As I live in southern Utah, I tend to take lots of desert landscape photos.  It’s the environment in which I live.  However, every so often, I like to break things up and take photos of something different.  As there’s no ocean nearby and only certain kinds of trees, I find that my branch-out options are somewhat limited sometimes.  Still, I go find what I can.  This new landscape photo is a great end-of-summer shot which mixes things up for me.

As summer concludes for the year, I found my way into a new landscape photography location.  I tried out Piute State Park less than 1 hour away.  This state park appears to be another park dedicated to outdoor water sports.  You can fish and boat there.  It’s a great place to visit during the beginning, middle, and the end of summer.

While I was there, I noticed a rocky sandbar peeking out from under the water.  Also the gulls were out in plenty.  Sadly, photographing the birds didn’t work as planned, but the sandbar provided some opportunities.  I took a walk out to the end and situated myself in front of some of the better scenery.  As I snapped away with the shutter, the sun sank lower in the sky.  It eventually sank behind the clouds.  With a few moments to go, I realized that I could capture a sunburst or sun star using the hole in the clouds.  It was a close thing, but it worked.

The bonus was the rays of sunlight and shadow peeking out from the clouds.  I managed to catch all the interest in the sky in 1 shot.  The rocky sandbar provided a great foreground in the water.  I don’t think I could ask for more.  I made sure I walked away with a beautiful scene.

So, I think this is a great end of summer landscape photo shoot.  It breaks things up in my portfolio nicely.  I also enjoyed exploring a potential new landscape photography site for the future.  What do you think of this new photo?  Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.  I’d love your feedback on the matter.