mesa-arch-edit

One of the most photographed arches with the “Washer Woman” rock formation in the background.  To get this photo I had to wake up very early to drive from Moab to Canyonlands National Park. I had read that hordes of photographers are usually present in the morning so I wanted to make sure I was the first one there, especially seeing as I had no tripod and would have to make one when I got there. Making things more complicated was that my flashlight batteries had died so I had to use the light from the LCD display on my cell phone to make my way along the trail to the arch. I was the first to arrive so I had first choice of where to set up. I found three large branches I propped up, laced together and made a tripod with my coat on top to provide a stable surface to rest my camera on.  No doubt I was laughed at by all the ‘professional’ photographers that showed up later with their Gitzo tripods.  All that work and I ended up getting this picture hand holding my camera.  Clouds on the horizon had initially prevented getting the orange glow on the underside of the arch but 30 minutes later (after everyone else had left) the sun was high enough to get the glow.  Even better, was that clouds had come in to interrupt the blue sky making a much more interesting photo.  This was one of hundreds I took that morning.