Navajo Country

[Downrigger]

My recent absence was owed to an off the grid tour of some great country in northern Arizona. All three of these are from lands owned by the Navajo. The first is a shot of spider rock, in Canyon de Chelly, in which is found a thousand prehistoric dwellings ranging widely in age. The second two images are taken in Monument Valley, managed as a park by the Navajo, who dwell in and around it. C&C more than welcome.

[deetheturk]

Great images Mark,looks like your trip was worthwhile bud,well done!

[terrib]

Quite nice, Mark. I really like the color in the first one and the feeling of the vast space involved in the others.

[zen]

Number #2, Mark, is brilliant! The mittens, I believe.

Have visited Monument Valley several times, taken the selfie tour, etc., and I dream about images like yours. The sky says it all.

For me, color is beautiful, but monotone conveys the mood that one can only feel by being there in person.

Good for you and thanks for sharing.

Zen

[Mike Buckley]

Canyon de Chelly is one of my favorite places, mostly because the canyon is large enough to be enjoyable and small enough to take in. Your image of Spider Rock brings back great memories.

Your photos of Monument Valley also bring back super memories. The cloud formations that you captured are great. Consider cropping the black-and-white one to about an 8 x 10 aspect ratio that eliminates the butte and the rise to it on the left; I want to see either more of it or none of it.

[Downrigger]

Thank you very much, David and Terri. Always, when you look at what you captured you realize much you could have done better, these are no exception, but I sure enjoyed the capture process, and the time spent on them later on.
Thank you too, very much, Zen. The second is looking north from the homecoming loop on the mitten trail - the mittens are to my right (east). I have some of the mittens - yet to be fooled around with.
Right about de Chelly, Mike, it has wonderful proportions and scale. Thanks for your suggestion on the B&W - you found a major issue I struggled with. Without the partial butte it is tough to create much interest beyond "there they are" with such a monotonous foreground, but I agree, the partial nature of the butte is sort of annoying. Oh well, something to figure out next trip.

[RichardTaylor]

Beautiful series. Makes me want to visit there.

[Shadowman]

Nice images.

[FootLoose]

Mark, I was sitting here staring at the 2nd thinking what a great mono landscape it is, love the processing etc, and then I scrolled to the third and loved the colour processing too! They're all great, well done.

[Downrigger]

Thank you, you should indeed visit, Richard, much much more in that region. Thank you too John. Greg, that's an awfully nice complement, I appreciate it.

[dedro]

# 2 feels and looks like i am sitting right outside enjoying the view....good job Mark!

[IzzieK]

Mark...it is worthwhile already what you share here with us...I was actually wondering the other day why I haven't seen any remarks from you on anything...So these shots explains it well. I love #2 a lot...love those strong clouds.

[flashback]

#2 blew my mind. It's just...perfect. Looks like a scene from a John Ford western.
Wall Hanger!

[Kyle]

They're all great shots. I think the view from the first one is amazing. The b&w in the second works very well.

[FrankMi]

I really love the first one Mark and I particularly appreciate the vantage point. My eye can wander all through the canyons but always comes back to Spider Rock to rest. The image depth is amazing and the strong shadow places emphasis in exactly the right point in the scene.

[Downrigger]

Nice to hear from all of you on these. Thanks, all for looking and commenting. Dedric, views everywhere there... you have to get ove, just a few hundred miles past Vegas. Jack – I edited that one in my truck camper with the laptop on the inverter – thanks. Kyle and Frank – that’s right at the end of the road up the south side of that de Chelly. Shot wide, it needed some distortion and vertical tweaking. I feel lucky about the time of day I was there. Izzie! Nice to see that smiling face.

[Mike Buckley]

Looks like a scene from a John Ford western.

You're probably aware that Monument Valley was one of John Ford's favorite places to film westerns.

[Downrigger]

Ford and others also filmed in the Moab area - this is the LaSalles from the Colorado a few miles upriver from Moab. We didn't stop over at Arches, where I think the intensity of photography may actually be a source of erosion.

[John 2]

Glorious Landscape. I envy you the opportunity. Nice shots.

[Brownbear]

#2 for me. Stunning! The sky is pure magic.