My New Zealand Photo Adventure
My New Zealand experience was unique. And I had my camera with me to prove it!
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Daniela's Photoblog
Daniela's Photoblog
Daniela's Photoblog
Daniela's Photoblog
Daniela's Photoblog
Daniela's Photoblog
Daniela's Photoblog
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Canyonlands – Dead Horse Point and Mesa Arch
Worked hard to wake up to get there at sunrise, then we kind of got lost a bit due to lack of directional information on the road. And you cannot rely on GPS either.
We got lost and arrived at sunrise at Dead Horse Point instead of Mesa Arch. Well, I said: at least I’ll have some pictures of sunrise here until my husband will go ask for directions. And this was the result:
Sunrise at Dead Horse Point
We still arrived at Mesa Arch, just in time to see the sunlight reflected onto the underside of the arch which was positively glowing red.
Mesa Arch, Canyonlands, Utah, USA.
On the way back we stopped again at Dead Horse Point for a more relaxed photoshoot. The view shows another interesting meander of Colorado River. The point is towering 2,000 feet above the Colorado River and provides a breathtaking panorama of Canyonlands ‘sculptured pinnacles and buttes’. This is an arid desert environment – the park receives less than 10 inches of rain a year.
Colorado River Meander viewed from Dead Horse Point.
As we were wandering around my husband found there a tree that looks pretty much like a bonsai, but of course real life-size. He always finds ‘bonsai’ everywhere he travels! It is a gift!
A juniper tree looking like a bonsai
You can see more high-resolution pictures of these amazing places in my American West Travel Photo Gallery or follow this link for prints:
https://2-daniela-constantinescu.pixels.com/collections/us+national+parks
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Kakadu National Park, NT, Australia.
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Antelope Canyon
Light Shaft
Antelope Canyon was one of the most amazing places we have seen in our US holiday this year! The slot canyon was formed by erosion of sandstone, primarily by flash flooding, but also the rainwater is cutting into the stone walls, smoothing the hard edges in such a way as to form the “flowing shapes’ in the rock.
Us at Antelope
It is a spectacular looking place and understandably very popular with photographers, which was a bit frustrating at times. The people running the tours are very nice and they try to accommodate everyone, but in order to do that, they have to rush you through. You can barely catch your breath. And it is not an easy place for taking photographs! I am not only talking about the fact that it is almost impossible to take a picture without lots of people in it. The combination of strong light from above and the darkness inside is very challenging. It is almost impossible to avoid the ‘Hotspots’ even if you bracket your shot.
Beam me Scotty!
It is all well worth it, in the end, the stone shapes, the colors, the amazing light! A very interesting phenomenon is the light beam that comes from above at different hours. The tour organizers are throwing sand into the air, so you can see them properly and catch them into your picture… And you have to clean your lens a lot… Here is one of my shots:
My only regret is that we did not have enough time to see the Upper Antelope Canyon only the ‘Lower’ one.
Please check out my galleria for more images of these amazing places!
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Old Jacaranda Tree at Sydney Uni is no longer there…
As of last week, the 88 years old Jacaranda tree at Sydney University was found uprooted in the Quadrangle. It lay there, but it was still full of purple flowers, making such a romantic departure… Only last year I posted a lot of photos of this tree in my Flickr gallery, so I can show here past and present:
The Jacaranda tree was the most famous in the city and very loved by Sydney Uni students, past and present, maybe because it made such a nice backdrop for the graduation photos. My son graduated from Sydney Uni, and this is why we cannot help feeling a bit sad about it…
The University decided to clone it, to make sure that the tree lives on. Two of his clones are currently prepared, even if the existing one was expected to live for another 30-40 years. Unfortunately, the replacement will have to come much sooner.
Of course, it will take a while until the new identical genetical trees will be able to look as their legendary ‘father’.
The Jacaranda was planted in the Quadrangle by university academic E. G. Woodhouse, Professor of Comparative Literature and a keen horticulturist, who had the vision to beautify the grounds of Sydney Uni with rows of Jacarandas.
Not all of them survived, but the one in the Quadrangle was the most loved one. It was planted near the rooms where Philosophy used to be taught to provide shade for the philosophers as they sat and contemplate the world around them.
University folklore warns that any student who failed to study before the tree is in bloom will fail their exams. 🙂 Most years the tree blossoms in November, so students know when to commence the study after lessons are finished, but every so often the tree blooms in October panicking superstitious students. Or so the legend goes…
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Horseshoe Bend – Colorado River
Panorama at Horseshoe Bend.
The next stop after Grand Canyon was the small town of Page where we visited two amazing places: Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon -both breathtaking, ‘WOW’ places, like nothing we have ever seen before. And both posing different challenges for photographers!
At Horseshoe -a meander of Colorado River- you stay on the edge of the cliff and look down approximately 300m, so vast and beautiful! But I was surprised there is nothing to protect you from falling to your certain death, I did not see any rail or any sign of warning… Well, this is probably my Australian mentality speaking, it would be ridiculous to fence out the whole Grand Canyon… It doesn’t make sense…
Anyway, to take my photos, I had to lay down on the ground, close to the edge, hold my camera against a rock so it doesn’t move, to be able to take some handheld bracketed shots. It was fun and I would do it anytime again, I am not afraid of heights (like my mom does!). Believe it or not, I like it! And I was not the only one doing that! Many other people enjoyed themselves, taking selfies ‘on the edge of the cliff’.
People on the edge of the cliff at Horseshoe Bend, Colorado River, Page, Arizona, USA.
Next Post: Antelope Canyon!