Sunrise at Mesa Arch . . . Explore 27-12-2022 #20
I’ve been to Mesa Arch multiple times for sunrise, but this time it was to take a fellow tog from the Yorkshire Dales in England to capture it for himself.
The alarm today went off at 4am, well 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 we wanted to be able to plant our tripods 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. Maybe we had departed at an appropriately early enough time.
We had come here the day before in daylight to familiarize ourselves with the route to the arch and the location we wanted to set up for the sunrise. The route is relatively straight forward, but difficult to follow in the dark unless you are aware of the subtle natural markers placed along the route to guide you.
Upon arriving to the parking area there was only one car there . . . yes! We had left Moab early enough. As we gathered our gear to head out, the other tog, who had arrived first, head off on the path to the arch in order to be first to the arch and claim his spot. As we worked our way along the route with our head torches lighting the way, we could hear off to our left, and OFF the route, the sounds of the first tog debating with himself where the path was. Our head torches must have helped as he was the next person to arrive a few minutes after we did. As the sunrise time got closer more togs and tourists emerged out of the darkness to join the three of us that were already there.
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.
As I was shooting into the sun the dynamic range of the scene was a challenge to capture. This image is from a 7 bracket set of images.
Best viewed Large (L)
Sunrise at Mesa Arch . . . Explore 27-12-2022 #20
I’ve been to Mesa Arch multiple times for sunrise, but this time it was to take a fellow tog from the Yorkshire Dales in England to capture it for himself.
The alarm today went off at 4am, well 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 we wanted to be able to plant our tripods 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. Maybe we had departed at an appropriately early enough time.
We had come here the day before in daylight to familiarize ourselves with the route to the arch and the location we wanted to set up for the sunrise. The route is relatively straight forward, but difficult to follow in the dark unless you are aware of the subtle natural markers placed along the route to guide you.
Upon arriving to the parking area there was only one car there . . . yes! We had left Moab early enough. As we gathered our gear to head out, the other tog, who had arrived first, head off on the path to the arch in order to be first to the arch and claim his spot. As we worked our way along the route with our head torches lighting the way, we could hear off to our left, and OFF the route, the sounds of the first tog debating with himself where the path was. Our head torches must have helped as he was the next person to arrive a few minutes after we did. As the sunrise time got closer more togs and tourists emerged out of the darkness to join the three of us that were already there.
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.
As I was shooting into the sun the dynamic range of the scene was a challenge to capture. This image is from a 7 bracket set of images.
Best viewed Large (L)