Spring of 2019... I drove out to the Desert SW from Colorado and my friend Adam Kavalunas hit me up with an invite to do some canyoneering in some remote areas of the Escalante. Adam's a big "Desert Rat" so even though it was a few hours out of the way I knew I needed to get my butt out there to join him for a short two day adventure. Plus its always nice getting caught up with like minded photographers.
Here's a location that Adam discovered years ago but didn't quite remember where it was in 2019. So we just set off, dropping into a maze of winding sandstone, trudging through quick sand silt-mud...dodging loads of poison Ivy.
After a half day of exploring we finally discovered the scene. Wow, what a perfect sandstone alcove highlighting the lone well-shaped sapling tree.
Now it was time to wait for the best light. We waited, waited... then slept for a few hours. We snacked, did more sleeping & listened to a few sets of music off the phone too.
6-7 hours later the light finally started to bounce off the surrounding walls into the huge alcove... Ive never waited that long for light. But it was soooo worth it.
Thanks Adam, I sincerely appreciate the invite that day. We may have unfinished business in there right?
Kane Engelbert Photography
This same shot was done by Fatali quite a few years ago, think back in the 90's early 2000's. There used to be two trees there, but looks like the one on the left either died or has fallen down.
