After two weeks of trying to head west for a shoot in Utah, I had to cancel twice due to weather forecasts. So, I decided to combine my desire to photograph again with a show I’ve done annually for the past six or seven years in St. George.
The festival takes place Easter weekend, on Friday and Saturday. I left Denver on Monday, with a decent drive over the Colorado High country in my van. Arriving in Moab about 5 PM, I checked into a hotel and had dinner. A bit before 6, I headed into Arches National Park, picked up an annual parks pass and proceeded. It was two days before a full moon, so I tried to work it into a picture, but wasn’t satisfied with position and light. The next morning I awoke at 5:30 and drove to Canyonlands, pulling up once again to the Mesa Arch trailhead. There in the parking lot was a tour bus. It didn’t bother me, because I’ve successfully shot the arch 3 times already. I scouted around for something else to shoot, but didn’t take a single one. I returned to the hotel, checked out and headed south on 191 to Chinle, Arizona, home of Canyon de Chelly. After a late lunch at a fast food Chinese restaurant, I gathered my gear and began the 1.2 mile hike down into the canyon, destination the White House Ruins. I had a difficult time getting down the rocky trail. I still have a hard time stabilizing myself at times. The thought of going back up this steep climb was scaring me. Anyway, I got to the bottom and successfully photographed the amazing ruins there. Shadows came in from a direction I didn’t expect, so the brilliant sunset light wasn’t there, but I’m sure it’s a fine picture. When I was done shooting there was hardly anyone left. Now I had to make the dreaded climb back up hauling all my gear. A young man in a 4×4 offered me a ride for $40. I thought about it quickly and offered him twenty. He accepted and took me for a ride along the river bed working, his way out of the canyon. Glad I made that decision, since I was unprepared without a flashlight. The next morning I took some shots of the river from an overlook that
was breathtaking. Packed up my goods and headed for Bryce Canyon, back in Utah where I was expecting to shoot at sunrise, but decided to give sunset a try. To my pleasant satisfaction there was great light and a fury of picturesque clouds. This may be my best Bryce shot to date. The next morning I awoke early and decided to head through Zion en route to St George. I was there at sunrise, but frankly speaking it was a rather boring start for the day. I took a couple of shots for the record of being there. At the Zion entrance, I stopped at Michael Fatali’s incredibly beautiful gallery and had the pleasure of meeting the man, himself. A very brilliant photographer. Then onto St George, did the two day show
with moderate success. On my return trip, I stayed again in Moab, and may have taken a shot of Arches that I’ve been trying to get for many many years. I pick my film up tommorrow from my friends at Reed photo and I’m really confident of three strong images from Canyon de Chelly, Bryce and Arches. These will all be premiered at our 25 year Silver Anniversary Celebration at the end of the month. Stay tuned. Info to follow !