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.

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.

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.