Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park

Yesterday morning I photographed the famous Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park. This was a fairly challenging scene to photograph because of the high contrast. I spent about 2 1/2 hours shooting the arch and had a particularly enjoyable time. Must be because I'm starting to settle into the trip and relax!

There were some other photographers there and one guy in particular cracked me up.... he was running around with his camera like a chicken with his head cut off. I half expected him to trip and fall into the canyon. Ironically he - and a couple other photographers - left before the light got really good. After that there were just two of us left photographing... me and a very nice guy (and good photographer) from northern Utah named Bob Hills. Be sure to check out his website www.bobhillsphotography.com .

Here are a few of the hundreds of photos I took at the arch.
All taken with EOS 1Ds mIII

Photo 1: Sunbeams through the arch.
24-70mm; Singh-Ray Gold n Blue polarizer & ND grad (can't remember which one)
ISo 200; Aperture Priority mode + 2/3 stops comp; 1/15s at f/18


Photo 2: Wide angle of the arch.
17-40mm; Singh-Ray Gold n Blue polarizer
ISO 200; Aperture Priority mode + 2/3 stops comp; 1/3s at f/22


Photo 3: Self portrait under the arch.
70-200mm; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer; Canon remote cable release/timer
ISO 200; Aperture Priority mode + 1 1/3 stops comp; 1/8s at f/18


Stay tuned for more photos.... I'm in Bryce Canyon NP now and it looks awesome.
Happy shooting!
Ethan-