Vetle Woxholt Photography

Monument Valley

Vetle — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:40:25 +0000

We escaped early from Grand Canyon – before it got completely packed with people again. Driving eastwards into the Navajo Nation was very special. The landscape changed it’s character constantly, and around every turn there where something new to see. A detour was made to the Navajo National Monument to see the old ruins, unfortunately we didn’t have the opportunity or time to hike down into them.

Monument Valley, being a part of the Navajo Nation is absolutely worth a stopover. So we decided – for the first time on our journey – to stay an extra night. That made us able to do a full day of guided tour into the Valley, and see areas (Mystic Valley) that not are open to the public without a local guide. All guiding here are done by Navajo Indians, and our guide for the day, Rosy, did her best to make the day unforgettable. Because of some snow falling last winter, and the “wet” spring (I guess by wet they mean they had a shower or maybe two), together with less hot temperatures than usual, the vegetation was green and lush. Beautiful against the red rock-faces. At the end of the day the wind got heavy, and I still find fine red dust at the most amazing places on my tripod.

Next day we got up early to enjoy the spectacular sunrise from Goldings Ranch before heading further northeast towards Moab.

Grand Canyon

Vetle — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:51:05 +0000

Grand Canyon is not the most easy place to photograph. One reason is that most angles are already well covered and the place is almost photographed to death… Anyway, it is an overwhelming experience to be there, both because of the dimensions of the canyon itself, and also because of the number of people visiting – at least at the South Rim.

We arrived at South Rim in the afternoon, and was lucky to find a spot to park the car not too far away. While walking in the direction of the rim shuttle bus stop, we came across a small hummingbird. I’ve never seen them so little shy. The one I photographed was captured with a 24-70mm from about a meter away. It didn’t look bothered at all.

After some time waiting in the shuttle bus queue, we got a free seat and a noisy ride along the rim. We stayed on the shuttle until we came to The Abyss where we jumped off. Our plan was to walk back along the rim trail back to Hopi Point and be there in time for sunset. We barely made it. When we finally got there, the place was completely filled up, with no space left for photographing the sunset, but I didn’t mind. While the sun still was up, I was busy making photos of the rock faces to the east. Most people had their back turned this way, so there was no problem shoehorning in a tripod along the east fence. As soon as the sun set below the horizon people left for the bus queue in a hurry, and I could easily relocate my tripod and camera to the west fence having the view to the west almost to my self. The colours and the atmosphere where majestic.

Las Vegas

Vetle — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:52:50 +0000

About Las Vegas you can say anything or nothing. After having visited the City 4-5 times for business purposes, this was the first time I stayed here deliberately. Not being a gambler, I normally get fed up of Vegas after a few very short days. You have to go there yourself to understand. It’s a city you either love or hate. Being on the route between Death Valley and Grand Canyon, it is however a natural stopover. Great and not too expensive hotels, good food and a variety of shows and things to do make up for the sticky glamorous appearance, that falters as soon as you move a bit away from the strip. Photographers (well, some at least) tend to love the city for it’s colours and splendor. There is always something to point your lens at. Also for me… After an afternoon of walking around I actually had a few photographs to show. Here you go:

One very nice thing, though, about Las Vegas, is that the city gives easy access to some of the fine National Parks in the US southwest. The city is naturally well connected, both by roads and airlines, and therefor is a great entry point for those who like to visit the Parks. To the west is Death Valley (3-4 hours), and to the East are Grand Canyon (south rim = 6-7 hours), Zion (3-4 hours) and Bryce (my favorite, 5-6 hours). All within a few hours drive. For those who don’t want to go this far, there is always the possibility to pay Valley of Fire a visit. This little gem of a park is just an hour and a half away.

BTW, I’m experimenting with a new theme for my blog. It’s not finished implemented yet, and it will need some tweaking, but I might go for this. Hope you like it.

Death Valley

Vetle — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:07:04 +0000

We drove into Death Valley in the late afternoon. Earlier, back at Alabama Hills, we met this nice English couple, who told us about a fabulous dirt road to seek out in the valley, the Titus Road. Luckily our rental car was a Jeep, which is higher above the ground than normal cars, something we soon learned was a good thing. To enter the Titus road we had to drive northeast through the park and a little into Nevada. The road is a one way drive, and the reason became clear quite soon. There simply where no places to meet cars coming in the opposite direction. I believe this is one of the most fun road I’ve driven in the US, and very scenic. Along the road we passed an old ghost town, Leadville. The real treat, though, came at the end where the road headed into a several miles long slot canyon. Just an amazing drive.

Unfortunately we missed the sunset at Zabriske Point, but we got early up the next morning to beat the other tourists to our point of interests. Images below are from Devils Golfcourse, Artists Palette and Zabriske Point. We where also down at Badwater (first), but I didn’t get any good images from there I’m afraid…

After Zabriskes point, the road to Vegas is pretty straightforward and not too long. So, we headed in that direction for a decadent night at Belagio.

Eastern Sierras – What a place…

Vetle — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 17:57:47 +0000

After an early morning at Mono Lake we where up for a nice breakfast. I have this favorite breakfast place close to Silver Lake that is just unbeatable. So we headed up the June Lake Loop to get there. Here’s an image from Silver lake:

One of the other photographers down at Mono Lake tipped me on a valley in the direction of Bishop that possibly could be a good spot for photographing flowers. The place was called McGee Creek and after a little fooling around we found the place. Heading up the trail from the parking lot there where some places that had interesting flowers, but some of them, like the Mule ears, where over it’s peak.

After McGee Creek we headed down to Bishop to find our hotel for the night before driving up to the White Mountains for an afternoon walk among the ancient bristlecones. Amazing to see these old trees (some of them believed to be more than 4000 years old). The view down into Owens Valley are stunning from the 11.000+ feet high mountain range.

After a late (but delicious) Mexican dinner down in Bishop and a good night sleep, we drove down to Lone Pine and into the Alabama Hills region. Alabama Hills has been the location for many Western film movies, and it is remarkable how it stands out from the mountain range behind with Mount Whitney guarding over it all. The weather was spectacular with rain and dark clouds over Mount Whitney, while the Alabama Hills was sunny and warm. Seeing Mount Whitney through the arch in this setting was just a treat.

After one and a half short days in the Eastern Sierra area, we filled up the car with gaz and headed for Death Valley (next). Next time I will for sure allocate more of my limited amount of holiday to the Owens Valley and it’s surroundings.

Back to Mono Lake

Vetle — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:59:43 +0000

After a short night sleep we headed out early to be at the South Tufa area at Mono Lake in due time before sunrise. Last time I was here, in May 2007, I was a student at a workshop with Thom Hogan. I had to drive up and down 395 two-three times before I remembered where to turn of the road in order to go to the South Tufa’s, and lost some valuable time. How could I forget the turnoff location and Thom’s words about scouting a location up front..? Anyway, here is one of my Mono Lake images from the workshop in 2007:

Mono Lake Tufa's at sunrise - Nikon D200, 30sek. exposure

So, we arrived a bit later than I ideally would prefer, and found that some of the best spots already where occupied by other early birds, but I soon found a decent angle, got my tripod in place and started shooting. The clouds where better now than in 2007, but still far from perfect. Lucky are those photographers that live in this amazing area at the East side of the Sierras. How great it would be to be able to drop down here every now and then instead of every other year… Well, well. I guess the grass is always greener… Here are three of my Mono Lake images from 2009:

US 2009 – Mariposa & Yosemite

Vetle — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:58:33 +0000

Our journey started in San Francisco. After 9 or 10 long hours on a KLM flight from Amsterdam, we where happy to be able to stretch our legs again. One hour later we had our rental car (a 4 wheel drive Jeep) and asked the GPS to kindly send us in the direction of Mariposa. A GPS is really not necessary in the US, except for when driving into or leaving a city. Mariposa, being a typical small town thriving on some tourism because of it’s proximity to Yosemite, was OK enough. We got a good dinner, and found a place where we could taste some local organic wine and listen to stories for a while – and dived early into bed.

Up at 3am next morning – mentally still on European time, and headed into Yosemite where we entered the park about 5am. To our joy we found that very few others had got out of bed yet, so the park looked beautiful and deserted in the early morning light. We found the Mist trail trail-head, parked the car and started heading up along the trail about 6am. A few other early birds where there along with us, but we later found out that being early was a smart move. The trail got really crowded later on.

The plan was to head upwards along the Mist trail, and turn at the upper waterfall (there are two waterfalls along this part of the Merced river, Vernal fall and Nevada fall). This hike would be about 9km with an elevation of 600 meters. Standing at the top of Nevada fall the temptation to go further got to big and we started on to the trail in the direction of Half Dome. About two hours later, I was standing at the top. Total elevation from the valley floor was 1463 meters, and the round trip length 22,4 km. Not bad for a first day in the US. On our way down along the trail, we even saw a brown bear with a small cub. What a start. We headed out of the park via the Tioga road, and got down to Lee Vining in time for dinner at the gas station (they actually serve very good food there), and passed out as soon as our heads found the pillow at the Lake View Lodge. Next: Eastern Sierra.

My D700 is dead! R.I.P. my trusty Nikon

Vetle — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:26:35 +0000

I just couldn’t believe what I saw. My Nikon D700 all beaten up and in pieces after being run over by a pickup truck…. I could cry, and felt much like a five year old finding his dearest toy destroyed. It took me two days before I was able to smile again.

After two weeks of happy holiday driving around in South-West US together with my wife, we had arrived in Oregon to stay with our friends Kari and James for a couple of days. The weather got hot in the afternoon, and we decided to go up to their little pond in the woods for a swim. My D700 joined us – as always. Being afraid to get it splashed, I put it a few meter away from the water – together with my clothes and watch. Nearby two guys where cutting some of Kari and James’ timber, and had driven their pickup truck all the way up to have easy access to their gear. Without me noticing, one of them decided to turn the truck around. I will never forget the sound of my D700 being ripped apart…

And seriously, I would never have believed I could mourn a camera. I know it’s silly, but I do. Only one year old, it has been a trusty friend on many a journey.
When I came back home, I took it to the shop. In cooperation with Nikon Service they declared it dead and wrote the final death certificate. My insurance company, TrygVesta, was very helpful – and unbelievable fast – in handling the case, so money for a new camera and lens is already on it’s way. Believe me, I will pay my insurance with joy over the next years… A new D700 is ordered, but I don’t know… Right now I miss the old trusty one… It will go on my shelf as it is – as a reminder of what so easily can happen if you don’t pay enough attention.

Here is one of the last pictures captured with the late D700 up in Oregon:

May it’s soul and fantastic IQ thrive in camera heaven. Goodbye old friend.

More images from our journey to the South-West US – before the fatal event – will arrive later.

Shooting Flowers

Vetle — Tue, 05 May 2009 17:52:04 +0000

Spring is finally here, and together with springtime all sorts of flowers pops up from the ground. The warm and sunny weather the last week has caused an explosion of green vegetation and colorful flowers. At Ølberg the other day I worked a little with these flowers which I believe is called Heartsease in English (Viola Tricolor in Latin). They are not very high above the ground (about 10-15 cm), so to capture them like this I had to go flat on my belly.

Black and Whites from Høgsfjorden

Vetle — Sat, 02 May 2009 19:37:37 +0000

I was out walking with a group of other people to a mountain nearby Stavanger called Vårlivarden. On our way up to the top, we had this terrific view over Høgsfjorden. Cloudy and misty weather with beams of sun comming through… Just nice! Had to make the images into B/W’s. I used Matt Kloskowski’s B/W Lightroom presets (can be found at http://www.lightroomkillertips.com/ together with a bunch of other helpful Lightroom presets) as a part of the processing.