Category Archives: Landscape

Runkurakay Pass

Posted on by

So the high point (physically) of day 3 on the Inca Trail is Runkurakay Pass — with views just as good as Dead Woman Pass had, but not nearly as painful to get to.  Just before the pass, the trail winds between two small hanging lakes (I haven’t been able to find any reliable names for them).  First, we’re looking uphill / west across the lower / larger of the two (you can see some of my hiking buddies on the trail above it to the right).

Looking up to Runkurakay Pass

In this next shot, we’re at the pass and looking to the east. Continue reading →

A visit to Rifle Falls

Posted on by

As I may have mentioned previously, we bought a camping trailer earlier this year.  So since camping is now a lot more comfortable for us than it used to be, we’ve been taking advantage of it to spend time in a lot of places we’ve not been to before.  So it was that we spent a weekend in Rifle Gap State Park, on the west side of Colorado.

Three Amigos

We honestly didn’t go into this trip knowing a lot about the park — we primarily thought it’d be a nice, quiet place to spend an otherwise hot August weekend.  The camp site itself was clean and well-maintained, if lacking in trees to slow the wind.  But not that far away from the Rifle Gap campsites is their sister park, Rifle Falls State Park — a real hidden gem of the Colorado State Park system. Continue reading →

Looking down the canyon

Posted on by

A fisheye view of Echo Canyon in Zion National Park, seen from under “Weeping Rock:”

Looking down the canyon

This scene, BTW, is just a taste of the attractions in Zion. The place can get a bit crowded during the summer, but a shuttle bus service runs up and down the canyon, and many impressive sights are just a short hike away from a shuttle stop.

EXIF:
Olympus E-M1
Olympus M.Zuiko 8mm Fisheye lens
f/22, 1/100 sec, ISO 200

The feeling of falling

Posted on by

For your weekend relaxation — a view of Montmorency Falls, near Quebec City, Quebec, Canada:

The feeling of falling

As waterfalls go, Montmorency is both photogenic and easy to get to, if you’re in the neighborhood (it’s a relatively short jaunt off a nearby highway).  Some thoughts, though, should you be planning a trip to Quebec City: Continue reading →

Scenes from a Colorado overflight

Posted on by

We recently did a bit of family travel — on our way from Denver to Phoenix, we were fortunate enough to have relatively clear skies and a late afternoon flight.  Perfect for some aerial twilight photography of various spots in Colorado and the four corners region of the U.S.

First up for you, Colorado Springs (top of frame) seen over the snow covered Rampart Reservoir, not far west of town.

Over the Rampart

Colorado Springs is one of those places I normally see while driving through (in this case, on I-25) — from that perspective, the mountains form a wall to the west of the city.  But from above, the fact that the mountains are essentially a (tall) rumpled plateau is much more evident.

Continue reading →