A few shots from our recent visit to Triple D.
A Tarantula showing a little leg…
We did a little macro photo shoot a couple weekends ago, with plenty of interesting subjects to get a close look at. OK, I confess… shooting flowers and butterfly wings bores me to tears. Yes, they’re pretty and have nice detail, but the live stuff is much more interesting to me. As a result most of my shots were of spiders and other bugs. The lead shot hardly even qualifies as a macro shot since a tarantula is a pretty good size critter. This one was about four inches across as he was posing, probably another couple of inches bigger if he was trying to go somewhere. He was very docile, pretty much taking a nap which made for easy photographs.
This colorful little guy was pretty cooperative.
The Tiger Gecko was a little more mobile and made for a little challenge for a good capture. I decided to not worry about the tail going out of focus to get a natural looking shot. It seemed more interesting than a view from the side.
He kind of reminds me of Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street.
I would have never thought of a spider as being cute, but the Jumping Spider did have some personality. It was quite animated and seemed to be almost posing for me. It was quite fascinated with its reflection in the lens, and seemed almost puzzled by it at times. The two large eyes in front which are its main vision are mobile, the other six eyes are apparently more for warning.
Navajo Mountain overlooking Lake Powell
Last weekend we took a trip up to Page for a workshop with LeRoy DeJolie. While the main purpose of the trip was to shoot some slot canyons, the entire area is beautiful. Rather that try to capture it in words, I’ll just let a few of the photos speak for themselves.
Just east of the Waterholes Canyon
Vermillion Cliffs near the “Toadstools” hoodoos
Morning at the Vermillion Cliffs
Inside the lower Antelope slot canyon
Horseshoe Bend where the Colorado River does a 180.
Another formation in the Lower Antelope
Entrance into the Lower Antelope slot canyon. You wouldn’t think there’s much underground to look at it.
Looking west from one of the neighborhood trailheads.
Sunsets are photographically speaking considered somewhat cliche. Here in the southwestern desert we don’t often have much in the way of cloud cover so we decided to take advantage of the monsoon season and see what we could get. This particular shot has some interesting cloud texture in it. We’ll be trying some other locations while the weather holds.
One of our local hummingbirds posing for me
I was out on the back porch playing with the camera when one of the hummingbirds that hangs around the back yard came by. We have three or four of them that are regular visitors and they’re completely fearless, coming by close enough that you can feel them and hovering within a couple feet of you. Since this guy was checking me out, what else could I do but take his picture?
The San Francisco Peaks overlooking a lava field at Sunset Crater.
The sun breaks the horizon at an old fire site near Flagstaff
“My heart has joined the Thousand, for my friend stopped running today,”
Adams, Richard (2009-07-14). Watership Down (p. 101). Simon & Schuster, Inc.. Kindle Edition.
Monument Valley as seen from Hunt’s Mesa
A place that should probably be on every landscape photographer’s bucket list is Monument Valley on the Arizona/Utah border.
Anasazi Ruins – One of many cliff dwellings in the area
Anyone who has seen any John Ford westerns will immediately recognize some of the landscape made famous in countless John Wayne epics.
The” Mittens” at sunrise, one of many prominent formations in the area
We were fortunate to be part of a group led by Navajo photographer LeRoy DeJollie who grew up in the area.
The Totem – seen in many classic western movies
Much of the area requires a guide, and some of the spots like Hunt’s Mesa are difficult to get to, but it’s worth the trip!
A monkey concentrating on eating a piece of fruit at the Wildlife World Zoo in Litchfield Park, Arizona.
The past few weekends we’ve been on a kick of taking animal photo workshops with Arizona Highways Photography Workshops. Arizona Highways is a regional magazine known for stunning photographs of the southwest, and the workshops are an associated organization. The workshops cover quite a range of subjects from technical “how to” courses to multi day photo trips. I’m somewhat ambivalent about photographing animals in a captive environment. On one hand it seems kind of like cheating, but from a realistic standpoint some of these animals are either rare enough or so remote in the wild that a trip to their natural habitat is plainly outside our means. One thing that doesn’t bother me, however, is the care and condition of these animals. Having met and observed some handlers and trainers, I’m comfortable with the care and effort made to keep the animals healthy and engaged. I realize that not every place operates to that high a standard, that’s why some research is helpful before deciding where you want to shoot.
Phil Ryan Photography 