sandstone

Stills in the slot canyon

In the heart of desert sandstone lay slot canyons carved by water as it courses down after sudden squalls. The sinuous walls of the canyon, etched by eons of wind and water, reveal intricate layers, like ancient manuscripts waiting to be deciphered. Wandering the multitude of canyons in Navajo Nation was a perfect opportunity to explore the delicate beauty hidden within rugged depths. A black and white treatment for these images helps focus on the patterns and details, rather than the muted colors that the canyon originally presented.

Navajo Nation
AZ USA

Chasms in the sandstone

In the red sandstone canyons of the Navajo Nation, there lies one replete with mysterious curves that bend and reflect the light in strange ways. Even mid-day sometimes never makes it down the canyon, but it highlights the striations that wind along the sinuous walls. Its a delightful photographic journey to walk down the canyon and immersing in the beautiful creation of water.

Navajo Nation
AZ USA

A Village in Sandstone

This entire week is going to be a series of photos from Turkey. One of my dreams had been to explore the unique geological formations that dominate the Cappadocia region of Turkey, both from the ground and from the air. And as I explored this region, I was fascinated not just by the colorful rock formations of various shapes and sizes, but the fact that this is a living museum which has been inhabited since 6th century BC.

Amidst the sandstone formations lay hidden multiple churches carved into the fairy chimneys ubiquitous in the region, as well as tiny towns that blend both in color and shape with these sandstone formations. Walking through narrow trails that wind through the area provided a unique perspective into this amalgam of earth and life.

Cappadocia
Nevsehir Turkey

The Marching Elephants

I awaited in eerie darkness in the high desert on the border between Arizona and Utah. All around, I could sense the monolithic rock formations that dot this desert, but I could never really see them. The faint dawn light slowly crept across the sky westward, and added structure to the sensation.

As the darkness eased, I could see the nearest butte, looking like a marching elephant trundling westward. More time passed, and I could make out the details of the buttes further away. Nameless rock formations towered above the folds of desert landscape, and acquired a pink glow from the morning light. The land grew richer in detail until the first light of day struck the tips of these buttes.

This visit to the tribal park of the Navajo Nation was perhaps one my most memorable ones. I will never forget the vast Jon Waynesque landscapes I got to experience. And right now, the population of the Navajo nation are facing two major challenges: both the impact of lower tourism, and the high number of cases amongst the populate. It will be a while before normalcy returns to this sacred land

Monument Valley Tribal Park

UT USA

The Waterpocket Fold

There are not a lot of places on this planet where one can see the earth's surface folded up like a crumpled piece of paper. The Waterpocket fold that dominates the heart of Capitol Reef National Park in southern Utah is one of those other-worldly places where smooth red sandstone lies next to and above strata stretching back hundreds of millions of years.

And while I had only 36 hours to explore the nooks and crannies of this beautiful National Park, the sheer diversity of landscapes revealed by the Fremont river eroding away at the Waterpocket fold was mind-boggling. I hope I return some day to explore more of this unique corner of Utah.

Capitol Reef National Park
UT USA

Delights of Bryce

Seven years ago, I had stepped foot in a fairytale. Tall red hoodoos in impossible shapes and crimson shades towered over the trail and every turn in the corner brought out even more mystical shapes. The vibrant red and orange landscape was peppered with deep green pine trees somehow surviving in this orchre terrain. It was like walking through nature's recreation of a medina, complete with tiny alleyways lined towering houses painted in an coat of orange.

Climbing out of the aptly named peekaboo canyon, I got to look upon this fairytale land, a land which impressed upon me how water can act in mysterious ways.

Bryce Canyon National Park

UT USA

The High Point

The high point on the landscape was a tall sandstone butte towering above the desert environs; the deep red twilight clouds amplified the ochre sandstone, turning it into a shade of vibrant pink. As I watched, the deep reds slowly turned to dark shades of twilight, signalling the end of a beautiful day in Monument Valley Tribal Park in the Southwest of USA

From the mystic slot canyons in Page, through the windy roads that twisted their way through the colorful desert terrain of northern Arizona, the entire trip was a feast for the visual senses, with the scenery and colors changing every mile. I can't wait to return to this colorful corner of the country this year.

Monument Valley Tribal Park

UT USA

The Southwest Story

Nowhere else was the gnarled twisted earth presented as bare and as convoluted as possible. Red sandstone cliffs stretched towards the horizon, while hoodoos stood guard along the slopes next to me. A maze of slot canyons cut through the hard rock, evidence of the eroding power of water. And amidst it all lay the feat of geology, the grand waterpocket fold, exposing knots and folds of sandstone layers stretching back millenia.

This was Capitol Reef National Park, an explosion of colors (of the red hue) in the heart of Utah. Hiking through the various trails, and exploring the park's various hotspots gave me a true appreciation of the grand scale of this geological wonder. The park beckons visitors with its visual spectacle and lessons in geologic history, and with so many trails and hidden gems to explore, there is something for everybody.

Here is one such vista capturing a slice of the beauty of the park

Capitol Reef National Park
UT USA

Sunrise of the Ancients

The fingers of rock.jpg

The morning star hung low in the sky against a twilight backdrop, its orange and yellow hues slowly blending to an etheral blue. The sandstone pillars rose against this background like dark pillars, its silhouettes forming otherworldly shapes against this beautiful dawn.

I was transfixed by this scene, the sunrise of the ancients, that was playing out in front of me during the cold dawn of Monument Valley. With every passing minute, the light kept changing: the deep blacks transforming to a pale blue, the dark sandstone buttes becoming vibrant red, the muddy foreground taking on the desert yellows. I waited until the sun crested the horizon and the pillars, spreading light and warmth to the cold dark landscape all around me.

This is one such composition from that unique region of the desert southwest, a sunrise that is forever etched in my mind.

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park
AZ USA

 

Sands of Time

It was a crowded jaded experience. I hardly imagined I would be able to capture the otherworldliness of the beautiful slot canyon. And yet, as the guide cleared the area, chanted some hymns and poured sand down the smooth sandstone ledge, it felt as though the sands of time had transported me back millenia. Back when the only masters of this desolate place were the wind and water which carved every curve and striation on the smooth walls.

My brain tried to juxtapose the ancient origins with the modern tourist clamor of the Upper Antelope slot canyons without much success. The mass of humanity on a hot summer day, replete with the smells wafting throughout and with the sounds bouncing and echoing all around, was overwhelming. And yet I knew that with the next thunderstorm, the natural forces of erosion would be masters again, carving this and many other beautiful canyons scattered through the desert southwest of the US

Antelope Canyon
AZ USA