If you’ve hung around here for a while, you’ve probably noticed that I take lots of landscape photos featuring red rocks. It’s only natural given where I live. However, I do want to fill out my portfolio with other kinds of landscape photography. It’s much more balanced with other scenes. On a recent trip, I took some time to do just that. Instead of red rocks, I came home with a landscape photo featuring another kind of rock: lava rock. Yep. This time, I sought out a different kind of rock photo for my portfolio. Keep reading to learn more about this new photo.
Not too far away from my travel destination is Craters of the Moon National Monument. This lava plain is an alien landscape if I ever saw one. The frozen basalt rock covers miles. Life is attempting to gain a foothold in the area. However, it’s only succeeded around the edges. There are still plenty of square miles of lifeless barren rock which make up the park. Lichen is working on that though. But it will take time.
This wasn’t my first trip to Craters of the Moon. In fact, I have other photos in my portfolio from previous trips. However, this was my first visit in a few years and also my first visit as a reasonably competent landscape photographer. I felt like revisiting in order to search for more landscape scenes. Surely I could do more and better on this trip.
Upon arriving and looking at the map, I realized just how small this park is compared to other National Park sites I’ve visited in the past. There is one hike of sizable length. Also, there were only a couple of viewpoints. Sure, there’s also a handful of shorter hikes which give great views of plant life reclaiming the area. There’s also a few caves which the park vigorously guards thanks to bat populations. Still, I was surprised at just how few options there are for scenic views. Perhaps I’m simply spoiled from more local NPS sites nearby.
While searching among the lava flats and spatter cones for the right shot, I thought I found it. So, we set off to explore other areas. On the drive, I noticed a spot which might be worth trying if there was time. In fact, we did have time so I tried it out. The scene contained a mostly empty lava plain on a rise with some small white flowering plants and a handful of larger pine trees. Thankfully, I also had an interesting sky to work with too. The scene is so minimalistic that I couldn’t resist trying.
As I attempted the shot towards sunset, the park naturally emptied of tourists. There was practically no one else on the roads. I first attempted to use the closest turnout to park and hike back. That hike proved too long for the light. Instead, I took the risk of pulling over for the shot. It was a risk, but it paid off. No one bothered me as I quickly attempted the shot. Then I returned to my planned shot which, sadly, didn’t go as planned. Oh well. That happens a lot.
So, landscape photography fans. What do you think of this new portfolio addition? Should I return to Craters of the Moon National Monument for more landscape photography? Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
