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Showcase
July 2026
Surreal Worlds
Dreamscapes of the USA Southwest
A portfolio of human-made imperfect images. Captured at real locations, using real light and film or digital sensor exposed to real photons. Real life experiences and lasting memories. No AI.
The Four Corner Region of the USA is home to many great landscapes and numerous photographers travel there to capture great images. Besides the usual suspects like Zion, Grand Canyon and Arches there are countless smaller, lesser known wilderness areas, mostly managed by the BLM, that hold tons of photographic treasures. They are more remote, harder to reach, but most of the time you have the place to yourself. Mostly these are smaller areas but many of them feature surreal, almost otherworldly landscapes, that can't be found anywhere else.
As the US southwest gets quite hot in June we shifted our activities to the early morning hours and the late afternoon/night. To shot sunset we would leave the hotel/motel around 4pm, drive and hike to the location to be there by 8pm, sunset would be around 9pm and we would be back in the hotel after midnight.
The photos of this showcase were taken on a recent road trip through New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado.
I hope you enjoy the photos.
JMZ
Word of Caution
Many of the photos shown were taken in remote locations. To travel there is not without risk. If you like the photos and plan to travel there to visit the areas yourself please consider the following BLM statement. I just picked the one for the White Pocket but this holds true for most of these locations.
*Safety and Conditions
You are responsible for your safety. If you get lost while hiking, experience a non-life-threatening emergency, or if your vehicle becomes stuck or breaks down, it is your responsibility, not the responsibility of emergency services or the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), to deal with the situation.
The roads that access White Pocket Trailhead consist of deep sand and patches of sharp rock. Four-wheel-drive high-clearance vehicles are required. Every year, many groups get stuck and stranded on the way to this trailhead as a result of attempting the drive without enough experience or in inappropriate vehicles.
If you are unsure of your vehicle’s capabilities or simply don’t want to assume the risk, BLM recommends hiring an authorized guide. Information about authorized guides may be found at BLM visitor centers or on our website.*
Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, New Mexico
This amazing landscape is located In north New Mexico. The closest town, Farmington is about 50 miles north of the badlands. The Bisti/De-Na-Zen wilderness covers an area of approximately 70 sqmiles, some photo locations are quite easy to access others are much more remote and require a 4x4 vehicle and some serious scouting using GPS coordinates. There are no trails and a GPS is a must (do not plan to rely on cellphone reception), particularly if you plan to stay past sunset. Trying to memorize the path is not a great idea, the landscape is not always a flat plain and you have to navigate washs and canyons.
Wing Rocks at Dusk
Egg Factory (aka Alien Hatchery) at Sunset
This was our second trip to the Egg Factory. This time our efforts were rewarded with a beautiful sunset.
Egg Factory (aka Alien Hatchery) at Sunset
The otherworldly sandstone formations were formed about 73 million years ago when the area which was covered by water dried up. Over time layers of sandstone, mudstone, shale and other sediments were eroded by water and wind to form these amazing formations.
King of Wings
The King of Wings seems to defy gravity. The wing is about 30 feet long and amazingly it is still standing. The formation is so remote that it was only found by a pilot flying low over the desert. I couldn't find the exact date of discovery but based on information I researched it was only about 15 years ago and the location was kept secret for quite some time. For us, this was our first time at the King of Wings. It is located pretty much in the middle of Bisti Wilderness and consequently requires some efforts to get there and find it. After negotiating many miles of rugged and sandy roads into the Bisti wilderness you start your hike to the King. There are no trails and your best bet is a GPS with the location's coordinates, Without this I would say forget about it. It isn't a very long hike but you have to find your way through a maze of badlands and canyons. There was no way we would have attempted to find the King of Wings for a sunrise shooting. In the dark, not knowing this terrain would be a serious challenge. We got an early start but I realized until we would find the location the sun would be way up. A clear blue sky wasn't helping either. Therefore I planned to shoot the King of Wings in B&W. Now the path is recorded and saved in my GPS, next time we will be there for sunrise or sunset (or both).
Egg Factory (aka Alien Hatchery) at Sunset
Sunset in an amazing landscape
Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness, New Mexico
This location is adjacent to Bisti but more remote and best visited with a 4x4. The last few miles, after you left a maintained dirt road, are on narrow, bumpy and sandy 4x4 tracks. There are many side tracks which form kind of a maze and are hard to see when it is dark. I strongly recommend to use a GPS and record the way to the trailhead. Last year I didn't do this and later on the way back in the dark we were going in circles for about 40 minutes until we found the right track. This shortened an already short night even more. The same holds true for the hike back to the car. You will hike a few miles in the dark and a recorded path on a GPS is a big help. This was our third trip to the Valley of Dreams. The area is quite large and there is always something new to discover and photograph.
Alien Throne at Dusk
Arguably the most famous formation of Valley of Dreams.
Sunset at Alien Throne
The Eruption
This formation you pass on your hike to Valley of Dreams. Somewhere at the horizon our Wrangler is parked.
Valley of Dreams
This formation we found in a section of the valley we had not explored before
Mushroom Rocks, Valley of Dreams
Not too far from Alien Throne you can find these amazing clay/rock formations
The Three Wise Men well after Sunset
This formation is not located in Valley of Dreams but we passed it on our hike back to the car. It was already dark and I had to increase the exposure time to more than one minute to capture the last indirect light of the day.
White Pocket, Arizona
This is one of my favorite photo locations in the Southwest. It is located in a remote area of Grand Escalante-Staircase National Monument and to get there requires navigating miles of sandy and rocky Jeep tracks. You need a 4x4 and ideally reduce the tire pressure to avoid getting stuck. I usually got down from 37psi to 12psi. So far no issues, but we do carry a shovel and recovery ramps with us, just in case!
White Pocket is an extremely photogenic and surreal looking landscape. We've been here now three times and it always looks different, depending on wheather, season, and light.
A couple days earlier when we drove towards Kanab, where we had our base for a few days, we saw a hugh dark plume like from a wildfire. At the motel I checked the internet and indeed there was a lightning caused wildfire burning. It was closing parts of Rock Valley Road an unpaved road which provides access to the tracks to White Pocket and Coyote Buttes. Evacuation orders for campgrounds were already issued. Now I got a bit nervous that we would not be able to visit these locations, Next morning we checked with the BLM office and luckily the road closure didn't impact our plans.
White Pocket with Rain Clouds at Sunset
Right around sunset a small cell moved over White Pocket. Rain was falling from the clouds which were illuminated by the setting sun. However, the water didn't reach the ground. This happens quite often in the dessert were the humidity is very low.
Lone Pine Tree, White Pocket
Coyote Buttes South, Arizona
To access this BLM managed wilderness area you need a permit. The BLM issues only permits for 10 people (or 4 groups) per day via an open online advanced permit lottery which runs months ahead. Since this trip wasn't planned with much lead-time we didn't have permits. The only other option is to apply through the daily oneline lottery which runs always 2 days before the permit date and issues an additional 10 permits. The catch is you have to be in the area to be able to apply, the website uses geofencing. Therefore we had to wait until we arrived in Kanab. Luckily we won the lottery, and picked up the permits next morning at the BLM office. Coyote Buttes South's Cottonwood Cove entry is not too far from White Pocket but the tracks to get there are even sandier, locally with very deep soft sand and some in this area are extremely difficult to navigate even with a 4x4 high-clearance vehicle and deflated tires. The BML has marked on the map a few tracks which you absolutely should avoid, mostly deep sand and going uphill! The BLM had issued all advanced permits for the day we went there, however for some reason we didn't see anybody at location. We've now been in this area several times and it's always the same, you might see one other car, but that's it. I really start wondering what's going on, do people apply for permits but then decide not to go?
The Seahorse (aka Witch's Hat)
This an amazing sandstone formation which I had already photographed last year in October. This time I was looking for a different composition. When I climbed on a nearby rock I found this interesting foreground. I used a 15mm lens to capture this image after sunset. In my opinion this formation is even better than the famous Wave in the North unit.
The Control Tower
A nearby formation (you can see the seahorse in the background to the left of the tower)
Kanab, Utah
Kanab is an ideal base for exploring photo locations betweenn Zion National Park, Grand Staircase -Escalante National Monument and Grand Canyon's North Rim. This time we had the opportunity to explore two new locations: Inchworm Arch and the Belly of the Dragon.
Inchworm Arch at Sunset
This little arch is only about a 1.5 hour drive from Kanab. To visit the arch you need a 4x4 for the last 10 miles which are on sandy tracks. It is an easy drive, I didn't even air down the tires. Only on the last stretch there are a few transversely sloped and narrow turns where the side tilt of the Jeep felt a bit awkward. The Wrangler Rubicon can tolerate a roll angle up to 30-35 degrees, depending on load (pay attention to your roof rack load) and it is equipped with an inclinometer to let you know when you approach the limit. We didn't reach the tipping point!
Belly of the Dragon
This is a man-made drainage tunnel beneath Highway 89, just a few miles north of Kanab. The tunnel was built in the early 1900s and it is said that frequent flush floods smoothed and shaped the tunnel walls. Obviously this is an easy to reach location and consequently you would expect many visitors. Since we had some time left before we would drive to Coyote Buttes we decided to check it out. At arrival the parking lot in front of the tunnel was quite full and I had zero hope being able to take a decent shot there. For some reason I grabbed my tripod and camera backpack anyway and walked to the tunnel, There were probably 15 people in front of me trying to enter the tunnel. They were waiting for folks returning and leaving the tunnel, Then the unbelievable happened, everyone was out of the tunnel and the 15 folks who turned out to be one large group entered the tunnel and walked all the way through. Suddenly the entire tunnel was empty and I was able to capture several 20 to 30 second exposure frames before the group returned and other folks were entering Dragon's Belly.
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