2010 Fall Color Tour

This years fall color tour found me traveling to the Eastern Sierras, the White Mountains and Zion National Park. With colorful leaves the quest of my tour, I scoured the famed Bishop Creek drainage for some high mountain autumn scenery. The North Lake area was at or near peak fall display as was Sabrina Lake and the South Bishop Creek water shed the first weekend of October. Friday afternoon and Saturday morning I was able to get some awesome images of this area before moving on to the June Lake Loop area. Although mostly green still, I drove the loop and looked for pockets of color but with the cloud deck dropping lower each hour that afternoon I decided to look elsewhere. The winter storm bearing down on the area forced me to retreat to lower ground and I decided to try my luck at Mono Lake for sunset. Mono Lake is a large saltwater lake in the lower elevations of the Eastern Sierra. Known for its tufa formations which were created by freshwater ground seep and have since been exposed as lake levels have dropped creating an otherworldly landscape. Unfortunately, the heavy cloud cover to the west obscured the sunset and made for a less than spectacular photography session. I decided to come back at sunrise hoping the heavy clouds would not be factor in the eastern sky. As luck would have it, this turned out to be a good decision as the sun cleared the White Mountains to the east and illuminated the tufa formations, darkening the lake waters and reflecting the light under the cloud canopy to the west I was able to capture some once in a lifetime images. The light quality was special that morning as it began to sprinkle, a rainbow appeared...then a second...and finally a faint third. Only for a few short minutes did the entire rainbow become visable from end to end. By mid-morning I was exploring a few other Sierra drainages hoping to find some more fall color. I checked out Lundy Canyon, Convict Lake and McGee Creek with not much luck as the cloud deck was too heavy and visibility began dropping as the morning turned to afternoon. When it began to rain I packed it up and headed south to the town of Big Pine before heading east to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White Mountains. Check out all the new fall color image additions now in my Eastern Sierras gallery. By mid-afternoon I was walking among the oldest living things on earth. The Ancient Bristlecone Pines are upwards of 4800 years old. Although it was still cloudy with occasional light sprinkles I hiked one of the Schulman Groove loops and was able to capture a few good images when a break in the clouds drifted by and provided a dramatic back drop the rocky mountain peaks and weathered wood of the pines. The next morning, I returned to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest only to retreat as the brunt of the winter storm was now upon me so I headed for home. You can check out these new images in my California gallery. Zion National Park would be my next fall color photo destination the first week of November. Located in southwest Utah this area tends to have the best fall color in late October and early November. My first fall sunset in the park would be at a bridge over the Virgin River featuring yellow Fremont Cotton Woods in the foreground and the Watchman slopes drenched in golden warm light of the setting sun in the background. The next day I went to the Towers of the Virgin, a chain of peaks best viewed from behind the Zion Museum, at sunrise to capture these peaks as the sun begins to illuminate the mountain peaks form the east. The remainder of the day was spend up and down the canyon photographing the area and I returned once again to that bridge for sunset over looking the Virgin River. The next morning I was up before dawn and on my way to the Subway. The Subway, located in the east central part of Zion NP, is a bend in the Left Fork of North Creek, a tributary to the Virgin River, that has carved out a tunnel like subway channel in the sandstone creek bed. This 9 mile round trip hike is mostly uneventful until you are within a half mile of the Subway portion of the creek. As the creek widen, waterfalls and wide cascades become more common and just before the Subway a very photogenic crack that channels the water for about 50 feet comes into view. Finally, the Subway appears, punctuated with blue-green pools of water that cascade form one to another highlighted by soft reflective light from above. The rounded side walls channel the light through the subway tunnel in a magical kind of way. Not to mention the bright yellow and red leaves on the trees above as well as on the creek bed add to the magic of this mysterious place. I spent the majority of the day here before hiking back out but I still had time to go to that bridge again in hopes of capturing some color in the high serous clouds stream overhead at sunset. The next morning after trying my luck at the Towers of the Virgin at sunrise, I made my way out the east entrance of the park stopping to photograph more fall color along the way. Once out of the park I headed over to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes SP and then on to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. After spending the night at the Grand Canyon I made my way back toward home with one final stop at the Valley of Fire SP in Nevada. You will find all my images from this trip in my Utah Gallery, enjoy!

Convict Lake Backpack - A Photographic Journey

Title: Lake Mildred Sunrise / © Greg Clure

A bad day on the trail is better than your best day at the office. I try to go backpacking 3 or 4 times a year and this trip is number three for 2010. The Eastern Sierras is a favorite location and I go with a group of seasoned backpackers self-named "The Old Goats". This time we hiked from Convict Lake, located just south of the Mammoth area, up Convict Creek to a campsite at Lake Mildred. A medium sized alpine lake with a large alpine meadow and meandering stream behind the lake. Mid-August finds the wildflowers in full bloom at 9,000-11,000 foot elevation level in the Sierras. Typical of a three day weekend trip, we drive-up on a Thursday afternoon, camp at a location near the trail head, then head-up the trail Friday morning. We make camp, do some local exploration and rest. On Saturday, we day-hike further and higher, generally to more alpine lakes and streams. Sunday morning finds us packing up and heading back down the mountain and driving back home. We camped at the Convict Lake campground Thursday night. At sunrise we were visited by the local deer. A group of three came right up to our campsite in their efforts to munch on some flowering shrubs for breakfast. I don't generally take my 100-400mm telephoto lens with me on these backpacks due to its 4 pound weight. Although nice to have for wildlife, it was not missed as the deer came within 5 or 6 feet of my camera and my 24-105mm lens was perfect for a couple of up close and personal deer portraits.

Lake Mildred is about 4.25 miles up the mountain from the trail head at Convict Lake. The trail mostly parallels Convict Creek to Lake Mildred with a 2,000 foot elevation gain, this trail is up hill all the way. There is one creek crossing that requires water shoes where a bridge once stood that was washed out years ago. The issue with crossing a fast flowing creek is the slippery rocks. While no more than knee deep water where I crossed, it was slow going requiring careful foot placement to maintain balance and prevent a slip into 50 degree water with a 42 pound pack on my back. After crossing the creek, we had a little over a mile to our base camp and the effect of the higher altitude could definitely now be felt as each step forward seemed to be twice as hard. There were only a few one or two man campsites at the lakes edge so the size of our group dictated we camp in a larger site down a small hill from the lake's edge which turned out to be a good thing as both nights were extremely windy and the depression provided some protection from the 60-70 mile an hour wind gusts. Friday afternoon, after eating a late lunch and setting up camp, I wondered around the lake taking some shots of both the lake and the streams coming in and out of the lake and was able to get one keeper at sundown as the sun had dropped to the mountain's edge creating a mountain silhouette, a sun star burst effect and blue sky. A simple yet pleasing image considering the harshness of the late afternoon light. The temperature was great, with cool nights and mild day temps, most of Saturday was overcast which made for excellent hiking conditions. The wind rarely stopped blowing most of the weekend which made photographing the area very difficult. I like to shoot moving water at slower shutter speeds to render that velvety motion feeling of flowing water, but the wind blowing the vegetation around required a higher shutter speed to freeze it from blurring and negate the wind's effects. So, I had to compromise, with a little faster shutter than I would have liked and I needed to wait for a lull in the wind to snap the shutter each time. At sunrise on Saturday morning, I was able to get a few good images from the shore of Lake Mildred with the sunlight hitting the top of Red Slate Mountain with warm, golden alpine light for the background with some wildflowers in the foreground and the lake in the mid-ground. In another shot, I used some drift wood protruding from the lake as my foreground. After breakfast, we dawned our day packs and headed up a 700 foot climb to Lake Dorothy, a very large alpine lake ringed by step cliffs and backed by three high mountain peaks. I was able bag a few more shots here, one from the end of the lake looking down the length the of the lake to the three mountain peaks but angled upward emphasizing the approaching storm clouds. The other photo was taken from the shore at a low angle emphasizing the blue shades of the lake's water. Another 500 foot climb found us at Lake Genevieve, another good sized lake highlighted by the densest wildflower covered creek inlet I had ever seen to date. Tall flowers, two to six feet high tightly packed along the creeks edges at peak bloom. The dominate flowers being the yellow Five-Finger Cinquefoil and the white flowering California Corn Lilly were punctuated with a smattering of bright red Indian Paintbrush and deep blue-purple Larkspur. With loads of green leaves and the rushing creek water I was able to capture a number of good images here in between wind gusts. You will find four example of these wildflowers in my Eastern Sierra Gallery along with all the the other photos mentioned above. Oh, by the way, since most of the group fishes, we had plenty of fresh trout to eat Saturday night after returning from our day hike, mostly 8-10 inch Golden Trout and one large 14 inch Rainbow Trout. The Rainbow was caught from Lake Dorothy and the Goldens were mostly from Lake Edith, which is located just above Lake Geneieve and a few from Lake Mildred. Fresh fish does not get any better than this! Sunday morning, I took a few more shots around Lake Mildred at sunrise before packing up and heading back down the trail. A good trip, it could have been better without the wind, but you have to take what your given when it comes to nature. Please visit my website gallery for all the fine art images taken on this trip at, www.gregclurephotography.com/eastern-sierras.

July's Photo Expedition - Southern Utah

Copyright © Greg Clure

This month's photo expedition found us scouring the landscapes of Southern Utah. See my Utah gallery for select fine art images from this trip at www.gregclurephotography.com/utah. A geologically rich area, this portion of the state is part of the Colorado Plateau. Once under a shallow inland sea for millions of years, these sedimentary layers were uplifted as the Pacific Plate slides under the North American Plate. As the area rose, the sea was drained and erosion began to form this unique landscape. One of the best examples of this erosion is at Bryce Canyon National Park, our first base camp for this nine day trip. Bryce Canyon is best photographed in the early morning hour before and just after sunrise as its east facing hoodoos, spires, and cliffs often are lit-up as if on fire from the rays of the rising sun. In addition to the main road overlook stops of Sunrise Point, Sunset Point, Inspiration and Bryce Point all with spectacular views into Bryce’s main ampatheater, we also took in the sights of the southernmost viewpoints of Yovimpai and Rainbow Point and the many stops in between. We had the time to take a few scenic day hikes starting with the Navajo and Queen’s Garden Trail loops descending the Navajo Trail at Sunset Point and exiting through Queen’s Garden and out Sunrise Point. Another day, we did the Fairyland Trail from Fairyland Point to Sunrise Point six miles away. Fortunately we had two cars and we were able to shuttle back and did not have to hike the 3 mile rim trail to our car parked at Fairyland Point. One other short hike that we did was the Bristlecone Pine Loop at the southern most view points of Yovimpai and Rainbow Points. Our last hike in the area was in the far northern part of the park to an area known as Mossy Cave. This trail head is accessed outside the main park to the east just off Hwy 12. The short trail leads to a natural spring that percolates through the sandstone in an alcove overhang filled with hanging ferns and mosses. A spur trail leads up the perennial creek to a nice waterfall. Also in the general area, we explored a few state parks that should not be missed, most notably, Red Canyon and Kodachrome Basin. Red Canyon while on a smaller scale offers richer red hoodoos and cliffs than its larger brother Bryce Canyon. We did a few short trails in this park to get a good feeling for what it had to offer. While Kodachrome Basin is entirely different and offers some unique sandstone monoliths and sand pipes--spectacular rock columns forming surreal spires reaching for the sky. While this was mostly a car tour, we did take a couple of short hikes one to Shakespeare Arch and another nature trail near the parks campground. Our second base camp was located in the small town of Escalante on the north central edge of The Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. From this location we were able to explore Hole-in-the-Rock Road which runs for 55 miles starting five miles east of town and dead-ends at Lake Powell. The road is named after the Mormon pioneer expedition in 1879 which had to cut a primitive route through the cliffs near the Colorado River for their wagons to pass. This gravel road runs parallel to the Escalante River drainage and offers numerous canyons, waterfalls, slot canyons, arches, bridges and bizarre rock formations to photograph. A good example of the later would be Devil's Garden, located about 12 miles down this road. This area which is just off the main road has an abundance of petrified sand dunes, weirdly shaped monoliths, small arches and colorful hoodoos. But our main objective in this area was to explore several of the more notable slot canyons which require day hikes with round trips from 3 to 7 miles. Our first slot adventure took us to the Zebra Canyon drainage a short but stunning slot canyon with alternating layers of red and white sandstone walls punctuate with moqui marbles. Unexpected, this slot is home to a local bird which nests on a flat ledge about five feet off the ground near the end of the passable section. During our visit, a baby was occupying the nest which appeared to be a week or two from flying. In the same area but about a mile down the wash we entered tunnel slot, another short slot canyon with the best part being almost completely enclosed at the top forming a tunnel. While July is one of the hotter months to be exploring this area, it was our experience that if you leave early enough most of the hiking can be completed in the cool, early hours of the day with only the end of the hike out being uncomfortable. Most days we were back at the trail head by noon. Of course, the one main advantage to summer hiking the slots is no mud or deep water holes to trek through, all the slots we went through were completely dry. Our next slot canyon adventure found us on the Dry Fork of Coyote Gulch, starting with the narrows of the Dry Fork, this slot canyon seeming goes on forever. With walls about 70 feet high the narrows range from 5 to 15 feet wide as it slowly twist and turns away from the Gulch. A little further downstream from the Dry Fork is Peek-a-boo slot canyon. One of the most twisty and narrow slots we have ever been in as well as one of the more difficult slots to traverse. Although no special equipment was needed, we found ourselves, crawling though, around, and over many of the stunning features in this slot canyon. I would have to imagine that the presence of water in this canyon would only add to the difficulty of exploration and if there were a significant flow would make it impossible. One of the more spectacular features in this slot was near the entrance, a rare double arch bridge. A little further up, a narrow hole that required you to go through or over and many sharp twist and turns throughout this slot canyon make for a really fun time. Although we did not get to it this trip, Spooky Slot is located about a half mile further downstream form Peek-a-boo and as its name suggests is often quite dark and not all that easy to photograph. Since most days we were out of the slots by noon, we had the rest of the day to see a few more state parks as well as take in some scenic drives along Highway 12, the Burr Trial and Hell's Backbone Road. Just west of Escalante we saw some excellent examples of petrified wood at Escalante Petrified Forest State Park and just to the north of Boulder we were immersed in the culture of the Anasazi at Anasazi State Park. The Burr Trial cuts through the northeasten part of the Escalante Monument and ends in Capitol Reef National Park where it connects to the Norton-Bullfrog Road. The beginning of the trail (from Boulder) offers some excellent examples of Navajo petrified sand dunes with extreme cross-bedding and interesting striations. Further down the road comes Deer Creek, a gorgeously cottonwood covered canyon and state campground. A little further down the Burr Trail finds the 7-mile gorge of Long Canyon. At this point we turned around and headed back to our Escalante base camp via Hell's Backbone. This scenic road traverses the Box-Death Hollow Wilderness which culminates in the 9000 foot high view of the Box with cliffs peppered with short squat pines stunted due to their precariously weathered locations. This is a beautifully forested drive for most of the way with abundant deer and other wildlife sightings along with meadows of wildflowers. Highway 12 from Escalante to Boulder is a very scenic drive as it climbs up slick rock and through the higher Grand Staircase cliffs as well as along the Escalante River Canyon before entering the highly photogenic Calf Creek area. Unfortunately, we were not able to hike to the lower Calf Creek Falls area due to construction in and around the Calf Creek Campground and Trail Head. (Looks like we will be making a trip back to this area in the near future.) Just above the Escalante River Canyon Trail Head we took a short hike up to a very large pictograph named the Hundred Handprints. As the name implies, this is an Anasazi rock art panel containing four long rows of handprints. Finally, on our last full day we took a road trip to Capitol Reef National Park via the Scenic Byway 12 which crosses though the Dixie National Forest and over the beautiful Boulder Mountain. Here again, lots of deer and wildflowers with vistas that extend as far as the eye can see to the east. Hwy 12 connects to Hwy 24 in the town of Torrey. We traveled Highway 24 from Torrey just outside the western entrance of Capitol Reef well past the eastern entrance of the park to the town of Hanksville. The highlights of this scouting drive took us past Chimney Rock, Panorama Point and the Castle as we approached the visitor’s center. From the visitors center we explored the Fruita area, once an old Mormon colony on the banks of the Freemont River. Leaving Fruita, we took a side excursion down the 7-mile Scenic Drive featuring the landmarks of Grand Wash, Fern's Nipple, Slickrock Divide and the Egyptian Temple. Many hikes in this area, which of course means we will be back since we did not have the time during this quick tour of the park. Back on Hwy 24 we passed by the old school house and onto the waterfalls of the Hickman Bridge area. Our next stop was at the Behunin Cabin site, a one room cabin that housed a family of eleven. On the far western edge of the park we took a half mile drive down the Norton-Bullfrog Road to get a glimpse of the extreme northern end of the Waterpocket Fold, one of the main geological features the park was created to protect. We did not have the time to do any exploring very far off Hwy 24 into some of the more remote sections to the north and south of the main highway which features the Cathedral Valley, Cainville Badlands and the Waterpocket Fold. Finally, as we made our way to Hanksville east of the park we saw some amazing all grey hills and rock formations that could pass as a moonscape. We stopped just past a little store called Luna Mesa to create a few images. Not much going on in Hanksville, but we did find a restaurant for an early dinner before our two hour drive back to Escalante. The next morning, we headed home. See my Utah gallery for select fine art images from this trip at www.gregclurephotography.com/utah.

Death Valley

The largest national park in the lower 48 states, Death Valley is known for extremes: It is North America's driest and hottest spot with average annual rainfall of less than 2 inches and the hottest recorded temperature of 134°F. The land is being pulled apart faster than it can be filled in by erosion creating the lowest elevation in the Western Hemisphere--282 feet below sea level at Badwater. Telescope Peak, towering above the valley floor tops out at 11,049 feet, along with the other Panamint Range peaks, contribute to blocking moisture coming in from the northwest by capturing the majority of the rainfall. These extremes create scenic vistas and ecological niches that support a startling biological diversity. Over 1,000 native plant and wildlife species coax out a living here, some that are found nowhere else. To protect this extraordinary natural landscape and the wildlife within, Congress in 1994, changed Death Valley from a national monument to a national park. A cold front went through the area during our stay and produced some unique and interesting image captures, see all my fine art Death Valley images in my new Death Valley gallery.

Channel Islands Gallery Launched

This past weekend I did an 18 mile backpack across the Channel Islands National Park's east end of Santa Cruz Island with a buddy of mine. Departing from Ventura Harbor on an Island Packers Ferry we started out at Prisoner's Harbor at the far western boundry of the National Park. After three large and steep hill climbs and decents over 4 miles we made it to our first campsite, Camp Del Norte, high on a ridge over looking the ocean. The next morning we headed out early for Scorpion Canyon the location of our second nights camp 12 miles away and a major climb over Montanon Ridge. Two factors make this one of the toughest backpacks I've been on, one; we had to carry two gallons of water each as there was no availible water source until we reached our second camp. Two, the trails are all steep up and down climbs with no switch-backs, so the angles of acents and decents were steeper and longer than many I had been on in past. All in all it was a great trip and I highly recommend it. I got some great photos along the way and with six or so Island Fox sightings I got a few good pics of the largest mammal roaming the island, back from the brink of extinction the Channel Island Fox is the size of a large house cat. With these new photos I lauched my latest new gallery, Channel Islands.

Santa Monica Mountians Gallery Video

I put together this video compilation from fine art images in my Santa Monica Mountians Gallery. The Santa Monica Mountians run east to west from southeast Ventura County they run east into Los Angeles County rising above the City of Angeles, then widens to meet the curve of the Santa Monica Bay, reaching their highest peaks facing the open ocean. The land is beautiful and diverse. The rugged coastline has many sandy beaches and rocky shores. Dense chaparrel and fragrent sages cover the canyon walls. Wildflowers cover burn areas in a carpet of color in the springtime. Inland, lone valley oaks accentuate the grassy hillsides. In 1978 Congress established the Santa Monica National Recreation Area as part of the National Park System. Enjoy!

Great Outdoors Photo Contest Entries

I need your vote! I have entered Outdoor Photographer (OP) Magazine's Great Outdoor Photo Contest and have submitted five photographs. If you voted on one of my photos in the last OP photo contest than you are already registered, if not, you need to register to vote. Click on the registration button in the left-hand column and complete the registration form once inside the OP wedsite. The voting is done by giving a photo a 1 to 5 star rating, simply move your cursor over the numbers of stars you wish to assign and click the mouse. A five star rating is the best and what I hope you will assign to my five entries. I have attached links to each of my entries for your convienece to the page where you can cast your five star vote. You can vote once for each entry. Thank you for voting! http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/photo-contests/the-great-outdoors/gallery/31823-star-gathering-malibu.html http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/photo-contests/the-great-outdoors/gallery/31824-encrouching-winter-storm.html http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/photo-contests/the-great-outdoors/gallery/31825-pch-sunset.html http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/photo-contests/the-great-outdoors/gallery/31826-the-wave-lower-antelope-canyon.html http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/photo-contests/the-great-outdoors/gallery/31827-night-heron-feeding-maui.html

Greg Clure Photography Launches New Website

If you have not visited http://www.gregclurephotography.com/ lately then you have not seen the latest new features and enhancements that take this gallery site to a new level. These enhancements make navigation a breeze with a new menu driven home page, new pages of additional information, new galleries and not to mention new fine art images. A brief overview of enhancements include:

• Starting with the Home page, you will notice the large prominent slide show that showcases a selection of fine art photographs from all the galleries within the site.
• Navigation menus can now be found at the top of the Home page and at the top and bottom of all other pages throughout the site, making navigation a snap.
• A new Galleries page that feature larger thumbnails than before.
• A New Images gallery page featuring all new images uploaded to the various galleries over the past three months making it more convenient to locate what's new in one single location.
• A new Awards page featuring recognition from photo contests and publications.
• A new Prints/Frames menu option featuring information on paper choices, frames and frame less mounting options.
• A new Pricing menu option that provides a summary overview of product prices by size and mounting options.
• An expanded Contact page with an e-mail form to send a message and links to become a Fan on Facebook or sign-up for Twitter updates.
• A more intuitive Shopping Cart page that is easier to use and offers previews of your selected fine art prints shown in the frames you select.
• We now offer the security of PayPal for your transactions as well as the acceptance of most major credit cards and we can now accept payment in Canadian Dollars, British Pounds and European Euros in addition to US Dollars.

We want to know what you think about the new look and feel of Greg Clure Photography's Fine Art Images Of Nature online gallery. Please leave us your thoughts by blogging a comment to this posting. Thank you for visiting the Greg Clure Photography gallery, Greg Clure Photography Blog and leaving us your comments.