The recent visit to Zion National Park, in 2012, reminded us of our first, in late Spring 1977, 35 years ago.

As I fiddled with the scanning parameters, trying to extract pixels, not dust nor grain, I was surprised by the quality of the outcome.  The camera was a Konica, with Automatic Metering, but manual focus and I cannot remember if I had more than the standard 50 mm lens on it on that trip.

Of all the Single Lens Reflexes (SLR) we owned (Konica, Minolta, Canon), it is the one that took the most pictures before the advent of D... SLR. Earlier Canon DSLR were very close.

Today, I feel that the Canon 7D with a 24-105mm zoom is reminiscent of that early Konica from the 70's. The Zion blue skies are always a treat. Deep blue with touches of white. When storms are roaming, the carved details fade away, leaving only shapes and forms.

The interesting part is that the passion we (Louise and I) had for landscape photography has not abated over the years. When I look at these slides, I can visualize the images that took anchor in our memory; and why we return to these landscapes over and over.

Sometimes I wonder if we made progress. Of course, we now have a trailer, instead of a tent, tablets instead of paper notepads, digital photographic equipment and many other goodies that we could not dream of in the 70's.

But are our artistic senses better? Do we look and see these unique landscapes in ways which are more refined, telling more to those who look at our pictures?

This gives me food for reflection. We are now planning a longer Western trip in 2013. These scans and how we compare what we saw in 1977 and today will serve as guideposts for what we can see and do then.

The issue is not better quality (nice to have), but conveying beauty, immensity, and the urge to go and visit personally now.

We hope you will enjoy the three galleries that you can reach by clicking on the pictures above.