Sandstone, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

While briefly visiting Valley of Fire State Park back in May, on my way to visit Zion National Park with friends, our first stop was at a place called Atlatl Rock (previously posted). After taking in the petroglyphs (the main attractioin) we spent a little time wandering around the immediate area. Back behind Atlatl Rock, my attention was drawn towards this particular area of rock, which really looked like nothing else I had ever seen before. The rock has the appearance of slumping piles of striated rock (it actually reminds me of an exhibit at the library I saw as a child, in which huge sculptures were prepared from massive stacks of folded newspapers). The American Southwest abounds with these improbable and seemingly incomprehensible rock formations, and I am always surprised by what we have the fortune to see.

I originally planned to take this photo with a tighter crop, utilizing a longer lens. After focusing and preparing to make the exposure, however, I found that shutter would not fire (a problem I quickly resolved, but not while visitig this location). I opted to swith to my closest focal length lens and try again. For those used to photographing with a zoom lens, or even just and SLR or rangefinder camera this doesn't sound problematic. But in the desert on a 90�F day, getting back under a black dark cloth in the sun to focus the image a second time was frustrating. However, I believe it was fortuitous, as I end up prefering the wider view that resulted.

For those who kindly follow my photography with any regularity, I appreciate you sticking with me though a couple months of almost no updates. Summer in Seattle is fleeting and busy. Once summmer finally emerged I spent more time focused on taking new photographs rather than processing them to share. Whether that was successful or not remains to be seen, but as we get into what is (I think) our twelth straight day with rain again I suspect I will be back to spending more time at the computer and (hopefully) the darkroom, finishing what I started earlier.

Tachihara 4x5 | Caltar II-N 150 f/5.6 | f/32 | 1/8s | Ilford FP4+ | Tripod | HC110(b)

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