Landscapes

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Aftermath of a thunderstorm

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The thunderstorm reason usually passes by the Palouse region a bit before the summer seasons. During the summer, one is typically greeted by bluebird skies over the rolling green fields. However, that is not particularly conducive to photography.

I wasn't hoping to get great weather in a trip earlier this year, but I was a bit more lucky with the weather patterns. Even though it was late June, cumulus clouds continued to roll over the region, an aftermath of a wet weather pattern. That lead to a nice pattern of shadow and light over lush wheat fields.

Palouse
WA USA

Into the Maw

Hiking into the heart of the Carlsbad Caverns, I entered a nether region of other-worldly shapes, sounds and sights. Sounds of other tourists shuffling over echoed through the hallowed halls and the narrow passageways while the artful lighting converted thin pillars of stalactites and stalagmines to the monstrous jaws of an extra-terrestial creature. Curtains and wedges of limestone dangled delicately from the ceiling, growing slowly but steadily with every drop of water dripping down to the nether reaches below.

Such were the thoughts that ran through my mind as I walked through this surreal space.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park
NM USA

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Junuary

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While summer has officially begun in the Pacific Northwest, it quite doesn't feel like one yet, especially when compared to the halcyon days of June last year. But I am not complaining as the rainy days have kept the temperatures cooler and landscape in spring-like conditions well into summer. I still get psyched about seeing puffy clouds march endlessly into the horizon, and colorful wildflowers showing off their blooms well into June.

While hiking recently along the Columbia River Gorge, I captured a few photos that symbolized the fresh conditions that the wet Pacific Northwest has been having.

Columbia River Gorge
WA USA

Scenes of Costa Rica

My last visit to Costa rica was over a decade ago, and yet I still remember walking along sand beaches where the mountains capped with cloud forests met the Pacific, exploring volcanoes rising up from the thick jungles along the spine of the country, and relaxing on sunswept beaches lining the azure waters of the Pacific. It felt like a land that offered a slice of the 'pure life'.

Have you been here? What has been your favorite memory from here?

Costa Rica

Curves of Death Valley

Walking around barefoot on the soft sand is an experience like no other. And when I am in the Mesquite sand dunes in Death Valley National Park at the wrong time of day, I try to sample such an experience. However, when the sun starts dipping towards the horizon, I start focusing on the rich patterns formed by the undulating dunes, with the mesquite bush anchoring the wind-swept surfaces.


Perhaps the biggest challenge here may be getting away from the crowds to find your own undisturbed spot in the dunes. Which one is your favorite?


Death Valley national Park
CA USA

More than just bad lands

The term badlands are perhaps a misnomer as this unique terrain is more than just bad lands. Out here, you can spot layers of colorful sediments and clay rich soils exposed by the erosion patterns. Multiple parks in this part of the country feature such badlands, but perhaps the most famous of these is Badlands National Park. My personal favorite is the Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Badlands, however, offers very accessible bad lands along with glimpses of the prairie dog life in one easy drive. Here are scenes from Badlands National Park that highlight the unique geology of this place. Which one's your favorite?

Badlands National Park
SD USA

Vistas of Nicaragua

One of the few things that the central American nation of Nicaragua shares with the Pacific Northwest is the abundance of volcanoes. After all, it is the same ring of fire that stretches down from the Alaskan coast through the narrow isthmus of Central America down to Patagonia. And by virtue of being in the tropics, the volcanoes of Nicaragua can be ascended year around, unlike those of the Pacific Northwest.

Here are views from and of two volcanoes, Concepcion and Mombacha, that dot the Nicaraguan ring of fire.

Nicaragua

Winter Light

On a rare storm-free winter weekend in Washington, I managed to sneak out to the Olympic coast in search of some color after a long spell of the famous PNW greys. Thankfully the sky opened up that weekend for what turned out to be a remarkable sunset. I tried multiple compositions of that sunset, trying to frame the seastack and the small tidepools with the setting sun. This was one such outcome from that memorable sunset

Olympic National Park
WA USA