A canoeist in a wide-brimmed hat paddles through Santa Elena Canyon on the Rio Grande, with towering tan and orange limestone cliffs rising on either side and two more canoes visible ahead on the calm green water.

One Row at a Time

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After a couple of failed attempts — one year the Rio Grande ran too low to float a canoe, another year it moved too fast to be safe — we finally made it into Santa Elena Canyon by canoe in … Read More

Golden-hour view over a bend in the Rio Grande near Santa Elena Canyon, with desert scrub, sandbars, and the Chisos Mountains glowing on the horizon.

Paradise Lost: A Canyon Under Siege

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Anyone who has ever been to Big Bend National Park has probably hiked into Santa Elena Canyon — it’s one of the park’s signature trails, and the view is unforgettable. This shot was taken at golden hour, looking out over … Read More

Sheer limestone cliffs of Santa Elena Canyon tower above the calm green water of the Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park. The canyon walls and a strip of blue sky are reflected in the still river, with a weathered gray boulder and green reeds in the foreground.

Walls That Need No Wall

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On a December morning in 2021, I stood at the mouth of Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend National Park, where the Rio Grande slips between limestone walls that rise as much as 1,500 feet (457 m) above the water. … Read More

Elk

The Crown Jewels of Yellowstone: Capturing Bull Elk in Summer

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Elk at Yellowstone National Park are frequently seen at Gibbon Meadows, Elk Park, and Lamar Valley during the summer months. According to the National Park Service, elk are the most abundant ungulate in Yellowstone National Park. From a safe distance … Read More

Guadalupe Mountains

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Guadalupe Mountains National Park is a remote park in northwest Texas, near the New Mexico border and Carlsbad Caverns National Park. The park offers excellent backcountry and backpacking opportunities, with over 80 miles (128 km) of hiking trails. McKittrick Canyon is a popular … Read More

Lens-Artists Challenge #365: Longing

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The Portuguese language has a wonderful word that always seems complicated to translate accurately into English. The word is saudade (IPA pronunciation: /saʊˈdɑːdə/). Wikipedia defines saudade as an emotional state of melancholic or profoundly nostalgic longing for a beloved yet … Read More

A Room with a View

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How about sitting down for lunch with this view next to your table? That was our lunch spot in August 2019, when we visited the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for the second time. We had previously visited the … Read More

Stormy Rockies

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Lens-Artists Challenge #353: Stormy We have had our share of stormy weather in Texas. I have shared photos of the infamous 2021 Snowmaggedon, as well as other ice storms. However, whenever I think of storms, the Rocky Mountains come to … Read More

Lens-Artists Challenge #348: Serenity

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“In her presence, a quiet dawn breaks, soft and steady, like the first light of day.” Ahmed Gamel The world is in constant chaos. If not close to our doorstep, we just need to look around. Wars and conflicts seem … Read More

A Director’s Cut

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Lens-Artists Challenge #346: Cinematic “From the shadows, it emerges – the ultimate crime-fighting machine.” [End of scene] When Sofia set this week’s challenge to Cinematic, I wasn’t sure what I would do. I thought about using photos from movie sets. … Read More

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