FUJIFILM X-T1 (23mm, f/4, 1/1000 sec, ISO200)

Like the first two vacations in the USA this trip was fantastic too. When I started traveling  always preferred the North. Now it seems I can’t get enough heat.

Scotland, Ireland, Scandinavia and Canada have been my favorite locations. Rather cold and dark places where you can have snowfall in late August. OK that only happened once in Norway in 1993. But of course the climate is completely different to the hot and dry deserts of the South West. But what I loved about all those great places in the North was’t the weather it was the fantastic landscape and the empty space.

And that’s exactly what I love about the South West of the USA. Fantastic landscapes and there are not too many places on earth with more empty space than in the deserts of California and New Mexico. Or the wide, solitude landscapes of Arizona and Utah or the impressive mountain ranges of Colorado. This is as good as it gets and you need to go to remote places like the Outer hebrides in Scotland or to the northern islands of Norway to get the solitude you get here. The only difference is that if you are on Uist you have nothing but a small bar in a hotel and a gift shop at the ferry terminal. In the USA you are just a couple of hours drive away from a Borders book store with Starbucks inside.

FUJIFILM X-T1 (14mm, f/4, 1/60 sec, ISO640)
FUJIFILM X-T1 (23mm, f/2, 1/170 sec, ISO200)
FUJIFILM X-T1 (23mm, f/2.8, 1/120 sec, ISO200)
FUJIFILM X-T1 (23mm, f/6.4, 1/340 sec, ISO200)
FUJIFILM X-T1 (23mm, f/2.8, 1/1700 sec, ISO200)

In short: You can have it all. Deserts and landscapes where it is so quiet that all you can hear is your own heartbeat. And you can have an abundance of shopping centers, bookstores, coffeehouse and restaurants. Here you can have your cake and it eat it!

I’ll be back!

FUJIFILM X-T1 (23mm, f/4, 1/1100 sec, ISO200)