Here is a rarely seen view of Zion National Park.
No, actually, there were about 40 photographers all lined up shoulder to shoulder shooting this sunset. This was from last Friday, that magical day of shooting in Zion. The morning started up rainy and crappy, then in came the low storm clouds that swirled around the park all day. It finally ended with THIS! Spectacular sunset.
I was there with Chaybert and Rob. They had been there the night before, when the sky was gray and the light was flat. I hadn't arrived yet. The two of them were alone on this bridge, hoping for a sunset. Chaybert cracks me up! While the three of us were shooting this, along with 37 other people, he yells out... "Where were all you people last night, when it SUCKED!?"
View Large, On Black
Tags: 11-09 7464 www.mikejonesphoto.com Smith-Southwestern Mike Jones photo landscape scenic nature professional photographer Utah UT Zion ArtLibre ABW
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I wanted to avoid getting the photo that everybody gets in Yosemite Valley. There is a footbridge over the Merced river in the middle of the valley that about nine million photographers a day shoot this scene from. Well… The water is moving so fast in that river right now, there isn't a chance in hell of getting any kind of reflection in that water. So… I did some exploring around the area and found that the river was so high, it had spilled out of it's banks and created these big puddles in the forest along it's shores. There usually isn't even water in this spot, but this week, it was just deep enough and still enough to create a perfect mirror reflection. This was last Tuesday morning when the first clouds were just starting to roll in for that evenings storm.
The waterfall you see is Upper Yosemite Falls. There is also a middle and lower Yosemite Falls which are hidden from this angle. The three together have a combined drop of nearly 2500 feet, making it one of the tallest waterfalls in the world.
Tags: 6-11 4947 www.mikejonesphoto.com Smith-Southwestern Mike Jones photo landscape scenic nature professional photographer CA california BRAVO
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I had a great sunrise shoot this morning at the Mesquite Dunes in Death Valley. I LOVE those dunes! The lines in the sand are just fascinating. And... Finding a spot with no footprints is a PAIN IN THE ASS!!!
This is one of the last shots I took. It was about an hour after sunrise. Just moments after I shot this, the sun got too high. The light flattened out, and the lines suddenly disappeared.
Tags: 2-11 7263 www.mikejonesphoto.com Smith-Southwestern Mike Jones photo landscape scenic nature professional photographer CA california death valley sand dunes SearchTheBest
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Here is a rarely seen angle of Yosemite National Park...
Just kidding. Not the part about it being Yosemite. It really is Yosemite. Just kidding about the "rarely seen" part. They call this Tunnel View, also known as Inspiration Point, and I've heard that it is the most photographed vista in the entire world. If you enter the park from the south, you drive through about an hour of mediocre scenery. Mountains, trees, nothing too spectacular. Finally you come to a tunnel, about a mile long, which goes through the middle of a mountain. As you emerge out of the other end of the tunnel, this is the view before your eyes. Your jaw drops, and you just say HOLY S#!T!!!!!!! Then you pull your car off the road, and run across the street with your camera, and stand shoulder to shoulder with 300 other people all taking a photo of this amazing scene. I had to fight my way through the crowd to get a spot wide enough to spread out the legs of my tripod.
I have kind of mixed feelings about Yosemite. While it is arguably the most beautiful place on the planet, it sure has turned into quite a zoo. Seriously, it's kind of the Disney World of national parks. The crowds, the shuttle ride, Yosemite Village... I kept expecting Yosemite Sam to be wandering around shaking hands with the kids.
Tags: www.mikejonesphoto.com Smith-Southwestern Mike Jones photo landscape scenic nature professional photographer CA california 0908 WORLDBEST BlueRibbonWinner WONDERWORLD FrHwoFavs DUMBASS!! SuperShot Golden Visions FiveFlickrFavs yourwonderland
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Here's one from the archives.
I was just looking back through some of my Grand Canyon photos, disappointed with the mediocre stuff I got on my last visit, and thought I'd take one more look through one of the most amazing mornings ever. This was from a winter morning a few years ago. I went to the Grand Canyon for sunrise and it was a total bust. It was snowing. There was zero visibility. A complete whiteout. But… I waited it out to see what would happen. A few hours later, the snow stopped. The low clouds dropped down into the canyon and created one of the most magical mornings of photography ever!
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