Joey Priola Wilderness Photography

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  • A rock and seaweed rest on the purple sands of California's Pfeiffer Beach. The unique purple sand at Pfeiffer Beach comes from manganese garnet found in the nearby hills, which gets washed down to the beach below. Big Sur, California.
    Psychedelic
  • Formed nearly 2000 years ago from lava streaming down the southern flank of Mount St. Helens, Ape Cave is the longest continuous lava tube in the continental US, at 2.5 miles long. Hiking the cave is truly a unique experience. The temperature stays at a constant 42 degrees F, and despite the total darkness, “cave slime” bacteria is able to thrive, and coats the walls of the caves. I used my headlamp to illuminate the twisting passageway of the cave in this photo, and the silver-green color of the walls and “roof” of the cave is actually the aforementioned “cave slime”. Ape Cave, Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Washington.
    Planet of the Apes
  • While driving back to the Sage Creek campground after photographing the sunset, I saw an elephant on the side of the road in the darkening twilight. Although I was pretty sure that there weren’t any wild elephants roaming the plains of South Dakota, the animal that I saw was so massive that “elephant” was the first explanation that popped into my head. I didn’t have time to contemplate any further, as up ahead more imposing figures began to take shape through the dusty night air. As I crept closer, I realized that these of course were not elephants, but rather a herd of approximately 100 buffalo. I parked in the middle of the road, turned off my car, stepped out, and listened to the buffalo run and play in the darkness. I couldn’t help but think that in days past, this unique and awe-inspiring experience that I was having would have been commonplace (if you were to trade my Civic for a horse), as the Plains were once filled with millions of buffalo. I eventually made it back to my campsite, and returned to the area the following morning, hoping to be lucky enough to photograph a similar experience. Fortunately, part of the herd from the previous night was still in the area. I was able to watch the sun rise with the buffalo, and captured this magical moment in the photograph you see here. Badlands National Park, South Dakota.
    Window to the Past
  • Waves lap at the purple sand of Pfeiffer Beach on a beautiful June evening. The unique purple sand found at Pfeiffer Beach comes from manganese garnet found in the hills above the beach, which gets washed down to the beach below. Big Sur, California.
    Getaway
  • One of the most exhilarating experiences I’ve ever had in the wilderness happened at the start of a backpacking trip in Utah’s Coyote Gulch. With an ominous thunderstorm rapidly approaching, my friend and I sought shelter in an alcove (center-left in this photo), which ended up being quite possibly the most amazing and unique campsite of our lives. From our sandstone haven, we watched lightning electrify the sky and canyon, and listened to thunder boom and reverberate off the canyon walls. We stood in awe as waterfalls began to pour down over the canyon rim, and felt a deep spiritual connection to our caveman predecessors. I took this photo the following morning, with the creek swollen with rainwater and runoff, and remnant storm clouds above the canyon walls catching the beautiful sunrise glow. Coyote Gulch, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah.
    After the Storm
  • A beautiful sunset lights up the sky and colorful sandstone walls in the backcountry of Grand-Staircase Escalante National Monument, with golden autumn cottonwoods adding an extra dash of color. My friend and I camped in the cave in the bottom left of this photo, which was one of the coolest and most unique campsites we've ever had.
    Light Chamber
  • During stretches of sub-freezing winter weather, the shoreline of Lake Ontario transforms into a fantasyland of ice sheets and towers. As sunset approached one evening while I was exploring the shore, a large sheet of “pancake” ice among the smaller pieces caught my eye. As the large pancake bobbed in the icy water, it got snagged on a submerged boulder, causing the center of the ice sheet to pop out. The pancake was tuned into a glazed donut just as the pastel pinks and blues of sunset began to creep into the sky, and made a perfect foreground for this icy winter shot.
    Glazed Donut
  • Winter transforms the shore of Lake Ontario into a fantasyland of snow and ice, which was accentuated on this frigid evening by a beautiful sunset. Chimney Bluffs State Park, New York.
    Vortex
  • Ice builds along the shore of Lake Ontario, as winter begins to take hold of the lake. Chimney Bluffs State Park, New York.
    Arctic New York
  • Bizarre, otherworldly details in the blue ice formed from the spray of Rainbow Falls take on the form of aliens and ghouls. Adirondack High Peaks, New York.
    Invasion
  • Two of my all-time favorite places for coastal exploration and photography are Washington's Olympic National Park and Maine's Schoodic Peninsula. The sea stacks that are characteristic of the Olympic Peninsula, and the beautiful cobble beaches that can be found along the Schoodic Peninsula in Acadia National Park, make both of these places among the most scenic coastal destinations that can be found in the USA. While wandering the  Schoodic Peninsula one morning, I discovered this sea stack rising up from a cobble beach that combined my favorite aspects of both peninsulas, as if this sea stack had traveled the 3,000+ miles from the Pacific Coast to join me in Maine on this special morning.
    Acadia Meets Olympic
  • A bergy bit bobs in the water near Quirpon Island, Newfoundland. I found the incredible aqua color of the submerged portion of ice glowing beneath the water to be even more fascinating than the fanciful shape that the bergy bit was carved into as it slowly melted.
    What's Left Unseen
  • Surf pours down a hole in the shelf of volcanic rock at Cape Perpetua known as “Thor’s Well” while in the background the next wave rolls in. Getting to this vantage point requires good timing and steady nerves, as approaching the Well at higher tides is more or less a suicide mission, and even at lower tides rogue waves can pose a real danger. On the last morning that I camped in the area, the low tide coincided with sunrise, and I lucked out with some beautiful light. Watching the waves crash and then spill down while standing only a few feet away was an exhilarating and memorable experience.
    Go Ask Alice
  • After briefly getting disoriented on the seemingly endless expanse of slickrock en route to Coyote Gulch, my friend and I finally reached the canyon rim at Crack in the Wall, and were greeted by a spectacular vista, a rainbow, and ominous storm clouds.  After squeezing our way through Crack in the Wall, we high-tailed it down into the Gulch, and were able to seek shelter before the skies opened up with one of the most memorable and intense storms of my life. Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah.
    Lucky
  • The Nubble Lighthouse in Maine is one of New England's most beautiful coastal attractions any time of year, but it becomes truly magical each winter when the lighthouse gets lit up with Christmas lights. I especially loved how the reflection of the lights in the sea became more prevalent as the sky grew darker.
    Christmas on the Coast
  • Is there anything more New England than a Christmas tree made out of lobster traps and buoys? "Trees" of different sizes and arrangements can be found in coastal towns throughout New England during the Christmas season, and the tree pictured here comes with the added bonus of having the Nubble Lighthouse, dressed in its own Christmas lights, as a backdrop.
    'Tis the Season
  • A beautiful A-frame cabin made for a wonderful winter getaway to the Adirondack Mountains and on this clear night the starry sky was the perfect complement to a roaring fire in the snow.
    Take a Seat
  • Colorful stones on a rugged beach on the Newfoundland coast surround a boulder striped like a tiger.
    Who Dey
  • A bison calf feeds under the watchful eye of its mother and a herd mate. Badlands National Park, South Dakota.
    Not the Mama
  • Bergy bits floating in the cold water near Quirpon Island display a fascinating array of textures and colors.
    Icebreaker
  • A beautiful sunrise reflects in a tide pool tucked within the seaweed and barnacle-covered boulders of the Schoodic Peninsula. Often referred to as the "quiet side" of Acadia National Park, the Schoodic Peninsula sees only a fraction of the crowds found at the Mount Desert Island portion of Acadia, making it the perfect place to enjoy some solitude with your scenery along the beautiful coast of Maine.
    The Quiet Side
  • Morning light illuminates the plume of smoke rising from a wildfire in Great Basin National Park, as Wheeler Peak silently watches in the background. Sacramento Pass Recreation Area, Nevada.
    Silence & Suffering
  • A lone sea lion calls out to his companions, as waves crash on the black volcanic rocks of the Oregon Coast. Cape Perpetua, Oregon.
    Calling Out
  • A fogbow forms over the ocean and perfectly frames a bergy bit floating in the water below, as seen from the rugged cliffs of Quirpon Island, Newfoundland. Quirpon Island was once known as the "Isle of Demons" by sailors in the 16th century, and was thought to be inhabited by devils and wild beasts that would torment anyone that dared land on the island. Formed in a similar fashion as rainbows, fogbows are caused by sunlight passing through water droplets in thin fog. Since the water droplets in fog are so small, fogbows have only weak colors or are colorless, but still made for an exciting, unexpected, and spooky spectacle when it presented itself to us while hiking along the cliffs of the “Isle of Demons.”
    Isle of Demons
  • An iceberg near Quirpon Island that's been carved into a bizarre, mushroomesque shape.
    1 Up
  • Beautiful blue ice hangs from the cliff beside the last unfrozen veils of Rainbow Falls. Adirondack High Peaks, New York.
    When Rainbows Freeze
  • This photo of Mt. Edith Cavell and its icy-blue Angel Glacier at sunset is one of my favorite photographs that I’ve ever taken, and captures one of the most beautiful moments that I’ve ever experienced. On the final evening of a winter trip to the Mt. Edith Cavell hut, I left my two friends in the toasty hut to try to finally catch a glimpse of the elusive mountain that the First Nations people referred to as “the White Ghost”, which had remained hidden behind the clouds for the past three days. As I snowshoed towards the mountain and the sun got lower in the sky, the clouds began to peel away from the summit, finally revealing the mountain in all of her glory. Ecstatic, I hoofed it through waist-deep snow to a high plateau where I was face to face with the mountain, with not another soul in sight. The entire world seemed to be holding its breath in anticipation of the sunset. There was no wind, no noise, and no movement. I stared in awe and wonder at the mountain which seemed close enough to touch, and as the setting sun lit up the clouds above the White Ghost, I thankfully remembered to press the shutter button and captured this unforgettable moment in the photograph that you see here. Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada.
    The White Ghost
  • A beautiful beach of white cobblestones lines the turquoise waters of Georgian Bay. The lack of vegetation in the lake here gives the water an unbelievable color and clarity, which can make Georgian Bay seem more Caribbean than Canada. Bruce Peninsula National Park, Ontario.
    Canadian Caribbean
  • Steam rises from the impossibly blue Rosette Spring, on a frosty October morning in the Shoshone Geyser Basin. Almost ten miles from the nearest road, the Shoshone Geyser Basin lacks the crowds and boardwalks of more popular and easily-accessible thermal areas in Yellowstone National Park, allowing visitors to fully appreciate the splendor of Yellowstone. At sunrise, when rising steam catches the morning light and the only sound is the gurgle of the geysers and hot springs, it's not hard to imagine yourself as the first person to ever lay eyes on the Shoshone Geyser Basin. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.
    Eye of the Earth
  • Denuded Aspen trees reach toward the heavens in a pristine forest in Jasper National Park, Alberta. The lines and patterns in this abstract composition remind me of the branching structure of a nerve, hence the title.
    Nerve Center
  • Brilliant winter sunshine contrasts with the frigid and windswept Athabasca Glacier and Columbia Icefield, the largest icefield in the North American Rocky Mountains. Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada.
    Pins & Needles
  • Icebergs rise up from water that glows with a beautiful blue-green color that stems from the submerged portion of the iceberg. Quirpon Island, Newfoundland.
    Only Blue Will Do
  • Rippled badlands in South Dakota’s Badlands National Park look more like a scene from a foreign planet than the Midwest. The badland formations within the park were formed millions of years ago by tiny grains of sand, silt, and clay being cemented together into sedimentary rock over time. Exposed badland formations within the park provide a fascinating glimpse into the past, and fossil from animals such as alligators and sea reptiles have been found within the park.
    Timeline
  • The setting sun illuminates the beautiful rocky shore at California’s Montaña de Oro State Park. Millions of years ago, the sedimentary rock of the Montana de Oro coast was an ancient sea floor. When tiny fragments of once-living organisms drifted to the bottom of the sea, they mixed with silt and sand, forming mudstone over time. The mud then solidified into thick layers of sedimentary rock, and now forms the rocky, striated coast at Montaña de Oro.
    Web Gem
  • The Nubble Lighthouse in Maine is one of New England's most beautiful coastal attractions any time of year, but it becomes truly magical each winter when the lighthouse gets lit up with Christmas lights.
    Christmas Island
  • An inviting A-frame cabin in the Adirondacks was the perfect haven from the cold on this starry winter night.
    Winter Hideaway
  • A hardy tree that has somehow managed to grow from the top of a sea stack at Point of the Arches takes in a fantastic November sunrise. Shi Shi Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington.
    Roots
  • Bergy bits float like giant ice cubes near the rocky shore of Quirpon Island.
    On the Rocks
  • A hiker pauses to take in the splendor of the Zion Narrows on a beautiful autumn morning. Zion National Park, Utah.
    Morning Stroll
  • Once the bottom of an ancient lake, the bentonite clay deposits found in Nevada’s Cathedral Gorge State Park have been eroded into bizarre and otherworldly formations over time.
    The Art of Erosion
  • On any visit, it doesn’t take long to realize that Yellowstone National Park is a special place. With a concentration of wildlife and geothermal activity unseen anywhere else in the world, once-in-a-lifetime experiences occur daily when visiting the park. But with increased visitation, cell phone hot spots, and selfie stick-toting tourists cramming the boardwalks at places such as Old Faithful and Morning Glory Pool, it can be difficult to experience the “real” Yellowstone. Fortunately, the raw, remote, and sometimes savage beauty of Yellowstone is still there for those willing to put in the work required to see it. My friend and I found the real Yellowstone while on a 50 mile backpacking trip in October. We clambered over snowy mountain passes, hiked through rain, sleet, snow, mud, and brilliant sunshine, saw wolf and grizzly tracks, and soaked au naturel in hot springs almost 20 miles from the nearest road. Perhaps the most memorable moment of the trip, though, was watching and photographing the final sunrise of our journey from the shores of Shoshone Lake (the largest backcountry lake in the lower 48 states that can’t be reached by a road), deserted save for the two lakeside geysers that are steaming and sputtering in this photograph. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.
    Life on Mars
  • A cottonwood in the incredible Utah backcountry begins its autumn transformation against a backdrop of beautiful sandstone. Coyote Gulch, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
    Autumn in the Gulch
  • An aerial perspective of an iceberg floating in the inky waters near Quirpon Island, Newfoundland.
    Life Raft
  • A rock pillar, or "flowerpot" sculpted by erosion rises from the aquamarine waters of Georgian Bay. Fathom Five Provincial Park, Ontario.
    A Matter of Time
  • A rusted buoy rests on the white cobbles of a beautiful beach in Ontario's Bruce Peninsula National park.
    Castaway
  • Looking towards the sky from inside an interesting bentonite clay chimney in Nevada's Cathedral Gorge State Park.
    Ho Ho Ho
  • Steam mingles with a geyser cone in Shoshone Geyser Basin on a chilly October morning, during an unforgettable 50 mile backpacking trip in Yellowstone National Park.
    Out of the Blue
  • The handiwork of Mother Nature attains a level of grandeur and intricacy unreachable by any human-made object. Here she's begun to carve a large iceberg into what looks like a dolphin. She better hurry though, as it looks like it won't be long til the back end cracks off. Quirpon Island, Newfoundland.
    Handiwork
  • A pair of hiking boots rest on a rug that mimics the iconic trail markers used throughout the Adirondacks.
    Show Me The Way
  • The sun bursts through the clouds shortly after rising to make the rocky coast of the Schoodic Peninsula sparkle like gold. Acadia National Park, Maine.
    Gold Coast
  • One of my favorite parts of camping with my dad is chatting by the fire, often with a martini in hand, after an exciting day in the woods. While any topic of conversation is enjoyable, some of the most entertaining and memorable stories have been tales from my dad's youth working as a park ranger at Green Lakes State Park in Syracuse, NY.<br />
<br />
Green Lake and its neighbor, Round Lake, are both meromictic lakes, which means that their surface and bottom waters don't mix like most lakes do in the fall and spring. The fact that there are only about 20 meromictic lakes in North America makes Green Lake special, and its made even more unique by the fact that it possesses an incredible blue-green color that seems out of place in Upstate NY and more likely to be found in the tropics. This color comes from the high presence of minerals in the water that seeps through the surrounding bedrock and into the lake. Similar to the turquoise-colored glacial lakes that can be found in the Canadian Rockies and other parts of the world, Green Lake shimmers in otherworldly hues when sunlight hits the water. Green Lakes State Park, New York.
    Reminiscing
  • The alpine zone of the Adirondack High Peaks is one of the most unique geographic zones in New York state. Home to rare and fragile alpine plants, not to mention some unforgettable views, the high mountain summits reward hikers in many ways. While beautiful year-round, there's something extra special about the alpine zone in winter. Constantly evolving based on snow and wind, each trip to this paradise in the sky is filled with surprises in the winter. On this trip to Algonquin, I was intrigued by patterns in the crusty snow that reminded me of the swirling lines of a fingerprint, as if mother nature was leaving her signature on her winter handiwork. Adirondack High Peaks, NY.
    Winter's Fingerprint
  • Zion National Park’s Virgin River Narrows is regarded as one of the most fascinating and unique hikes in the world, and for good reason. Almost the entire hike is spent wading in the ankle to waist deep Virgin River, which at certain points is only about 10 feet wide, with the sheer walls of the canyon rising hundreds of feet above the river. One of the most fascinating things to me about the Narrows was the amount of life that is able to thrive in this cool and dark environment, which barely receives any direct sunlight due to the sheer height of the canyon walls. Pictured here is a lone cottonwood sapling that has managed to take root in a small alcove in the canyon wall. Zion National Park, Utah.
    Life Finds a Way
  • Icebergs are like snowflakes, albeit on a much larger scale, as no two are exactly the same. Each one has been weathered and sculpted by time and the sea to take on its own unique and otherworldly form of beauty. Quirpon Island, Newfoundland.
    Cutting Edge
  • The light of the setting sun strikes an Ancient Bristlecone Pine tree in California's White Mountains, highlighting the unique shape and form of these magnificent trees. The hardy, gnarled, and beautiful bristlecone pines found in the White Mountains are the oldest known living non-clonal trees in the world, with the oldest identified one being over 5,000 years old. To keep the tree safe, it's identity and exact location has not been disclosed. But with hundreds, maybe thousands, of bristlecone pines in this forest, chances are that there's one out there that's the oldest of them all, but it hasn't been identified yet. Knowing this makes hiking amongst these ancient wonders an even more exhilarating experience, as every tree passed could potentially be the oldest tree in the world.
    Timeless Tango
  • A fantastic winter sunrise lights up the sky above the rugged, beautiful and snowy Maine coast. While the vast majority of people visit Maine's coastal regions in the summer months, winter is a truly magical time to visit, as the throngs of summer tourists are gone and one can often experience and appreciate the uniqueness of the Maine coast in total solitude.
    Snow & Solitude
  • A fantastic winter sunrise lights up the sky above the rugged, beautiful and snowy Maine coast. While the vast majority of people visit Maine's coastal regions in the summer months, winter is a truly magical time to visit, as the throngs of summer tourists are gone and one can often experience and appreciate the uniqueness of the Maine coast in total solitude.
    Winter's Way