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exploresouthwest.bsky.social
Explore Southwest
@exploresouthwest.bsky.social
200 followers 64 following 77 posts
Find me and some of my travels on YouTube.

https://youtube.com/@exploresouthwest?si=t-KeHc6trZEYlFbl
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exploresouthwest.bsky.social
Hauled a Large Format camera into the desert. I never know exactly how the colors with B&W will react. Still learning.

Full video of the trip:
youtu.be/lj1Gr2GrolU

📷Shen hao HZX45-IIA
🎞️Ilford FP4+
🧪DDX

#believeinfilm #filmphotography #LargeFormatFilm
October 20, 2025 at 11:59 PM
exploresouthwest.bsky.social
Hey! I still take pictures. It's been very casual film shooting lately though.

#SanRafaelSwell #Ilford #Delta100 #Nikon #FM3a #AnalogFilm
September 5, 2025 at 2:50 PM
exploresouthwest.bsky.social
Hey! I still take pictures. It's been very casual film shooting lately though.

#SanRafaelSwell #Ilford #Delta100 #Nikon #FM3a #AnalogFilm
September 4, 2025 at 2:50 PM
exploresouthwest.bsky.social
Hey! I still take pictures. It's been very casual film shooting lately though.

#SanRafaelSwell #Ilford #Delta100 #Nikon #FM3a #AnalogFilm
September 1, 2025 at 2:50 PM
exploresouthwest.bsky.social
Hey! I still take pictures. It's been very casual film shooting lately though.

#SanRafaelSwell #Ilford #Delta100 #Nikon #FM3a #AnalogFilm
August 23, 2025 at 2:50 PM
exploresouthwest.bsky.social
Hey! I still take pictures. It's been very casual film shooting lately though.

#SanRafaelSwell #Ilford #Delta100 #Nikon #FM3a #AnalogFilm
August 20, 2025 at 2:50 PM
exploresouthwest.bsky.social
Hey! I still take pictures. It's been very casual film shooting lately though.

#SanRafaelSwell #Ilford #Delta100 #Nikon #FM3a #AnalogFilm
August 18, 2025 at 10:25 PM
exploresouthwest.bsky.social
Found these interesting terraced springs in the #Moab desert. They a result from 1940's drilling, not natural, but now all the high mineral content water is making #Yellowstone style terraces.

New video about the trip:
youtu.be/GpW0XHNVBmk

#Utah #Overlanding #Canyonlands
Rust red mineral terraces comin from a bubbling carbonated spring in Utah's southern desert. North of Canyonlands.
April 19, 2025 at 9:38 PM
exploresouthwest.bsky.social
Basketball court with a view.

I'm able to walk again. Got a new truck. Not the most ideal time of year for photography but it's literally been 2 months since I took a picture. It's about time to load another roll of film in the camera, go for a drive, and see what we discover.

🎞️#AnalogPhotography
Nikon FM3a at Isopea Utah. In the west desert. And my former adventure vehicle.
January 11, 2025 at 8:38 PM
exploresouthwest.bsky.social
Good to hear the Getty Villa survived the Palisades fires raging right now. It was a beautiful place to wander and admire ancient art.

People are trying to politicize and divide the nation with this tragedy. People have died. Instead of joining the hate remember to #Lookforthehelpers
Olympus OMD EM1
January 9, 2025 at 3:46 AM
exploresouthwest.bsky.social
Some of the abandoned farm houses around Ibapah from the end of my #PonyExpress trip. But I don't think any are old PE station remains.

I know it's cliche but I wish I had brought some B&W film to shoot the old buildings.

youtu.be/5y_kDfROzHw?...

#LandscapePhotography #Overland #UtahHistory
Nikon Z8
January 3, 2025 at 11:02 PM
exploresouthwest.bsky.social
Sometimes the desert #sunrise will just blow up for you in purple and pink.

From the second day driving on the #PonyExpress trail. We camped at the northern end of the #FishSprings Mountains.

I got video of the amazing Deep Creek mountains but no pics. #LandscapePhotography

youtu.be/5y_kDfROzHw
Nikon z8 taken at dawn. Meanwhile my dog Benji was running around like he hadn't spent the last day investigating every bush.
January 2, 2025 at 11:30 PM
exploresouthwest.bsky.social
Here's an #astrophotography shot of #BalancedRock in #ArchesNP.

(Mainly to see if an Arches feed is working).
ArchesNPS on Nikon
December 27, 2024 at 10:28 PM
exploresouthwest.bsky.social
This is an abandoned bus in the middle of the #UtahDesert along the old #PonyExpress, #LincolnHighway trail. It's actually located in the middle of a hot springs complex in the salt flats.

I just released a video of the trip out there:

youtu.be/ZASYPuUPxJU?...

#LandscapePhotography
The skeleton of an abandoned bus in the middle of Utah's west desert. It must have been taking people to the 4 large hot springs here when it got bogged down in the mud. Nikon Z8
December 24, 2024 at 8:38 PM
exploresouthwest.bsky.social
This is an old #WinterSolstice picture I did. It looked like the sun might line up with the two arches at sunset. Close but it set just to the right instead of through Tower Arch.

This was also the most amazing #sunset I've ever experienced. Perfect conditions.

#ArchesNP
#LandscapePhotography
I think the sunset here is better than sunrise. There is only room for one tripod at the end of the ledge to perfectly center Tower arch. Look for the arch off center in other pics to know if they arrived late, or were too scared to climb on the ledge. Definitely need to bracket shots to get some light in the shadow side of the arch.
December 21, 2024 at 8:37 PM
exploresouthwest.bsky.social
Testing how much of a panorama Bluesky will allow with a shot at the park.

Shooting some #Ilford Delta400 on a modded #Fujifilm GW690II 6x9 medium format camera. It took some work to try to imagine the wide shots in the viewfinder.

#Filmphotography
#AnalogPhotography
#MediumFormat
#BlackAndWhite
December 21, 2024 at 2:50 AM
exploresouthwest.bsky.social
I know they're out there but they usually hide from the crowds. This was the first time I saw a #DesertBighorn in the #SanRafaelSwell

This was when I was down there recording a video about #RTT s.

youtu.be/ZCVavqvwYvw?...

#LandscapePhotography #WildlifePhotography #Utah
A desert bighorn poses on a rock while eyeing me suspiciously.
December 20, 2024 at 10:00 PM
exploresouthwest.bsky.social
Totally unneeded personal update. The doctor says I can start putting weight on my foot again after 4 weeks. The healing looks amazing and I may be a hiker again in the future.

But I have crazy cabin fever. This spring I want to do everything and go everywhere. So many plans of places to go.
San Rafael swell, Swazeys Cabin. I'm planning on finally doing the big north to south trip this spring.
December 20, 2024 at 7:39 PM
exploresouthwest.bsky.social
I saw this guy while while gardening and I had been wanting to try some macro photography. To me he was just a black spider but up close had some much more interesting color.

Also the whole time he'd keep looking at me and I was terrified he was going to jump onto my camera.

#macro #photography
Just a black jumping spider with a white dot on his back is a colorful faced hairy grey spider up close. Nikon Z8
December 13, 2024 at 10:17 PM
exploresouthwest.bsky.social
Alignment of the Sun Tunnels out in Utah's West Desert.

The art installation lines the tunnels up at the rise and set points of the sun at the summer and winter solstice.

youtu.be/GVQ8RGh-PTw?...

#SunTunnels #WestDesert #Utah #Photography #NikonZ8 #Overlanding #Offorad
December 12, 2024 at 7:56 PM
exploresouthwest.bsky.social
Zion Narrows

This is up at the beginning of the #WallStreet section of the #Narrows in #ZionNP. You have to head up early to beat the crowds to it but a few people are good for scale. Plus most people turn back earlier on the trail. Don't fear the crowds, expect them.

#LandscapePhotography #NPS
Deep in the bowels of the canyon. Because of the deep dark canyon this was actually an HDR blend to not blow out the sky. There was a big log fallen sideways across the river I could sit on while setting the tripod up in front of me. The overhang on the left meant on the river was the best place to make the canyon more claustrophobic. Most people walking the trail to the right miss this good photo op.
December 11, 2024 at 9:21 PM
exploresouthwest.bsky.social
A collection of film shots from around the state.

🎞️ #FilmPhotography #Analog #landscapephotography #Ilford #NikonFM3a
A throne with a view Visitors not welcome Sunken farmhouse Where the Picket fences gather.
December 11, 2024 at 3:45 AM
exploresouthwest.bsky.social
A little Bluesky engagement test. Instagram (1574 followers) vs Bluesky (131 followers)

Even though Bluesky is a smaller platform and I got less followers it got more activity (plus they don't crop my vertical shots!)

#Bluesky #Instagram #followers #photography #engagement
Instagram post of an identical picture posted to Instagram of cannon beach. Taken on a Nikon Z8 An identical post on Bluesky got slightly more likes.
December 9, 2024 at 1:40 AM
exploresouthwest.bsky.social
Lone tree on the #Oregon coast

I wasn't used to shooting in thick but low coastal fog. It made the lighting really weird but that worked in the end to make it a little unreal.

#SiletzBay #LandscapePhotography #NikonZ6
December 7, 2024 at 6:37 PM
exploresouthwest.bsky.social
Rocks on the coast of Oregon.

I'm much more of a fan of the rocky coasts than the sandy coasts.

#CannonBeach #LandscapePhotography #NikonZ8
December 7, 2024 at 3:40 AM