White Pocket, Vermilion Cliffs, July 20, 2022.

Geraint July 20, 2022 16 Comments

Greetings from San Cristobal and the beautiful White Pocket in the Vermilion Cliffs of Arizona three years ago.

Last week I was looking for some images on randomness when I came across these images in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, in Arizona. I thought, why not post random photos from here.

The pictures reminded me of a head-spinning moment I had on a private photo tour/workshop with clients Ed and Kathleen. I was amazed by the landscape and didn’t know which way to look next. It is an incredible place to visit if you get a chance. I know I will return to White Pocket soon, albeit when the weather is cooler. In the meantime, I’ll stay here in San Cristobal where the temps last night were 68º F, perfect for a good night’s sleep.

White Pocket Cloud — White Pocket rock formation with a cloud, AZ.

Photographer in the formations — My client, Ed in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona.

Photographer in White Pocket — Photographer, not my client!

Rock forms and clouds Vermilion Cliffs, National Monument, AZ.

Photographer surrounded by formations — Rock formations in White Pocket, Ed included for scale.

Rock landscape — Close-up detail of the rocky landscape.

Lastly, from the same trip, two random shots. One of the iconic trees in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Arizona, and one of a random rock.

Tree, Monument Valley — Iconic tree in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park.

Random rock, Monument Valley — Random rock, a tie-down for a vendors tent in Monument Valley, UT

As always, thank you for looking. I appreciate all the comments and compliments. Cheers. G

Cathedral Rock, Kayenta, Navajo Nation, Arizona

Geraint September 19, 2020 No Comments

Cathedral or Church Rock near Kayenta on the Navajo Nation, in northeastern Arizona. You can read more on this, one of eighty volcanic plugs, in the region here. This was on a trip last year and I’m still looking forward to another trip to this area when I can. Thanks for looking. G

Yellowstone Revisited, Mammoth Hot Springs, WY

Geraint September 4, 2020 4 Comments

Yellowstone revisited, Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyoming. From a visit in 2005 when I took my children on a trip of discovery through Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. I took them out of school for two weeks in September. We had wonderful trip together, riding our bicycles through the fall colors in Crested Butte, around Yellowstone, the Tetons and Canyonlands National Parks. I swear we saw every dinosaur track and many miles of the Oregon Trail wagon wheel ruts. All kinds of wild life, except the bears and wolves, but almost every other creature. The kids loved those boardwalks skirting all the pools and running on the lake shorelines. The lack of crowds made it blissfully beautiful. Here’s one of the views above Mammoth Hot Springs and tomorrow I’ll post an abstract from the Mud Volcano. Thanks for looking. G

Slate River, Crested Butte, Colorado

Geraint August 16, 2020 8 Comments

Slate River, Crested Butte, Colorado. Yep, the colors along the banks of the Slate River look like this. I’ve seen similar colors of slate lining walls in homes and more upscale hotels. Where I grew up in Wales the roofs were all blue slate and the houses built from locally quarried stone. This particular geology has the iron colors running throughout. I like it and reminds me of home. Thanks for looking. G

White House Ruin, Desert Varnish, Canyon De Chelly, AZ

Geraint August 13, 2020 8 Comments

White House ruin, Navajo sandstone cliffs with desert varnish in Canyon De Chelly, Arizona. The ancient ones sure knew good placement for living space when they saw it and many descendants still reside it the canyon and what a place it is. I’ve had the privilege to visit this sacred place three times during the last four years and many times more over the last forty years. I look forward to visiting again soon. White House ruin can be accessed by trail or with a Navajo guide, when it reopens. Prints are available. Thanks for looking. G

Mitten, Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Arizona

Geraint August 10, 2020 8 Comments

Mitten, Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Arizona. Still digging in the archives, this one from last year on a ten day trip around the four corners. The last minute flash of light on the buttes, in particular the left mitten, with the dancing cloud, a nice added bonus. Thanks for looking. G

Shiprock, Sun Star, Northwestern New Mexico

Geraint August 9, 2020 2 Comments

Shiprock with sun star, northwestern New Mexico. This is a large panorama from a couple of years ago. One of my favorite views in northwestern New Mexico. I was able to line up the sun through a fracture in one of Shiprock’s many black dikes composed of igneous rocks. I would have been there this year too, again, the current situation forced us to postpone a two week photo workshop around the southwest. This down time has enabled me to pull some images I hadn’t yet delved into. You can read more on Shiprock and it’s geology here on Wikipedia. Thanks for looking. G

Ghost Ranch, Spring, New Mexico

Geraint May 14, 2020 10 Comments

Ghost Ranch is Georgia O’Keeffe Country, and spring in New Mexico is a palette of shifting colors and light. Albeit, an image from a couple of years ago, I’m looking forward to tomorrow, and an experiment in social distancing and the art of photo touring. Not a stretch, but looking for more ways to share locations in our beautiful state with visiting photographers under our current conditions. Thanks for looking. G

Cave View, New Mexico Back Country

Geraint April 9, 2020 14 Comments

Yesterday, Pami, myself and friends, Chris and Carla, made a trip to beyond, the back of beyond. We have future plans for more trips back, to the back of beyond. Much of the trip was spent driving Arroyo del Cobre, north of Abiquiu, NM. The arroyo narrowed considerably, until, what can marginally be called a road clambered out of it to a bench. After more sandy driving and choking dust we arrived at an artesian spring in a boggy meadow. Later, we visited an ancient petrified river bed and this shady ledge with a cave, probably dug many years ago by a prospector. There are camps and hunting grounds of indigenous peoples, strewn with artifacts, in this land of red rocks. These days, hundreds of bonsai junipers and tranquility abide. Chris said “we are geological time travelers”. Thanks, Chris and Carla for being our guides. Thanks everyone for looking. G

March, Rio Chama, Abiquiu, NM

Geraint March 21, 2020 12 Comments

March along the Rio Chama in Abiquiu, New Mexico. During this self imposed quarantine I’m touring the archives. I’m going slow, pedaling my virtual bicycle, savoring moments in images made over the last few years. Today, outside the kitchen window there were clouds and sunny skies much like this day from two years ago in Abiquiu. Be safe and please stay well. Thanks for looking. Geraint.

Geraint Smith Photography

Tag: Geology