The Timeless Photography of Ernie Lewallen
Ernie Lewallen is owner of UHR Rents and United Household Rentals dba RNR Tire Express.
Sunrise over the Serengeti– Tanzania God’s Rays to Start The Day
“This didn’t look like much when I first started shooting, and then I saw God’s rays coming through the clouds. It ended up being a perfect morning in the middle of a game field surrounded by lions, cheetahs, and leopards.”
Mitten Sun Star– Navajo Dreams
“This photo was taken at sunrise in the Four Corners region of Utah in the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. The classic sunrise shot captures a pinpoint of light that the camera turns into the star and reminds me of a Navajo dream – a message that bridges the physical and spiritual realms.”
“Dance when the sun comes up.” – A.D. Posey
“Next time someone promises you the moon be prepared for a total eclipse.”
Janet Todd
Moment of Totality– And Just Like That
“We had driven to a place called Jay’em, Wyoming with a population of 30. We went there because it was the exact geographic center of the eclipse which meant we would have the longest number of minutes in totality. We found a farm road and a ranch in the middle of nowhere and parked. Overnight 500 cars showed up and it was like a city with about 2,000 or 3,000 people! The moment of totality is totally bizarre – you can see it coming and as soon as it hits, the entire sky turns into a beautiful sunset in 360 degrees. The cows started mooing, the dogs were barking, bugs were chirping.”
Solar Flares– The Seeds of Life
“The pink marks in the photo are actual solar flares shooting off the sun – they’re liquid lava. The corona around the sun is something you only see in a solar eclipse. And during the eclipse, the temperature dropped 20 degrees in 20 seconds which makes you realize how fast the earth would die without the sun.”
“Sunsets are so beautiful that they almost seem as if we were looking through the gates of Heaven.”
John Lubbock
Sunset for the Ages– White Sands NM
“We didn’t expect these colors but New Mexico and Arizona get the best sunsets in December. We were out there shooting photos of snow geese and cranes and made a side trip to White Sands. It ended up being a full moon that night.”
Totem Pole and Yei Bi Chei– Standing the Test of Time
“The Totem Pole and Yei Bi Chei known as ‘3 sisters’ are famous structures left by years of erosion in the Monument Valley tribal zone. This was my very first professional photography field trip, and this was the first sunrise of the first day. When the session was over, our instructor looked at us and said he’d never seen this kind of cloud structure. I ended up spending over 1000 hours in the field with this instructor.”
The Cosmos, Arches National Park– Surely We Are Not Alone
“If you look at the dark sky, it rises on the east because the earth is rotating in the opposite direction due to the sun. When you look to the east, the milky way is evident – a big patch of stars. This starfield is probably about 10,000 stars in an area of 12 inches by 10 inches [photo area] so it gives you an idea of how vast the solar system is. And as I was taking the picture, a car drove up and their headlights lit up the rock perfectly. Right place at the right time!”
Fireball over Fisher Towers– Right Place, Right Time
“We were outside of Moab Utah at Fisher Towers, and a fireball came into view and I hit the camera release – I think I captured it! I went back to the view finder and could see the meteor exploding in the photo.”
“Some part of our being knows this is where we came from. We long to return. And we can. Because the cosmos is also within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.”
Carl Sagan
