A World Less Seen

       Fine Art International Photography By Thomas Upton       

Desert & Canyons: Arches, Cliffs & Open Spaces

Desert and canyon landscapes are defined by more than dryness. Erosion, layered stone, open expanses, narrow passages and sparse vegetation create an unusually varied visual environment. Volcanic highlands and shifting dunes introduce different surfaces and colors. Light moves quickly across cliffs and landforms, emphasizing shapes that may look entirely different under another sky. The photographs explore geological structure, color and scale, from broad views of the terrain to more concentrated studies of rock, shadow and texture. Among these are Utah sandstone arches, the deeply carved walls of Zion and the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon hoodoos and Monument Valley buttes fading into haze.

White and red striped sandstone formations stand above green desert vegetation in a clear Zion landscape.
Steep red and cream cliffs surround a green canyon floor beneath clear blue sky in Zion National Park.
The Virgin River threads through a green canyon floor bordered by massive red and cream sandstone cliffs.
A sunlit Zion landscape shows pale cliffs, rocky spires, green trees, and red desert ground.
Low dunes with footprints and wind ripples stretch toward scrubby vegetation under a clear sky.
A mushroom-shaped sandstone hoodoo stands on eroded orange rock with crisp shadows and intense blue sky.
A river cuts through a broad desert gorge with cliffs, scrubland, and warm low sunlight.
Rounded slickrock shelves descend into a narrow desert canyon, showing pale sandstone layers and sparse vegetation.
Tall striated red canyon walls above shaded green shrublands and deeper ravines.
Series of tall orange sandstone pillars beyond foreground desert rocks and shrubs.
Layered canyon walls rise tightly around a rocky passage, with shadowed slopes and scattered green vegetation.
Sunlit orange canyon cliffs divided by long blue shadows in the late afternoon.
The Courthouse in the foreground with Tower of Babel in the distance at Arches National Park.
A sunlit sandstone hoodoo stands above eroded canyon walls with pine trees and rugged desert cliffs behind.
A reddish volcanic slope leads up to a dark cinder cone, with heavy clouds and stark barren terrain.
A wide desert view shows isolated sandstone buttes fading into atmospheric haze beneath a pale sky.
View from beneath a huge sandstone arch reveals blue sky, desert shrubs, and layered red rock beyond.
A stark monochrome tree anchors the South Rim foreground above layered Grand Canyon, AZ cliffs and distant plateaus.
A long, thin sandstone arch bridges a rocky alcove above desert trees and weathered red rock.
Joshua trees and rounded granite boulders appear in black and white beneath dramatic desert clouds.
Deep red canyon walls drop to the green Colorado River, with a boat visible near the cliff base.
A sweeping view from above shows the Colorado River wrapping around the red rock formation at Horseshoe Bend.
Warm light picks out canyon rims and mesas while deeper ravines remain in blue-gray shadow.
Several small waterfalls drop from a red sandstone shelf, streaking a dark mineral-stained canyon wall.
A tall cactus and surrounding desert plants are rendered in black and white beneath a textured sky.
Delicate Arch stands in red sandstone with a bright blue sky behind it in Arches National Park, Utah.
A rare sighting of a California Condor soaring 1100 feet above the valley floor in Zion National Park.
The Colorado River canyons are so huge that it is difficult to appreciate their size and depth.
A deep red canyon holds a blue-green river far below layered rock walls.
The Island in the Sky park district sits on top of an enormous mesa and provides a few routes down such as Shafer Canyon Road, one of the world's.
Dense hoodoo formations and pale stone fins stack across a rugged desert canyon.
Orange hoodoos rise in the foreground with pink and white stone structures stretching across the frame in the distance..
Rows of red hoodoos and pale eroded slopes fill a desert amphitheater revealing how the enormous number of hoodoos tumble down from the canyon rim.
Tall orange hoodoos frame layered amphitheaters and distant blue ridges at Bryce Canyon.
A sheer canyon wall is home to intrepid trees that cling the the vertical face.
This would be an average view of Balanced Rock in Arches National Park, were it not for the two small figures in the photo gazing up at the tower.
The North Window arch is one of several major sandstone structures in this part of the park.
Warm orange slot-canyon walls twist around a sandy floor, with rippled stone layers overhead.