Ominous - Doug Meek Photography

I've been very blessed to have been able to visit and photograph some of the most beautiful places on earth. Everywhere I go I'm constantly reminded of God's awesome creative power. It's simply amazing to realize that the sun will rise and set exactly on time everyday without exception. It is with equal certainty that we know where to locate stars and constellations in the night sky. God has set all things in order with astounding precision and unfathomable knowledge and power. I have created this gallery in a feeble attempt to bring glory to the Creator of the universe. It's the least that I can do as a way of thanking the Lord for all that He has done for me. The more I read His word, the bible, the more I learn about my God. In fact I have hopelessly fallen in love with Him, and I now know Him as both God and Daddy.

Do you see an image that you like but you would rather have your own favorite Scripture or saying instead? Please contact me and let me know what it is! If it can be done, I'll do it for you at no additional charge. Thanks so much for visiting my website and have a blessed day!

Doug Meek

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Doug Meek > "Ominous"

August 2012, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah

While not illegal, travel on Utah's clay roads during a storm is highly discouraged by the BLM, NPS, and any other agency with an acronym you can think of. The problem is that the clay turns to an impassable goo when mixed with water. It doesn't matter if you have all wheel drive, four wheel drive or an army tank - you will get stuck. The wet clay acts almost like quicksand. Years ago I tried to walk out in the stuff before attempting to drive my vehicle through. I immediately sank about a foot into the mud and barely got my foot back out. The stuff is just nasty.

The image above shows monsoon clouds blocking my only exit as I was leaving Alstrom Point in Lake Powell. I had been primitive camping for two nights on the point hoping to capture some nice shots of the lake with storm clouds. I had the whole place to myself just as I had at Toroweap earlier in the week. I love the feeling of isolation and the sound of absolute silence. I'm not sure why - it's just the way I'm wired.

Anyway, now there was the matter of getting back out. Long story short - I made it. Incidentally, the road was washed out the very next day by a flash flood.

Doug Meek > "Sunset at Toroweap"

August 2012, Grand Canyon, Arizona.

"You're not going alone are you" the agent at the St. George BLM office asked me. I told him that I was. "You realize that there is no cell phone reception, help is 70 miles away, and a tow costs $2000" he followed. I nodded somewhat apprehensively. "Are you aware that this is monsoon season, and the next week calls for non-stop thunderstorms?" I responded that the storms were precisely why I was there.

I was heading to Toroweap, one of those items on my bucket list that I finally had mustered up the courage to go to. The problem is that it can only be reached by 61 miles of rugged dirt road which turns into an impassable quagmire with the slightest rainfall. Big time thunderstorms were predicted all week, and storms means clouds, and clouds means color. Color means go shoot.

The BLM fellow told me in no uncertain terms that he "thought I was nuts". Even if I got in, there was no guarantee of getting back out. Never go alone, never do this road in the rainy season, and carry at least two usable spares. I was about to violate all three of the cardinal rules for travel to Toroweap, which the National Park Service refers to as "the most remote location in the lower 48 states".

After leaving the BLM office I headed south on River Road out of St. George. After about 3 hours of off-road driving I finally ran into another person. It was a guy about my age (read young) in a Toyota FJ Cruiser. He was headed OUT, not in. "Are you aware of the weather forecast? " he asked me. It sounded like the BLM guy all over again. He then told me that 8 miles ahead the road became too muddy to traverse while ascending Mt Trumbull on his way to Toroweap. "Do you have 4 wheel drive" I asked him? He said yes, but it was just too dicey. He too had been warned about the $2000 tow, and there were storm clouds all around just waiting to make things worse. So I finally came to my senses and did the smart thing - I kept going. I wasn't worried about needing a tow. After all, I had lost cell phone coverage hours ago. How can you call for a tow?

I reached the muddy section about a half hour later and saw the FJ driver's tire tracks. He had obviously been having difficulty. I saw the point where he turned around. After that there were no more tire tracks - none. I put my Xterra in 4 wheel drive low range, locked my rear differential, lowered the air pressure of my tires and went for it. It was hairy but I made it. About an hour later I arrived at Toroweap and I had the entire place to myself. I couldn't believe it. I would not see another person for days. It was just me and the Lord.

Doug Meek > "Clearing Storm over North Rim"

January 2010, Grand Canyon, Arizona

The Grand Canyon is so vast that I had to use a 400mm lens to get this shot across the chasm to the north rim. Like the south rim upon which I was standing, the north rim had been absolutely buried in snow over the last few days. With an elevation of 8000 feet, the north rim is about 1000 feet higher than the south rim.

To put things in perspective, those hundreds of tiny trees on the top of the rim are Ponderosa Pines, one of the tallest of all pine species. Each of the trees in this image are probably at least 50 feet tall. There is a reason why this canyon is called grand.

Doug Meek > "Zion Canyon Narrows"

September 2012, Zion National Park, Utah

The Zion Canyon Narrows are the most popular hike in Zion National Park, and for good reason. The deep canyon was carved out by the Virgin River over tens of thousands of years. The only downside to the hike is that it involves extensive wading through the cold river. Depending on the time of year, the water level can be anywhere from knee to chest deep. However, during a flash flood the water level can be many times higher. Like all slot canyon, hiking in the Zion Narrows should be avoided at all costs if storms are anywhere near the area.

Doug Meek > "Abandoned Car in the Desert"

September 2012, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, Utah

Doug Meek > "Yaki Point After the Storm"

January 2010, Grand Canyon, Arizona

Storm clouds finally began their eastern retreat as the afternoon wore on. Once again the canyon was displaying one of her many moods. It had been an incredible day, the best single day of photography that I had ever experienced. I was really getting tired hiking through all of the snow, but as long as the photo ops kept coming, there was no way that I was going to put the camera away.

Doug Meek > "Crystal Mill"

October 2012, Crystal Ghost Town, Colorado

This beautiful wooden powerhouse was built in 1892 on the Crystal River in Colorado. It's located in the western Rocky Mountains at an elevation of 9000'. The 120-year old structure is precariously perched on a rocky outcropping above a waterfall and plunge pool. The stairs down to the river still look fairly straight, but the building has an obvious lean atop its spindly wooden support beams.

To reach this stunning location, you head east 6 miles on a rough 4-wheel drive road from the tiny town of Marble. The road is covered with very large sharp-edged boulders, so you really have to drive carefully to avoid cutting a tire. High clearance is also required. If you don't want to risk damage to your vehicle, there are companies in Marble which offer Jeep tours to Crystal. I encountered several of them during the day.

Doug Meek > "River of Smoke"

September 2012, Zion National Park, Utah

In a sense this image depicts a river within a river. I shot this image in a very remote section of Zion known as The Subway. It's a rough 9-mile hike (round trip) which involves numerous river traverses, boulder-hopping, scrambling down steep talus slopes and brush-busting. Many times the easiest hiking is done by simply going straight up the middle of the river.

As I neared The Subway the river widened and therefore became much shallower. Towards the edge of the river is about a 4" wide channel in the river bottom with it's own supply of water snaking through it. This channel is cut through the most beautiful red stone I've ever seen. A long exposure gives the illusion that the water is actually smoke.

Doug Meek > "Sunbeam in Kiva"

September 2012, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

Kiva is an Indian word which means "ceremonial room". Kivas were built underground and access was gained by ladders such as the one in this image. This particular Kiva was constructed approximately 800 years old by the Anasazi. The Kiva is normally very dark inside, but I waited until the sun's rays shown directly into the roof opening, illuminating the entire chamber and revealing the beautiful colors within.

Doug Meek > "Mesa Arch Sunrise"

March 2012, Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Mesa Arch is one of those iconic shots that every landscape photographer wants to add to his portfolio. With the proliferation of the internet comes hordes of photographers eager to place their tripod legs in the holes of those who went before them. Because of this, Mesa Arch is not an easy place to shoot.

The problem with shooting this arch is that it is physically very small. It only looks large in photographs due to the use of wide angle lenses. This means that there is only room for 2 or 3 photographers to get the proper angle. Unfortunately, it is common to have anywhere from 20 to 50 people at the arch witnessing the sunrise. I have been trying for a couple of years to get this shot. I've been unsuccessful for various reasons including the arrival of tour buses, cloud cover on the horizon blocking the sunrise, or simply arriving too late to stake out my spot at the arch.

This day I was determined to get the shot. I left my motel in Moab at 5:25 and arrived at the trailhead at 6:10 in complete darkness. Sunrise was not until 7:22. The good news is that I was the first one in the parking lot, so I planned on staying warm in my Xterra until the last possible moment. The temperature was in the 20's and I had no intention of starting the 10-minute hike to the arch until I had to. I hadn't been in the parking lot for 2 minutes when I heard the sound of another car approaching. The sun would not be rising for another 1 hour and ten minutes, and already other people were arriving. So it is at Mesa Arch. I quickly put on my backpack, left the comfort of my Xterra and began the hike to the arch with the aid of my headlamp. Just then the other car pulled into the parking lot.

The sun rose right on schedule (funny how that works) and finally I got the shot that had eluded me. I was so caught up in the photographic process that I had not noticed that about 20 people were there to share this awesome sunrise with me. This was in March (off-season). I can only imagine what the crowds must be like in the summer time. Regardless, I finally got the shot, and it was worth the wait.

Doug Meek > "Dawn at Alstrom Point"

August 2012, Lake Powell, Utah

Dawn arrives over beautiful Lake Powell as seen from a remote area of the lake known as Alstrom Point. Gunsight Butte dominates the scenery in the middle of the bay, whereas 10,000' Navajo Mountain can be seen rising in the background.

Doug Meek > "Rider in Little Lakes Basin"

August 2009, Eastern Sierra, California

It was a very windy day in the mountains, not at all conducive to landscape photography. I had hiked in about 2 miles from the Mosquito Flat trailhead when I decided it was just too windy to shoot so I turned around. About half way back to the trailhead I came across a group of about 10 people on horseback. It happened to be at one of the most beautiful locations in the Little Lakes Basin. I took off my pack, grabbed my camera and got this image just as the last rider in the group was going by. The hike was not wasted after all, but I truly do hate hiking in the wind.

Doug Meek > "Rocky Road"

March 2012, Canyonlands National Park, Utah

I encountered this boulder-strewn roadway while driving the White Rim Road in Canyonlands. I will never again complain about Caltrans or any neglected California roads. The river to the right is the Green River. It is actually a very large river, but my use of a wide angle lens makes it look much smaller than it really is. In the background 5300' Bighorn Mesa dominates the landscape.

"Ominous"

August 2012, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah

While not illegal, travel on Utah's clay roads during a storm is highly discouraged by the BLM, NPS, and any other agency with an acronym you can think of. The problem is that the clay turns to an impassable goo when mixed with water. It doesn't matter if you have all wheel drive, four wheel drive or an army tank - you will get stuck. The wet clay acts almost like quicksand. Years ago I tried to walk out in the stuff before attempting to drive my vehicle through. I immediately sank about a foot into the mud and barely got my foot back out. The stuff is just nasty.

The image above shows monsoon clouds blocking my only exit as I was leaving Alstrom Point in Lake Powell. I had been primitive camping for two nights on the point hoping to capture some nice shots of the lake with storm clouds. I had the whole place to myself just as I had at Toroweap earlier in the week. I love the feeling of isolation and the sound of absolute silence. I'm not sure why - it's just the way I'm wired.

Anyway, now there was the matter of getting back out. Long story short - I made it. Incidentally, the road was washed out the very next day by a flash flood.

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Keywords: road thunderstorm bible utah scripture dirt road storm clouds stormy sky alstrom point

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