Who goes on holiday and sets their alarm for several hours before sunrise . . . well, I did! The purpose of the early rise, just like my visit last September, was in the hopes of selecting ‘my spot’ for my tripod to capture the sunrise at Mesa Arch before the throngs of photographers arrived. I was the only car on the road leaving Moab, everyone else was still sensibly in bed apparently. I didn’t even spot any headlights or taillights during the drive to Canyonlands National Park or even on the park roads leading to the parking area for Mesa Arch. Maybe this time I had departed at an appropriately early enough time.

I parked, grabbed my kit, flicked my headlamp on and headed on the path to Mesa Arch. My pace on the path was a bit slower this morning as I had been out the morning prior for a cloudy sunless sunrise and the path was coated in ice from freezing rain the night prior and a bit treacherous (learned by sliding into a pine tree when I was unable to stop on ice coated slick rock). Today the eastern horizon was just beginning to brighten as I arrived at the arch, where I discovered I was the first to arrive!! On my September visit there were already 15 to 20 tripods with accompanying cameras and photographers set up waiting for sunrise . . . this time I was alone for the moment. It was a joy to be able to explore and select my location without having to rush before someone else took it. I even had time to enjoy waiting for the sunrise and the crowds. The sunrise did come as expected, but the other photographers didn’t! I had Mesa Arch to myself for the sunrise.

The beauty of the sunrise here is something one truly needs to witness in person. As the sun broke the horizon the first sunburst occurs, but the best is yet to come. Initially there is a lack of reflected light on the underside of Mesa Arch. But as the sun continues to rise and begins to cross the underside of the arch, a 2nd sunburst occurs while the reflected light illuminates the underbelly of the arch turning the sandstone a glowing red. After capturing the sunrise from near the edge of the rim, with the lack of other photographers I could back up and capture the entire arch at sunrise (an earlier image). The fact I was enjoying this sunrise . . . at this location . . . alone . . . priceless!

In the distance highlighted by the rising sun is the Washer Woman (derived from its resemblance of a tall and slender woman reaching her hands into a tub) and to its right is the taller Monster Tower. Washer Woman and Monster Tower are each over 600 feet tall. Behind the Washer Woman is the Sandcastle. On the horizon are the La Sal Mountains.

A fabulous sunrise at Mesa Arch alone to begin my day, followed by a short drive back to Moab and breakfast at the Jail House Cafe before heading south to Monument Valley.

Tags:   Utah Canyonlands Canyonlands National Park Mesa Arch Washer Woman Monster Tower Sandcastle sunrise sandstone arch sunburst blue sky waiting for the light landscape patience red glow dramatic beauty rock rock formation outdoor serene Brad Eide Nikon D810 Nikon 16-35mm f4 Gitzo tripod remote release Lee filter neutral density March 2017 winter La Sal Mountains stupid o'clock geotagged

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The lack of recent travels has led me to delve into the archives. This one is from one of my favorite mornings . . .

The alarm today went off at 5am, over two hours before sunrise. The reason for the early alarm was that the drive to Canyonlands National Park and the ensuing walk to Mesa Arch would take nearly an hour and I wanted to be able to plant my tripod before everyone else arrived. Driving out of Moab the streets were void of traffic and after turning onto the road leading to Canyonlands there weren’t headlights in the rearview mirror or taillights visible ahead. I was confident that I had departed at an appropriately early enough time.

After entering the National Park, I noticed a few taillights ahead of me in the distance. “OK, I guess there may be a few early risers there,” I thought. How wrong I was, for as I crested the rise in the dark with my headlamp guiding my way along the path to Mesa Arch I could hear many voices coming from ahead. I wasn’t alone and it wasn’t just a couple of early risers either. There were already 15 to 20 tripods with accompanying cameras and photographers set up waiting for sunrise! Fortunately, the location I had scouted out the day prior was still available, so I joined the masses and added my tripod and camera to the mix.

The beauty of the sunrise here is something one truly needs to witness in person. As the sun broke the horizon the first sunburst occurred, but the best was yet to come. Initially there is the lack of reflected light on the underside of Mesa Arch. But as the sun continued to rise and began to cross the underside of the arch a 2nd sunburst occurred while the reflected light illuminated the underbelly of the arch turning the sandstone a glowing red.

Highlighted by the rising sun is the Washer Woman (derived from its resemblance of a tall and slender woman reaching her hands into a tub) and to its right is the taller Monster Tower. Washer Woman and Monster Tower are each over 600 feet tall. Behind the Washer Woman is the Sandcastle.

This is the third image I’ve posted from that wonderful morning, but this one was taken moments earlier than the previous two. The sunburst is larger in this image as the sun is just beginning to be hidden by the arch. I’ve held off on posting this . . . due to the flares, but decided they weren’t too distracting

Best viewed large (L)

Tags:   Utah Canyonlands Canyonlands National Park Mesa Arch Washer Woman Monster Tower Sandcastle sunrise sandstone arch sunburst blue sky landscape waiting for the light patience red glow dramatic beauty beautiful neutral density Lee filter Nikon D7100 Nikon 17-55mm f2.8 Brad Eide Gitzo tripod

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