In case you ever wondered why it’s called a claret cup here is a side view…
These were everywhere last week when I took a private photo tour client onto Cedar Mesa. Join us October 5-7, 2012 for our fall Trail of the Ancients photographpy workshop on Cedar Mesa. Cedar Mesa is about 1.5 hours south of Moab.
Last week I had a client from Canada that wanted to spend time photographing on Cedar Mesa. We had a great time hiking into ruins, including getting into Bear Paw, a had-to-access ruin below Cave Tower Ruin. The most pleasant surprise, though, was the Claret Cup cacti that were blooming EVERYWHERE. We’ll be back on Cedar Mesa in 2012 for our Trail of the Ancients photography workshop and photo tour Octeber 5 – 7. This is a great trip for people who like to combine hiking with their photogrpahy.
Yesterday, a caller asked what kinds of wildflowers we might be encountering during our Crested Butte Wildflower Photography Workshop. She had a life list similar to those kept by birders. Well, here’s a list of what blooms in June and July:
Arnica, Aspen Daisy, Bedstraw, Bluebells, Blue Flax, Buckwheat, Case’s Fitweed, Cinquefoil, Columbine, Corn Lilly, Cow Parsnip, Currant, Daisy Fleabane, Elderberry, Elephant Heads (we’ll see these on our hike into Mexican Cut), Fair Slipper, Wild Geranium, Indian Paintbrush (red, magenta, green), Jacob’s Ladder, King’s Crown, Larkspur, Little Sunflower, Lupine, Monkey Flower, Monkshood, Monument Plane, Mountain Parsley, Mule’s Ears, Onion, Parry’s Primrose, Vine Pea, Rocky Mountain Pentstemon, Phlox, Prarie Smoke (about 3 acres of it!), Proter’s Lovage, Pussy Toes, Rock Jasmine, Scarlet Gilia, Senecio, Shooting Star, Shrubby Cinquefoil, Sneeseweed, Snowberry, Solomon’s Seal, Sweet Cicely, Violets, Wildrice, and Yarrow!
Girls at Mexican Cut with an Elephant Head
I just finished a 3 day private photography workshop with a guy from Canada where we spent 1 1/2 days in Moab and 1 1/2 days on Cedar Mesa. That was a really fun way to do a 3 day private session. It didn’t hurt that the guy was a solid hiker. Well, maybe it did… he walked me into the ground. Top photo is a mid-day shot of
Cave Tower Ruin. From there we scrambled down the side of the canyon to Bear Paw Ruin, below. You wouldn’t want to roll out of bed in your sleep if you lived here. It’s a very long way down.
Recent rains have rescued nearly all of Colorado from what started to look like a dismal wildflower season. Wildflowers should be abundant in July. I’m working on securing permission to hike into Mexican Cut, above Crested Butte. This is a pristine area owned by the Nature Conservancy, managed by the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, and is known to have Magenta and Green Paint Brush. I still have rooms reserved at the Old Town Inn.
UPDATE: This has been moved to July. Call me for details. 303-547-0807.
May 18, 19 and 20 I’ll be running night photography sessions in Arches and Canyonlands just outside Moab, Utah. I’ve timed this to sync with the New Moon so we have maximum starlight. I also run predictions on the position of the Milky Way and the plan is to get shots of great iconic sites with the Milky Way just above the horizon. Maximum group size is 3 people.
There is also space left on the July 7 and 8 Crested Butte Wildflower Workshop. The Crested Butte Wildflower Festival starts on the 9th, so I’ve time this to get us in there before the field get trampled. I have lodging reserved and there are 2 spaces left. Call me at 303-547-0807!
This is my 5th trip to the Everglades and the first time I’ve seen nests with Anhinga chicks. We saw 4 nests of Anhinga chicks. in this image a 3 week old chick has its head WAY down mom’s throat looking for its lunch.
My Barn Owl has won another award, this time the Sponsor’s Choic Award at the Tri-Lakes Visions of Light Show in Palmer Lake. This gives me a one-man show at the Bella Gallery in Colorado Springs in September!
Just returned from running my 5 day photography workshop THE EVERGLADES AND THE FLORIDA GULF COAST. Two participants who cumulatively fired over 8,000 shots in 5 days! This was a bird photographer’s delight and we found all but 2 of the birds on our list. The Red Shouldered Hawk below is a rare morph found only in a few spots in the Everglades.
