Cottonwood Leaves on Mud, Cottonwood Creek, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, UT (September 17, 2016, 1:41pm)
As is often the case, this image was not the "main attraction". On the route to the hike up to Yellow Rock in Grand Staircase Escalante, it's necessary to cross Cottonwood Creek. I would guess that most people who are not photographers would see this mud-bottomed creek as a nuisance. But to photographers who love thought of semi-dried mud in swirling patterns with
cottonwood leaves scattered on the surface, this scene was a wonderful distraction.
I loved the monochrome compositions that nature had created for me that afternoon and could have spent hours exploring the different arrangements.
Canon EOD 5D, Tamron AF 180mm f/3.5 Di SP A/M FEC LD (IF), 1/125 sec @ f/8, ISO 200, Calumet 8000 Carbon Fiber Tripod, Gitzo G1276 Ballhead
