Along the Road to Arches

kdog

I left for the Arches shootout last Saturday, which gave me four days to spend meandering out to Moab with these three wild and crazy guys.


That's Nikolai, Aaron (anwmn1), and David (jdryan3), on a nice viewpoint we found a little south of Page, AZ. It was a pleasure and a privilege to spend 8 days shooting and basically living with these guys.

The coal-fired power plant puffs incongruously in the distance.


Can't miss Horseshoe Bend while you're in Page


Nikolai practices yoga moves in the toad stools.


Primitive art can be spotted on canyon walls


Aaron lines up an early morning shot on Spider Rock in Canyon Dechelly


A few from the Paria plateau






That's about all for now. I'll start another thread with my shots from Moab and Arches.

Thanks for lookin',
-joel

cmkultradome

Those are beautiful shots - all of them!! I am so jealous, I will never be able to take photos like that but I would love to get out west and see these places in person. Looks like you had a great time!!! It was also nice to put names with faces.

Stephanie

kdog

cmkultradome wrote:

Those are beautiful shots - all of them!! I am so jealous, I will never be able to take photos like that [...]

Thanks and believe me if you stick around here you will definitely be able to take photos like this. I'm a relative newcomer to landscape photography, and this is a great place to learn. The next Dgrin/Smugmug shootout is in Acadia NP in Maine. You should attend. I learned a ton at this shootout.

Cheers,
-joel

anwmn1

Hey look ma I'm a star!!



Now I can't post my coal plant shot after that beauty!!

dlplumer

Awesome shots Joel, but Horseshoe Bend shot is beyond words Really nice to see the faces behind the Avatars

summerz

Those are awesome indeed.

kdog

anwmn1 wrote:

Hey look ma I'm a star!!

Good one!

anwmn1 wrote:

Now I can't post my coal plant shot after that beauty!!

Ha! Now you know how I usually feel!

Schnauzer

Nice work. I love the colors. What was the camera and lense?

When is the shootout in Acadia? I live about an hours drive from there and know the area quite well.

Digital Illusions

WOW! simply stunning. i think i like the power plant shot the best. as that is something i would have never guessed is out there.

bryanj87

wow, awesome series, all of them!

Sam

Nice! I have been to horse shoe bend and don't have anything close to yours. Good work here.

Sam

Dee

The power plant photo is so out of place, but I loved seeing the photo anyway.

Nikolai

Good pics, Fstop!
Now, just like Iso, I can't post anything

jdryan3

kdog wrote:

A few from the Paria plateau




-joel

I like the Horsehoe bend shot, but this one Rocks. I know how many times (and how long) you were in that spot. Obviously it was worth all the effort.

squirl033

great stuff... i tried to get Horseshoe Bend in one shot when i visited there, but my 17mm wasn't wide enough on my 40D, so i settled for stitching multiple frames together... it's an awesome place! love the other shots too... looks like you were somewhere near the Wave/Coyote Buttes?

i visited Arches last spring, but only had a couple of days there, and one of those was raining... there's some astounding scenery there, for sure! all this makes me wanna go back... especially now that i have a 5D!

kdog

dlplumer wrote:

Awesome shots Joel, but Horseshoe Bend shot is beyond words Really nice to see the faces behind the Avatars

Hey thanks, Daniel! I didn't know what I had in that 'Bend shot until I HDR'd it, and then I decided I liked it.

Yeah, it was great to meet Nik and JD in person. Maybe some day I'll get to meet you as well. :wow

kdog

summerz wrote:

Those are awesome indeed.

Thanks, Summerz. I appreciate that.

-joel

kdog

Schnauzer wrote:

Nice work. I love the colors. What was the camera and lense?

When is the shootout in Acadia? I live about an hours drive from there and know the area quite well.

Thanks, Ron. Camera(s) were Canon 20D and 40D. Lenses were 100-400 (first two shots), EF-S 17-55, and EF-S 10-22.

Acadia shootout info here: http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=108453

Cheers,
-joel

kdog

bryanj87 wrote:

wow, awesome series, all of them!

Thanks a bunch, Bryan. Your kind comment is greatly appreciated.

-joel

kdog

Digital Illusions wrote:

WOW! simply stunning. i think i like the power plant shot the best. as that is something i would have never guessed is out there.

Thanks, Brian. (Wow, two Brian's in a row )

Yeah, that powerplant was a big surprise. The sky was all socked-in, but there was a single shaft of light shining down on it, which illuminated the steam plumes and made quite the spectacle off in the distance. It was actually a very long way away, and that shot was made at a 400mm focal length!

Cheers,
-joel

schmoo

I admit my head's getting a bit tangled with all of these pre-shootout threads but all I really need to say is how much fun it looks like it was, especially for the four of you. You managed to stop at some awesome places, too, which never hurts.

And I think the private jokes are one of the best parts of the road trip!

kdog

Sam wrote:

Nice! I have been to horse shoe bend and don't have anything close to yours. Good work here.

Sam

Thanks, Sam. That was my second time there. We had stormy skies this time which helped immensely.

Best regards,
-joel

kdog

Dee wrote:

The power plant photo is so out of place, but I loved seeing the photo anyway.

Thanks, Dee. Ones never knows where we might find beauty. rofl

Cheers,
-joel

kdog

jdryan3 wrote:

I like the Horsehoe bend shot, but this one Rocks. I know how many times (and how long) you were in that spot. Obviously it was worth all the effort.

Thanks, JD! I believe this was the spot you showed me, no?

Cheers,
-joel

Jack'll do

Simply outstanding joel. The view from paria plain and the horseshoe bend are absolutely stunning. thumb

Andy

very very well done

coscorrosa

Awesome series!!! I might have to leave the comfy confines of the northwest and make my way down there someday soon...

jamesl

All of these are amazing, but the shots from Paria plateau are just awesome. Thanks for sharing these!

James

kdog

Nikolai wrote:

Good pics, Fstop!
Now, just like Iso, I can't post anything

Ha! I've seen some of your shots, and just waiting for you to post them. A certain star-trails shot comes to mind.

kdog

squirl033 wrote:

great stuff... i tried to get Horseshoe Bend in one shot when i visited there, but my 17mm wasn't wide enough on my 40D, so i settled for stitching multiple frames together... it's an awesome place! love the other shots too... looks like you were somewhere near the Wave/Coyote Buttes?

i visited Arches last spring, but only had a couple of days there, and one of those was raining... there's some astounding scenery there, for sure! all this makes me wanna go back... especially now that i have a 5D!

Thanks, Rocky. You're right, 17mm doesn't cut it on a 1.4 crop body. I love my 10-22. But 17 on your 5D ought to be perfect.

And yes you're right, those shots were from Coyote Buttes South (CBS).

Regards,
-joel

kdog

schmoo wrote:

I admit my head's getting a bit tangled with all of these pre-shootout threads but all I really need to say is how much fun it looks like it was, especially for the four of you. You managed to stop at some awesome places, too, which never hurts.

And I think the private jokes are one of the best parts of the road trip!

Thanks, Schmoo. It truly was a fantastic week.

-joel