Rory W Photography Blog

The Second Wave

17-40mm f/4L | 1/60 sec | f/16 | ISO 100 | Polarizer

This is the first of a few images from a recent trip to Southern Utah. This shot was actually taken just inside the border of Arizona (the hike begins in Utah and you eventually cross the border into Arizona), in the Coyotte Buttes area. It’s a three-mile hike one way, which would have been much easier if I was actually in shape. But it was well worth it. In order to protect this area they only give permits to 20 people (or dogs) each day, and ten of those have to be reserved months in advance. I was EXTREMELY lucky to get a permit that day for me and my wife because there were 55 other people trying to get one of the ten remaining for that day. They have a lottery every morning. It was a close call – my number was the last to be drawn.

This is my favorite shot of the formation often called the Second Wave. It’s a bit south of the first Wave. While we were there I was quite unhappy with the weather for not being more cooperative, but surprisingly it turned out to my advantage for this scene. If there had just been plain blue skies, I don’t think this image would have been near as effective. The dark stormy clouds in the background created the perfect contrast with the light, yellow sandstone in the foreground. And the timing was perfect – the sun only shined through a break in the clouds for about a half hour, creating the shadows on the sandstone.

Now for some technical things. I like it when other photographers explain themselves – I think you can learn a lot from their thoughts. Here are mine: This location has been photographed thousands of times, which makes it difficult to come up with a new take on it. So I was very careful to set up the composition to take advantage of the natural leading lines in this scene. All the shapes and patterns in the foreground lead your eye back to the strange formation and dark clouds and then back to the foreground again. Leading lines are an extremely effective way to create an interesting composition. And always be on the lookout for contrast. In this scene it’s all about the contrast created by the late afternoon setting sun and the dark clouds in the background. I think contrasts of light/dark and warm/cool are very effective.

Thor’s Hammer

17-40mm f/4L | 1/15 sec | f/14 | ISO 125 | 2-stop hard GND

It’s often difficult to find a new angle or take on well-known photographic icons like Thor’s Hammer in Bryce Canyon. As the warm morning sun lit the entire canyon, I saw this small pine and found what I thought was a new angle to shoot from to capture the ever-popular Thor’s Hammer.

Bryce Canyon Hoodoo Walls

70-200mm f/4L | 1/100 sec | f/14 | ISO 200

I took a very short trip (one night) to Bryce Canyon last week. Got some great images. This is definitely one of my favorites. I love the contrast of the warm sunlit sandstone compared to the cool parts that are in shadow. Plus that nifty little tree also stood right out. This was taken from the Bryce Point viewpoint.

Buck Canyon Overlook

17-40mm f/4L | 1/25 sec | f/16 | ISO 100 | 0.6 GND

Here it is – probably the last image I’ll post from our Moab trip. Of course I have lots more (we took about 1400 shots in 3 days), but I prefer to just show the best ones.

If you’ve ever stopped at any of the viewpoints along this road, the are extremely high up. This small bush is growing right at the edge of an extreme drop. You really have to see it. It’s incredible.

And there’s not a whole lot else to say about this image, other than I used a 0.6 hard GND filter to lower the brightness of the sky, even though it was pretty hazy and didn’t help that much.

Green River Overlook

17-40mm f/4L | 1/25 sec | f/14 | ISO 100 | 0.6 GND

As our trip came to a close, we spent the last few hours in Canyonlands National Park, driving around the Island in the Sky. Pretty much every viewpoint or overlook you go to there offers an amazing view (hence the name viewpoint I guess). While it was quite chilly and very windy that day, we were lucky to have slightly overcast skies. It made for some interesting shadows cast on the canyonlands below the overlook. I waited for just the right moment when most of the canyon rim was illuminated and took the shot. Again, a 2-stop GND filter was used to bring the exposure of the brighter sky down to match the canyon area.

Dead Horse Point

17-40mm f/4L | 1/8 sec | f/16 | ISO 100 | 0.6 GND

We got to Dead Horse Point around 6:30 in the morning. It was extremly windy and quite cloudy. I wasn’t sure if anything interesting would happen that morning. But after a long wait, the sun gave us (there were quite a few other photographers there) about 30 seconds when all the canyon cliffs were illuminated. Before and after this moment it was just patchy “spotlights” from the sun here and there. I was lucky to capture that brief moment. I think it turned out quite well, with the stormy sky and all. It’s one of my favorites from the trip.

And on a technical note, I also held a 2-stop hard GND filter just below the top cliff area to bring the sky into balance with the rest.

Balanced Rock

70-200mm f/4L | 1/8 sec | f/8 | ISO 100 | 0.6 GND

Balanced Rock Panoramic

17-40mm f/4L | 1/8 sec | f/16 | ISO 100 | 0.6 GND

This panoramic was created from six separate shots. It was taken about 20 minutes before sunset. Once again, the setting sun just added to the red of the rocks, creating a very intense contrast between the red rocks and the blue sky.

I really liked this viewpoint because of the great panoramic view along with the La Sal mountains in the background.

Turret Arch through North Window

17-40mm f/4L | 1/4 sec | f/16 | ISO 100

And of course I had to get this classic shot. Luckily we were able to get up a little later in the morning because Arches is so much closer than Canyonlands, plus there’s no rush for the best standing place. This spot is pretty easy to get to. You take the trail up to North Window, go through it, down the other side, and then up the rocks across from the window. It’s a pretty small spot you have to stand on, so luckily there was only one other guy there shooting with me. This was taken right after the sun came fully above the horizon.

Delicate Arch

17-40mm f/4L | 1/6 sec | f/14 | ISO 100

I don’t think there are many places that are shot more by photographers than Delicate Arch. But what can I say – everyone needs one, right? So this is my version. The skies weren’t great that evening, but it could have been worse. At least there were a few whispy clouds in the sky behind the arch. This was taken just a few minutes before the sun vanished below the horizon.

I guess there’s only a few weeks during the year when the entire front of the arch is lit by the setting sun. We just happened to be there then. The only problem was the shadows in front of the arch, but you can’t have everything, right?