Escape the hustle and bustle and let these stunning photos of Mother Nature transport you to a calmer realm.
Award-winning photographer Prashant Naik, from Georgia, has shared a selection of his images exclusively with DailyMail.com, with his favorite subjects being sweeping rural landscapes and dazzling night skies.
The cameraman, who works in the IT sector when he’s not snapping away, has traveled across the U.S. to explore national parks and rural areas to achieve a portfolio of breathtaking shots.
One striking image captures a collection of hoodoos in the Ah-shi-sle-pah Wilderness in New Mexico, with a small slip of moon shining above, while another photo shows the Milky Way shimmering through Double Arch in Arches National Park in Utah, which Prashant said was one of the ‘most thrilling’ trips of his life.
Another of Prashant’s favorite spots to shoot has been the Pacific Coast in Oregon where eroded rock formations line the beach. He says of the scene: ‘The shapes and contours of these geological structures that grace the Oregon shores are simply phenomenal. They appear as sentinels of Earth guarding the shoreline.’
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Prashant said he was ‘astonished’ by the sight of these otherworldly sandstone formations at the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness in northwestern New Mexico. Detailing the scene, he said: ‘In this remote wilderness there’s a field of hoodoos that have been sculpted by relentless forces of wind and rain for thousands of years. The vast expanse of this desolate landscape takes one’s breath away, evoking Mother Nature’s artistic prowess. This is the valley of dreams with what I think looks like an alien throne at its heart. I long to return someday, to once again immerse myself in the otherworldly splendor of this wilderness’
One of the photographer’s favorite spots in the U.S. to snap away is the Pacific Coast in Oregon for the ‘breathtaking’ and ‘phenomenal’ rock formations dotting the shoreline. The above image was taken at Face Rock Beach in Bandon, South Oregon
This otherworldly image was captured at Double Arch within Arches National Park in Utah. Prashant said of the shot: ‘It was one of the most thrilling moments of my life. It opened my mind to look at things with a different perspective. Arches after arches, they are spectacular structures of natures own creation. Watching the world, through its window was more captivating than camera’s viewfinder. I spent lot of time contemplating rather than photographing at this place’
Prashant said he was ‘astonished’ to see the Delicate Arch in Utah with his own eyes and ‘it was a different world all together.’ Describing what the route to the popular photo spot was like, he said: ‘The trail that leads you to the arch, obscures any distant views of its grandeur. Like as if it was hidden in Nature’s pristine shore. Upon reaching, a monolith arch reveals itself against the setting sun. Something I’ve never experienced before. I felt I belonged to something bigger than the world’
LEFT: The cameraman took this pink-hued shot at Zabriskie Point in Death Valley National Park, which straddles eastern California and Nevada RIGHT: This golden shot was snapped by Prashant ‘on the way down hill form Brasstown Bald Observation Tower in Northern Georgia. He explains that it is ‘a road known to many but few people stop there to look where else it leads to… apparently, to paradise a place lit by shimmering stars of our Milky Way galaxy’
Prashant named this motion photo, taken at the Grotto Falls in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park between North Carolina and Tennessee, ‘Time The Beginning’
A peaceful sunset captured by Prashant on the shores of Halibut Point State Park in Rockport, Massachusetts
LEFT: This waterfall, located close to Prashant in Georgia, is named ‘Trahlyta’ after a local Cherokee woman RIGHT: A starry night sky captured by the cameraman in Zion National Park, Utah. He says of the shot: ‘The view from the canyon junction bridge overlooking the Virgin River is probably the most photographed place at Zion but there is irrefutable pleasure in being there at the right moment before sunset or at dark when the stars and shooting stars shimmer across the night sky’
In the heart of Arizona’s Coconino National Forest, Prashant says ‘there’s a place fully surrounded by pine trees on one side and on the other side it opens wide to the spectacular views of the world.’ To capture this shot, he said he ‘stood there for long hours right at the edge of the Mogollon Rim, watching in awe the mysteries of the cosmic world’
‘Canyonlands National Park in Southern Utah really is something entirely different,’ says Prashant. He continues: ‘It is absolutely stunning when it is all covered with snow. Towering pinnacles and cliffs, plus the winding Colorado River. When I got there early, it was too dark and icy to wander around. One wrong step, and I would be rolling 2,000ft below. As the sun rose, I was transfixed in wonderment of the dramatic scene that started to unfold in front of me’
LEFT: At Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in Death Valley, Prashant said he was hoping to find dunes free of any footprints but they are ‘all over the place’ RIGHT: At Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island in Georgia, Prashant says you can find ‘some of the most interesting natural structures in the world, formed due to constant strong ocean currents and wave action’
To capture this breathtaking shot of the night sky, Prashant had to brave the cold for several hours. He recalled: ‘I remember the night I spent photographing the night sky at Monument Valley, it was freezing. Winters can be overly fierce at the Navajo Tribal Park. In the chill of the night, all one could see was darkness in every direction with sky lit by thousands of blazing stars’
The Thor’s Well sinkhole on the Oregon coast is ‘one of the most enigmatic geological marvels,’ Prashant says. He explains: ‘When the waves roll in, water spurts out from the well, floods the rock and then flows back into the well. This is most spectacular to watch at high tide. I was fascinated by the rhythmic dance of the ocean waves and spent hours capturing the natural wonder’
This stunning motion shot shows the McKenzie River in Oregon in full flow. The U.S. Forest Service notes that the waterway is popular for fishing, rafting, drift-boating, and kayaking
The photographer said he was grateful to have captured ‘arguably one of the best meteor showers of the year’ in Flagstaff, Arizona. He said of the event: ‘Snow covered sunset crater shimmered with silver light of the moon just when it was 10 degrees above the horizon. And when it got completely dark, the sky was lit up with meteor shower in all directions. It was non-stop. It was incredible. The finest meteor shower I’ve ever seen’
The photographer ventured to Brasstown Bald, which is the highest point in Georgia, to capture this colorful shot of a starlit sky twinkling above the observation tower
Prashant said of this flower-filled image: ‘I trekked up to the Sam Knob Trail summit in North Carolina in search of a celestial spectacle. While it wasn’t peak wildflower season, the meadow was still filled with breathtaking blooms here and there. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the Blue Ridge Parkway gleamed with a deep blue hue, while the sky blazed with shades of ochre. It was a night that I’ll never forget – and this first image of the Milky Way season is a testament to the magic that can unfold when you look up at the night sky’
