Delicate Arch
New Journal 33 – Couldn’t handle the heat
After writing a post about my body’s inability to cope with heat, and receiving some great suggestions from others, I vomited my guts out last night – there’s some lovely imagery for you.
We hiked for a few hours in blistering heat, with 4 liters of water and other supplies. Apparently that wasn’t enough. I desperately wanted to stay at the spot we’d hiked to for a Milky Way shoot but I was suffering and we still had a 45 minute hike down to the car park in pitch black conditions. We were forced to leave early.
When I eventually found a water source, I took two big gulps and my stomach decided it was time to evacuate. I spent the night in some difficulty. This morning I feel a lot better.
I’m ready to go back out today and explore the Canyonlands national park. This time we’ll be better prepared.
The Cool Bits – Technical Info
Processing Time: 1 hour
Processing method: Photoshop Luminance Masks
No. of Exposures: 3
EV Range: -2 0 +
Aperture: f/7
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 10mm
Lens: Sigma 10-20mm
Camera: Canon 60d
Plugins: Nik Color Efex for vignette, colour correction, detail extraction and contrast adjustments
Luminance Masks: Used for exposure blending
Photomatix Settings: N/A
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Today’s Photo – Delicate Arch
This was not an easy shot to compose. I hadn’t found an image I’d liked on the internet of the Delicate Arch but since it was apparently the place to be in the Arches National Park, that’s where we went for sunset. Behind the arch sit the canyons that you see to the left. A shot straight on means the arch would be lost in all the details going on in the background.
Tourists were everywhere and the sun set in the opposite direction. For anyone photographers going to the Arches national park, this doesn’t seem to be the best spot for sunset.
Reminder – Download Luminance Mask Actions
You can download my 18 point luminance mask actions for Photoshop completely free – [wpdm_file id=1]
Before the Joys of Post-Processing
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This entry was posted on Thursday, June 27th, 2013 at 3:58 pm
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Great shot, Jimmy. Delicate Arch is not the easiest spot to compose with due to the amount of tourists all taking in the splendor. However; I think you went at this spot all wrong. The setting sun emits a golden glow onto the arch if you were to set up facing east instead of looking west into the sunset.
Rest assured Brian. Many more shots were taken, including images with the golden glow on the arch. The problem, however, was finding foreground and background elements to compliment that glow, which was an extremely difficult task. I’ll be editing a few more images from here later on 🙂
I had figured you’d be on all angles. But yeah, I remember walking over there and wondering why I was the only photographer shooting into the sunset. I can’t wait to see the others.
Jimmy — Brian is correct about the setting sun. But this image is a
great job of getting something other than the usual perspective on Delicate Arch that we’ve all seen a gazillion times. And, as you have now learned the hard way, the Colorado Plateau heat is insiduous and you can’t drink too much water. Stay healthy.
Thanks a lot buddy. I’ve been lugging around a bath tub of water ever since 🙂