Dappled light at a canyon overlook, Utah
Claudia and I are finally on our way home after our long road trip. It’s been a fantastic journey, and we really don’t want it to end, but we’ll be back on the road again soon, heading to the Oregon Coast. That’s one of my favorite places to photograph, so I’m looking forward to that already.
I’ve made lots of new images on this trip that I’m excited about. It’ll take some time to sort through and process them all, but here are a few photos from one stormy day in Utah.
Forecasts called for rain and possible thunderstorms that day, so we made a long drive over dirt roads to a viewpoint that I thought might look interesting in stormy weather. On the way we got dumped on, and in the middle of the downpour I jumped out of our car and snapped this photo of a rock formation with rain and sunbeams:
Thunderstorm over a rock formation, Utah
We soon left the rain behind, and arrived at the viewpoint just in time to see a thunderstorm passing over a canyon in the distance:
Rain falling over a canyon, Utah
Later spots of sunlight broke through and lit the canyon. The sky was almost completely overcast except for some small holes in the clouds creating dappled light in just the right places. Pretty lucky. You can see my favorite moment with that dappled light in the photograph at the top of this post.
I’ll post more images from our road trip as I sort through and process them. And I have lots of photos from Greenland I haven’t shared yet! Stay tuned…
— Michael Frye
Related Posts: Autumn Road Trip; Greenland Fiords
Michael Frye is a professional photographer specializing in landscapes and nature. He lives near Yosemite National Park in California, but travels extensively to photograph natural landscapes in the American West and throughout the world.
Michael uses light, weather, and design to make photographs that capture the mood of the landscape, and convey the beauty, power, and mystery of nature. His work has received numerous awards, including the North American Nature Photography Association’s 2023 award for Fine Art in Nature Photography. Michael’s photographs have appeared in publications around the world, and he’s the author and/or principal photographer of several books, including Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters, and The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite.
Michael loves to share his knowledge of photography through articles, books, workshops, online courses, and his blog. He’s taught over 200 workshops focused on landscape photography, night photography, digital image processing, and printing.
I love photographing the landscapes of Utah, and your photos here are outstanding. And you got some great weather and light.
Thanks Ted! Utah is amazing.
I’ve been to Utah many times to photograph and explore. You created some beautiful images. Some people may think this was poor weather, but it can create some dramatic scenes. However, being on Utah’s dirt roads during/after a rain can be very tricky, as I found out several years ago in Canyonlands. It was an adventure! 😉
Thanks Alan! We were mindful of what can happen to dirt roads in the rain, especially clay surfaces. And heavy rain can cause a section of road to wash out or flood. You definitely don’t want to be in a wash or narrow canyon with heavy rain upstream. I hope your “adventure” ended up being a good tale to tell and nothing more serious.
One of the most satisfying feelings a landscape photographer can have is the one that comes from knowing you have memory cards full of great images waiting to be processed. This was really the case back in the days of film. This sense of anticipation comes through in your account of your recent trip. Your Utah canyon shots are awesome, and best described by the word, exciting! I love the cottonwoods in fall color snaking through the bottom of the canyon. Show me more!
I remember well the sense of anticipation with film. Digital photography shortens the wait considerably, but there are always surprises, both good and bad – photos that you thought would be good, but don’t hold up when you see them on a larger screen, or photos that you almost forgot you’d made, but turn out to be favorites. Anyway, thanks for the kind words, and I loved having those cottonwoods there too.
Absolutely stunning. Sounds like an amazing trip.
Thanks Doug! We certainly had a great time.
I love Utah and wish I had more time, maybe sometime I’ll be back. Yours is superb Michael!
Thank you Randy, and I hope you’re able to return to Utah soon!