Revisiting The Big Crater

Meteor Crater in Winslow Arizona is kind of a tourist stop off of I-40,  but it is worth a visit as it is one of the few pristine impact craters one can see here in the USA.  It's difficult to photograph as it is so damn wide.  A pano is usually suggested in my opinion.  The photo I took there a few years ago was taken with my 15mm Fisheye on a full frame camera and you can see how you barely capture the entire scene. But just so you can get an idea of how large this crater is,  take a look below at the image from space (yes it can be seen from space).....

As the space image shows,  probably the best way to get a cool image of meteor crater would be by taking an aerial image.  I think I'm adding that to my bucket list.  Now time to charge my batteries and head out to the field.

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Journey to the Wave

It's been nearly two years since I made the journey to the Wave in the Paria Canyon  / Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness Area in Arizona. This journey fulfilling one of my bucket list places.  Finally, I've gotten around to putting together the photo essay of the entire hike which wasn't as grueling as the hike itself.  Also featured in the video is photographer Mike Jones of Mike Jones Photo from Mesa Arizona and Charly Moore, the guide from Overland Canyon Tours, in Page, Arizona,  an artist in his own right.  The hike was exhausting as you could see from our faces (except Charly's).  A hike worse than Delicate Arch. But worth it.

If you have seven minutes, then lay back and enjoy the scenic journey.

Wilderness

Coal Mine Canyon - Tuba City, Az

© 2009 Michael Pancier Photography

"Wilderness. The word itself is music.

 * * *

"Wilderness, wilderness . . . We scarcely know what we mean by the term, though the sound of it draws all whose nerves and emotions have not yet been irreparably stunned, deadened, numbed by the caterwauling of commerce, the sweating scramble for profit and domination.

* * *

"But the love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth, the earth which bore us and sustains us, the only home we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need--if only we had the eyes to see. Original sin, the true original sin, is the blind destruction for the sake of greed of this natural paradise which lies all around us--if only we were worthy of it."

-- Edward Abbey - Desert Solitaire

Abbey nailed it on the head. There's nothing more invigorating than being in the wilderness, and especially in the desert.  The wilderness will cleanse your soul.  There are so many folks out there without souls or with souls consumed with hate and vengeance.  There are folks that put on a front but truly are driven by dark forces who get gratification from the misery of others and from hurting others. These folks are empty inside.  These folks have never been to the wilderness and would probably show disdain for it because of the lack of human elements.  These people are not living, for they are truly dead in their spirit. Go to the wilderness and be reborn is what I say to them.  Stop dwelling on your misery and hate and petty vicissitudes.  Go to the wilderness and perhaps you will be at peace as I am when I walk in the desert, the Everglades, or the mountains.

Please visit my website at www.michaelpancierphotography.com or
my Facebook Page - Nature and Fine Art Prints by Michael Pancier

Visions of Arizona - The Grand Canyon State

Happy Father's Day. It's day 62 and the oil still gushes. Let's escape to the desert and the beauties of the Arizona landscape.  It took me hours to reduce hours of raw footage and images into this 10 minute presentation.   In this video you will see the Grand Canyon, Sedona, the Painted Desert, Page, the Navajo Nation and other wild places only visible in the different out of this world place called Arizona.

I think one day I'll settle there. There is no finer place.

Waves of Stone

The Wave - Coyote Buttes - Arizona
© 2008 by Michael A. Pancier

"Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering.”

-- Saint Augustine

A Time to Pray

Inside the Chapel of the Holy Cross - Sedona, Arizona
© 2009 by Michael A. Pancier

Please visit my website at www.michaelpancierphotography.com

“There is no one holy like the Lord;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God."
- Samuel 2:2

In God's Wildness...

Grand Canyon National Park © 2009 by Michael A. Pancier

Please visit my website at www.michaelpancierphotography.com

"In God's wildness lies the hope of the world - the great fresh unblighted, unredeemed wilderness. The galling harness of civilization drops off, and wounds heal ere we are aware." - John Muir

Sancte MÌchael Archangele,
defende nos in proelio contra nequÌtiam et insÌdias diaboli esto presÌdium.
Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecemur:
tuque, princeps milÌtie celestis, Satanam aliusque spÌritus malÌgnos, qui ad perditiunem animorum pervagantur in mundo, divÌna virtute, In infernum detrude. Amen.

Leave it as it is

"In the Grand Canyon, Arizona has a natural wonder which, so far as I know, is in kind absolutely unparalleled throughout the rest of the world. I want to ask you to do one thing in connection with it in your own interest and in the interest of the country - to keep this great wonder of nature as it now is.
* * *
Leave it as it is. You can not improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it. What you can do is to keep it for your children, your children's children, and for all who come after you, as one of the great sights which every American if he can travel at all should see."

-- President Theodore Roosevelt, Grand Canyon, Arizona, May 6, 1903

Images & Prints Available at Michael Pancier Photography Official Website

Meteor Crater - Winslow Arizona

Grand Canyon & Colorado River

Grand Canyon Overlook - Grand Canyon National Park - Arizona
(c) 2009 by Michael A. Pancier
All Rights Reserved

Route 66 - Seligman, Arizona

Seen along the Historic Route 66 in Seligman, Arizona.

I Wish I Was In Arizona

Antelope Canyon - Navajo Nation - Arizona

Lower Antelope Canyon - Page, Arizona

One of the most amazing places in the world to see and photograph.
in Page, Arizona.

A Parrothead in the Canyon

Yours truly - Antelope Canyon - Page, Arizona

It's Time for Me to Go

Photo Courtesy of Mr. Craw Photography

Yes Infidels, the American Southwest is an amazing place. But after a week, it's time for me to go back to Florida. This is a shot at Horseshoe Bend, Page, Arizona. As you can see, the drop here is pretty big, say 1000 feet...anything for a photo.