From Dead Horse Point in Dead Horse Point State Park the sinuous path of the Colorado River, as it cuts its way through Canyonlands National Park, is a winding maze of beauty. To be on the Point on a relatively haze-free morning with broken clouds overhead and an unobstructed sunrise is to behold one of the most awesome sights in nature. In addition to the magic of the light creating marvelous contrasts, it is a study in shape and line. My biggest task was to determine the parameters of the scene, so that what I included was meaningful and allowed for the creation of appropriate relationships among the elements of the composition. The small side-lit juniper on the left became a yin-yang element to the highlighted portion of the image on the right; the solid rock of the foreground shelf in the bottom left corner offered a textural contrast to the broken canyonlands of the upper right; and there were other sets of relations that had, also, to be considered. A focal length of 20mm allowed for the inclusion of the scene I wanted. An aperture of f/22 provided depth of field and a shutter speed of 0.4 seconds at ISO 100 gave me an overall slightly-darker-than-medium exposure.
Gorgeous! The longer I look at it, the more I see. The distant horizon makes it seem as though it goes on forever. At first I did not see the river, but now its shape, color, and the orange reflection draw my eye.
I feel as though I am there–and I don’t want to leave.
I believe I can hear Eddy Arnold yodeling his lonesome cattle call. This is an epic view and you captured it in beautiful light as Mother Nature intended it to look. I can see how it would be difficult deciding what to leave out. I hope you also got a panoramic. This is an awesome spot to shoot from. How did you ever pull yourself away? Thanks for sharing.
Absolutely beautiful. Right time, right light, right place. Nice planning my friend. Hoping to make a trip west one of these days.
WOW…when can we go there?
And on clear day, you can see forever and ever more. Thanks, Don!
Good morning Everyone. Thank you all very much for joining me for this Image. Dead Horse Point has to be one of my favorite places, and this year when we went there for our scheduled shoot we were really disappointed because it was raining steadily with no sign of abating. There was only one day remaining in the workshop and we already had a schedule for that day, but I felt is was so important that the participants have an opportunity to experience the Point that we decided to return on Friday morning in conditions that had been forecast to be better. On Friday morning the conditions were, indeed, better, and we all were rewarded with what you see here. Warren, it’s good to hear from you. I appreciate all of your kind words and the emotional response you have described. It is exactly what I strive for in my work: to make you feel as if you are there. I believe that well-executed wide-angle imagery often contains elements that are not in evidence at first glance but which become so with continued viewing. It is one of the joys of those wonderful story-telling focal lengths, and I’m delighted that you mentioned it. Nancy T., it’s funny that you mention Eddy Arnold. There were moments during this adventure when I would burst out doing a very bad rendition of the yodeling part of that song. It was one of my father’s favorites. One of the most difficult things I have done in recent memory was to pull myself – and everyone else – away from that scene. Even as the light began to flatten, it was still amazing. Thanks, Lynn; I hope you get to make that trip. I’m going to do one more workshop there in 2016. Hey Robin, thank you for your kind comment. You and the Boss say when, and we are there (October/Early-November are best). Pat, you are so very welcome. I hope to share this place with you. I know you will love it. Thank you all again. Have a beautiful week.