my take on Turret Arch - Arches National Park

jamesl

So, I spent about a week in Colorado and Utah at the beginning of October. I'm still very slowly working through my photos, but here is one I wanted to share. On my last day in Arches, I got up very early and hit up a spot I've wanted to shoot at for a while. In order to get to this location for sunrise, you have to do a bit of climbing in the dark, and you also have to be the very first one there in order to get the best view. The sky shaped up pretty nicely for the sunrise to create this (Click to see a bigger version and/or buy a print):



Let me know what you think.

Thanks!

eMOJO

Stunning, and a great perspective on an area that's photographed quite often... very well executed shot, well done

ront

SWEEEEEEEEET!! I like your take James. Stunning photo!! Simply magical light

Ron

zoomer

This is a winner. Have not seen one like this before.

Having said that my eye is wrestling with the photo, it wants to be pulled to the right side and the arch but it is being pulled more strongly to the left side where the sunburst is.

I would be tempted to take slightly bigger crop out of the wall from the left.

Minor nits, this is a fantastic looking shot.

JimKarczewski

James... Were you there with your wife????? Just askin because there was someone else there when I was there.. hiding in the dark.. and I eventually came over..

Enlightphoto

Wow, pretty wild shot(s). Both are very close, but if the sun's position denotes around 15-20 minutes, I don;t think the sky could change that much to have been taken on the same day.

jamesl

Enlightphoto wrote: »

Wow, pretty wild shot(s). Both are very close, but if the sun's position denotes around 15-20 minutes, I don;t think the sky could change that much to have been taken on the same day.

Yeah, I think his is from a few days later, as the sun's rising position is further south. Thanks!

JimKarczewski wrote: »

James... Were you there with your wife????? Just askin because there was someone else there when I was there.. hiding in the dark.. and I eventually came over..

I'm pretty sure we weren't there on the same day, but it was close. I was there the morning of October 1st. Your shot is excellent as well!

zoomer wrote: »

This is a winner. Have not seen one like this before.

Having said that my eye is wrestling with the photo, it wants to be pulled to the right side and the arch but it is being pulled more strongly to the left side where the sunburst is.

I would be tempted to take slightly bigger crop out of the wall from the left.

Minor nits, this is a fantastic looking shot.

Thanks for the excellent feedback! There is a lot going on in the image. That tends to be the case with most of my work. I'll give your suggestion a try!

ront wrote: »

SWEEEEEEEEET!! I like your take James. Stunning photo!! Simply magical light

Ron

Thanks a bunch Ron!

eMOJO wrote: »

Stunning, and a great perspective on an area that's photographed quite often... very well executed shot, well done

Thanks! It's been a location I've wanted to shoot for a while. Glad I got some nice light.

dlplumer

I saw this on FB, James, and it is definitely the best shot I have seen from this location bow

JimKarczewski

Haha, I missed you by 5 days James.

Wide angle or Pano? I'm guessing Pano? Think mine was 9 shots across with my 16-35...

Doug Solis

What that is a gorgeous shot! Great clarity and detail, and I especially love the composition. Isn't it nice when Mother Nature helps out with great sky.

ian408

Very nice composition. Sun star and Arches. Lovely picture

coscorrosa

Really cool composition!

Danny Seidman and I drove down straight from Seattle and made it to that spot about 10 minutes before sunrise (about a 15 hour drive) as the first stop on a week long trip in the Southwest. Surprisingly there was no one else there, unlike, say, Mesa Arch

Anyway, really like the comp and the colors on this shot. There's nothing quite like sandstone when the light hits it just right.

jamesl

dlplumer wrote: »

I saw this on FB, James, and it is definitely the best shot I have seen from this location bow

Thanks Daniel! It sure was a wonderful location. If I hadn't been leaving that day, I probably would have stayed for quite a while.

JimKarczewski wrote: »

Haha, I missed you by 5 days James.

Wide angle or Pano? I'm guessing Pano? Think mine was 9 shots across with my 16-35...

I had been there for a few days before this, but the weather had been completely clear. Thankfully the clouds came in that morning to provide a good sunrise. I shot this with a 20mm prime on my 5dmk2. It is actually 18 images shot at -1/0/1. I created 3 panos of 6 images each and blended them in Photomatix.

Doug Solis wrote: »

What that is a gorgeous shot! Great clarity and detail, and I especially love the composition. Isn't it nice when Mother Nature helps out with great sky.

Thanks Doug! Yes, it is great when everything comes together.

ian408 wrote: »

Very nice composition. Sun star and Arches. Lovely picture

Thanks a bunch Ian!

coscorrosa wrote: »

Really cool composition!

Danny Seidman and I drove down straight from Seattle and made it to that spot about 10 minutes before sunrise (about a 15 hour drive) as the first stop on a week long trip in the Southwest. Surprisingly there was no one else there, unlike, say, Mesa Arch

Anyway, really like the comp and the colors on this shot. There's nothing quite like sandstone when the light hits it just right.

Thanks Ron. I hear you on Mesa. When I went in '08, the dgrin meetup folks were also there. Thankfully I went down a full hour or so before sunrise. Even then, Andy was already there with a few other folks. By the time the sun came up, there were probably 30 or 40 people there.

James

Awais Yaqub

Jaw dropping awesome! wow

kdog

I think I commented on this on your facebook page, James. But I'll say it again here. That is a SMOKIN' pano. Really great work.

schmoo

Nice panos, both of you! Even if this is an oft-photographed spot, it's a shot worth getting for any true landscape photographer.

Hey James I was in Arches that year, but I guess I wasn't shooting with that group that morning!

jamesl

Awais Yaqub wrote: »

Jaw dropping awesome! wow

Thanks Awais!

kdog wrote: »

I think I commented on this on your facebook page, James. But I'll say it again here. That is a SMOKIN' pano. Really great work.

Thanks Kdog! Really appreciate it.

schmoo wrote: »

Nice panos, both of you! Even if this is an oft-photographed spot, it's a shot worth getting for any true landscape photographer.

Hey James I was in Arches that year, but I guess I wasn't shooting with that group that morning!

Thanks Schmoo! I wasn't officially able to attend the shoot that year. :cry I had to leave for Dallas the morning the shoot officially started. I was sorry to have missed you, and a bunch of others. I ran into Andy, I think Ian and a few others at the Mesa Arch shot. I also ran into a few guys from dgrin the night before while shooting the Garden of Eden, but I can't remember their names. From the images, looks like you all had a blast!