![Gateway to Heaven | by [inFocus]](http://staging-jubilee.flickr.com/734/22211767002_501b2a2353.jpg)
[inFocus]
Gateway to Heaven
The timing of this one had to be perfect and after almost two years in the planning this is the shot I've had in my head since the last time we visited Arches National Park.
We headed up this short but strenuous hike during the heat of the afternoon sun. When we arrived, there were a good couple of hundred people all waiting for the sunset as this is one of the most iconic sights in the whole park.
Some just sitting and watching and some frantically running around trying to get the best spot for a photo. There was one group of Japanese guys who just couldn't make their mind up and were backwards and forwards with all their gear pretty much non stop. Inevitably the outcome of all this faffing around was that one guy, who obviously hadn't attached his camera to his tripod properly the previous time he moved all his gear, managed to drop his camera a good 150 feet down a steep rock face directly in front of us, it made an awful sound as it tumbled towards its death in the bushes below. The ironic thing about it was that his whole camera body and lens were covered in a camouflage housing meaning that he couldn't find it when he went down to retrieve it!
After sunset most people started to head off back down while we took up our pre-determined position carefully calculated using the photopills app many weeks beforehand.
We knew we then had to wait until 10pm when the moon had just dipped below the horizon and the Milky way had appeared directly above the Arch.
Lots of people were shining lights at the arch taking their own shots while we sat patiently waiting.
Just before 10pm there was just 3 of us left so I set up my manfrotto lights on their lowest setting, one about 150 feet away to the right and one about 60 feet to the left, both with 1/2 CTO filters.
And there it was, the shot I'd had in my head for nearly two years came to life on the back of the camera.
This is a six shot vertical panorama of the stunning Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, Moab. My spiritual home!
Enjoy!
Gateway to Heaven
The timing of this one had to be perfect and after almost two years in the planning this is the shot I've had in my head since the last time we visited Arches National Park.
We headed up this short but strenuous hike during the heat of the afternoon sun. When we arrived, there were a good couple of hundred people all waiting for the sunset as this is one of the most iconic sights in the whole park.
Some just sitting and watching and some frantically running around trying to get the best spot for a photo. There was one group of Japanese guys who just couldn't make their mind up and were backwards and forwards with all their gear pretty much non stop. Inevitably the outcome of all this faffing around was that one guy, who obviously hadn't attached his camera to his tripod properly the previous time he moved all his gear, managed to drop his camera a good 150 feet down a steep rock face directly in front of us, it made an awful sound as it tumbled towards its death in the bushes below. The ironic thing about it was that his whole camera body and lens were covered in a camouflage housing meaning that he couldn't find it when he went down to retrieve it!
After sunset most people started to head off back down while we took up our pre-determined position carefully calculated using the photopills app many weeks beforehand.
We knew we then had to wait until 10pm when the moon had just dipped below the horizon and the Milky way had appeared directly above the Arch.
Lots of people were shining lights at the arch taking their own shots while we sat patiently waiting.
Just before 10pm there was just 3 of us left so I set up my manfrotto lights on their lowest setting, one about 150 feet away to the right and one about 60 feet to the left, both with 1/2 CTO filters.
And there it was, the shot I'd had in my head for nearly two years came to life on the back of the camera.
This is a six shot vertical panorama of the stunning Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, Moab. My spiritual home!
Enjoy!