Canyonlands Sunset

Last month we went to Moab, Utah, to spend time in the area - and do some shooting, of course.  One objective I had for the trip was a sunset shoot at Canyonlands National Park.  During a previous trip to the park last October, I spent an evening shooting sunset at the Green River Overlook, but between the lack of clouds in the sky and abundance of people on the ground, the experience came up a little short.  This time I wanted to try a different spot.

During that last trip to Canyonlands I had pulled over at the Candlestick Tower Overlook, which is on the way out to the Grand View Point Overlook in the Island In The Sky section of the park, and spent a few minutes looking around and taking a few shots.  I thought this spot had potential for a sunset shoot and tucked that thought away in the back of my mind. When we headed out this time I had my sights set on two spots - Candlestick Tower Overlook and Holeman Spring Canyon Overlook, which is on the spur road to Upheaval Dome.  After taking a look at both spots that afternoon the decision was made - Candlestick Tower Overlook.

I had decided to use one lens for this shoot - my Nikon 16-85 DX VR.  This would give me a good working range, and I was hesitant to change lenses during the shoot given that there would be a breeze and most likely dusty condition.  After we pulled over in the parking area, I grabbed my camera and tripod and worked my way down to the canyon rim.  Sunset was at 7:39 P.M. that night, and by 6:30 P.M. I was in position.  Now it was just time to hang out and see what would transpire.

Before long a bank of clouds started to move across the sun, casting shafts of light towards the canyon below.  I stayed with a wider angle for this shot, so I could get the canyon walls in the foreground and Soda Springs Basin - to the left of Candlestick Tower - in the shot also. 6:35 P.M.

Soon the clouds almost completely covered the sun, and the God rays (crepuscular rays) became the predominant feature of the scene before me.  I zoomed in on Candlestick Tower and tried to emphasize those aspects.  6:37 P.M.

For this shot I zoomed back out a bit to show the golden light on the canyon floor as well as the sun's rays.  Later, when working on the shot in the digital darkroom, I cropped it to a landscape ratio to give the scene a more "sweeping" look.  6:42  P.M.

Then it became a waiting game, taking a few shots now and then, watching the sun slowly descend in the sky.  A few minutes before sunset, as the sun started to touch the horizon, the sky started to glow.  7:30 P.M.

After the sun sank below the horizon the sky turned orange, so I zoomed back in to try and capture that beauty.  7:44 P.M.

This time everything fell into place...

All photos (except camera setup) taken with a Nikon D7000 camera body, and Nikkor 16-85 DX VR lens

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Morning At Broken Arch

About a month ago my wife and I went to Moab, Utah, during her spring break, to check out the two National Parks in the area - Arches and Canyonlands - as well as Dead Horse Point State Park (which I wrote about here) and various other points of interest in the area.  While we were there we took a sunrise hike to Broken Arch in Arches National Park. 

There are arches and destinations in Arches that are more spectacular, or iconic, but a sunrise hike to Broken Arch is probably my favorite.  The trail is easy, about 1.2 miles round trip, following a sandy trail that goes from the parking lot across a large meadow to the arch.  Walking into the sunrise, you can feel the morning sun on your face and watch the shadows forming across the landscape as the sun breaks the horizon.  Dawn that morning was at 6:37, with sunrise at 7:04.  We were on the trail as the sun rose, just in time to watch the subtle differences in light and gesture as Broken Arch met the morning...

I had my wide angle lens (Nikon 10-24 DX) on my camera as we hit the trail, knowing from past experience that I would need a wider angle to frame the arch in its entirety, and that I may be able to incorporate a sunburst in a few shots.  We got to Broken Arch shortly after sunrise, and after I walked around to the east facing side of the arch I took this shot.  7:16 A.M.

 
I then turned towards the arch and scrambled up the rocks to get this shot...  7:18 A.M.

As the sun started to warm the arch I moved closer, framing shots until I found a composition I liked...  7:20 A.M.

I then climbed back down and walked around to the west side of the arch, and started taking tight shots of the arch as the sun began to shine through...  7:31 A.M.

I waited another couple of minutes until the sun hit the rim...  7:33 A.M.

 
Then I switched to my fisheye lens.  This lens lends a little more curvature to the scene, and also produces a "tighter" sunburst, with more defined rays.  This was taken at 7:38 A.M.  

  
Broken Arch is definitely worth the effort of getting out of bed to catch sunrise.  The next time I'm in Moab, I'll be sure to make the trek again...

All photos taken with a Nikon D7000 camera body, and Nikkor 10-24 DX (wide angle) and Nikkor 10.5 DX (Fisheye) lenses

You can view my online portfolio and purchase prints here.

Want to keep up to date with where I'll be and what my latest creations are?
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I'm also on Twitter @KSchafferPhoto
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Catching Sunrise at Dead Horse Point

“Your landscape pictures shouldn’t say ‘I was here,’ they need to say ‘you need to be here.’” ~ Moose Peterson

Last week the wife and I spent Spring Break in Moab, Utah, one of my favorite places to explore and photograph, jumping point to Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, and several smaller yet also noteworthy areas.  While in Moab one of things I wanted to do was catch sunrise at Dead Horse Point State Park, an area I hadn't visited yet.  The park is known for a dramatic overlook of Canyonlands National Park and a section of the Colorado River known as the Gooseneck.  I knew the time had come to see this in person.

We made the decision to head out to Dead Horse Point on the morning of March 31.  Dawn that morning was 6:40AM, with sunrise at 7:06 AM (I'd like to take a moment and recommend SunCalc - located at www.suncalc.net - a free desktop app that shows sun movement and sunlight phases during any given day at any given location, with the ability to go back in time and look up sunrise/sunset times, which is a handy feature for people like me who don't always take the best notes).  Knowing that the drive to the park from Moab would take about 45 minutes, and that I would want to be into position early to get the best spot to shot that morning, necessitated a 4:15 AM wake-up.  Thankfully my wife is a light sleeper and early riser, so all I had to do was get up - knowing I could leave the driving to her...

We arrived at the destination around 6, and after a brief wait walked out to the overlook, took a look around, picked a spot, hopped over a wall, and got into position on a ledge overlooking the river at around 6:25 AM.  I set up my tripod and mounted a 16-85mm mid-range zoom to my camera, so I would have a good range of focal lengths to work with...   

 
With sunrise coming at 7:06 AM, now it was time to wait and watch the light.  At 6:45 AM. I took a few shots of the cool, dawn, pre-sunrise light.  When post-processing the shot later I used a Tilt Shift effect to give it a both a "miniature" look, and to help pull the viewer in... 

A few minutes later the sun rose, then at 7:17 AM the sun started to hit the top of the ridge on the canyon's far side, opposite the sunrise.  There were few clouds in the sky, but the light playing off the canyon walls was more than enough to get my full attention...

7:20 AM.  As the sun rose higher in the morning sky, the light started working its way down the canyon walls and hit the ridge on the piece of land circumvented by the Gooseneck section of the Colorado River...

7:25 AM...  At this point I switched to my wide angle (10-24mm) lens.  The canyon lands were bathed in light now, with a strong reflection of the landforms in the Colorado River, and I wanted to use a wider angle of view to show as much of the light playing off the land as I could...

7:40 AM.  The sun had risen high enough in the sky by this point that the light was starting to even out a bit, and although it was still a spectacular sight, the best shots of the morning had been taken.  After breaking down my tripod and hopping back over the wall to the foot paths, I still had one more shot I wanted to get.  On the way in I had seen this juniper tree, and I wanted to get a couple of shots with the morning light kissing it.  Still using my wide angle lens, I zoomed all the way out to 10mm and walked up as close to the tree as I could while still capturing the sky behind it.  I was probably two feet from the tree when I took this shot...

Dead Horse Point.  What is there to say other than I want to go back, to catch another sunrise, to catch a sunset, to marvel once again...

All photos taken with a Nikon D7000, and Nikkor 16-85 DX VR and 10-24 DX lenses.  Camera support provided by a Manfrotto 190XPROB Pro Aluminum Tripod with Manfrotto 496RC2 Compact Ball Head.

View my online portfolio here