Today we're releasing a collection of photographs I took in the fall of 2022 while we were visiting Southwest Utah. Rather than displaying the images one by one on social media, where they would at best be quickly viewed then forgotten in favour of cat videos, I chose to create this collection so the images could be enjoyed at leisure and as a group. In most cases these images represent my first edits; in coming months I will likely edit and re-edit each image until they fully reflect the moments and feelings I hoped to capture when I held my camera.
This wasn’t the first time we visited Southwest Utah and if all goes well it will not be the last. Diana and I visited the same area briefly about eight years earlier to backpack in the Kolob Canyons section of Zion National Park. It was a wonderful trip but much too short; we wanted to return to stay longer and see more.
This time we were fortunate to stay three weeks in a location that allowed us to access many scenic areas and enjoy downtime when not out hiking. And though we had not planned it, everywhere we went the dominant theme was red, even in areas outside parks. Red rocks, red dirt...even red-tinged skies. Hence the title of this collection: Shades of Red.
I have presented photographs from most of the areas we visited, including Zion National Park, Red Cliffs Desert Reserve and other, less-celebrated areas. In most cases I have not cited specific locations, though many are well-known and identifiable. Instead I refer to each area generally and leave it to the viewer to explore on his or her own.
I hope you enjoy these photographs. If you’re interested in prints of any of them, please drop me a line at timidturtlecreative@gmail.com.
Download Shades of Red here: