Terrain and Time

I recently took a solo trip to Wayne County Utah- a noteworthy area containing Capitol Reef National Park, parts of the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, as well as beautiful BLM land brimming with extraordinary Mancos Shale badlands. 

Normally Tiffany would come along with me along with Tuco and Frankie, but this was a special trip dedicated not only to photography, but also to some alone time to reflect. 

We geared up the Trooper and I set off. No schedule. No itinerary. No expectations. Just terrain and time.  More on the Trooper and how great its been for us here. 

Our 1998 Isuzu Trooper has allowed us to take extended expeditions to loads of interesting places.

My favorite landscape images, and often favorite images period, are of unrecognizable places. I'm drawn to areas of the earth that are unfamiliar, and with enough suspension of disbelief, could be considered part of another planet. 

And why not? The images sent back from Mars from rovers like Curiosity show an alien world not too dissimilar to our own. I love that. I love the fact that we live on one of many planets, orbiting one of many stars, swirling in one of many galaxies. We are unique, but at the same time not unique at all. This thrills me, and is something I want to convey in my fine art moving forward. 

The main point of this trip was to simply explore this area. We drove through Wayne County on a vacation to Capitol Reef National Park. Capitol Reef is an amazing place, and from my observations far under-appreciated compared to nearby Moab. Still, I was more enamored with the formations just before entering Capitol Reef National Park as it related to my work and philosophy than the National Park itself. 

Since I went in late winter, there was hardly anyone around. I saw one group flying a drone around Factory Butte for a few minutes on one of the 4 days I was there. Aside from that I had miles and miles to myself. The solitude and utter silence of that fact took me by surprise. Except for the occasional jet and light breeze there was only deafening silence. So much so I could hear my own heartbeat and wonder if it was someone else's footsteps. 

Below are some favorites from this area.