This week’s Daily Post Challenge of Rounded made me think of a river bottom full of smooth rocks. Perhaps that’s because many river bottoms in the desert don’t have rivers in them. Water’s erosive power works on larger boulders, too, and that’s where I searched through my files. These rounded boulders are in southwestern Arizona, in a place called Texas Canyon.
My photo for this week’s Monochrome Madness comes from the closest forest to my home, on Mount Charleston. Australian photographer Leanne Cole hosts this event, and at the start of every month there is a theme week. In September, it was trees. I had several images for that category, and this was one that I didn’t include back then. My schedule became very hectic for a couple weeks, and I didn’t post my photo on my blog, even though you can see it on Leanne’s site.
Next week will be have the theme of in the open. If you’d like to participate, you can find instructions here.
When I saw the title for this week’s photo challenge, I immediately thought of some of the canyons I’ve visited. The canyons of the southwestern US are great places to hike because there is often shade. Because of the shade, light reaching the bottom is often reflected off higher sunlit walls, resulting in a warm glow. In those canyons where water is present, the effect is magnified.
My photo comes from Zion National Park, Utah. As sunrise lit up the high cliffs on a morning with clear blue skies, the North Fork of the Virgin River glowed from the light being cast onto it.
Last winter/spring was one of the wettest that California has ever seen, and was declared a drought-buster by several accounts. Now, about a half year later, we have seen the most devastating fires to ever hit that state. What happened to all that water? Did the drought really go away?
Intense, out-of-control fires have occurred in places that you would not normally expect these to take place. Oregon, Montana, western Canada, and now Portugal have all been in the news for their fires this year. A reasonable person would have to look at this situation and wonder if there is something we can do for long-term fire prevention. The White House says global warming and climate change is a hoax. More FAKE NEWS!
My photo is from several years ago, and is one of my favorites from a springtime trip in what used to be a normal weather year. I know fires have threatened Yosemite National Park in recent years, and I can’t help but wonder if the next one is the one that leaves the park in ashes.
This is my contribution to Leanne Cole’s Monochrome Madness this week. To see what other photographers have contributed, or instructions to join in, please visit her website.
On my first trip to the big island of Hawaii, we had lucky timing with the volcanic activity. The day before I took this photo, a lava tube broke, and all the lava was now running over the hillside instead of underneath it. I wanted badly to get closer to this spectacle, but the viewing area was roped off, and there was a security patrol to make sure nobody went where they weren’t supposed to go. Or so I thought. The viewing area closed at 10 pm, and at 9:55, three men came walking from the other side of the rope and in plain sight of the guards. None were wearing ranger uniforms, or showing anything indicating authority. I remember thinking “Who are they, and how the hell were they allowed out there?” I couldn’t make it back on this trip, so my thoughts of trying to figure out how to get past the rope were not going to make a difference anyway.
What you are looking at is not the source of the eruption. There was so much lava coming down, that this was where it met the ocean, causing it to shoot up in the air 300-400 feet. It was really hard to fathom the size of this event, and it wasn’t until I looked at the images blown up on the computer screen, that I saw that those men were in a couple of the frames providing a sense of scale.
I love this time of year when the air gets cooler and the leaves change color. Occasionally, cold fronts come through with a little moisture, and hopefully, not much wind. That was the case for this photo from the San Francisco Peaks, near Flagstaff, Arizona taken a couple years ago.
This is my contribution to Leanne Cole’s Monochrome Madness this week. To see what other photographers have contributed, or instructions to join in, please visit her website.
Steve Bruno Photo 