Antelopes and Avocados.

So this post can't take too long because I have to go home and clean out my soiled and soaked bedroom...

But let me flash back.

Tuesday morning: I hop in the Element and meet up at The Repub with my Photo Editor/Art Director, Hair Stylist/Makeup Artist, Clothing Stylist/Shoe-sole Taper and our Model, Mrs. Jennifer Johnson. We're heading for Monument Valley, or bust.

After the multi-hour drive through some of the most beautiful landscapes you could even imagine (have you ever seen endless cascades of red-rock mountains jutting out of the earth? The kind that turn the bottom of the clouds almost as red in their reflection?), we arrived in Kayenta AZ. I must say I have developed a strong liking of Native Americans in my day, and always enjoy their conversation. After checking in, taping shoes and readying the model, we drove another half-hour to Monument Valley (which Monuments fall in the AZ border, despite what those Utah-ans might tell you).

You've seen pictures, sure. But if you've never been at the foot of those monoliths, you cannot begin to appreciate their size and grandeur. We had a cloudy overhead and fair weather, which makes for good photographs. As we got the model changed for the next outfit, the clouds thickened and I worried that the last shot might not hold up to my vision for it. So, I did what anyone would do in that place, under those conditions: A Sun Dance. It was, admittedly, very improvised.

But it worked. We had a golden sunset, and shot Jennifer overlooking the entire panorama of the Valley. It was just stunning.

The next day, we jogged an hour Northwest and photographed in the majestic Antelope Canyon (aka the Slot Canyons). I had never before been there, and despite all the photographs I'd seen of it, was positively overwhelmed by the beauty of the place. It is worth seeing in the flesh, no matter how hard it is for you to get there. It's a place where the light is always perfect--overlit by that softbox of sky--and the only bad pictures taken of the place might have been coming from the goofy teenager with his disposable camera (the flash went off every time, of course). Let me tell you that shooting a model in that place was no easy task, but worth the effort.

You will be able to see a selection of these shots in about a month, by the way. I can't put them on my site before they're published. They'll be worth the wait.

After the Slots, we made a quick stop at this great little sand dune on the side of a mountain and then headed down to Sunset Crater (which is a Volcano ruin, not meteor ruin, as I supposed). I have to say that I was most surprised by this place: I thought it might be cool, but it exceeded all expectations. This volcano spewed stuff for MILES around it, and today it's this amazing geological display of jet black rock and vivid evergreen Pines. There is a color palette there that I've never seen, with red cinders that dissolve into black molten rocks, and the moss makes for a strikingly vivid complement. Just gorgeous. I am continually humbled by the Master Creator--His sense of design and aesthetic are the envy of every artist in any field (whether they know it or not). Well did Albrecht Dürer say:

For, verily, Art is embedded in Nature; whoever can extract Her, has Her."

And now we're home and now I'm tired. But not too tired to deal with the mess that same Mother Nature made of my house. The storm caused major leaking in my roof over our bedroom and poor Lyndsay had to experience it all without me at home. According to her, she got 4 hours of mediocre sleep on the couch, with the puppies.

So our ceiling is destroyed and one wall too. Indeed, in life, you get to taste a lot of flavors--bitter and sweet.

Until our next adventure.

wesman.