Originally posted by willyAirstream

The B& W pics certainly capture the magic. I have been there many times and it is always majestic . Thanks for the great pics.

Quote: Originally posted by Barry A.

Love your comments below each picture, Diana, and I am still laughing. (-: Arches is certainly one of the crown jewels of the National Park Service and most visitors only scratch the surface due to limited vehicle access. One can easily spend many days there, just poking around on foot. We love that place!!! We normally camp in one of the many BLM campgrounds right along the Colorado River, a short distance away. Fun, fun, for sure. Barry

Quote: Originally posted by tripledigitken

Arches is such a gem in a region filled with eye popping scenery. An ideal subject for B&W processing too. Very nice shots Diane.

Thanks Ken. We really need to be there when we have more time --- soon. I processed these in a few different B & W modes and still working on them.

[Edited on 2-25-2015 by DianaT]

A CANYONLANDS SUGGESTION:

This is what I call "The Cat Stevens Boogie".

If you ever get a chance to camp in Standing Up Country on a full-moon night, try to be close to a north-south escarpment wall, so when the moon rises there will be a 'moon shadow' to your west with a definitive shadow line. As it advances towards you, try to run out and stand on the shadow line; you'll find the penumbra is quite opaque and not 'definitive' at all...... and just when you think you're on the line, it's 50' to your east. Hurry and try to find it again....... hence, "Leaping and hopping on a moon shadow...... moon shadow, moon shadow".

Plus, with telephoto, moon structures on canyon rims make for great shots, especially with a gnarly old Juniper in the scene.

Bajabudda, that sounds really great and a lot of fun, and I love your name for it!

Roger, thanks and just like our local Alabama Hills, I know I have seen this area in films. Just so beautiful and lots of places to be isolated.

StuckSucks,
We didn't do the Delicate Arch trail as it was too warm to leave the dog in the car for that long. It was quite warm and the sun was intense. So, we just saw it from a distance. Then a storm hit the day after we left!

Diane,

I was trying to solve the 'fish lips' enigma when another one appeared.

What is the barely visible square black patch on the sky just to the left of the featured rock? Initially I thought it was screen glare, but it moves up and down with the image when I scroll.

Igor,
That is something photobucket added and I did not see it --- not looking close enough. It is not on my copy or the one I put on facebook. I guess I should go back and reload it and see if it clears up.

I really dislike photobucket as I think it degrades pictures in many ways, but this is a first! I can't wait until there is new software here that will accept the photos direct from the computer in a decent size.

Now, about fish lips --- here is what I see. On the left is Monkey Man looking toward the rock, and the back of his head is attached to the back of Fish Lips -- that is what I named him because to me, he looks like an underwater creature with fish lips. John says I am crazy.

Thanks for telling me about this. I really did not look at the pictures after I posted them.

On edit --- Igor, I have tried a couple of times to upload that picture to photobucket and the same thing shows up! I really wonder why. ????

[Edited on 2-26-2015 by DianaT]

Sorry I'm late to this thread, but it was so cool I had to comment. Was at Arches last summer for the first time--and it became my new favorite place (next to Baja, of course). I never thought of black and white photos . . . what a beautiful idea. I was too busy being stunned by the color around me. We went in at sundown and watched night fall over the desert.

Thanks much ... and your correct on "that" drive ...

Quote: Originally posted by güéribo

Sorry I'm late to this thread, but it was so cool I had to comment. Was at Arches last summer for the first time--and it became my new favorite place (next to Baja, of course). I never thought of black and white photos . . . what a beautiful idea. I was too busy being stunned by the color around me. We went in at sundown and watched night fall over the desert.

Quote: Originally posted by wessongroup

Thanks much ... and your correct on "that" drive ...