lighting

Arches, while aptly named with memorable arches to view and walk amongst, is so much more. It is multiple spires, hoodoos if you will, large canyons and seas of rock formations jutting out of the valley floor… and arches.

da skyPSi.JPG

Arches true colors shine at sunset when the colors turn a brilliant unreal orange-red.

The rock pillars radiate as if they were on fire, taking on an other worldly glow. It makes you stop dead in your feet just to take it in. It comes like a storm, lights up the world, then without pause or hesitation it disappears behind the horizon until it comes back tomorrow.

For me, I’m just happy to be witness to it’s grandeur and share in it’s awesome beauty.

At the risk of stating the obvious, photography is all about the light.

That was never more clear to me than during our visit to Grand Falls this week.

I used to look through the viewfinder and be completely oblivious to the lighting and it’s shadows (what was I thinking?). I’d take all these pictures and come home and wonder what that line was going across my photo. Now I look at that and wonder how I couldn’t see that when I was there.

Case in point… on our trip to Grand Falls, this stark line struck directly through the center of the canyon. The sun was going down, slowing putting all the fall pools and canyon completely in the shadows.

So I was forced to work fast on those areas that were still lit, and forget about the cool looking areas that were in the shadows. Great light makes great photos. Crappy light, well… you get the drift.

kritterspix

K. Ritter's photographs and photo musings from northern arizona

Arches National Park

Lighting