Cany143 Loc: SE Utah

While coming home --from an in-town errand, of course; what other purpose would a Moabite have for venturing out into the scary, scary world of tourorists and traffic and weirdness, and be out and away from the safety of home???-- I turned off Main Street onto 2nd South. There I was greeted by a most glorious sight of light and dark! Under the clear, clean light of late afternoon (that's 3:30 pm here on the west-ish side of town, just before the sun slips below the rise of thousand-foot cliffs that line the valley, but hey...) the outrageous oranges of autumnal cottonwood foliage marbled by backlit blacks of the titan's trunks and branches, and I thought to myself: heck! how come I never shoot in town? Proceeding onward, another 50 feet and travelling slow, the burbling stream of creek that passes beneath the newly repaired foot bridge that spans it came into sight, and Woo-hoo! Or Woof! Or some such similar sibilant. Something sufficient to prompt me to once again brave the madness of Main Street, drive around the block, return to the view, park my Jeep, and grab my camera!

Two tripods lay in easy reach behind me in the Jeep. But I grabbed neither. I only grabbed the camera, waited for passing vehicles (all surely driven by madmen and madladies, who'd sooner squash a pedestrian than slow and wave said pedestrian across the street as I often do) to pass, and shot a number of shots hand-held. Exposure was particularly tricky; the dynamic range would be off the charts, sorta-kinda, and the only way to 'get' what I beheld image-wise would be to focus stack, and that added to the challenge.

But the challenge beat my butt. I'd failed. Too few images to stack and too much real estate to include, near and far. So I returned yesterday afternoon.

The light was slightly better the first time. The sky'd been cloudless then, whereas yesterday a slight haze of cloud was coming in from the west, so the light was less intense. The first shot (below) is NOT one of the failed stacks from my first attempt; those failures you'll never see. The second shot (below, below) is from yesterday. And yes, I grabbed a tripod to shoot it. The scene lacks the shaft of light that formed a fine diagonal I'd seen that first day --and I do likes me some diagonals when I find 'em-- but the six images that make up yesterday's focus stack allows me to claim (a minor, very minor) victory over the challenge of this self-assignment! Woo-hoo!

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UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Thanks for sharing both these great shots and your process, Jim.

13 Loc: I am only responsible to what I say..not what

Very nice!!!

NMGal Loc: NE NM

Beautiful.

lnl Loc: SWFL

Of course the images are great; you shot them! The descriptions are just getting better and better. What is in the water in Moab?

Cany143 Loc: SE Utah

What's in the water, l'n? I'm not sure. I'm not sure because (before I got that nice lobotomy) the furthest I ever got up the food chain was 'Shirttail Naturalist (Trainee)', and that is, of course, lotsa rungs below the position I desired but never attained: 'Certified Cryptobiologist'.

Consequently, the best I can say is that whatever it is, it wriggles.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Nice shots, Jim. The second is my favorite.

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

I see why you got the first image. I would have done the same. I prefer the second one, though.

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

Nice shots. Those lobotomies are GREAT, aren't they!?

guardineer

I had no idea you had such varied flora in the metro area. I was expecting wind blown sand, lifeless wind altered decaying juniper and something with numerous thorns. I'll check back tomorrow for my cenozoic satisfaction but feel quite amazed today with knowledge of the existence of plant life and water in your world.

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

Travel opens eyes!

Cany143 Loc: SE Utah

If you do indeed check back, guardineer, I can't guarantee that your cenozoic satisfaction may be altogether assuaged. If, on the other hand, you opt instead to go into Jurassic mode, there may be hope.

Insofar as there being "water" and "varied flora" in Moab's metro area (Moab has a "metro" area??? Who knew?!?), well heck yes it does! Why, stately Mill Creek burbles right through the downtown area, and there are (a few) cottonwoods and (many, many) weeds! There are almost as many of those as there are tourorists and t-shirt shops! What more could anyone ask?

What you were expecting, however, --wind blown sand, lifeless wind altered decaying juniper and something with numerous thorns-- more accurately describes my yard than it does Moab's metro area. In my yard you'll find prickly pear cactus, yucca and a rose bush, each or all of which would be more than pleased to stab ya. The presence of any wind-blown sand is a bit iffier, though. Instead, what isn't gravel is more an amalgom of sterile 'dirt' that's partly sand and partly some unidentifiable substance that cannot be called soil. As well, while my yard does not sport (or wouldn't support) either a decayed or a decaying juniper, there IS the remnant stump of a cottonwood that got chopped down last year, so all's not lost.

guardineer

I had no ides you had such varied flora in the metro area. I was expecting wind blown sand, lifeless wind altered decaying juniper and something with numerous thorns. I'll check back tomorrow for my cenozoic satisfaction but feel quite amazed today with knowledge of the existence of plant life and water in your world.

Cany143 Loc: SE Utah

Oh, oops. I forgot to mention I have (or had, it now being November and the many moonflower bushes that thrived unabashedly and flowered in my yard in proud, profound profusion from May through October, but have now, being past their prime, been stomped down, pulled up, and their brittle, woody carcasses and spiny seed casings have been carefully carted off by me) that would've love, love, LOVEed to stab you too! But they're now gone. The Moonflower species native to this area aren't alternately called 'Thorn Apples' without good reason....

Some struggles are thought of as being 'Biblical'. Others are called 'Medieval'. Out here, there's townies that say stuff's 'Getting Western'. When I encounter such struggles --the stings and stabs and punctures-- in my yard, I typically just say 'ouch!'
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