Untrampled Navajo Nation, Arizona 2013

This type of badland terrain is very fragile; walking on it even when it is dry leaves very definite footprints. How long does it take for those footprints to disappear? A week if it’s windy or rainy? A month? A year? Decades? The large tracts of such ground in Arizona gives me at least the illusion that it’s not seen a human footprint in a long, long, time. Given there are not a lot of reasons for someone to want to walk all the gullies and valleys of this barren country, it makes me wonder if there are some areas that have never seen a human footprint at all.]]>

Spread’em Hubbell Trading Post, Arizona 2013

A raven soaring over Hubbell Hill spreads it’s wings to the max. It may be my imagination but it seemed to me the feathers on Arizona ravens are lighter colored on the underside than those on the ravens in Montana. They are certainly better at posing for me than those around here; in terms of detail this is one of the best airborne raven shots I think I’ve ever taken.]]>

Raven Wall Canyon de Chelly, Arizona 2013

I don’t usually carry my heavy 500mm telephoto lens with me when I hike because, well because it’s too heavy. But for some reason on one of my hikes down into Canyon de Chelly I did. It turns out that having it in my pack wasn’t much better than having it in the car because the only time I felt like using it was when I saw this raven flying back and forth across the face of the canyon wall above the White House Ruins. There was obviously not time enough to switch lens so before the raven flew up and out of the canyon I took a few shots with the lens I did have on the camera, a 22-135mm (35mm equivalent) zoom. At least I had the camera around my neck, not packed away with the 500mm lens. This was the best of the few shots I got. I actually like it a lot. That it presents the broader view gives it more drama I think. I like how the abstract nature of the background gives the impression the raven is flying through a surreal storm of some sort.]]>

Wind Power Navajo Nation, Arizona 2013

A back-road tumbleweed barreling down toward me on a very windy afternoon.

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The Old Rocking Chair Ganado, Arizona 2013

 

This image reminded me of two songs. The first was Jerry Jeff Walker’s version of the song The Old Rocking Chair. I couldn’t find a video of his recording so here’s one by Gary P. Nunn:

 

  The other song, perhaps more appropriate given the condition of the chair and easier on the ears for those who are country music averse, is Bob Dylan’s Everything is Broken:  

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Downward-Facing Raven Hubbell Trading Post, Arizona 2013

Several times during my artist residency, I spent time on Hubbell Hill on windy days to photograph passing ravens. When they hit the turbulence and updrafts at the top of the hill they would often perform acrobatics; diving straight down for a bit, flying upside down in barrel rolls, scrapping with each other and otherwise inventing what could have been dynamic aerial yoga positions.

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Horsehead Nebula Ganado, Arizona 2013

Yesterday’s celestial theme must have stuck in my brain. See the real Horsehead Nebula here.]]>

Celestial Fork Hubbell Trading Post, Arizona 2013

You have to be up very late at night in a very dark environment to see this celestial phenomenon when you look at the night sky–or else you have to come across part of an old metal fork sitting on a cold metal cabinet on a frosty morning.]]>

Night Watch Hubbell Trading Post, Arizona 2013

The scarecrow at Hubbell prepares to guard it’s fallow garden plot from things that go bump in the night. Given the construction of the scarecrow, an obvious name for this photo came to mind, but I did not use it as I believe it would be considered a derogatory term to many (although it was used as the title for a novel and a subsequent indie movie).  ]]>

Early Warning Canyon de Chelly, Arizona 2013

I really enjoyed the mostly warm fall weather on my artist residency in Arizona, but this snowstorm (which didn’t really amount to much) that came through one day was a reminder to me of what I had waiting for me back in Montana, e.g., the six inches or so we’ve received since yesterday. I don’t think this storm is quite done yet either.

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