Shots from my Southwest winter trip

[KKapple]

I traveled around N. Arizona, Nevada and Utah during some pretty good winter storms. Spent almost two weeks in the area and endured temps at night down to -15 doing star trails. But it was a great time to be there with hardley anyone else around.

Here are some of my favorites from the trip.

[SCHMEGGA]

Very nice!

[Some Idiot]

those are great images

[houtex01]

Outstanding photos Keith...really like that last one...

Ron

[jasonp]

awesome!

[babybluetx23]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!!!! I flew over all that not too long ago on my way to vegas.......I thought it looked spectacular from the air......WOW!!!! those are fantastic!

[jeffkohn]

Really nice set, you took great advantage of the snowy conditions and I like the nighttime shots as well. Balanced Rock is really great with the star trails. I also like the light on Bryce Canyon, along with the snow. The Delicate Arch shot is really great, I love how the clouds are arranged to frame the moon. Interesting formations in "Devils Fire", did you paint with light on that one?

So how cold was it for sunrise at Bryce and Mesa Arch? I did sunrise at Mesa Arch in April one year and froze, hopefully it wasn't too windy when you were up there.

[KKapple]

Thank you guys for the comments and compliments.

Jeff, it was about as cold as I have ever been.-15 degrees in Bryce with 30 to 40 mph winds. I was stuck in Bryce for two days. I had no idea the storm was right behind me. I made it there late at night as it moved in. It was a blizzard by 1am. Next day it did not let up. A complete white out. I ventured out 4 times during the day with blizzard conditions. You could not see the canyon at all...I will post a pic.
But the next day was magic. But I went to Bryce point and walked through snow drifts up to my thieghs with the wind blasting me with snow and ice pellets. Stood there with my back to the wind for 20 minutes as the sun was coming up.

Mesa Arch was a little better, still very cold but not so much wind. The night shots in the Arches were every bit as cold, but I came prepared for it and was layered in warm clothing.

The Valley of Fire shot I fill flashed with red colored gels and was a 15 second exposure.

Only bad thing about the trip was my transmission went out on me in Moab. I got to tow the Trooper home with a U-haul. That hurt the wallet. Had several other spots I wanted to go to on the way home.

I now have a Ford Explorer, just sold the old Trooper tonight...it made 7 trips with me to the Southwest over the years as well as Death Valley and Yosemite.

Here is the snow shot from Bryce...

[L Stegall]

Boy, I missed these the first go around, but I was doing a search for "star trails" and this popped up. Just had to send a belated comment about what a beautiful set you posted. I really agree with what Jeff said about them! Thanks for posting.

[Chayelle]

I have thoroughly enjoyed this trip!
Not cold, but seeing some lovely beauty
through your pictures...
I do enjoy your dialogue also...

[danchez]

Some amazing images, WOW!!!

[ttusa]

Your images are just completely FABULOUS!!!!