ARCHES NATIONAL PARK, UTAH
Night Photography Adventure Workshop
Date held: Nov 15-19, 2016
Combining big sky, high desert, natural stone and earth formations to form unforgettable night photo images. We spent five nights covering stunning natural features in Arches National Parks with an amazing group of students.
Student Slideshow:
HOW I FELL IN LOVE WITH ARCHES NATIONAL PARK
“The first time I went to Arches, the vast wealth of visual opportunity seized me, and compelled me to visit twice more in the same year.”
I was on a road trip with my best friend and one of our stops was Moab and specifically Arches. I had, of course, seen the photos others had made. I had imagined the ones I could take. And I was excited.
We rolled in in late afternoon, checked in and drove straight into the park. It was sunset, and we wanted to see a few choice locations and scout for potential night photography.
At sunset, the red rocks glow; they almost vibrate with color. I was a passenger, and glad of it. My neck was whipping from side to side, and I was mentally noting every location I wanted to document by the light of the full moon later.
Did I mention it was January?
Having seen enough roadside attractions, we stopped at the base of the viewpoint for Delicate Arch. seeing it for the first time allowed for contemplation of scale. I knew that a person in juxtaposition to that stone semicircle was minuscule, and it looked small from the roadside. We decided to hike up in magic hour.
The snowy and icy approach was treacherous. But the opportunity to see Delicate Arch from above with daylight-bright moonlight behind it was magical. It was also quite cold, so we spent 1/2 hour up there making some long exposures – all the while mesmerized by the geological wonder in front of us.
Descending by flashlight and moonlight, we chatted excitedly about what we had seen, agreeing that more people should see it by moonlight. I filed that one away and immediately started thinking about bringing other lovers of night photography to Arches for a similar experience.
We did more roadside shooting that evening. The snow, moonlight and clear, bright skies erased any concerns I had for the cold weather. I was in the midst of being totally present in one of the most beautiful spaces I had ever seen.
We are only teaching at Arches National Park once. We hope you join us!
Here are some of the photos I made on the first journey:
And later that year, Gabe and I dropped in to visit Tim Cooper at the end of one of his workshops at Arches. We visited other short hike locations and experimented with light painting, some light-emitting toys and more. Here are a few from that excursion:
And here are some stunning photos Tim has made in Arches and Canyonlands:
MAPS
SUN AND MOON DURING THE WORKSHOP: FULL MOON NOVEMBER 14
TENTATIVE Workshop Schedule:
The above is subject to weather and other unpredictable events.
