April 2022

Tools of the Trade
Two Guns, Arizona
2022

The weather has been quite dreary here the last week or so. Maybe that’s what prompted me to do some work in color for a spell.

I’ve mentioned before how every square foot of wall space at Two Guns seemed to be covered with graffiti, so I was surprised to see only a few empty spray paint cans laying around. This one was particularly unusual as it was standing up when I came across it, just as shown in the photo. Perhaps it was meant as the final signature on some graffiti artist’s work–like the spray paint version of a mic drop.

Sparse Shade
Meteor Crater, Arizona
2022

Although of dubious relief on a hot day, the pergola cover over another viewpoint at the Meteor Crater casts interesting shadows on the rock wall behind the platform. Very zebraesque.

Shadow Stepping
Meteor Crater, Arizona
2022

I am likely one of the few people, maybe the only one, who has ever visited Arizona’s Meteor Crater site and took photos of shadows on the ground but none of the crater itself. It was an impressive crater, but at midday, in harsh light with no clouds, I could muster no enthusiasm for photographing it. It just came across as a big, boring hole in the ground (albeit one with quite an interesting backstory). Walking down the steps from a viewpoint though, I was quite attracted to the pattern of railing shadows on the steps.

A Moment in the Sun #3
Butler Wash, Utah
2022

Little Landscape #52
Butler Wash, Utah
2022

When walking in the convoluted canyons of southern Utah it’s easy to start seeing aerial views of canyon country in everything you see, including cracked and desiccated tree stumps.

So Many Choices, All Good
Butler Wash, Utah
2022

Pick any random side canyon in Utah and just start walking. You’re likely to find something interesting in any one of them. And because there are so many choices, few with designated trails, you’re very likely to have the place to yourself. The odds of solitude obviously go down in peak season but even then the occupancy rate is generally tolerable even for solitude-seeking hikers like myself. Pro-tip: parked vehicles seem to attract other parked vehicles so once you’ve picked your destination for the day, park somewhere that’s not an obvious choice for that particular route. Maybe the newcomers will walk the other way.

The Hockaday Museum of Art is the last stop for my exhibition Synthesizing Icons, which has been on a two-year tour of venues in Montana. The traveling exhibit is sponsored by SLAM (Support Local Artists and Musicians) and was chosen by MAGDA (Montana Art Gallery Directors Association) to be one of their touring exhibitions back in 2020.

Battlement Butte
Butler Wash, Utah
2022

A view from around the corner of the same butte from yesterday’s POTD.

Battlement Butte
Butler Wash, Utah
2022

As far as I know there is not official name for this particular edifice, so I felt free to make up my own name for it. In reality it is just one of many similarly interesting features in this part of Utah-way too many to name.

Desert Menagerie #2
Butler Wash, Utah
2022

A squid swimming in the water? A pigeon on skis going upside down over a jump? A caterpillar face? A jade plant growing in a pot? People dancing?  Your guess is as good (or better) than mine.