Magic Light at Mesa Arch

Posted by Don Smith (California, United States) on 5 December 2008 in Landscape & Rural.

A 4:30am wakeup netted a magical catch as our group of five photographers made the 45-minute drive from Moab and a 10-minute hike through the dark to Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park, Utah. We had scouted the arch the day before and realized if we were not the first ones there, we may miss the moment due to limited space. Clear skies were forecast and with the sun rising on a southern track from the arch, the underside of the arch lit up with magical red reflective light from the sandstone wall below which extended about a 1,000 feet. We had read and were told that the best light lasts only minutes; however on this morning, we shot for a good 20 minutes before the best light started to dim. This particular image was captured 8 1/2 minutes past the posted 7:05am sunrise time. I would have to put this experience in the top three of my personal "magical nature moments" which I have had the honor to witness. This was the second location in which I shot the arch (the first being directly in front of it - click here to see that image): Mesa Arch and Sunstar, and I used my 16-35mmL at 16mm on my full-frame Canon 1DsMKIII. Although I had the polarizer on, I polarized very little as it was producing uneven tones in the sky. Having seen many images of the arch, I always thought the photographer(s) were a bit heavy-handed with the saturation. Having witnessed this sunrise in person, I can tell you they were not - this is really how it looks! To see more of my images, read monthly "how to" articles, and for information on my upcoming 2009 workshops, please visit my website at Don Smith Photography.

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