Location: Coyote Buttes, Paria River – Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness Area, AZ
Camera: Linhof Technika IV 4×5
Lens: 125 mm Fujinon W
Film: Fujichrome Provia / RDP II Quickloads
About the Moment: Coyote Buttes is an area of spectacular scenery consisting of extremely diverse and unique geologic formations. One of these formations has acquired the name “The Wave” – reminiscent of a wave in the ocean that has been frozen into multicolored sandstone.
The sandstone at Coyote Buttes is very fragile and it needs to be treated with respect. In many places, the sandstone has naturally eroded to form small ridges that may be easily broken when stepped on. When walking in this area, walk conscientiously and do not step on the thin sandstone ridges.
The Bureau of Land Management has a permit system to limit access to this area to help protect these extremely unique formations. Please obtain a permit and help preserve this great natural resource.
Coyote Buttes is highly prized by photographers. When you find photos of this place in books or magazines, often the caption will usually say “Colorado Plateau” – a rather large area. It used to be that if you found some one that has been there and ask how to get there, they would not be forthcoming with directions. But that has mostly changed in the last few years.
Time of Year: Late March.
Filters, Effects, Digital Manipulations: A polarizing filter was used to saturate color of the blue sky against the clouds. No digital manipulations were used to produce this photograph.