Sunday, March 28, 2010

"Tunnel commute," New Jersey, April 2009

One way or the other, sometimes both, I descend beneath the Hudson River and pass through the Lincoln Tunnel, New York to New Jersey, New Jersey to New York.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

"The ghost of Ed Abbey," Arches National Park, March 2010

After Casey and I passed through Turret Arch at the start of our day at Arches, I turned and saw this older gentleman had followed us up the path and I took a photo to use him for perspective on the size of the arch. Then I took this one, but after seeing it along with the previous one, I decided to try this in black and white and that's when this title hit me.

Having read Abbey's The Journey Home and Desert Solitaire before, during and after the visit, I felt more immersed in the words than I have for just about anything else I've ever read. And because of that, this photo not only takes me back to that morning two weeks ago today, but also to Abbey's country, to his time in the Utah desert.

2011 update: In the end, I felt that this was my favorite photo of 2010. It may not have been my best, but it wasn't far off.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

"The Watchtower," Grand Canyon, March 2010

In a 22- or 23-hour span, we saw much of what the Grand Canyon had to offer -- a snowed-in, cloudy cover of white and a bright, clear winter day along the South Rim. On our way out of the park, headed east along Arizona 64 on the way up to Monument Valley, we stopped at the Watchtower at Desert View for one last look. The tower itself was under renovation (and still open), but we passed on climbing the round, spiral steps. How much better can the view get when it's already so spectacular?