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.