West Side of Canyonlands

I spent a day driving along the western side of the Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands National Park.  There are several neat views that are not the famous ones that most people go to.  I took the Arca-Swiss and set about making a few images of the various views.  


This one canyon jumped out at me as it was rather narrow with some fairly close buttes and edges to give the canyon some depth.  I found many of the other views to be so vast that without something in the sky it becomes hard to get a great image.

There was a few clouds in the sky but not enough to make it worthy of being a big sky image.  I decided that this would work without it.  I set it up to be a black and white and went with the Efke 25 knowing I would get DR-5 processing.


Black and White works well in the daytime and I thought there might be some nice textures through the canyon depths.


After making that one I decided that there was even some potential for color too, so I took a shot with Velvia 100F.  I was not sure if the shadows would go solid black but I wanted to get that great red of the sandstone.

Mesa Arch Sunburst

My favorite park in Utah is Canyonlands National Park.  It has incredible scenery and low visitation.  Those two combine to make it my must visit place when I am around Moab.  On my last trip there I stayed up there for six straight days.  It was finally needed both fuel and water that made me drive to town.  The rest of the time I had Island in the Sky to myself.


One of the areas I made a couple of visits to was Mesa Arch.  This is the classic Canyonlands image and one I got a really nice one of on my visit in 2008.  I wanted to see if I could do a little better this trip.  

The most important factor for a good Mesa Arch image is clear sky.  It goes against what I normally want as a photographer but clear sky gets you that wonderful glow just after sunrise.  The other big factor is crowds.  In 2008 there were easily 45 photographers there one morning all jockeying for tripod positions.  This trip it was much nicer.  One day had 20 or so, which is still very crowded but my second day it was myself and two others.


By camping in Canyonlands I have a huge advantage over the folks who drive up from Moab.  They have a 45+ minute drive.  I have about a 90 second drive from the campground to the trailhead.  So while most people are trying to convince themselves to get up and go, I am already on location.


Being the first one there also means I get my pick of spots and when you have a large format camera to fiddle with you need time.  I had already planned out my image and set up my tripod and camera in the dark long before daylight.  I do not have to focus yet, I just got the spot.  The glow happens after sunrise so I have plenty of time to compose and focus.


Luckily when only two other photographers showed up it was easy to get all the images you wanted. 


For me the ideal image of Mesa Arch is one that captures the glow, that you can see the Washer Woman Arch in the distance, has a sunburst, and excludes most if not all sky.  Remember that you are usually here on a clear sky day and what you will see is many people compose very wide and get a great deal of sky in the image.


I was using my widest lens too, a 75mm (about a 24mm for those who shoot full frame digital), but by getting there early and knowing where the sun would rise I was able to leave only a small gap of sky there and have the rest be rock and canyon.


Compose right.  Focus.  Set to f/45 and wait for the sun.  When it made it's appearance I fired off about 10 sheets.  This was one of the best.


You can see the set up and location.  Then you can see my final result.  This was a 4x5 chrome on Velvia 100F.  For comparisons I have my 2008 attempt at this as the banner on my WildernessPhotographer Blog.


WildernessPhotographer Blog


The 2008 version was on Velvia 50.


I like them both, but is either one better?

Overlooking the Colorado River at Dead Horse Point

One of the ways I have been wanting to make some changes in this blog was to show not only my camera on location but also what was the shot I got when I was there.  This being the first such example and is from a trip out to Canyonlands and Arches National Parks near Moab, Utah.


 One clear morning I left Canyonlands NP early and made my way over to the nearby Dead Horse Point State Park for the classic view it offered of the Colorado River.  I got there early, as always, and set up in the dark.  That helps get you a good spot and it gives me time to set up the 4x5.


Since it was my first time there, I stayed in the area most other photographers stayed.  Yes, it is a popular overlook, but it is popular for a reason-the view is awesome.


Since it was clear I set up to have little to no sky in my images.


Once there was light but long before sunrise I was able to confirm composition and focus.  A couple of test shots with the digital confirmed that the predawn light was already picking up nice color on the rocks and so I started making images.


Stayed at that spot until sunrise and continued making images.  By sunrise many other photographers had arrived and they all went crazy after the sun hit the rocks.  However, I think they missed the best light as the predawn glow on the rocks was much nicer.  The sunrise brought harsh light and deep shadows.  Certainly tough conditions and lack of clouds made it tougher.  I actually only took a few images after sunup.


Here you can see a couple of views of the Arca-Swiss set up on location.  One taken in predawn light and another towards the end of my shooting after the sun was in the canyon.  While the sun might have made a great B+W if there were clouds, I just was not sure anybody was getting anything great by then.


Finally there is the image I made on film at the top of the post.  Used my longer lens-the 210mm so I could exclude the sky and just pick up the canyon and river.  Film was Velvia 100.


If you make it out to Moab, do yourself a favor and do the drive up to Dead Horse Point for sunrise, but get there early if you do.

At Mesa Arch

Going for the glow at the incredible Mesa Arch.

The sunrise glow on a clear day at Mesa arch is fantastic. It is one of those things a photographer needs to experience.

Sure it gets crowded but the glow and the view are awesome.

Here I am set up with my shot trying to capture that glow. The shot I am going for is another attempt to make a better version of the title page image of my WildernessPhotographer blog. See link to the left.

On the Edge of a Canyon

Taking in the view on the east rim of Island in the Sky in Canyonlands National Park.

On an afternoon with decent clouds I decided to do some black and white, here is one of the locations, right on the edge.

Before you ask, it was a still day.........In a wind, I would not be that close but on a still day. It really goes back to being at the Grand Canyon once, having my tripod back 2 feet from the edge of the abyss, and having someone stand in front of me.

So getting to the edge solves that problem.

In Canyonlands

I returned to Canyonlands National Park this last February to take in the red rock country in winter. Last year I saw quite a bit of snow at Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon. I was hoping for a repeat, however this is more of what I saw.

Thats ok, because I got some great light and sky making it an even better trip than my last visit here in 2008.

Here I am set up in the Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands.

Little Buddy

As if carrying a backpack full of large format was not enough, I finally got going into the digital world.

I had started photographing with a 35mm system, then went into medium format. That jump was amazing as the larger increase in film size gave my images a much better quality and detail than 35mm could deliver. But after a few years I came to realize that bigger is better yes, but also to make the kind of images I wanted I needed the abilities in a camera that only a view camera could offer. That led to several months of reading, studying, and practice until I finally got the Arca.

At first I would bring all three on a trip. Using the 4x5 and the 645 at dawn and dusk for the best light. Then I would use the 35mm and occasionally the 645 during the day when hiking. What I found was that I no longer liked the images from the 35mm. The sheer size of the 4x5 film and the technical capabilities of the camera overwhelmed what I could get out of 35mm. Even the 645 images paled in comparison to what I could get with the 4x5.

So I sold most of my 35mm gear keeping only one body and two lenses. But after another year I had only only run three rolls through it and kept none of the images. So I sold out of the 35mm game. I still kept the 645 but even it's use had become less.

In summer 07 I decided to dip my toe into digital and got a DSLR. I was back to taking three formats again. This time the 645 became the odd man out. At dawn and dusk I was still using the 4x5 but my backup quickly became the DSLR. I sat down a few weeks ago and looked over what I used the 645 for in the past year and realized I had only run 5 rolls through it. The 4x5 was where I was doing film and everything else was now digital.

So then I sold the medium format.

Now I am back down to two formats. The 4x5 and a DSLR. A morning in the field means a backpack for of large format, a small bag over my shoulder with the DSLR and a tripod in each hand (carbon fiber helps here).

I am quite pleased with the two as I think they compliment each other very well. The 4x5 allows me to work slow, think about an image and use it's capabilities (like tilt) to make special images. The DSLR lets me work fast, in the wind, handheld, and has "free film". I got the best of both worlds going.

Here is an example of both at work in Canyonlands NP. I am working the wider view of the canyon with the 4x5 and can work the distant landscape with the zoom on the DSLR.

Bliss.

When the Sun Rises

The rising sun changes everything.

The warm, soft glow of predawn gives way to to bright light and dark shadows of the new day. The directional light casts long shadows and the deep canyons of the Colorado become black holes in the earth.

Here is sunrise at Dead Horse Point. The location that was the same morning as two posts ago-but this is after the sun rose.

The canyon is very different after sunrise and the harsh light is tough on the color photographer. This is the moment to try what black and white might do, but I had no B+W with me that day. I may have to see what I can do with a conversion.

Dead Horse Point

Waiting for the sunrise at Dead Horse Point.

I was here on a clear morning in October. The photographers were taking up spots along the rim waiting for that first glow of sunrise. Early on there was nice glow but there is a lull from early twilight and sunrise. This was that middling part after the twilight glow and before the actual sunrise.

One can see the Colorado in the depths of the canyon.

Note-the astute may also spot a Soligor light meter in the image. A $5 garage sale find!

Mesa Arch -Same Cloudy Day

After working the image from the previous post I made my way down to the more traditional view of Mesa Arch. Here is looking through the arch with my 4x5 still set up in the previous location.

The sharp eye will also notice another large format camera, its a Linhof Technica III. The other photog was working some b+w film. We talked shop for a few minutes as the light was not changing anytime fast.

We were both back there the next morning for clear sky but had to contend with about 40 other people. So it was nice to have it just be a few folks with time to talk and move around.

Mesa Arch but No Glow

Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park is famous for it's glow on a clear day. When the sun first rises it lights up the underside of the arch with an orange glow that is spectacular.

On a cloudy day there is no glow.

My first morning in Canyonlands was completely overcast. There was zero chance for glow. So I set up looking down through the arch and across the Colorado River canyons.

No it was not the classic image but I still wanted to see what I could get. Hard to take a bad picture in a place like this.

Mesa Arch at Night

Mesa Arch is one of the premier photo destinations in Utah and certainly in Canyonlands National Park. The arch hangs right on the edge of a 1500' cliff and faces east. The arch is famous for the orange glow it gets at sunrise on a clear day. It draws the photographers in thick. One morning we had better than 40 people jockeying for tripod positions. I wanted to try something a little different and I also wanted to stake my spot for sunrise, so one morning I got to the arch about 5am.

I had the whole thing to myself for at least an hour and a half. I made several night images of the stars. I painted the arch with light. I got my spot picked out. And all without the hassle of 40 other people.

Here is one of my favorite from that morning. The stars above the arch and the arch painted with light.

BTW- I went back the next night and got a great self portrait standing on the arch in the dark. See that on my Wilderness Photographer Blog.

Sunset Rain

At Grandivew Point in Canyonlands NP there is a trail that wanders for about a mile over the slickrock to the very tip of the mesa where one can stare across the Green and Colorado River canyons. I made that hike in late light as rain showers were building over the Green River. I made it to a view point right as the sun was about to pop out from under the rain. I raced to get the tripod up and camera focused. I made one image.

Then I quickly made this snap and went back to put a couple more sheets through the 4x5. And just like that the sun was gone.

The rain and the light put on a show. I was changing lenses and making images with both cameras. The glow of sunlight behind the distant rain was great. I made images for another twenty minutes until it looked like the best light was gone. So with everyone else long gone I packed up. I started walking back but I kept turning around. And stopping. And making more images. By the time I got back to the truck it was way dark.

When I was able to review the images as I downloaded them I found several very nice ones. I cannot wait to see what the chromes look like.

Wow, what an afternoon.

Canyonlands

Back from a week in Utah. Got to see some great red rock country.

Here is the view from Grandview Point at the very end of the road in Canyonlands National Park.

Out there in that maze of pinnacles, cliffs, and canyons is the mighty Colorado River. I am on the Island in the Sky plateau looking down on the wonders of the park. The edge in front of me is 1500' straight down.