Mesa Arch at Sunrise

Iconic Mesa Arch at Sunrise~Canyonlands National Park

Well, yes, I suppose, it is pretty cliche'.  Mesa Arch, and photographing Mesa Arch is really overdone.  However, it's one that I just had to get.

A lot of this revolves around the fact that the year before, in 2018, Joelle and I visited Canyonlands National Park in the very early spring.  It was late February.  It was cold, and it was my first time in the park.

I learned, however, from doing some research and some study that Mesa Arch is one of the Iconic shots.  It was, ultimately, a huge bust.  We arrived early, as you should, and it was freezing ass cold and completely clouded over.  No shot.  Bummer, we were up at about 3 a.m. and drove in from Grand Junction to the trail head that very morning.

This time was different.  We were there in early September of this year, 2019.  I walked to the arch the day before I wanted to get the shot and found the position I would want to be in.

If you know anything about the arch, there is a spot front and center that everyone wants.  This is the exact spot I did not want to be.

Given the shot is one that everyone on the planet wants to capture (as attested to by the mass of people showing up as the sun began to rise) I wanted to get something different.  A different angle.  Something, anything to stand a part from everyone else's imagery.

I chose the far right side corner of the arch, (by that little juniper bush you will see should you visit).  I decided, using Photo Pills to anticipate where the sun would rise, I could get the shot I wanted by setting up shop there.

The first morning was a partial bust, due to cloud cover at the LaSalle Mountain range.  It kind of muted the sun.  However, it was not enough to fully ruin the shot.

The next day, when this photo was taken, it was perfect.  

True to my instincts, there were a ton of people.  Naturally, there were the crew of know it all photographers.  I always get a kick out of listening to them go on with each other.  Let a cute gal show up, and holy mama, do they like to attempt to impress.

Anyway, it provided me with my morning entertainment.  So that was great.

As I sat and waited, and waited, I was so very pleased with the way things turned out.  It was a beautiful sunrise.  Stunning.   Watching that arch start glowing with the sun hitting it...well, I understand why it's so iconic.  It doesn't hurt, of course, that it's a short half mile walk from the parking lot.

Because I had done so much pre-planning and I had scouted the location the days before, it really only took about 10 presses of the shutter button in total to get a few of the images I had hoped to gain.

Once the shot had been had, I headed out.

There is a special joy in getting to a place that I can get the image I want without taking 500-1000 shots any more.  So much time was spent in the years of learning in dealing with thousands of images from a trip.  Boy, how I dislike sitting in front of a computer as I have gotten older.    Less stressful, for sure.  

Thanks for stopping by.  More to come!