| Utah
Red Rocks Image Gallery 2 - Photographs by Robert F. Riberia |
| This
photo gallery contains some of the first photographs that I have
scanned using my new digital film scanner, which I am extremely
pleased with! The scans generally require very little, if
any, adjustment. This is in enormous contrast to the results
from a flatbed scanner which often require a great deal of time
to correct for limitations and imperfections in the original print.
Although the images on this page are scaled way down to approximately
800x600 (once you click on the thumbnail), the full resolution scan
of the slide/negative at 2840dpi generates a 25-30 meg file!
Files of this enormous size can generate true photo quality prints
up to 11x14 inches which are indistinguishable from prints created
utilizing a full darkroom! Such quality from a digital camera
would require a 10+ megapixel camera, which is a few years down
the road. Anyway, although the images on this page are of
greatly reduced size & resolution, there is still a significant
improvement compared to flatbed scans.
Click
on each photo for a closer look... |
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Description:
After a very long
night of camping along the San Rafael Reef (ringed with extremely
noisy coyotes), my wife and I did some early morning hiking
around this beautiful red rock mesa. The day started out
rather cloudy, but it soon cleared up and before we knew it
there was hardly a cloud in the sky. Although clear days
in Red Rock Country can often result in washed out colors, the
combination of Fuji Velvia slide film and a circular polarizer
resulted in some beautifully saturated slides. The texture
of these cliffs was absolutely amazing!
Camera/Lens: Nikon
N65/28-70mm Nikkor
Film: Fuji
Velvia Slide Film |
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Description:
The color of the Entrada
Sandstone in the southern San Rafael Reef has always intrigued
me. It has a slightly warmer tone than the Entrada around
Moab, such as that in Arches National Park. I have always
loved the colors of this area with its warm earth tones and
salmon hues. It seems to somehow make the area appear
more inviting, although it does require 4WD to get through the
sand that leads here. I have always buzzed past this particular
area on my way to destinations further south and west so it
was a real treat to finally spend a few hours taking photographs
here!
Camera/Lens:
Nikon N65/28-70mm
Nikkor
Film:
Fuji Velvia Slide
Film |
 |
Description:
A close-up of some
of the beautiful texture which is characteristic of Entrada
Sandstone. This is the same sandstone which dominates
Arches National Park and Goblin Valley State Park.
Camera/Lens:
Nikon N65/70-300mm
Nikkor
Film: Fuji
Velvia Slide Film |
 |
Description:
This is a close-up
of the boulder which is in the foreground of picture #2 on this
page. My main motivation for this shot was the beautiful
contrast of color between the rock and the sky, and the remarkable
form of the boulder. However, after sharing my photo with
others it appears that it also has a rather....ahem....erotic
flare to it. Well... I suppose that as long as my photos are
generating some sort of a response, even if it's not
exactly my intended response, it's an O.K. thing.
Camera/Lens:
Nikon N65/28-70mm
Nikkor
Film:
Fuji Velvia Slide
Film |
 |
Description:
Beautiful swirls of
color and form. Endless variety. I absolutely love Entrada Sandstone!
By the way, Entrada Sandstone was deposited during the mid-
to-late Jurassic Period (144 to 208 million years ago).
It was deposited on tidal flats or in near-shore sand dunes.
It's unique erosional characteristics make it one of the most
unusual sandstones - creating an endless variety of fanciful
shapes, arches, and textures.
Camera/Lens:
Nikon N65/70-300mm
Nikkor
Film:
Fuji Velvia Slide
Film |
 |
Description:
Another cliff from
the same mesa. I've noticed that cliffs made of Entrada
Sandstone often erode into human-like forms - massive sentinels
awaiting their turn to walk the Earth.... or at least crumble
into thousands of pieces! Anyway, it's always interesting
being surrounded by these massive silhouettes after sunset.
It can make for a pretty wild campout!
Camera/Lens:
Nikon N65/70-300mm
Nikkor
Film:
Fuji Velvia Slide
Film |
 |
Description:
This is the north
side of the mesa, which presents the more typical form of a
mesa.
Camera/Lens:
Nikon N65/28-70mm
Nikkor
Film:
Fuji Velvia Slide
Film |
 |
Description:
Collard Lizards are
quite plentiful in the Moab area. The most typical kind that
I see around my home are bright green and blue. This more
subdued variant, which I spotted in central Utah along the Waterpocket
Fold, had rather bland colors but it did have the characteristic
banded collar around its neck. Collard Lizards are quite aggressive
and will actually charge a human being when provoked. So naturally,
I provoked this one! He darted from boulder to boulder, pumping
up and down and challenging me to....something! Whatever he
thought he was doing, from my standpoint he was posing for some
great shots. This little fella was about 8 inches long and his
colors matched the surrounding rocks quite well.
Camera/Lens:
Nikon N65/28-70mm
Nikkor
Film:
Kodak Gold 200 |
 |
Description:
I took about 10 pictures
of this little fella, but I like this one the best because his
head was positioned against an evenly colored background, which
set it off from the surroundings. I used a large aperture which
resulted in a fast shutter speed and a very narrow depth of
field. The blurred background helps to make the lizard stand
out from his surroundings, something which lizards don't like
to do.
Camera/Lens:
Nikon N65/28-70mm
Nikkor
Film:
Kodak Gold 200 |
 |
Description:
My wife and I are
avid rockhounds, and the Morrison Formation is one of our favorite
formations to explore. Jurassic in age, this formation
is often rich with petrified wood and traces of dinosaurs.
(Note: It is illegal to collect dinosaur bone, and there are
limits on the amount of petrified wood that may be collected.
Check with your local public land agency for regulations.)
This particular section of the Morrison Formation is called
the Bentonite Hills. The Bentonite Hills appear as softly
contoured, banded hills in varying hues of brown, red, purple,
gray, and green. The hills are composed of the Brushy Basin
shale member of the Morrison Formation. This layer was formed
during Jurassic times when mud, silt, fine sand, and volcanic
ash were deposited in swamps and lakes. Bentonite clay (altered
volcanic ash) absorbs water and becomes very slick and gummy
when wet, making vehicle or foot travel difficult or even impossible.
The soft colors and gentle gradation of color and form has always
been extremely difficult to photograph. I have never been
satisfied with any print film's rendition of this stark, yet
beautiful landscape. Fuji Velvia Slide film, however,
was up to the challenge. It's fine grain and rich color
saturation captured it perfectly.
Camera/Lens:
Nikon N65/28-70mm
Nikkor
Film:
Fuji Velvia Slide
Film |
 |
Description:
Red Rock Country?
It sure is! Would you believe that this unearthly panorama
was taken about 20 minutes from some of the most intense red
rock scenery in Utah? This is one of the reasons that
I absolutely LOVE southern Utah - diversity of terrain that
is unmatched anywhere else on Earth. Now, there are some
folks (my friend Craig included) who say that the area
where I took this photo contains some of the most god forsaken,
barren, desolate, and just plain ugly landscapes imaginable.
I, however, look at it a little differently. The stark
contrast and spectacular textures of this area present an almost
heavenly vision of shape and form that has absolutely mesmerized
me since I first saw it in 1986. It even haunted (in a
good way) my dreams before I could physically move closer to
this area! The fact that the foreground hills are a portion
of the Mancos Shale, which is rich in marine fossils such as
shark's teeth, makes this area even more fascinating.
Shooting with a telephoto lens, on a hazy day, with little direct
sun, resulted in the beautiful blue cast of this image.
My wife and I had a wonderful picnic lunch here. I guess
being married to me is no walk in the park...
Camera/Lens:
Nikon N65/70-300mm
Nikkor
Film:
Fuji Velvia Slide
Film |
 |
Description:
So... you're visiting
Arches National Park and it is starting to look like rain.
Jump in your car and head for Moab? No way! A passing
rain storm can fill many of the potholes in Arches National
Park resulting in photo opportunities that simply don't exist
at any other time. Rainstorms rarely last long in this
part of the world, so hang around and get ready for some great
photo ops. The puddle in the foreground is only 2 inches
deep, and probably didn't last until the end of the day, but
it allowed me to get a nice reflection shot. My camera
was only about 2 inches off the ground when I took this photo.
I was massively disappointed when I originally got a print of
this photograph back from the photofinisher. The foreground
rock was almost completely black, and the distant red rock monolith
was washed out. However, when I scanned in the negative
using my film scanner - BAM! - perfect color and rich detail
in the shadows.
Camera/Lens:
Nikon N65/28-70mm
Nikkor
Film:
Kodak Gold 200 |
|
Description
for both photos: The
Four Corners region of southeastern Utah is the center of my
Universe. Some people find this area to be rather desolate and
foreboding, but I have found this area to be as close to Heaven
as I can get. The sky is bluer - the sunsets are more intense
- and I always have the most amazing experiences when I camp
there. The summer of 2001 proved to be no exception. After a
long day of hiking and exploration in and around Cedar Mesa,
my wife and I settled in for a relaxing night. As the sun began
to set I found myself reliving the opening paragraphs that I
have had on this website for the past 5 years! I repeat them
here... "A
swollen orange sun reaches toward the horizon as the red rock
mesas and buttes seem to glow and slowly liquefy into a fantasy
world of pure color and form. The tops of the mesas ignite
with an intensity of pure color that is almost too painful
to watch, yet too hypnotic to turn away. Color slowly fades,
replaced by monolithic silhouettes that reach toward the sky.
This is a land where every moment leaves me in breathless
anticipation of the next."
"As
I lie on the warm desert rock after the last rays of the sun
have departed, the Universe reveals itself in a blanket of
stars that cast soft shadows upon the land. This is a place
where beauty completely overwhelms the senses, where the line
between dream and reality fades. It is the closest thing to
Heaven on Earth."
...the
adventure continues...
Camera/Lens:
Nikon N65/70-300mm
Nikkor
Film: Kodak
Gold 200 |
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