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Thirsty Thursday: Coppermine Road

Rambler: Beth

Drink at Hand: 2013 Ancient Peaks Pinot Noir

Thirsty Thursday here again! Time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. Sometimes the best weekend plans involve a road trip, so this week's story is from my recent road trip across the Desert Southwest. 

My first destination on that trip was Page, AZ with the main objectives of checking out Horseshoe Bend and the Antelope Slot Canyons. I arrived with a day to kill before my first canyon tour, and several hours to kill before the good light of sunset at Horseshoe Bend. So, I pulled out the trusty DeLorme Arizona Gazetteer to check out what was around. I noticed a geological feature on the map called "Hole in Rock" not far south of town on Coppermine Road. So off I went. 

I had no idea what this "Hole in the Rock" would look like, but I occasionally stopped to take other photos. There weren't a lot of rocks around to start. 

Eventually the desolate grassland-ish land transitioned to include more cedar trees, but still not a whole lot of rocks, which wasn't boding well for finding this "Hole in the Rock" place. 

Eventually I came to a T-intersection, signaling the end of Coppermine Road. I didn't find the "Hole in Rock" spot. Instead, I found myself in a dusty berg called "The Gap". A place large enough to have a post office, but not much else. 

I went north a bit on Highway 89. The road was dotted with Native American settlements under a towering red rock plateau. 

Eventually road construction forced me to turn around and re-trace my steps, back to The Gap, back up Coppermine Road, and past the unseen Hole in the Rock. But since I had no where to be, I stopped a few times to explore the details in the landscape. 

Just before I got back to Page, I found this vista. In the end, this vista meant I got to take some photos of rocks, which was the original objective. 

Get out there and find your own rocky landscape this weekend!

Thirsty Thursday: After the Horseshoe Sunset

Rambler: Beth

Drink at Hand: 2011 Ancient Peaks Jackpot Syrah

Thirsty Thursday here again, time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. We definitely poured a yummy one tonight--perfect wine to go with a Chinese-spiced grilled ribeye. But, on to the photos...

You might remember that this week's Two-Word Tuesday's photo locale was Horseshoe Bend near Page, AZ. Well, after I shot that sunset, there was still a fair amount of light, so I started wandering with the camera. The crowd around the horseshoe overlook was a little much for me, and in my quest for solace and personal time, wandering away from the overlook just felt right. 

I soon found myself drawn to the lines and layers in the rocks, along with the little plants and bushes clinging to the harsh, sandstone surface. 

And then, suddenly it seemed, it was dark. The week I was out and about, Venus and Mars were very close together at twilight just after sunset. So, here's Venus and a barely discernible Mars. 

Hopefully I can find some more fun rocks to shoot this weekend. 


Thirsty Thursday: About a Year Ago

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2009 Ventana Rubystone

About a year ago we were lost in the wilderness. Specifically, we were in the Eldorado National Forest Desolation Wilderness, CA searching for a place to camp and walking across seemingly endless granite. The Mas was enjoying everything about the adventure save the blisters on her paws from the granite. We were enjoying the views and watching her run around. Looking through the archive this evening, I stumbled across a few shots that neither of us posted. Happy virtual Friday!

Thirsty Thursday: On the Coast

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2008 Cobblestone Chardonna

​So, it's been another long week.  Actually, to be honest, it's been a long couple of weeks.  I don't know what it is lately but it's been rough.  I'm not sure why but it has. I'm sure it's been just me.  I hope everyone else has had a good couple of weeks.  The highlight of last week was our short little trip down the Big Sur coastline. I think we may need to do this more often as neither of us has taken very many photographs this year.  2013 is currently making itself out to be one our thinnest years as far as photography is concerned.  Perhaps that's okay.  Maybe we'll finally be able to sift through our early photography years (a.k.a., 2004-07ish).  

We should probably try and get out a bit more...at least as far as shooting is concerned. There was something about being behind the lens again trying to capture the moment.  Trying to create a feeling.  I'm sure things will pick up as winter turns to spring and we get into the swing of things this year.  Until then though, you may be seeing some old photos of ours for Thirsty Thursdays​.  Here's too looking forward to the end of the week and the start of a couple days of break.  Perhaps raise your glass to taking a few more photographs.  Cheers!

 
 

The Welliver Photography Best of 2012

Well, here it is...our best from 2012. Last year wasn't a particularly prolific year of shooting for us, but we did squeeze in a few trips for some focused shooting in new spots. It's always a challenge to narrow down our favorites from the past year to a manageable collection, and in the interest of length, we decided to limit ourselves to 12 images each. Feel free to leave a comment and tell us which images are your favorites! 

Marin County: Golden Gate Bridge at Sunrise by Beth.

Panoche, CA: Brilliant Sunset by Terry. 

Garrapata State Beach: Bowling Balls by Beth.

Kaiser Wilderness: Snowy Trees by Terry. 

Switzerland: Lone Tree on a Snowy Hill by Beth.

Desolation Wilderness: Trail along Lake Aloha by Beth.

Kaiser Wilderness: Snowy Scene by Terry. 

Front Yard, Spreckels: Poppies by Beth.

Switzerland: Kapellbrücke Nacht  (Chapel Bridge Night) in Lucerne by Terry.

Switzerland: Shreckhorn by Beth.

Switzerland: Hut and Eiger by Terry.

Switzerland: Three Alps by Beth.

Switzerland: The view from Männlichen by Beth. Not the best technical execution in this photo, but the story behind this photo is epic. Stay tuned for that blog! 

Big Sur: Bixby Bridge by Terry.

Twenty Lakes Basin, Hoover Wilderness: Trail beside Conness Lake by Beth.

Twenty Lakes Basin, Hoover Wilderness: Cascade by Terry.

Twenty Lakes Basin, Hoover Wilderness: Campsite by Beth.

Columbia River Gorge, Oregon: Multnomah Falls by Terry.

 

Manzanar National Historic Site: Prayer Flags by Terry. 

Columbia River Gorge, Oregon: Waterfall by Terry.

Monterey, CA: Mustang by Terry.

Alabama Hills: Lathe Arch by Terry.

Alabama Hills: Mobius Arch, Rock, and Sierra Crest by Beth.

Alabama Hills: Mobius Arch by Terry.

Iowa: Cold Morning by Beth.

Of course Massey is wondering why she isn't included, so here's a bonus image of the dog posing like a rockstar.

Alabama Hills: Massey in the Mobius Arch by Beth.

We compiled our Best of 2012 in order to participate in Jim Goldstein's annual "Best of" collaborative project. In the next couple week's he'll post a whole long list of links to similar "best of" posts from other photographers. Be sure to check out that list as there is some truly amazing and inspiring work out there! 

Thanks for supporting Welliver Photography in 2012. Big opportunities coming in 2013...plenty of adventures to new places on tap. Here's to textured skies and nice light!

All photographs in this post are available for purchase in our Best of 2012 gallery on our store.

Thirsty Thursday: Arch Hunting

Rambler: Terry Drink in Hand: 2009 Ventana Rubystone

During the long break last week, instead of fattening up on turkey or pie or both, we spent the week/weekend wandering around the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, CA. We were actually hoping that the weather for the trip would be quite miserable. In our heads, we have somehow translated miserable weather into quasi-cloudy skies which become fantastic sunrises or sunsets. But, alas, we had fantastic weather (good for the Massey) with no clouds in sight. This seems to be our lot in life lately. The clouds seem know when we want to shoot and just disappear (darn those high pressure systems). Although we didn't have any clouds in the sky, we had a fantastic time hiking around the hills, watching the Mas tear it up (a future Massey Monday), and just trying to find those keeper shots. The first day was all about looking for sunrise/sunset spots to shoot and, of course, hunting for arches. We'll have a future post full of the sunrise shots, but for this post, here's a few hunting for arches...and maybe a few of the gorgeous mountains.

Massey Monday: My Shoes!

I'm not sure of my new shoes. I kind of like them. They are red. Well, I really only like them when I'm running over sharp rocks...or a distance of less than a mile or so. Anything over a mile, or about a mile and a half, I'll just sit down in the middle of the trail and refuse to move until someone helps me take them off. I mean, come on, a mile, that's a long way!

Thirsty Thursday: Color-Free Joshua Tree

Rambler: Beth Drink at Hand: Fog Head Chardonnay...Monterey County makes some yummy chards!

Welcome back for another Thirsty Thursday! Time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. I found out today that I might head to the desert for work in a few weeks (who knew you could grow lettuce in the desert?!), which made me think back to my trip to Joshua Tree National Park last year. I had the privilege of having the park shown to me by a couple of incredible local photographers who just wanted shoot with some friends for a few days. It was a fun week.

I revisited the photos from that trip in the archives this week (mainly because the "archives" are getting much too large for our storage space) and found a few I didn't share yet. In that group were 3 images that I processed in Nik's Silver Efex. I'm in love with Silver Efex (now Silver Efex 2) for black and white processing. So enjoy a few rockscapes from Joshua Tree. Visiting there in winter is really nice. Just make sure to bring some pilars to get the cactus spins out of your shoes.

Get out there and do something fun this weekend!

Thirsty Thursday: Coastline Day Dreams

Rambler: Terry Drink in Hand: 2010 Prospect 49 Boomtown Red (blend)

All last week I sat through a computer class (a.k.a., a “bootcamp”). I suppose it was worthwhile, but, then again, in the big scheme of things, I’m not so sure. Of course, the class was intended to help me earn a certification that is required for my job. I took the class very seriously and studied as much as possible. I think I saw the light of day a few times the whole week. I hope I passed the test at the end of the course. But something in me longed to be doing something else. I suppose something has to pay the bills.

When I got back home, I was excited to hear about the adventures that Beth and Massey had on their hiking trip. Good times, and I’m sure she’ll be posting something on the blog soon. As for me, I started looking through past photographs and came across some from Garrapata State Beach just south of Carmel, CA. What a beautiful place! The colors, the shapes. Much better than memorizing terms or numbers.