Desert Wonderland

Click the pic for a bigger view

Earlier this week I made a sunrise run to the Lost Dutchman State Park area in hopes of catching the Superstition Mountains covered in fog.  I met up with my buddy Mike Olbinski in hopes of catching this epic event.

As the sun came up it was apparent that neither Mike or I would get our bounty.   The weather simply wasn’t cooperating. It happens.  We decided to head on into the park and make the most of what we had.  After all we did get up at the crack of dawn and drive for 30 miles.

After getting our shots of the Superstitions I grabbed the 70-200 zoom and set my sights on 4 Peaks off in the distance.  The recent storms had left the Peaks snow covered.  I dialed them in and captured the image you see above.   It never ceases to amaze me that you can be standing in the middle of the desert and just off in the distance see snow covered mountains.  It is certainly not what comes to mind when one thinks of Arizona.

Given that the desert has a harsh edge, I decided to process this image with a slight soft look to blend with the “snow” scene.  I think I was able to maintain the contrast of the desert and snow capped mountains yet make the transition from one to the other a little smoother.   Let me know what you think.

Until next time…

Camera: Canon 40D with a Canon 70-200mm zoom

Processing: Lightroom 3, CS4, Phototools 2.6