Valley of Fire, Nevada

Valley of Fire is the Crown Jewel of all "natural" parks, the Valley of Fire is a wonderland of geological rock formations and stunning scenery as spectacular as the glittering casinos of Las Vegas. I've been calling it "The Land of Little Arhes" for sometime now. Valley of Fire State Park is the oldest and largest state park of Nevada. It has existed since 1935. The name Fire Valley derives from the red sandstone formation, which evolved through dune movement 150 million years ago. Folding and erosion took care of the rest and formed the landscape as we know it today. Summers in the Mojave desert are very hot and dry, which is why mostly small bushes and cacti grow here. Lizards, snakes, coyotes, foxes, rabbits and rare desert turtles call the place their home.
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Valley of Fire Golden Hour Light
Fiery sunset through Elephant Rock Arch at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada's Mojave Desert. This is two merged images with a tilt shift lens to add a little more mega pixels to file and get the 4x5 format instead of the normal 4x6 format created from DSLR cameras. It's a great technique to have available but it's only used every now and then. I prefer zoom lenses when I'm shooting but primes are always a little sharper.
Valley of Fire Abstract Sandstone Detail
Melting the Shadows Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada After visiting Valley of Fire State Park over the years and looking back at this image it really speaks of the name of the place. The back light illuminating all of the red rock as the warmth melts away the cold shadows from the previous night. It's shot from with in the Valley of Fire, one of the canyons looking off into the sunrise across the valley floor. Most photographers think of Utah when it comes to red rocks but it's heavily found in part of Nevada as well.
The Raptor's Flight - Eastern Mojave Desert This fragile wind sculpted sandstone covers a cliffside full of out of this world formations.
Triple arch and moon in a dusk sky at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada's Mojave Desert
A rainbow through an Elephant Rock Arch at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. This is only the 2nd time I've shot a rainbow through an arch. Earlier that day I was out hiking in the rain at Valley of Fire. I just kept shooting for hours and caught a few rainbows. Not lucky, it's just saying hey it's raining so I should be waiting for it! It is lucky that it happened the first time I attempted to shoot this arch.
Rainbow in Valley of Fire with Tramp Ridge in the background.
The Red Planet - Valley of Fire State Park Nevada The bizarre formation of Arch Rock resembles something one might on another planet such as Mars.
Rainbow Vista Scenic Area Panorama Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Arch in Rainbow Rainbow Vista at Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Into the Canyon - Mojave Desert Canyon Narrows near Las Vegas, Nevada
Valley of Fire Nevada Details
Windstone Arch in the Fire Cave at Valley of Fire State Park
Radiating Skies The sunsets and sunrise can be quite spectacular from almost anywhere in the park.
Striated Rock Valley of Fire State Park Nevada
Follow the Glow - Mojave Desert Near Las Vegas
Distant Views in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Ignition Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
A Folding Earth in the Dusk Sky Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Hanging Heads Mojave Desert - BLM land
Phtoographer in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada - Arch off the beaten path in the Mojave Desert
Canyon Petroglyphs One of the main attractions at Valley of Fire is Atlatl Rock, which displays old Indian rock art which has preserved for us to enjoy!
Valley of Fire Skies Where the skies are unlimited with some of the best sunsets I've ever seen!
Sunset Panoramic View at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada
Valley of Fire cabins light painted at night under the stars
Little Arches at Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Triple arch and moon in a dusk sky at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada's Mojave Desert
A wide view Valley of Fire State Park
Forboding stormy sky over arches at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada.
Elephant arch sunset silhouette at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada
Valley of Fire and Gold Butte Panorama in Nevada's Mojave Desert
Elephant Rock arch glowing at sunset at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada.
Wild Sunrise Color at Valley of Fire State Park Nevda
Bands of color at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada.
The colorful narrows of the Pink Wash at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada.
Wild rock sculptures at the Devil's Fire or Little Finland in the Lake Mead Basin, Nevada
Wild Mojave Desert - Giant mushroom shaped hoo doo in the Lake Mead Basin
Arch at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada.
S curve at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. A mixture of colorful swirl details in the intimate landscape.
Virgin Peak and Cactus Top sandstorm formation in Red Rock Country Mojave Desert, Nevada.
Virgin Peak and Cactus Top sandstorm formation in Red Rock Country Mojave Desert, Nevada.
Piano Rock Light Painting at Valley of Fire State Park Some photographers ask themselves a series of questions when they get ideas for a subject to photograph. Much of the time it's where? GPS? What time? Moon or no moon? Have you ever thought, How? Might be a better question.... . How do you try to take a different picture? How do you make a picture more three dimensional, or add texture? If you were inspired by a moonlit photo, how do you take one with out moonlight? We had a great time shooting this arch but we were only there for about 15 minutes.
Texture Valley of Fire Sandstone
Rainbow Vista at Valley of Fire State Park Nevada

Sieren

Valley of Fire, Nevada