A Fisheye On The Arches

Last week I spent a couple of days visiting the area surrounding Moab, Utah.  I had several "must do" activities in mind, one of them to spend time photographing Arches National Park.  I had visited Arches National Park briefly last November, a quick drive through the park during my honeymoon that gave me enough of a taste to make me want to come back for more.  

I researched the park to get a feel for what I wanted to see, and I knew from reading first-hand accounts from other photographers and from my visit to Natural Bridges National Monument last April that my fisheye lens would come in handy.  Although I took my full complement of lenses with me to Moab, I decided to pare it down to three for when I was out in the field - the 16-85 DX VR wide to midrange zoom; a 10-24 DX ultra wide-angle zoom; and the 10.5 DX fisheye, carrying the extra lens in a Lowepro SlingShot backpack that had room for snacks and some odds and ends like extra battery, cleaning cloth, and filter brush.

My first morning in Moab, I drove into Arches and decided to stop at the pull-out for Sand Dune Arch and Broken Arch.  I started down the trail to Broken Arch just as the sun was coming over the horizon, and after the short hike, I found myself at the arch's base.  After taking a few shots with the ultra wide-angle lens, I switched out to the fisheye.  With the fisheye I was able to get all of the arch into the frame.  This shot was taken looking up through the arch.

I walked through the arch and took a few more shots with the fisheye, trying to keep the camera fairly level with the horizon so not too much curvature would be introduced into the scene.  I also took a few shots with the lens stopped down to f22 to incorporate a sunburst into the frame.

After hiking back out I drove down the road a bit until I got to the parking area for the Windows and Double Arch.  I headed up the path to check out the North and South Windows and Turret Arch.  Of the three, the North Window presented the best opportunity to get a few shots, so I worked the scene for awhile using my ultra wide-angle lens before again switching to the fisheye, and I moved even closer to the arch.  Again I stopped down the lens to f22 to incorporate a sunburst into the shot, placing the sun so it was just peeking around the lower curve of the arch.

I left the fisheye on the camera and walked down and over to Double Arch, two large arches that are joined together at one end.  It's a massive, impressive structure, and the only way to get all of it into a single shot is with a fisheye lens.  There were quite a few people in the area, so I had to be patient and wait a bit until I had a clear shot - which is not too hard to do in a setting like this.

In a nutshell, while the fisheye may not be an essential piece of equipment when photographing in Arches National Park, having one with you definitely gives you the opportunity to get some shots that you would otherwise miss. 

Nikon D7000 camera body, Nikkor 10.5 DX Fisheye lens
View my online portfolio here