Lynn WiezyckiRed Rock Canyon is only a few minutes from Las Vegas, so the day we arrived we unloaded our luggage at the condo we rented and then threw our camera bags in the van & took off for Red Rock! We had decided to try one of the valleys that had a small stream running through as we thought there might be some
spring wildflowers taking advantage of the water from some recent rains. The six photographers in our group spread out to see what each could find. Most of the flowers I found were very small so I switched lenses to my favorite lens, the Nikon 105mm Macro.
That 105mm lens does a great job at landscapes also when you want to focus in an a particular area.
We wandered down & around the valley for a couple of hours. Our “leader”, who had been here before, as usual, had powered on ahead of us and was most likely making the best shots of the day. The five of us gathered at a large rock and discussed where we thought he was. I decided to jump up on another rock across the trail and look around over the bushes. At one point I was looking way across the valley to the other mountain side where I could see cactus & other plants. I saw a person over there about half way up but realized that they had on the wrong color shirt. BUT then my eye was drawn just a bit lower to another person! This time I saw they had on a red shirt! That was our sixth! I hollered his name & he actually heard me and waved! I signaled we were heading back to the parking lot and he waved back. And as usual he beat us back to the car!!
The color of the rock, especially as the sun started to go lower in the sky was so saturated. I brought out my new Nikon 15-35mm f4 lens and got a thrill getting the wide views!
Here are some details from Wikipedia about the Red Rock Canyon area:
The Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in Nevada is an area managed by the Bureau of Land Management as part of its National Landscape Conservation System, and protected as a National Conservation Area. It is located about 15 miles (24 km) west of Las Vegas!
We then got into the van and drove out of the valley and around to the other side of these mountains to get the sun setting on the colorful mountains. There were even a few Joshua Trees (first ones I have ever seen) over on this side to add some interest to the vast landscape!
Red Rock Canyon is so close to Las Vegas it is a shame if you do not make the trip out to see this beautiful landscape! The fresh air, quiet & openness is a refreshing change from the light, noise & crowds of the Las Vegas strip!
For these images and more please visit my gallery.
That is all for now!
Lynn
Mary Presson Roberts