I first learned to use my camera at Coyote Buttes South. I hired a guide to take me there because it's rough terrain, and he just happened to be a photographer. I had my first camera that I didn't know how to use, and he painstakingly taught me all the basics, insisting that I learn to shoot on manual from day 1. I took a bunch of really bad photos that day, but I felt a whole new world opening up for me. He and I became friends, and as I learned photography I would stop in his town on photo trips to go shoot with him. He and I went back to Coyote Buttes 7 years after that first trip, and it was great to return with some solid camera skills and be able to take shots that show the unique beauty of this place.

This foreground rock is iconic to Coyote Buttes, and shooting close to it with a wide angle lens emphasized the colors and the shape, with the teepees in the back repeating the shape. The sky was filled with dark monsoon clouds, which brought out the colors that swirl together in the sandstone.