Winter snow in May

As of next week, I will be caught up with photos. I hope you all didn't mind the wait. I have still been going out and taking pictures but with the new camera that I'm using it's proving a bit difficult to take quality photos. Unfortunately, it's not due to the mechanical side of things but the user side... I've tried reading the instructions but they didn't make as much sense as I would like. Maybe I'll be able to find a Dummy book for it... I was able to learn how to use the camera but I'm still having a hard time with the manual settings and how to change settings since I'm used to using the Rebel T1i and not the Rebel 6D. I'm slowly getting there.

I should also mention that I had forgotten I do have a couple of winter photos left. I don't feel bad about it considering the heat wave that Southern Utah has been having the past couple of weeks. Thankfully it's going to cool back down but until then...

This last photo I should mention was the first one I took where the sensor on my Rebel T1i began going out. It got to the point that I couldn't take a photo even in a cloudy setting. I couldn't even take photos indoors which was unfortunate considering I attended a graduation and most of my photos turned out underexposed. I was reviewing the photos while I was taking them so after the ceremony I began using other people's phones when they wanted a picture taken.

Brian Head, Utah Forest Fire

Before I put some more photos up I want to show a photo I took of the Forest Fire located up at Brian Head, Utah. This fire started last week after a man used a blow torch to burn some weeds on his property. The fire as you can tell quickly got out of hand and is currently the largest forest fire burning in the United States of America 42,800 acres. (According to the Salt Lake Tribune) Thankfully it has stalled out for the moment hopefully permitting the fire personnel to stop the fire from spreading closer to populated locations at the very least. 

Taken Tuesday evening with fire burning at ~1,800 acres

I should also add that blaming the guy who started the fire would be using him as a mere scapegoat. Yes, I agree that what he did was being stupid and ignorant without a doubt but our forests didn't die suddenly overnight. Anyone who's gone up there over the years and paid attention would agree that it's been ready to burn for years now. The guy may have pulled the trigger but we as a state assembled, loaded and aimed the gun a long time ago.

I tried taking a picture of the fire yesterday but the fire has spread so much that the smoke clouds aren't uniform like the one up above. If I want to get a better photo I will need to travel up the mountain a bit. Thankfully there are still areas that are far enough away from the fire where I won't be putting my life at risk. The last thing I want to do is put mine or another person's life at risk just so I can take a good photo.

18th June 2017

So far in the past two weeks, we’ve had two forest fires around Cedar City, Utah, United States of America. One being about twenty minutes West near a place called “Old Iron Town”. I have a friend living up there so it felt closer than other fires I’ve seen. The second fire started yesterday and in that short time, it had engulfed an estimated 957 acres of land as of last night. That one’s located at a place called Brian Head it being about 30 miles from Cedar City. Evacuations were issued later on that day for 750 people.  There has been a lot of dead trees up there over the years and this is the first fire that I’ve seen up there since moving to Utah in 2001.

As for the editing software that I'm using; I'm slowly but surely getting the hang of it, thankfully.  See you all next week.

Southern Utah Scenery

The photos that I have today are a mountain range that I drive by often when traveling on I-15 between St. George, Utah and Cedar City, Utah. While driving back home I decided to take a detour and take some pictures. I pulled off onto Black Ridge and came across a road that isn't seen on Google maps. I figured I'm up for an adventure and decided to take the road. I must admit it's somewhat nerve-wracking doing this when I haven't traveled much to the middle of nowhere. This is something I hope to change in my life. I traveled about 5 miles West and took these photos. I hope you enjoy them.

Yes, it's sand. Why you ask? Why not? 😊

See you all next week. 🙂

4th Jun 2017

I know that it's June but I wanted to post the last two pictures I have of Winter. 

I didn't realize how quickly I'm catching up with the pictures I've taken over the long hiatus. Thankfully I'm starting to get out and take more pictures and enjoy the beauties that Nature has to offer.

I originally was going to put this last picture on a later post but I want you to see a current photo rather than ones I've taken a couple of months ago. This picture was taken up and Woods Ranch west of Cedar City, Utah at 5:41 PM this past week. I originally thought it would look better first thing in the morning so I traveled back up to take another photo but the morning sun caused everything to blend together. I'm thinking it's mainly due to the clouds in this picture and the clear sky we had the following morning. I'm still interested on traveling back up and take a picture as the rising sun hits the back mountains and see how that will make things look.

28th May 2017

I started photography almost a year ago and have been trying to learn what I can from Youtube, articles and experience. The more I learn the more I realize just how much work it takes for a beautiful AND high quality photo. It did come as a surprise but it was a humbling realization. I've come to appreciate great photos that are shown online and instead of being discouraged by them they have begun to fuel the fire inside of me. I keep telling myself "I'm getting there." Talent will come.

The first four photos were taken this past February just up the Cedar City Canyon. Most of the snow had melted but some of the roads were still blocked off due to snow. It was fun to get out of town and into Mother Nature. I always enjoy taking a breather from civilization.

This last photo was taken in October of 2016 in St. George Utah. I have no idea who the person is and doubt the person will ever be known but it's still a pretty photo.

21 May 2017

After all this time I'm finally back. I apologize for the amount of time it's taken for me to start putting my pictures up once again.

I hope to eventually get to the point that I can consistently take great quality photos and share said photos with as many people as possible.