Spanish Bottom - Canyonlands

Over the Labor Day weekend, I led a 7 day canoe trip down the Green River through Canyonlands. The last two evenings were spent at Spanish Bottom to allow a climb to the Doll House. Our first evening had great sunset light, nice reflections, but mediocre skies. The next day, storm clouds were building throughout the afternoon. I was not at all optimistic about another chance, but the sun did find a crack on the horizon, and the last night turned into the best of the entire trip!

This is the view upstream from our campground, across the Colorado River into the Needles District of Canyonlands.
Just downstream is the start of Cataract Canyon.

Canon 1Ds2, 24-105mm @ 35mm, f16, 30sec
Single exposure

An hour earlier, as the shadows climbed the cliffs.
Canon 24-105mm @ 40mm
Single exposure

2 image pano - Canon 24-105mm @ 35mm

Wow, all 3 are great..hard to pick a best but I'm leaning toward number 1.

Nice stuff, Bill. I'm loving the light and clouds in #2. I think it might make a great B&W.

I agree. Number 2 is dynomite!

These are nice Bill, expecially #2.

Like all three. And great clouds as well.

Nice work Bill! All are nice, though I'm really digging #2 for it's dynamic feel and clouds.

Great stuff Bill hard to pick a favorite one.

Those are all really, realy nice! I'd like to see more, from other parts of the trip, as well.

Very nice Bill, good clouds too.

Great set Bill, I think # 3 has to be my favorite, I like the banding of the dark skies, sunlit buttes and then the layer of shadow.

Great light in all of these. The forboding skies in the last two really put them over the top for me. Great work!

Really nice images. I would pick 2&3 with 3 being my final selection. How did the climb to the Doll House go?

Don, the Doll House from Spanish Bottom was easier than I had expected. To Doll House Rock, it's 1.4 miles with 1,260 ft. of elevation gain. The trail is well maintained, and if you start early, most of the trail is in shade.

After exploring the main Doll House area, we hiked a short distance along the Green River Overlook trail and stopped at Beehive Arch. The afternoon was spent along the Granary Trail with great views into the Surprise Valley graben.

On the way down, I found the unmaintained track, across scree slopes, into Surprise Valley. From the appearance of the trail and lack of tracks, it appears to be a rarely visited place.

The dayhike is a great introduction to the Doll House area, but it certainly leaves you wanting more time. I had planned on hiking down in the dark after sunset, but the skies did not appear promising for good evening light, so I opted to explore Surprise Valley instead. As it turned out, it was great to be back at the river for the evening show.

The ideal would be for some hardcore 4WD buddy to bring all the food, water and gear for a 3 day stay at the Dollhouse campground. Hey, Mel, are you willing?

Todd, I'll let you know when I finish the trip gallery. I'm REALLY slow in processing. So many images, so little time.

A beautiful place and depicted well. I like #2 for some action in the water, the reflection, and the detail in the clouds. Nice work Bill!

These are great shots Bill. I especially like the contrast, lines and layers in the pano.

really nice stuff.

RichieV

Wow... I really like the whole series...

Very nice, Bill. Like 2 best: although the colors in #1 are stunning. For the pano, check to see if right side needs to be leveled a bit.

Bill Brennan

Thanks, Bill. I think the apparent tilt is mostly an illusion due to a sharp bend in the river, however, I agree and will "level" it.

Hi Bill,
Nice series. I like them all, but if I had to pick a favorite it would be # 2. I like the contrast of the dark sky with the nice light on the rocks. And the reflection is the icing on the cake.

All are excellent shots with great light. The pano is my favorite.

Beautiful series, great work!

#2 is my favorite. Great constrasts and color. I'd recommend taming some of the highlights in the pano.
The doll house is a great area. Unfortunately we only had one night there when Darren, Mel, and I went in. The view down to Spanish Bottom was cool, I would have liked to hike down. Can't wait to visit again!

Thanks, Kalin. I agree, the highlights on the cliffs in the pano are too hot. I'll probably try blending in a darker raw conversion. This is as good as I could get, trying to tone down a single exposure.

Great shots Bill! I cant wait to go back for another trip.

#2 is fab!

Terrific light and colors in every image Bill!

Hey, Rene, I'd love to see some of your 4x5s from here. I know you had some different foregrounds.
Please bring BIG prints to the shindig.

Like the clouds and the light in the second image. Very nice!