Uintah Long Form

Uintah Long Form from Patrick Cullis on Vimeo.

  Here is the original video I made of Fantasy Canyon and the Uintah Basin in Utah.  In the "Ozone Balloons and the Uintah Basin" video I shortened the footage down and removed most of the night photography and time-lapse videos so that it could better capture the scene of our research and the strange atmospheric movements caused by the temperature inversion in the Basin.  This video takes a more leisurely stroll through the area, enjoying the movement of shadows on sculpted rock formations in Fantasy Canyon and the incredibly vivid sunsets through the pollution haze of the oil fields.

  Music by Chad Parsons.

Fantasy Canyon

Rock formation at Fantasy Canyon in Utah

  I went out to Venal, Utah for work and was lucky to be able to photograph an amazing formation in the Uintah Basin.  Fantasy Canyon is a pristine piece of beauty tucked away inside the vast sprawl of Utah's oil fields.  We were there measuring winter time ozone levels which have hit some amazingly high numbers over the past several years, and I had some free time to set up my cameras while the data came down. 

Fresh Powder on Fantasy Canyon

  We first found out about the small state park because of a curious mind and a brochure in the Vernal Airport Enterprise Rent-a-Car. 

  We were given permission to run a tether in the parking lot of the Canyon for vertical ozone and meteorological profiles.  The Uintah Basin is surrounded by three ranges of mountains which trap polluted air inside of it like a fish bowl.

Measuring Ozone from a Tether

Chance suited up for a cold afternoon.

Balloon above Fantasy Canyon

Fantasy Canyon from the balloon

  For one run I actually attached my helmet camera to the balloon in order to get some better views of the surrounding landscape.  The "canyon" consists of the eroding rocks seen just below and left of center.

I see a mayan chieftain in this silhouette.

  I worked the afternoon shift at the canyon several times and was treated to some pretty fantastic sunsets.  It felt wonderful out there in the sun, but as soon as it set, temperatures dropped in to the single digits.

  

Ozone Balloon joins Jupiter and the Pleiades

Witches Head and Three Dogs at night