In June of 2017 I joined a group of photographers and models, ably shepherded by the well known UK photographer Damien Lovegrove. (See www.prophotonut.com.)

A motley collection of folks were on the trip with photography experience ranging from a lifetime of professional work to, well, a lot less than that! Our two delightful models, Lydia and Claire, helped us add splashes of color to the landscapes and other scenes.

The trip began and ended in Las Vegas -- a desert scene of a different kind.

We started on Route 66 proper in Kingman, Arizona and moved slowly east using some of the paraphernalia of the different stores and bars as the background for some model shoots.

Among other places, we went to the GrandCanyon, Canyon de Chelly and Antelope Canyon. The Grand Canyon remains just about impossible to photograph (imho) unless you are there for sunrise or sunset; Canyon de Chelly is not much easier. And Antelope Canyon, though spectacular, continues to suffer from the management company's insistence on jamming as many people in as it possibly can at any one time. It's gotten much worse since my last visit there. I probably won't go again.

The more interesting part of the trip was stopping off in various uncrowded locations in order to mix the models with the desert landscapes. Damien has a great eye for color and shape and acted as the director. For me, having never directed professional models before, this was both helpful and very instructional -- it is harder than you might think! But everyone got some pretty decent shots I think.

We also had brief stops in Monument Valley and Zion (probably my favorite National Park.)

Then it was back to Vegas and time to process a thousand images! That was a lot of fun guys!

More shots are in the gallery here.