Days 00 – Scouting and Puttering
There is something about Arches & Canyonlands National Parks that keeps Arnie and me coming back. Perhaps it is the different formations, the ephemeral light, the changing skies, and of course, the natural complementary palette. We have been coming to this area for decades, both separately before we knew each other, and together.
So many movies have been filmed in this area, and no wonder. It offers such a variety of scenes.
We like to modify our locations each year, especially in such a vast area as this, so the first afternoon, we revisited an overlook we had not seen for the past couple of years. It was late afternoon, and there was a lot of haze in the sky, giving blue & earthy tones instead of the traditional reddish-orange ones.
With workshops running back to back, we have to take time out for both mundane and necessary tasks … doing laundry, catching up on e-mail, picking up National Park permits, getting the car washed, and taking time for ourselves to catch our breaths. That took up all of the next morning and then some.
Finally, we headed out for an afternoon shoot and to figure out where we would do night skies.
One location is pretty far out in Arches, and not one we visit often. In the late afternoon many days, depending upon the weather, the rocks turn a fiery red, and this afternoon was no exception. What is more, it lended itself to a panorama shot.
The light faded, and we saw a star or two, so decided to see what we could do with night skies. The Milky Way was in the wrong position, but I did capture Ursa Major, The Big Dipper, with some residual light down on the horizon. But, we were still hunting for a good location for the Milky Way and moved on. Arnie had an idea of where it would work, and indeed, it did!
“We have to go if we are going to get any dinner,” said Arnie, knowing that I get spacey if I don’t eat.
“It’s so good, though. Let me just grab a couple of shots,” I replied, as I grabbed my tripod, focused, and fired off a few, thinking, “Well, if they don’t come out, we’ll always be back.” But it they did come out, and the stars looked gorgeous.
Next: First Day of the Workshop … a long hike …
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