The Natural West
Began: Feb 01, 2010
Ended: Mar 15, 2010
Check out these fantastic landscapes of the American West! Thanks to all participants who submitted and voted on these images.
(Read more ...)
Winning Entry
203
Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park
by Aaron Merritt — Photo I took of the Grand Prismatic Spring while visiting Yellowstone National Park.
Dancing Marmots
A pair of Hoary Marmots dance with joy in the summer wildflowers of Mt. Rainier National Park.
Wolf Moon
The full "Wolf" Moon rising above the snow covered California Sierra Nevada Mountains is always awesome, but the addition of the simultaneous brilliant red sunset than was reflecting off the snow, rocks, and trees was a bonus. The photo was taken on Hwy 88's Bear River Scenic Overlook in Amador County, California. Moon rise was just south of Lake Tahoe from this vantage point. What a view it was!
Wilson's Arch, Moab, UT
About 250 ATV miles taking pictures in some very remote places just to get this shot off the highway from the truck.
Chimney Rock, Ghost Ranch, New Mexico
Taken at sunset on a stormy day, F11 @ 1/250th sec. Canon 5D MkII, Sigma 50mm macro lens.
Cactus, Ghost Ranch, New Mexico
An unusual type of cactus. Shot at F22 to keep background in focus. Canon 5D Mk II, Sigma 50mm macro lens.
Mule Deer at Sunset
These impressive trophy bucks were caught grazing south of Kiowa on the high plains of Elbert County before a spectacular Colorado sunset.
Weathered Warrior
Just about anywhere in the west, these divisional markers, bear witness to the taming of the environment.
the wave
The wave is a compressed sandstone formation in the vermillion cliffs wilderness. Northern Arizona.
aspen and snowberry tapestry
This photo was captured on the west side of the La Plata mountains in October of 2008.
hairy woodpecker unfazed by maurading scrub jay
Mini drama captured in the juniper tree in my front yard near Dolores Colorado.
Young Montana Pronghorns
This shot was taken with a long lens using slide film at the National Bison Range, at Moiese, Montana, about an hour north of Missoula. The area is not hunted, so the animals aren't very skittish. The steep and rugged loop road has always been worth the time.
Taking it back ~ St. Elmo
A crumbling cabin in the ghost town of St. Elmo, Co, with aspen trees trying to surround it.
Cemetery
While photographing in the Crested Butte cemetery, my eye was drawn to this fox. She was quite aware of my presence and continued hunting the entire time I was working.
Oxbow Bend, Revisited
Surrounded in all four directions by forest fires, the smoke resulted in a beautiful sunset at Oxbow Bend in Grand Teton National Park.
Black Canyon Tree
Weathered tree on the north rim of the Black Canyon above the Gunnison River in Colorado.
Gunnison River in Black Canyon
View from the north rim of the Black Canyon looking west and down to the Gunnison River.
Ladder of Light
A Kiva Ladder provides access to a reconstructed Kiva at ancestral Pueblo ruins located at Bandelier National Monument near Los Alamos, New Mexico.
Shadow of the Cross
A rustic cross marks the final Resting place of an early pioneer, near Dos Cabazos, Arizona.
The topic: Do you have an image that reflects a quintessential example of the West's intrinsic natural beauty? Submit it here!
About submitting images: Entrants may submit up to three (3) photos for each photo contest, in JPEG, PNG and GIF file formats only; each image submitted may be no larger than 2 megabytes in size.
About voting on images: Instead of making you choose only one entry to vote for, we decided to allow viewers to vote positively for any entry they want to -- one vote per viewer, per image. But be careful - you can't undo your vote once you've clicked the "vote" button, so CHOOSE CAREFULLY!
High Country News in your inbox!