Regensburger Photography

Author: Derek Regensburger

  • 2018 Girl’s Soccer Finals

    I photographed the CHSAA 2A and 3A girl’s soccer finals at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park last night. Dawson School defeated Denver Christian 3-2 and Jefferson Academy outlasted Kent Denver 2-1 in a shootout in the 3A final. The nightcap was very evenly matched as the two teams traded second half goals before going scoreless in the two overtime periods. Jefferson won the penalty kick round to take home the trophy. 

  • Broomfield Columbine Girl’s Soccer Quarterfinal

    Broomfield defeated Columbine Wednesday to advance to the 5A girl’s soccer semifinals. Columbine struck first with a goal 12 minutes into the second half.  The lead stood up until Broomfield redirected a corner kick with 2:39 left to tie it at 1-1. Then Broomfield scored quickly in overtime to win the match and advance. 

  • Regis Legacy 2018 Girls’ Soccer 5A Playoff

    I photographed the 5A girls’ soccer playoff game between Legacy and Regis last night.  It was a fantastic contest with a number of shots by both sides.  Regis prevailed 1-0 with a pretty goal deflection off a corner kick in the second half.

  • Waterholes Canyon

    On a recent trip to southern Utah and northern Arizona, I stopped by Page, AZ.  I avoided Antelope Canyon like the plague.  The crowds there now are out of control.  Plus, the Navajo Nation has banned tripods at Lower Antelope Canyon.  As I drove by, I counted at least 100 cars in each parking lot on a Monday morning in April.  Yikes!  But all was not lost.  I obtained a permit to hike the lower portion of Waterholes Canyon.  This has far less people and has some exquisite rock formations to see.  

    The Hike to Waterholes

    Hiking Waterholes Canyon is relatively easy.  The canyon is accessed from a short hike in from the rim.  The trail descends steeply into the canyon about 100 feet.  The trail is well marked with stones and red paint at the entry point to the canyon. It is then about a mile and a quarter to the ladder up stream or about a quarter mile to the ladders down stream.  Both sections have some nice slot canyons and the rock turns an orange color near midday.  The canyon walls are beautifully curved and make some interesting photographic compositions. You can hike to the power poles but past that point you have to hire a guide.  The upper section has ever more beautiful narrows.   I didn’t go past either ladder but the bottom one has an old car wreck you have to negotiate around.  

    Horseshoe Bend

    I also hiked down to Horseshoe Bend to watch the sunset since it is only a couple of miles north of Waterholes.  I was amazed at the crowd.  There must have been 200 people there.  The parking lot is now three times the size of what it used to be.   The hike is about a half mile down a steep sand dune until you reach the canyon rim. What a great place to watch the sunset, though.  

    Driving Directions

    Waterholes Canyon is located about 5 miles south of Page on Highway 89 at mile marker 542.  Park on the left side of the road and begin hiking into the canyon. Horseshoe Bend is located 2 miles north and parking is on the right hand side as you are heading south on 89.   A permit for Waterholes can be obtained at the Navajo office in Lechee.

  • Coyote Gulch

    I backpacked into Coyote Gulch in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah this past week.  I had been wanting to do this trip for the past ten years or so.  I failed once trying to squeeze my pack through the crack-in-the-wall route so this time I simply hiked in through Hurricane Wash.  I walked 25 miles in two days but it was worth the effort.  Coyote Gulch is an amazing place.  It features several waterfalls, a large arch, and towering canyon walls. It is also a very peaceful walk through a verdant canyon in the middle of a desert.  Below is the trail description.

    Hurricane Wash

    The guidebooks warn that this hike is rather dull to start and I think that is a little unfair.  While the first couple miles are rather unremarkable, parts of Hurricane Wash are actually pretty scenic.  The wash itself is 5.5 miles long to the confluence with Coyote Gulch.  The wash is sandy for the first four miles.  Luckily, an overland trail avoids the wash for the first couple of miles, meaning you’re walking in sand for only about 2 miles of the trip.  The canyon walls pop up after about two miles and this is where the hike starts to get interesting.  The trail passes the Glen Canyon boundary at mile 3.0.  Shortly thereafter, the canyon enters a short narrows section which is quite pretty.  At mile 4.0, the landscape changes.  Tamarisk and reeds dominate and a trickle of water becomes evident.  You pass by a large rock in thee stream bed that looks like it has been blasted from the hillside and then a fenced gate at around mile 5.0.  Finally, you come to the confluence.  This area features a much wider stream and and several canyon faces greet you downstream to the right. On the way back, I found out how the wash got its name.  The wind rips through it when a front is approaching.   

    Coyote Gulch

    The wading in the stream now begins in earnest.  The trail criss-crosses the stream multiple times throughout your journey through the gulch.  You’ll need wading shoes unless you want to get your boots wet.  I opted to hike in tennis shoes and neoprene socks.  You pass a couple of very large rock alcoves which have a nice orange color to them.  At around mile 7.0, you come to the first main feature of Coyote Gulch–Jacob Hamblin Arch.  The Arch towers above you to the left.  The arch is a good photo around two hours before sunset or at an hour after sunrise on the reverse side (but alas I went through it around 1pm).  There are multiple campsites on either side of the arch and one directly below it.  This is a good spot for a star shot, but I didn’t bring my Canon on the trip due to weight.  I continued downstream from here and soon came to the Swiss Cheese falls.  This is an area in the stream with some great fluted rock that the stream flows through.  I camped here under another large alcove.  Watch for falling rock here.  The rubble pile is impressive!  

    The next main feature in the canyon is Coyote Natural Bridge another mile or so downstream.  This is another large arch (bridge since it is over the stream).  This is more of a midday shot since the light doesn’t reach down into this part of the canyon except for that time.  At this point, my recommendation is to turn around and go back to camp unless you are up for a very long walk.  If I had to do it over agin, I would have stopped here and turned around and done the waterfall section as a day hike from Crack in the Wall.  Why? To be blunt, the next section of canyon is very dull and a long walk through reeds and tamarisk, and reeds and tamarisk, and reeds and tamarisk.  There is nothing to see for 2.0 miles.  Finally, you come to the first of the waterfalls past Cliff Arch.  To reach this place requires hiking around a boulder field to the left and then crossing the stream and scrambling above the boulder field to the right.  It is a pretty waterfall to be sure.  Some trees frame it and the canyon provides an amazing backdrop.  The trail then continues for about .75 miles to the next falls.  To reach this one, you need to descend the boulders to the right.  I then walked to another waterfall a short distance from this one.  I stopped here.  The route down below this falls looked difficult and I had hiked almost 12 miles to this point and had a 4.0 mile walk back to camp.  I will have to do the rest of the 2.0 miles of the gulch next time.  

    Driving Directions

    To reach Hurricane Wash, take the Hole in the Rock Road 5.0 miles east of Escalante or 18.0 miles south of Boulder.  Drive 33 miles down the worst washboarded road you’ve ever seen until coming to the parking area for Hurricane Wash.  Follow the trail down the wash and have fun! You don’t need 4×4 for the road, but a tougher vehicle may be nice for the bumps.  

  • Broomfield vs Fruita Monument 5A Boys Basketball Playoff

    #18 Seed Fruita Monument traveled to Broomfield Saturday to take on the #15 seeded Eagles in the 5A Boy’s Basketball Playoff.  Fruita won in overtime 83-76.  Broomfield was down 6 with just over a minute to play but Steve Croell’s three pointer drew them even with about 15 seconds left on the clock.  Broomfield had a chance to win in regulation but missed two free throws that would’ve sealed the game.  Fruita prevailed in overtime as Broomfield again missed two free throws with 10 seconds left and Fruita hit a three pointer to win it with two seconds remaining on the clock. It was a hard-fought thrilling win for Fruita.  

     

  • CU vs USC Mens Basketball

    CU lost again in men’s basketball, this time to budding rival USC, 75-64.  USC fought off a tough start shooting the ball to shoot over 50%  for the game and cruised to an easy victory.  Colorado seems to have hit the wall, having lost three straight after beating Arizona and Arizona State earlier in the year.  

  • Sawmill Ponds Frost Boulder

    After a recent light snowfall, I woke up to a wonderland of a thick layer of frost coating virtually everything in sight.  I grabbed my camera and headed out to Sawmill Ponds in Boulder.  I was not disappointed.  This natural area features large fields of natural grasses and thistles that make for amazing photos when covered in white.  I hiked around the trails looking for suitable subjects.  The thistles in particular made good subjects as the spikes of the seed heads contrasted well with the ice crystals coating them.  I also found some frozen ponds that made for good photos with the Flatirons in the distance.  I am not a big winter fan but I really enjoyed my morning out in the frost.  Sawmill Ponds is located just west of 75th Ave and just north of Valmont in east Boulder.  I can;t wait to go back when the ice melts in the spring.  

  • Colorado Men’s Basketball vs Arizona

    I photographed Colorado’s men’s basketball games vs Arizona State and Arizona this past weekend.  Colorado beat #4 ASU and #14 Arizona in consecutive games.  It was the first time in programs history the the Buffs had defeated teams ranked in the top 15 in consecutive games.  Colorado beat ASU Thursday 90-81 and the confidence from the win carried over to Saturday’s game against Arizona.  The Buffs jumped out to a big lead and led by 16 at the half on 64% shooting.  The Buffs called off and had lots of turnovers in the second half as Arizona’s prize recruit Deandre Ayton scored 21 of his 26 points in the second half.  But Colorado hung on for the win 80-77. 

  • New Mexico winter trip

    I love photographing in winter in New Mexico.  The quality of light is warm and inviting and the skies are often colorful.  I especially like making black and white images from some of the places I visit there.  This trip I focused on White Sands National Monument, Pecos NHP, Abo Ruins, and Fort Union.  On the way back, I took the high road to Taos and stopped at the Sanctuary in Chimayo.  I also explored the Taos Pueblo.  

    White Sands

    White Sands National Monument is always a great spot for photographs. Located about 50 miles east of Las Cruces, NM, White Sands is one of my favorite spots to go in winter.  The temperature was a near perfect 55 degrees and there were few clouds own the sky.  The contrast of the stark white sand with deep blue sky makes for some really cool black and white images.  On this trip down, there were a lot of visitors os I had to walk about a mile to find some dunes without tons of footprints all over them.  I looked for some with animal tracks to make for interesting lead in lines.  I tried to also do a couple of panoramic images.  

    Fort Union

    Fort Union was one of the largest forts in the West.  It contained a large number of adobe buildings.  Today, the ruins of walls are all that is left (after the fort was abandoned, the locals stripped the fort of glass and tin leaving the walls to crumble).  However, those ruins make for some very interesting subjects.  One has a long row of windows while another has a wagon out front.  I just wish the place would’ve been open near sunset which would’ve made for even more dramatic photographs.  Fort Union is located near Las Vegas, NM about an hour east of Santa Fe.  

    Abo Ruins

    The ruins of the Salinas Pueblo missions are one of my favorite spots to photograph in New Mexico.  There are three separate ruins but this time I stopped at Abo.  I have been trying to get good photos of this place near sunset and I finally had the opportunity to do so.  The ruins of the church mission glow red near sunset, making for some very interesting compositions.  Again, walls and windows are all that is left so this challenges the photographer to come up with interesting angles to shoot from.  Abo ruins are located about 30 miles east of I-25 off of Highway 60, about an hour south of Albuquerque.  

    Pecos NHP

    Pesos NHP contains another mission ruin as well as a kiva that you can go down in.  The ruin is not as large as the one at Abo but contains some cool doorways and windows to photograph.  It is about 20 minutes east of Santa Fe, just off of I-25.    

     

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