Rory W Photography Blog

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?

Sand Dune Arch

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

I’m not too thrilled about the composition of this image, but I love the light. I really couldn’t play with composition much because space was really tight. Before we got there I actually thought there was going to be a corridor on both sides of the arch, but it turned out that there was a wall on one side of it. I took this shot from the wall side after getting as far back into the corner as I could. It was impossible to expose this without blowing out the sand that was in direct sunlight, so I tried to get as little as possible in the shot. I didn’t even touch this image in post processing. The colors there were incredibly red, and the light, like I said, was amazing.

And for those interested, this arch is just a short walk from the road on the way to the Devil’s Garden area in the northwest of Arches National Park.