Picture This

Our Picture This! assignment this month was Red Rock, and we were treated to wonderful images from all around the great American West. If you’ve traveled the many roads and trails through Red Rock Country you know what a photographic treasure it is; if you haven’t, plan a road trip soon! Readers sent in photographs from the Southwest and parts north that showed the amazing shapes, forms, and colors that nature shares with all of us and that we always love to photograph. As we went through all the images we admit to making notes to visit places we hadn’t seen, and to revisit those classic sites that are always filled with photo ops.

Sandstone Waves

Dave Hammaker gave a close to far vista of North Coyote Buttes in Arizona with a Pentax 645AF on Kodak Ektachrome E100VS film. No exposure information provided but we hazard a guess that it involves a fairly narrow aperture. © 2009, Dave Hammaker, All Rights Reserved

Colorado National Monument

This stunning vista was photographed by Isabel C. Rodriguez with a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi and a Tamron 28-300mm lens. Exposure at ISO 100 was f/7.1 at 1⁄320 sec. © 2009, Isabel C. Rodriguez, All Rights Reserved

Red Rock Canyon

These startling formations were photographed by Richard Starrett with a Nikon D80 and a Nikkor 18-200mm lens. Exposure at ISO 200 was f/8 at 1⁄250 sec. © 2009, Richard Starrett, All Rights Reserved

Moab Mountain Lion

We couldn’t believe the “catch” of Dewain Maney of this mountain lion making a leap in Moab, Utah. He photographed with a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II and a Canon 24-70mm lens. Exposure at ISO 500 was f/13 at 1⁄400 sec. © 2009, Dewain Maney, All Rights Reserved

Painted Hills, OR

“Yes,” photographer Don Charlton wrote, “there is Red Rock Country in Oregon.” To prove it he photographed this detail of the formations with a Canon EOS 5D and a 28-135mm lens at ISO 160 at f/8 at 1⁄125 sec. © 2009, Don Charlton, All Rights Reserved

Capitol Reef National Park

Jeffrey Botkin juxtaposed the faded homestead with the brilliant Red Rock and deep shadows behind with a Canon A3 on Fujichrome Velvia slide film. No exposure information was available. © 2009, Jeffrey Botkin, All Rights Reserved

Canyonlands National Park

This amazing vantage point was the subject of a number of entries, but Thomas Kirchen’s photograph added an amazing feel of reflected light into the mix. He photographed with a Nikon D1X and a Nikkor 28-70mm lens with an exposure of f/16 at 1⁄10 sec. © 2009, Thomas Kirchen, All Rights Reserved

View From Teardrop Arch

James Edmiston made this view of Monument Valley with a Canon EOS Digital Rebel and a Canon 28-105mm lens; exposure at ISO 100 was f/25 at 1⁄30 sec. “This is not,” he assured us, “a composite.” © 2009, James Edmiston, All Rights Reserved

Bryce Sunrise

Maryanne O’Shaughnessy caught the light with a Nikon D200 and a Nikkor 70-200mm lens. Exposure was f/11 at 1⁄250 sec. © 2009, Maryanne O’Shaughnessy, All Rights Reserved

Valley Of Fire, NV

The intricate shapes and color of the Valley of Fire was captured by Sharp Todd with a Nikon D300 with an exposure of f/11 at 1⁄60 sec at ISO 100. © 2009, Sharp Todd, All Rights Reserved

Arches National Park

We really enjoyed this unique group portrait by Allen Novick, photographed with a Canon EOS-1D and a Canon 24-70mm lens. © 2009, Allen Novick, All Rights Reserved

Mexican Hat, UT

Myers Walker’s photograph shows how rug designs came from the hills. He worked with a Canon PowerShot G7; no exposure information was supplied. © 2009, Myers Walker, All Rights Reserved

Bryce Afternoon, HDR

Jeffrey Ornstein made this composite from three images photographed with his Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III. © 2009, Jeffrey Ornstein, All Rights Reserved

Arches National Park

No, this isn’t digital combination work. John T. Parkinson worked with a Pentax 67 and a 45mm f/4 lens on a Bogen 3221 tripod with a 3055 head. He double exposed Ektachrome 200 slide film; the first exposure was six hours at f/4 during the night to record the star trails and the second was f/4 at 1⁄250 sec with a polarizer made after sunrise to record the formations. © 2009, John T. Parkinson, All Rights Reserved

Ojito Wilderness, NM

Tom and Lori Parker sent us this stark landscape photographed with a Nikon D700 and a Nikkor 14-24mm lens. Exposure at ISO 200 was f/11 at 1⁄400 sec. © 2009, Tom and Lori Parker, All Rights Reserved