At the edge of the Painted Desert, erosion is washing away soft badlands to expose fossilized remnants of ancients forests. Petrified Forest National Park is the place to see a large concentration of perfectly preserved trunks, turned cell-by-cell to colorful stone. What makes the park unique is that eroded badlands with a variety of textures […]
Posted on April 28, 2010, 3:00 pm, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
Thank you for those who voted on yesterday’s polls about the Potato Harbor sunsets. I am with the majority opinion. I prefer the third image because it looks more natural, as the contrast was down to reasonable levels, while the two other images have a “HDR” look. Of those two, I prefer the first one […]
Posted on April 26, 2010, 7:17 pm, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
Here are three sunset images from my recent trip to Santa Cruz Island, the largest of the five islands that make up Channel Islands National Park. They were taken at Potato Harbor Overlook, which is reached through a 5-mile RT hike that is the most rewarding in the Scorpion Ranch area. The fjord-like Potato Harbor […]
Mesa Verde National Park includes the best-preserved and most notable Ancient Pueblo cliffs dwellings in the country, which bear witness to the most developed civilization in Ancient America. Cliff Palace is not only the largest cliff-dwelling in Mesa Verde (and in North America) it is also the one that offers the most varied photographic opportunities. […]
The densely packed, brightly colored hoodoos in Bryce Amphitheaters are so stunning that missing to make a striking image from any of the overlooks is difficult. However, if asked about my favorite overlook along the amphitheater, I would easily pick Sunset Point. Despite it’s name, Sunset Point is excellent through the day. Unlike other viewpoints, […]
Posted on April 11, 2010, 11:40 pm, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
I’ve posted new images of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. After last winter’s installments on the Western National Parks, this is the first of several installments about the North East (New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, New York) that will be posted through the spring. A highlight of the 2009 trip through New Hampshire was the […]
You can see Mount Rainier, the centerpiece of Mount Rainier National Park, more than 100 miles away. The mountain looks huge even from Seattle. While within the park, you can see Mount Rainier from almost everywhere, several lakes around the mountain offer particularly scenic compositions where you can include the reflection of the mountain. When […]
Posted on April 5, 2010, 11:33 am, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
I’ve posted new images of Berkeley, CA. Berkeley was the first place where I lived in the US, from 1993 to 1995. Since then, I have traveled widely in the country. I’ve seen many places that are closer to great wilderness areas than the 3-4 hour drive to the Sierras. However, if we were talking […]
Crater Lake is always stunning at first sight. No other lake combines such a nearly perfect large circular shape, deep blue color, and uniformly sheer surrounding cliffs almost two thousand feet high. However, past the first impression, many of the viewpoints around the lake lack either an unobstructed view, or interesting features. For this reason, […]
