Normally, this view goes on just about forever.

A devastating wildfire season on the west coast gave us a much different view, with smoke settling into the canyons and giving everything a weird, muted look. (This was shot at mid-day.) But you know how I am: at least the situation gave me something different than the usual shots of bright blue skies, vivid red rocks, and a blue-green river, and I wasn’t too disappointed about that. “Anyone can get those shots,” I said to myself in a tone that was probably too smug for the actual situation.

But what I learned is that from a photographic standpoint, smoke doesn’t really add that much to an image. And I was reminded to stop being so damn smug, already.

Dead Horse Point State Park, Utah
photographed 9.7.2020