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Arizona

Antelope CanyonArizonaHorseshoe BendSlot CanyonsThe American SouthwestThe WaveUtahWhite Pocket

The Ultimate Photographer’s Weekend in Page, Arizona

Great photography spots around Page, Arizona, including Upper and Lower Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, Canyon X, Radio Tower Rock, Rattlesnake Canyon, Stud Horse Point, Little Cut, the Toadstool Hoodoos, and the Wave and White Pocket. What visit to Page, Arizona is complete with a spectacular Horseshoe Bend sunrise? So you…
February 24, 2020
ArizonaHorseshoe Bend

Horseshoe Bend and Colorado River

Horseshoe Bend is a stunning 180° bend in the Colorado River which has eroded a dramatic, 1100-foot gorge below the surrounding mesa. It lies near Page, Arizona, Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell and is a short, easy hike from the highway to the precipice. Thankfully the personal injury attorneys…
April 19, 2011
ArizonaBirds

Northern Cardinal Photo

Northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). This was the other small songbird that I hoped to see in Arizona. It is very similar to the Pyrrhuloxia (see yesterday's post). In fact the female cardinal looks a lot like the male Pyrrhuloxia at first glance, although the shape of the beak (among other…
June 13, 2009
ArizonaBirds

Pyrrhuloxia Photo

Pyrrhuloxia (Cardinalis sinuatus). This was one of the two birds I was hoping to see in Arizona. In general, we do not see small colorful birds like this in Southern California (except for escaped exotics like parrots). At first I thought Pyrrhuloxia was the latin (scientific) name for this bird,…
June 12, 2009
ArizonaBirds

Roadrunner Photo

Greater roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus). Greater roadrunner.Image ID: 22902Species: Greater roadrunner, Geococcyx californianusLocation: Amado, Arizona, USA Shot at Bill Forbes' Pond at Elephant Head, which I visited and described recently.
June 11, 2009
ArizonaBirds

Gila Woodpecker Photo

A Gila woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygialis). Gila woodpecker, female.Image ID: 22928Species: Gila woodpecker, Melanerpes uropygialisLocation: Amado, Arizona, USA Shot at Bill Forbes' Pond at Elephant Head, which I visited and described recently.
June 10, 2009
ArizonaBirds

Gambel’s Quail Photo

A Gambel's quail (Callipepla gambelii). Bill told me to expect a quail family, complete with lots of chicks, to show up about 9:30. They were right on time each morning! Gambel's quail, male.Image ID: 22925Species: Gambel's quail, Callipepla gambeliiLocation: Amado, Arizona, USA Gambel's quail, chicks.Image ID: 22920Species: Gambel's quail, Callipepla…
June 9, 2009
ArizonaBirds

White-winged Dove Photo

A white-winged dove (Zenaida asiatica). There were lots of these birds around Bill Forbes' pond, making their soft coo-coo sounds. I know some people hunt dove, I wonder if these white-winged doves are on their list and whether they taste any good or not? They sure are pretty but for…
June 4, 2009
ArizonaBirds

Curve-Billed Thrasher Photo

Curve-billed thrasher (Toxostoma curvirostre). Wow, this guy is a THRASHER! Sounds like one serious kick-ass bird. Thrasher? If I was a bird I'd want to be called Thrasher too. Curve-billed thrasherImage ID: 22904Species: Curve-billed thrasher, Toxostoma curvirostreLocation: Amado, Arizona, USA Shot at Bill Forbes' Pond at Elephant Head, which I…
June 3, 2009
ArizonaBirds

House Finch Photo

You might guess, given its name, that the house finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) is a common bird. Indeed, the plants around Bill's place were covered with these colorful, twittering, hyper little birds. The males had great coloration, deep reds and oranges, while the poor females had to settle for brown and…
June 2, 2009
ArizonaBirds

House Sparrow Photo

A little house sparrow (Passer domesticus), male in breeding coloration. House sparrow, breeding male.Image ID: 22945Species: House sparrow, Passer domesticusLocation: Amado, Arizona, USA Shot at Bill Forbes' Pond at Elephant Head, which I visited and described recently.
June 1, 2009
ArizonaWildlife

Horned Lizard Photo, Horny Toad

When we were kids we loved catching what we called "horny toads." (Look, wiseguy, we were 6 years old at the time and couldn't pronounce "horned".) We would find them in chapparal and open areas in Newport Beach where I grew up. The little horned lizards (Phrynosoma) weren't particularly fast,…
May 31, 2009
ArizonaWildlife

Desert Cottontail Rabbit Photo

There were a lot of little desert cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus audubonii) hopping about all morning and evening. They were really cute, and quite bold, coming in to drink at the pond often and sniff about looking for seed and bits of food. No babies though. Desert cottontail, or Audobon's cottontail…
May 30, 2009
ArizonaWildlife

White-sided Jackrabbit Photo

This white-sided jackrabbit (Lepus callotis) showed up briefly one morning at Bill Forbes' pond. It did not approach too closely, unfortunately, and stayed in the shadows nibbling on fresh mesquite leaves, standing tall on its hind legs to grasp to lowest branches. I was amazed at how long its ears…
May 29, 2009
ArizonaWildlife

Round-tailed Ground Squirrel Photo

This little round-tailed ground squirrel (Spermophilus tereticaudus) showed up beside the pond only a couple times, and I really only had one good chance to get its photo. I felt sorry for the poor thing, not only is it a puny raptor-morsel, but it has a wimpy tail compared to…
May 28, 2009
ArizonaWildlife

Harris’ Antelope Squirrel Photo

This little Harris' antelope ground squirrel (Ammospermophilus harrisii) came to the pond to sip water and look for bits of food. Check out that cool tail, I bet Fonzie would wear a tail like that if he could. I nicknamed this guy Mike Tyson. Harris' antelope squirrel.Image ID: 22900Species: Harris'…
May 27, 2009
ArizonaBirds

Mexican Jay Photo

I'm posting one last photo from Upper Madera Canyon, this time a photo of a Mexican jay (Aphelocoma ultramarina). The wanna-be tough-guys were everywhere among the trees, spooking all the smaller birds. They would only shut up and settle down when the larger ravens rolled through. They are not as…
May 26, 2009
ArizonaBirds

Acorn Woodpecker Photo

Another photo from Upper Madera Canyon, this time a photo of a male Acorn woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus). The females look very similar, with the exception that on females the white forehead is separated from the red cap by black. Acorn woodpecker, male.Image ID: 22961Species: Acorn woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorusLocation: Madera Canyon…
May 25, 2009
ArizonaBirds

Black-Headed Grosbeak Photo

This male Black-headed grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus) is one of many that flitted among the trees in upper Madera Canyon. There were females too but their coloration was not as striking. Black-headed grosbeak, male.Image ID: 22911Species: Black-headed grosbeak, Pheucticus melanocephalusLocation: Madera Canyon Recreation Area, Green Valley, Arizona, USA Shot at Bill…
May 23, 2009
ArizonaBirds

Brown-Headed Cowbird Photo

The Brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) is rather plain, but I really liked this image of one with the golden light of sunset illuminating the bushes behind it. Brown-headed cowbird, male.Image ID: 22916Species: Brown-headed cowbird, Molothrus aterLocation: Amado, Arizona, USA Shot at Bill Forbe's Pond at Elephant Head, which I visited…
May 21, 2009
Antelope CanyonArizonaLandscapeSlot CanyonsThe American SouthwestThe WaveUtahWisdom

Photographing Antelope Canyon, The Wave, Buckskin Gulch and Horseshoe Bend

I have been fortunate to visit and photograph a few of the iconic locations around Page, Arizona: The Wave, Antelope Canyon, Buckskin Gulch, Horseshoe Bend and Monument Valley. Recently, I shared some correspondance about these places with another photographer whom I originally met at Brooks River a few years ago.…
March 11, 2009
Arizona

Photo of Buckskin Gulch

Last one from Buckskin Gulch: a hiker considering the towering walls and narrow, convoluted passageway of the the Buckskin Gulch narrows. The trail continues behind the hiker, disappearing into the twisting walls so that it is hard to tell that it is even there. The floor of the passage is…
June 11, 2008
Arizona

Buckskin Gulch Backpacking

Here are a few backpackers walking through the Buckskin Gulch narrows. They are blurry because it is so dark in the narrows that a tripod and long exposure must be used, which caused the backpackers to smear across the photo as they walked while the stationary walls and ground remain…
June 10, 2008
ArizonaPanoramas

Hiking Buckskin Gulch

This is a 360-degree panorama showing, in a single image, a hiker in Buckskin Gulch both coming and going. I set my camera on a tripod in the middle of the trail through Buckskin Gulch, leveled it with a bubble level, and spun it in a complete circle taking sixteen…
June 9, 2008
Arizona

Photos of the Wire Pass Narrows

After an easy half-hour walk from the Wire Pass Trailhead, one reaches the end of the sandy Wire Pass trail. At this point the trail enters the first of two Wire Pass Narrows, two fine examples of sandstone slot canyons. Formed by years of water erosion these slots are really…
June 7, 2008
ArizonaThe American SouthwestThe Wave

Wire Pass Trailhead

If you are going to hike to Buckskin Gulch or the North Coyote Buttes, you will likely start at the Wire Pass trailhead. Here is what it looks like at 6am. The dirt road you see, on which the trailhead parking lot is located, is the House Rock Valley Road.…
June 6, 2008