Mesa Arch

Off into Canyonlands for the iconic "Sunrise at Mesa Arch" shot. We were the first there this morning as it had been raining all night and still was as we were picking our spot and setting up.

10 mins before sunrise the coach parties arrived and there was suddenly about 100 people all waiting to see what would happen and inevitably getting in each others shot! The atmosphere got quite tense for a while with lots of people shouting at each other. A couple of minutes before sunrise I asked everybody to please step back so everyone gets a chance to capture the magic moment and luckily they did as there was suddenly an eerie calm!

The then the moment happened, the sun broke the horizon and flooded the entire scene with stunning morning light bouncing up from the walls of the canyon 800 feet below the arch, much to the delight of the onlookers! Three minutes later it was all over (see photo in comments below which was taken just after the sun went behind the arch)

Done