Las Vegas

Janine on Sherbet Hill, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.

Well, I made the name Sherbet Hill up.  I’m not sure if this amazing place has a name - as I have never seen a photo of this place, but I thought the name was fitting!

We meet up with some good friends from Seward recently, and I couldn’t wait to show them Valley of Fire, so we returned to the Park on Saturday.  I hit a couple of familiar spots, and tried unsuccessfully to find the Desert Bighorn.  We then decided to go for a nice hike.  I pretty much picked a random spot, and went a random direction in a trail-less area to see what we could find.  Well what was found is pictured above – I think it has to be one of the most unique and beautiful little places I have ever seen!  It  looked like someone had poured drums of paint down the side of this hill – words really don’t do it justice.

I have photos with and without Janine – I posted one with her in it for scale – in fact, I have all kinds of variations as there are pretty much an infinite number of possibilities here.  It was fairly overcast – ideal conditions for this colorful landscape.  I wish I had more time – I could spend weeks hiking this park, who knows what else it out there.

Take a look at more Valley of Fire photos

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Colorful sandstone, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.

The area around the White Domes is amazing.  There is yellow and nearly white sandstone along with the red, and in areas where the colors mix, there are some wonderful combinations of color and patterns.  You never know what surprises may await around the next corner, over the next rise, or even in the little nooks and crannies.  I couldn’t believe how fast time flew by as Janine and I explored this area – I look forward to going back and wandering around even further.

See more Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada pictures.

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Fire Cave, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.

I have also seen this secret spot referred to as Windstone Arch.  Whatever it is called, it is cool!

I’m always surprised at just how rich a glow is created when you have sun reflecting off red rock, onto more red rock.  I actually had to desaturate this a bit, although my camera does seem to run a bit hot with reds.   There is an endless number of areas worth exploring at Valley of Fire- numerous caves, arches, colorful sandstone, I’m surprised, but glad this area isn’t more popular.

See

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Desert Bighorn, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.

I have visited and written about Valley of the Fire State Park before, but I still forget what a wonderful gem this place is – Southern Utah gets all the red rock attention, but this place is really sweet. 

I spent a fair amount of time with this guy – this was captured after sunset, I really prefer this time of day for these desert animals.  Otherwise the sun is just too harsh. 

I hope you don’t get too tired of photos from Valley of Fire, but I have a few I want to share over the next couple of days.

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View from the top of the Stratosphere.

Talking about a room with a view!

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A Toby Keith video sign reflecting in a rain puddle on a sidewalk along the Strip, Las Vegas, Nevada.

I rotated this image 180 degrees so that the reflection wouldn’t be upside down like it appeared to me on the sidewalk.  I then flipped in horizontally so that what little text that did show would be readable. 

A cold, rainy night was a perfect night for photography on the Las Vegas Strip.  The streets and sidewalks glowed with wet reflected light, there were all kinds of fun reflections, and there were very few people!

For this image, I focused on the distant reflected image, and not on the much close sidewalk / puddle.  I then used a wide aperture ( f /4 ) to limit my depth of field – I preferred having the sidewalk out of focus.  I needed a tripod because of the 1/10 of a second shutter speed.  I then shot over and over trying to capture something interesting on the constantly changing video screen.

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Encore las Vegas, Nevada.

The new Encore is scheduled to open on December 22.  Judging from the outside, I get the feeling it is very similar to the Wynn.

We are finished updating our website including our section of Las Vegas photos, and a new section of proffesional poker player photos.

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Marie Osmond

I didn’t know Marie Osmond was such a “big” star – she must be 200 feet tall!

According to the newspaper, for some reason, some guest to the Flamingo have requested rooms behind her teeth and eyes.

We are now making the trek to our favorite quiet little desert town of Borrego Springs, California where we will clean things up and store our rig before making the long trek home. Because of this, the blog may be a little quiet the next few days.

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The Venetian, Las Vegas, Nevada.

I did photograph more then just poker players while in Las Vegas.

Here are more Las Vegas Photos.

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Daniel Negreanu at the WPT Festa al Lago Tounament, Bellagio, Las Vegas.

Daniel staring down an opponent during a hand. If I had to pick, Daniel would be my favorite player as he looks like he is always having a great time at the tables, laughing and joking with the other players – while usually winning!

If you remember my Phil Ivey post, you will know my last attempt to cover one of these World Poker Tournaments wasn’t very successful. This time we made the arrangements to get the necessary credentials in advance.

By the way, Daniel was the chip leader at the end of day two, but was eliminated just in the money on day 3.

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Downtown Las Vegas.

We have also updated our website with many new Las Vegas photos.  This is now one of our largest sections. 

We have also updated our section of nearby Red Rock Canyon, and added a new section from a afternoon spent at Valley of Fire State Park – I really look forward to returning to this beautiful, colorful area.

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Native rock art, Christmas Tree Pass (timely name), Lake Mead Recreation Area, Nevada.

Having wildflowers around just provides that many more composition possibilities, even for something like native American rock art. 

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Neon Sign, Las Vegas, Nevada.

I spent one evening doing nothing but photographing neon signs in Las Vegas.  There are some really interesting signs there!

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The Las Vegas Strip at night, Nevada.

I get many emails from photographers coming to Alaska asking about what type of clothing they will need – boots, rain gear etc.  Well to get this shot, I had to go out and get the proper clothing myself.  Yes, now I a pair of dress shoes, slacks and a dress shirt just for these type of opportunities. 

Here are more Las Vegas Photos.

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Las Vegas Panoramic.

Normally my blog posts are almost in real time.  Usually I prepare the post the same day I take the photo, and post to the blog the next morning.  Well I must admit Zion has been the exception.  We left Zion about a week ago, as soon as the fall colors faded, but I continued to post photos as if I was still there because we had some much fun and I had a lot I wanted to share! [click to continue…]

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Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.

I was really fortunate to find this patch of Sacred Datura wildflowers right before sunset.  I wish I had a little more time to work this location, the sun was setting fast- I’m tempted to return to this spot.

Here are more Valley of Fire State Park photos.

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The road winding through the Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.

I think this provides a pretty good preview of what the landscape is like in this beautiful state park.

Here are more Valley of Fire photos.

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Fire Canyon, Valley of Fire State Park Nevada 

Man, Valley of Fire State Park is awesome!  Endless geographical colors and patterns, the photo opportunities are everywhere.  Despite numerous recommendations, I had never visited this state park – I won’t make that mistake again, heck it is only an hour from Las Vegas.

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The Venetion Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. 

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For exercise, photography and fun, we have been mountain biking out at Red Rock Canyon near Las Vegas.  [click to continue…]

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New York New York, Las Vegas.  They were so excited about that name that I guess that felt it needed repeating. [click to continue…]

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