After the whole ordeal that lead to picking up an SD card at Walgreens, I headed out for a morning hike.

Julianna and Mordecai were back at the Airbnb, sleeping in and enjoying a relaxing morning, which meant I had the unusual luxury of wandering at my own pace. No schedule. No rush. Just me, my camera, and the desert waking up around me.

I pulled into the Jordan Road Trailhead and found myself staring at three tempting options. Each trail offered something different—different terrain, different views, different lighting. So I did what landscape photographers do: I studied the surrounding formations, watched how the morning light was falling, and imagined what each direction might offer.

Brins Mesa Trail won.

It promised elevation, open views, and the best angle of light on the surroundings desert landscape. So off I went, determined to see how far I could get before the day heated up.

With plenty of light at this time of day, I found myself shooting hand‑held far more than usual. A tripod forces me to slow down and be selective. Without it, I tend to explore more freely—snapping ideas, testing compositions, and following instinct more.

Later, reviewing the images, I realized I had left a bit of a “picture‑trail” of my thought process. It was fascinating to see the sequences—how one idea led to another, how a composition developed, and how the final image wasn’t always the best of the bunch.

Out of the Gate

Right out of the gate, the views were great.

It was such an amazing place for landscape photography. Of course, the lighting was flat, so I went hunting for foreground elements—something to add depth and anchor the scene.

My first attempt was this tree:

My picture felt a little busy, so I looked around for something else to use in the foreground.

Nearby, an agave plant caught my eye. Clean lines. Strong shape. A natural desert subject.

I liked the idea.

It seemed a bit small in the frame, so I moved closer and zoomed out—a classic trick to make a foreground subject feel more prominent.

The plants that surrounded that agave made it go back to looking busy again, so I continued down the trail looking for more agave plants.

A little farther down, I found a pair with more breathing room!

There seemed to be a bit more structure here. I ended up moving in again to try a wider rendition of the same scene.

And those two shots captured what I was looking for.

In terms of lighting, shooting the other direction made for a more colorful photo of my foreground subjects, though. 🙂

A Clean Section of Trail

Further down the trail, this long, clean section of trail with the red mountains in the background really caught my eye. This picture is my first shot:

My first shot looked promising, though the shadows appeared deeper in the photo than they did in real life—one of those quirks of midday light. But down the trail a bit more, the scene opened up beautifully.

And I thought this was a nice shot for being in the middle of the day.

And a few yards forward at the next patch of underbrush, I thought possibly utilizing a two-point perspective composition and including more rock formations in the background would be neat.

Again, a good idea, but I think it would be more effective under different lighting.

Random Snapshots

As I continued down the trail, I had fun just trying to photograph normal desert scenes.

A Promising Detour

Just before reaching the plateau, I crossed paths with a hiker heading back to the parking lot.

“Have you heard of Mormon Point?” he asked.

Of course I hadn’t.

“It’s a great spot for photos. Not too many people know about it, either. When you reach the top of the plateau here, turn right and head toward the green knoll. No official trail—just go along the rim for about a mile.”

Wow, a unique place that not too many folks knew about! I looked on Google Maps. The place he described appeared to be what was described as “Brins Mesa”. I looked on AllTrails. There didn’t appear to be an official trail out to it. A little thrill of excitement washed over me!

I hadn’t planned to go farther than the plateau. I hadn’t conserved water. And the cool of the morning was disappearing fast.

But it was only two extra miles, round‑trip. Mostly flat. And the promise of a secret photo spot was too good to pass up.

So I put my camera in my bag, turned right at the top of the hill, and headed toward the small green knoll off in the distance!

Mormon Point

The “small” knoll turned out to be much farther—and much larger—than it looked. By the time I reached it, it felt every bit of a mile away.

The gentle green slope gave way to rock, and soon I was scrambling up a rugged, narrowing ridge that felt straight out of a cowboy movie. At the end, vertical cliffs dropped sharply into the ravine below.

The hiker hadn’t exaggerated. It was a great spot!

I didn’t have much time, so I shot quickly—hand‑held, but intentional. Snap, review, adjust, reshoot. I wish I had had hours to explore that place.

Before heading back, I took a short break in the shade of a desert rock, savoring the silence and the sense of discovery in that wild place.

It was hard to believe everything that happened that morning had taken place before 10:30am. The light was harsh, but even midday shooting has its lessons—how to work with contrast, how to use shadows creatively, how to lean into texture when colors were not appealing.

But the heat was rising, my water was low, and family time was calling. There was a lot to do that afternoon, including packing up for our flight from Phoenix the next day.

Plus, we had to prepare for one final photo outing that evening! The forecast looked perfect for a glowing golden hour and a colorful, desert sunset. And this time, it would be a family adventure! I’m learning a lot about how to mesh family life and landscape photography. With Mordecai old enough to scoot around, and Julianna pregnant with #2 at the time, chasing the light for calendar-worthy landscapes looks a lot different than it did when I was single. But I’m learning how it works, and this trip out west was very helpful. So, maybe I’ll share some of the things I’m learning in a future blog post!