"Star Gaze" Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, Arizon A masterpiece of a lonely rock waiting for the stars to come out at sunset

"Star Gaze" By Robert Park http://www.robert-park.com, a photo by Robert Park Photography on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Star Gazer” The Vermillion Cliffs are one of my favorite places in the world. It is a land of wonders and geological oddities coupled with the high Colorado plateaus. With a stunning clarity of air and light, this area offers absolutely wondrous sunsets, sunrises, and landscape possibilities. Rare Spring storms brought clouds to the Paria Plateau giving the sunset a sense of magic and drama. I had pre-visualized this image and when I had seen the storms clearing I drove three and a half hours straight to the plateau, through the treacherous sand, just to get to this area. After three days of camping in the remote wilderness with the glory of nature open to me, I was able to create this masterpiece of a lonely rock waiting for the stars to come out at sunset. Location: The Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona. © Robert Park www.robert-park.com/

"First Light Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah "By Robert Park Thor’sHammer, The Hunter

"First Light Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah "By Robert Park http://www.robert-park.com, a photo by Robert Park Photography on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Thor’s Hammer, The Hunter, Thirty to forty million years ago this rock was “born” in an ancient lake that covered much of Western Utah. The primary weathering force at Bryce Canyon is frost wedging which creates mazes of abstract cities and figures. I planned my arrival at Bryce to place the rising sun behind The Hammer so the silhouette would block the sun bringing the glowing light bounced off the canyon walls. © Robert Park http://www.robert-park.com"

"Reflections on The Yellowstone" Yellowston e National Park, WY The banks of the Yellowstone river are lined with trees that struggle to survive in the volcanic remnant hillsides

"Reflections on The Yellowstone" Yellowstone National Park, WY By Robert Park , a photo by Robert Park Photography on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
The banks of the Yellowstone river are lined with trees that struggle to survive in the volcanic remnant hillsides. Drawn to the abstract serenity of the morning light on the river, I created this impression of life on the riverbanks. Location Yellowstone RIver , Yellowstone National Park, WY © Robert Park www.robert-park.com

The Subway is a mysterious keyhole slot in the west fork of the NorthCreek in Zion National Park.

"Subway" Zion National Park, UT By Robert Park http://www.robert-park.com, a photo by Robert Park Photography on Flickr.

The Subway is a mysterious keyhole slot in the west fork of the North Creek in Zion National Park.
It is a very strenuous and slippery nine mile round trip that few people ever get to see.
The pools get their color from the algae that thrive in the cold water that never sees sunlight
For most of the year.
Location The Subway, Zion National Park, UT. © Robert Park www.robert-park.com

"Toroweap Point"Grand Canyon National Park By Robert Parkhttp://www.robert-park.com

"Toroweap Point"Grand Canyon National Park By Robert Park http://www.robert-park.com, a photo by Robert Park Photography on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Toroweap Point" Toroweap Point offers the most magnificent view in the entire Grand Canyon. The view is dramatic because the cliff is nearly vertical, dropping almost straight down some 3,000 feet to the Colorado River. The viewpoint offers a dramatic view of the middle part of the Grand Canyon National Park. © Robert Park www.robert-park.com/

"Plateau Rising" By Robert Park http://www.robert-park.com

"Plateau Rising" By Robert Park http://www.robert-park.com, a photo by Robert Park Photography on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
"Plateau Rising'"... Horse Shoe Bend is another of Mother Nature's little tricks in a whole world of sandstone and slick rock tricks that result in some of the weirdest, and neatest, formations in the west. Located at Page, Arizona. © Robert Park www.robert-park.com

"Patriarch" Grand Tetons National Park By Robert Parkhttp:www.robert-park.com

"Patriarch" Grand Tetons National Park By Robert Park http:www.robert-park.com, a photo by Robert Park Photography on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Patriarch" The old “Patriarch Tree” in Grand Tetons National Park is one of the most iconic images of the park, but it is seldom photographed due to the remoteness and grizzly bears that inhabit the terrain in the area. This was one of the most thrilling photographs I ever created as my senses were on full alert as I hiked through the land well before dawn to position myself alone in the woods. There is an artful play of form that the Patriarch tree has as it seems to “Pose” for you with the Tetons in the distance. The warm toned B&W gives the timeless compliment to this ancient park dweller. LOCATION: The Grand Tetons © RobertPark www.robert-park.com/

"PT Sublime" By Grand Canyon, National Park By Robert Parkhttp://www.robert-park.com

"PT Sublime" By Grand Canyon, National Park By Robert Park http://www.robert-park.com, a photo by Robert Park Photography on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
PT Sublime Point Sublime is a seldom visited spectacle on the North Rim. It is a treacherous 17 mile high clearance Jeep trail that rewards you at the end of the road with Point Sublime, an isolated peninsula utterly surrounded by the canyo n and monuments. I travel there in late August to capture monsoons in the canyons. Choosing a vantage point that gave the sensation of depth and space, I waited as the sun set and the sky and canyon lit up. It doesn’t take much imagination to see where this remote point got it’s name from as It was simply a sublime experience. Location: Point Sublime, Grand Canyon, NP © RobertPark www.robert-park.com/

;Spider Rock; Canyon De Chelly ,Arizona National Park By Robert Park http://www.robert-park.com

"SpiderRock" Canyon De Chelly ,Arizona National Park By Robert Park http:www.robert-park.com, a photo by Robert Park Photography on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
“SpiderRock ‘”…… Spider Rock stands with awesome dignity and beauty over 800 feet high. Located at Canyon De Chelly National Monument ,Arizona. © Robert Park www.robert-park.com/

"Tranquil Tides" By Robert Park http://www.robert-park.com

"Tranquil Tides" By Robert Park http://www.robert-park.com, a photo by Robert Park Photography on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Tranquil Tides” The scenic beauty of the seastacks offshore and headlands onshore make your stroll down the sand particularly memorable at Canon Beach . Fly a kite, watch the sea creatures in the tidepools, or take in a sunset on the famous Haystack Rocks. Relaxing on the beach is part of the Cannon Beach experience. The area is protected as part of the
"Tranquil Tides"
Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge as well as a designated National Wilderness Area. I had envisioned a spectacular sunset on the black sand beaches however when I saw the reflections in the wet sand as the waves receded I was compelled by this most peaceful scene. Waiting for just the right moment when the receding tide and reflection was perfect I exposed my film and knew I had captured something monumental. Located in Oregon. © Robert Park www.robert-park.com/

"White House Ruins"By Robert Park http://www.robert-park.com

"White House Ruins"By Robert Park http://www.robert-park.com, a photo by Robert Park Photography on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
“White House Ruins” The White House Ruins are located within protected Navajo land and you must be accompanied by a guide to explore the area. The ruins sit in harmony within the desert varnish of the sheer faced cliff walls of the canyon, giving the ancient structure a sense of drama and timeless elegance. Location: Canyon De Chelly National Monument in Southern Arizona © Robert Park www.robert-park.com/

"Temples Of Kolob" Zion National Park" By Robert Parkhttp://www.robert-park.com

"Temples Of Kolob" Zion National Park" By Robert Park http://www.robert-park.com, a photo by Robert Park Photography on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
"Temples Of Kolob" Zion National Park" By Robert Park
The Kolob Canyon section of Zion National Park is one of the most conveniently located national park areas in all of Utah. Located just off Interstate 15, these spectacular finger canyons of Zion offers soaring cliffs of red Navajo sandstone and deep pocket canyons just waiting to be discovered. Kolob may be the little known portion of Zion National Park but that doesn't mean i
t is not as spectacular as the main canyons of Zion proper. Kolob is home to a unique geological history and diverse animal and plant life. The scenery is stunning and provides visitors with peaceful and serene surroundings unmatched by any other National Park in the southwest. The word "Kolob" is from Mormon scripture meaning "residence closest to heaven." Visit Kolob Canyon and see for yourself. Kolob Canyons is a beautiful place to tour throughout the year. In the winter, the red Navajo sandstone glimmers with a fresh dusting of snow and in the spring the waterfalls cascade down the rugged cliffs, streaking them black from the run-off. Wildflowers bloom in abundance during the summer, and with the coming of utumn, the yellow-gold leaves of the valley's scrub oak offers an interesting contrast to the vast scenery.
Location: Kolob Finger Canyons, Zion National Park
© RobertPark www.robert-park.com/

"Great Streaked"Burr Trail, Utah By Robert Park My favorite feature is the enormous sandstone cliffs with their beautiful desert patina varnish.

"Great Streaked" By Robert Park http://www.robert-park.com, a photo by Robert Park Photography on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Great Streaked The Burr Trail takes the adventurous traveler into some of Utah’s most beautiful and extraordinary country with views of the Henry Mountains, the colorfully contorted Waterpocket Fold, red Circle Cliffs, and Long Canyon. My favorite feature is the enormous sandstone cliffs with their beautiful desert patina varnish. It takes thousands of years for the varnish to form and the remote Long Canyon has some of the most dramatic canyon walls to be seen. There is a solitude and magnificence in these areas that I wished to capture and I feel the sense of remote beauty in this image. Location Burr Trail, Utah © RobertPark www.robert-park.com

"Meditations" By Robert Park http://www.robert-park.com

"Meditations" By Robert Park http://www.robert-park.com, a photo by Robert Park Photography on Flickr.

"Meditations" By Robert Park http://www.robert-park.com

"Night Crawler" Death Valley National Park,California By Robert Parkhttp://www.robert-park.com

"Night Crawler" Death Valley National Park,California By Robert Park http://www.robert-park.com, a photo by Robert Park Photography on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
"Night Crawler" Death Valley National Park,California By Robert Park http://www.robert-park.com

The playa is in the small Racetrack Valley endorheic basin between the Cottonwood Mountains on the east and Nelson Range to the west. During periods of heavy rain, water washes down from the mountains onto the playa, forming a shallow, short-lived endorheic lake. Under the hot desert sun the thin veneer of water quickly evaporates leaving behind a surface layer of soft slick mud. As the mud dries it shrinks and cracks into a mosaic pattern of interlocking polygons. The shape of the shallow hydrocarbon lake Ontario Lacus on Saturn’s moon Titan has been compared to that of Racetrack Playa. The Racetrack is a unique attraction of Death Valley National Park that not many park visitors get to see. It’s a dry lakebed in a very remote and beautiful area. On the north end of the lakebed is a rock formation known as the grandstands. Rocks from the grandstands and other nearby formations break off and fall onto the lake. There, they perform feats that make this remote playa world-famous. The evidence that they move is the trails they leave behind them as they scoot around the lake. You ’ll find a rock sitting innocently anywhere on the playa — from next to the grandstand to the far southern edge — and behind it will be a trail, from the rock sliding across the fine clay surface of the lakebed. They move! But after all these years, a hundred or more since this phenomenon was brought to the attention of naturalists studying Death Valley, no one has ever seen them move. These rocks aren’t boulders; most are perhaps a foot or so tall, but can still weigh a lot and are not easy to lift.Location The Racetrack Death Valley National Park, California
© Robert Park
www.robert-park.com/

"Spider Rock"By Robert Park http://www.robert-park.com

"Spider Rock"By Robert Park http://www.robert-park.com, a photo by Robert Park Photography on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Canyon De Chelly, Arizona

View More Photos At The Natural Wonders Gallery

"Dawn of Time" Death Valley National Park, California."By Robert Park

"Dawn of Time" Death Valley National Park, California."By Robert Park, a photo by Robert Park Photography on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Dawn of Time was captured on the 1st of January 2010 as a winter storm cleared leaving behind trace amounts of water in the Bad Water Basin of Death Valley. It was taken on one of my ritualistic treks to Death Valley for New Years. Dawn of Time was conceived several years prior to its actual creation; however, I had to wait for the right conditions in order to capture it. On my New Years 2010 trip to Death Valley, I had waited several days for a storm to clear that allowed the shallow lake you see in the image to form. I needed to have a smooth wind-free morning, so the lake would be like glass and give the reflection that I had pre-visualized. On the last day of my trip the storms cleared and the sunrise was spectacular with pink ribbons running across the sky, casting beautiful pink and magenta hues on the foreground and illuminating the Panamint Mountains as the sun came over the horizon. I positioned myself where the water recedes allowing the geometrical forms of the salt pan to poke through the shoreline of the shallow lake. Finally, I had the proper conditions that would give me the color, values, contrasts, and drama that I required in my pre-visualized image. Location: Bad Water Salt Flats in Death Valley National Park, California. © RobertPark www.robert-park.com/

"Creator,sHand" Canyon Lands National Park, Utah By Robert Parkhttp://www.robert-park.com

"Creator's Hand" Canyon Lands National Park, Utah By Robert Park http://www.robert-park.com, a photo by Robert Park Photography on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
For me Monument Basin is the highlight of a park with many highlights. It sits below the southernmost point of the Island in the Sky revealing canyons, slots, gorges, mesas, buttes, arches. Combined together it creates some of the most outstanding landscapes I have ever seen. After millions of years the erosion that continues today began. The results are the 2,000-foot deep canyons of the Colorado and Green Rivers cutting through the heart of Canyonlands. As I stood at the rim of this most magnificent vista on a fall morning with clouds breaking from an earlier storm I was greeted with this most stunning glimpse of creation. Location Monument Basin, Canyon Lands National Park, Utah © RobertPark www.robert-park.com

"Heart Wood" Zion National Park, Utah" By Robert Park

"Heart Wood" Zion National Park, Utah" By Robert Park, a photo by Robert Park Photography on Flickr.

Via Flickr: Heart Wood"
I love trees. They take on many attributes and colors and evoke emotions that run the gamut. Some would say that they speak to us.
This scrub oak in Zion caught my attention as I explored the underside of it, revealing a canopy of branches emanating from the trunk like arteries from a heart. As I jockeyed around I discovered a striking heart shape as the oak came alive in front of me.
Location Zion National Park, Utah
© Robert Park www.robert-park.com/

"Oxbows Majesty" Oxbow Bend, Grand Tetons National Park, Wyoming" ByRobert Park

"Oxbows Majesty" Oxbow Bend, Grand Tetons National Park, Wyoming" By Robert Park, a photo by Robert Park Photography on Flickr. Via Flickr: Oxbows Majesty Perhaps one of the most beautiful and photogenic spots in Grand Tetons National Park is Oxbow Bend, an appendage of the Snake River that was left behind, when the river cut a new path, just slightly to the south. US 26/89/191 runs right by here, and if conditions are perfect, you’ll get a nice reflection of the mountains on the water. On this day, conditions were not perfect, but still pretty darned beautiful. Oxbow Bend is considered to be one of the prime photographic destinations within Grand Teton National Park. Located just 3 miles inside the entrance, it’s still waters can offer a beautiful reflection of Mount Moran and the surrounding peaks, and can be the scene of dramatic sunsets should clouds be present in the evening.
© Robert Park www.robert-park.com/