I recently got back from a nine day road trip through the southwest through Arizona and Utah with two photographer friends. We had such an amazing time seeing so many incredible places! I’m having a hard time even picking a favorite place. Once we got out of flat ol’ Texas, it felt like every 10-20 minutes we were pulling the car over to take pictures, haha! I’ve had such a hard time even culling down the photos to a reasonable blog post, and even then, I’m breaking up this trip into two parts!

This trip really stretched me because I don’t usually spend this much time photographing landscapes…ever. So as a photographer, it challenged me, and I enjoyed it! It was fun getting to chase the sun and learn new methods, but at the end of the day, I still definitely love photographing people more. I put a lot of pressure on myself to capture everything, but after a few days I let go of that, and told myself to just be somewhere and enjoy it…without needing to take 500 pictures of it.

So often times I would just wait to take a picture. I just stood there and enjoyed the view for a few moments before taking out my camera. And I found there’s something really beautiful about letting go and fully being in the presence of God’s creation.

Day 1: Basically all of it was spent getting out of Texas, with our one stop being at Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo. Then we drove straight to Santa Fe, New Mexico where we camped!

Day 2: Santa Fe, New Mexico: The morning began with yoga at our campsite.

This was typical…all three of us on the side of the ride snapping away for much of our drive through New Mexico and Arizona!

The clouds were absolutely incredible!

When we got to Monument Valley, there was this slight rain shower coming in, but we got to see some incredible rainbows!

We crossed over into Utah just temporarily to continue our drive through Monument Valley which is on the Arizona/Utah border!

Day 3: EEEEK! The Grand Canyon!! I was so excited, and it certainly did NOT disappoint!

I didn’t take as many on the edge as the other girls, because I’m that klutzy girl that totally would have fallen…no joke! Hah!

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to sit and enjoy the view while I did this time lapse, and I love how it turned out!

Day 4: We started the day by watching the sunrise at Horseshoe Bend in Page, Arizona.

Those colors…I just can’t get over them!

 Keep a look out for Part 2 which will include Antelope Canyon, Arches National Park, our (mini) portrait sessions, the Delicate Arch and Colorado!