West Fork of Oak Creek, AZ

Joined Shane and Peter on a hike today up West Fork to catch the blooms along the creek. On the hike out, the angled sandstone slope and conifers stood out. Hopefully the oof trees at the bottom are not too bad.

The red monkey flowers that hang on the seeping walls of the subway section have already lost their blooms. last year at his date, they were peak, but lack of winter snow and spring rains may have advanced their timetable. Tried a pano crop.

The yellow columbines seemed to be peak or just past peak.

Everytime I walk the canyon, this tree against the varnished stone grabs my attention.

It was nice shooting with you guys this morning. I really like the comp in that first one and wish I would have brought the longer lens. On my monitor it looks like the shadows need to be opened up a bit more. I remember the light was starting to get pretty harsh here. I like the pano crop of the subway, I have one too, but looking from the opposite direction. The columbine looks great against the greens and I enjoy the symmetry of the last image. Still going through my images hoping to find one I like enough to print.

Doug, all of these are fantastic, especially #1. You captured some really nice lighting and as always your zoom comp is spot on.

Nice shots Doug. One of my favorite hikes when I lived down there. Cold damn water flowing through there.

Nice! The yellow columbine is stunning, and I really like the last shot.

A very nice set. The yellow columbine shot is flat out gorgeous. And, your tele-comp extraction in #1 is done very well. You can crop the oof trees at the bottom and not really lose anything. The pano works well, and the last one has a great contrast of colors and textures.

Hey Doug - nice set!

I love comps like #4

I am going to have to meet up with you sometime; enjoyed working with you in Moab. I have been down in Phoenix taking care of family matters; and heading back to Vegas on Tuesday. Thnking about diversions off the 93 - maybe toward Prescott this time. Several more Vegas-Phoenix trips this summer.

Thanks for the feedback. What struck me in 1 as we were walking down the trail was the strong diagonal of the sandstone and the trees sunlit against the shaded wall. As Peter said, the light was strong at 10AM, so I will look into lightening the shadows some, although I like the high contrast.
With the columbine, I tried some smaller apertures to get more dof in the bloom, but the background started to get contrasty splotches. This was @ f/4, 75mm

Really like the last 2. I wasn't aware Oak Creek had a subway section, very cool. How far in is it from the trailhead parking area ? What time do you have to arrive in order to get a spot to park at the trailhead? I drove by there once about 2 springs ago and the place was packed at 8am. I thought because of the steep terrain that a late start would make for better lighting conditions due to some cloud cover.

Karl- on the east side of 93, have you shot Burro Creek as it cuts through the tufa flow? Not much color, but nice B&W opps.
Dave- thanks.

An excellent series here, Doug. I enjoy your telephoto landscapes a lot, and #1 is no exception. Check a 'scrollcrop' from the bottom up to where the ridgeline almost touches the right edge just before the vertical break and see what you think.
The dark shadows in the foreground don't bother me at all.
The subway formation looks great and the pano. crop is one of the reasons why it looks great. No nits at all.
The columbine is extarordinarily beautiful with perfect DOF! Who needs monkeyflowers when you found this?
Finally, I like the last one quite a bit, as well. You came away with some real winners on this trip!

Don-, it takes about 1 3/4 hours from the trailhead to reach the subway. My first images were taken about 2 hours after sunrise. On my first trip, I was at the subway 4 hours after sunrise and the sun was causing problems. There is a long pool about 30 minutes further that I like to be there right at sunrise. Of course, the day use area is not open/ungated at 5 AM , so I park in a pullout 1/4 mile up the road to get an early start. and pay the $2 walk-in fee on the way out.

John- thanks for the comments and suggestion. A bottom crop may also need a slight left crop to keep a vertical feel. Maybe just a bump insaturation also in #1.

"A bottom crop may also need a slight left crop to keep a vertical feel."

I think you may be right.

"Maybe just a bump in saturation also in #1."

A rare statement from you, Doug.
If so, then everything except the greens which are perfect.

Very nice Doug. The yellow columbine blows me away. Good series.

Nice collection! I'm really digging that first shot - I always love the contrast of "desert" rock with pine trees, and that shot highlights that contrast.

Lovely work, but 3 and 4 really standout!