Winter at Mesa Arch

[Kyle Jones]

I made a one night trip to Moab at the end of 2015 to maintain my frequent flyer status for the year (yeah, that was my excuse) and managed to catch some fresh snow at Mesa Arch for sunrise. I've posted a version of this elsewhere before, but I managed to recover some extra space on the right side since then (blending from another image) to balance things out a little better.

Any thoughts are always welcome!

 

[Ben Egbert]

Very nice image, Great clouds and light and a good sunburst. I do try to get all of the arch but it takes a really wide lens.

 

[Travis Rhoads]

I had not seen this image before, so its new to me, so thank you for sharing it. I like it, a nice foreground, that great reflected light on the bottom side of the arch and a sunburst. I tend to agree with Ben, the right side having the gap between the arch and the rocks leaves me wanting it to show the end of the arch, or at least land it with the other rocks.

 

[BarryHamilton]

Very nice indeed! I was also in the Moab area in Dec '15, right after a snow storm. The dusting added a beautiful dimension to everything!
Didn't make it to Mesa Arch, but that leaves me an excuse to return.
This is a sweet shot!

 

[AlanLichty]

Very nice - and no footprints in the snow to top it off. I wouldn't have know you tweaked the shot if you hand't mentioned it. Definitely a keeper.

 

[Kyle Jones]

Very nice image, Great clouds and light and a good sunburst. I do try to get all of the arch but it takes a really wide lens.

Thanks Ben. I was the second one there and the first person set up closer to the arch than I would have liked. That left it as a REALLY wide shot. I decided to stick with my 16-35 so I could auto focus quickly for focus stacking, but I should have tried a few with my 14mm. Next time I guess

I had not seen this image before, so its new to me, so thank you for sharing it. I like it, a nice foreground, that great reflected light on the bottom side of the arch and a sunburst. I tend to agree with Ben, the right side having the gap between the arch and the rocks leaves me wanting it to show the end of the arch, or at least land it with the other rocks.

Thanks Travis, given a choice I'd have liked to be a little further back which would have given me the extra width.

Very nice indeed! I was also in the Moab area in Dec '15, right after a snow storm. The dusting added a beautiful dimension to everything!
Didn't make it to Mesa Arch, but that leaves me an excuse to return.
This is a sweet shot!

Thanks Barry, it was actually still snowing when I was shooting...

Very nice - and no footprints in the snow to top it off. I wouldn't have know you tweaked the shot if you hand't mentioned it. Definitely a keeper.

Thanks Alan - the snow was completely fresh (still snowing even) so I had to take advantage of it.

 

[Lester Garcia]

Wonderful image!

 

[Timmeh]

Hi Kyle,

The inclusion of the distant dark cliffs on the lefts does a good job of holding the eye in the frame.

Tim

 

[JimFox]

Hey Kyle,

A really nice shot here. My inclination is always to go wide and the wider the better! But there are times when not so wide looks really great, and this is one of them.

As for people at Mesa Arch being close, one time i was there some guy had got there early and had set up with his camera actually in the arch. In it... People started complaining as more people showed up, i had set up about 10 feet back where the first rown normally congregates. This guy explained he had set up there because he had forgotten his WA lenses and that was his only lens and so that was the shot he wanted. Personally i thought it was rude, even if he was first to hog the whole arch so that literally no one else could take a shot of it. People started getting really mad as the sun started to rise, i had to become the peace maker and rationalise with this guy, i finally talked him into getting out of the arch for just a couple minutes to allow the 30 other people to at least get a couple of photos ... Sheesh, that was crazy!

Jim

 

[MayD]

Great shot. I too had witnessed this unbelievable sight around early 2014. It was an unforgettable experience for me. thanks for sharing.

 

[Ryan10]

This composition can never cease to impress. I've got to wonder the difficulties of capturing it though. How many people were shooting along side you?

 

[Kyle Jones]

This composition can never cease to impress. I've got to wonder the difficulties of capturing it though. How many people were shooting along side you?

This is the only time I've been there, so I don't have much perspective. This was taken on December 31 immediately after (during) a snow storm such that I had been the first person to clear a path on the road through Canyonlands from Moab. I was the second person onsite (I sat in my car in the parking lot at the trailhead until someone else got there - no reason to be any colder than necessary!) and the two of us had the arch to ourselves for a while before the crowds arrived just before sunrise. In the end, there were maybe 18 people who were all reasonably well behaved.

 

[Ryan10]

lol...first one there sets the line.

 

[Kyle Jones]

lol...first one there sets the line.

Yeah... I was doing a calculation. Having never been there before, I wasn't convinced I would set the right line in the dark. So I weighed that uncertainty against staying warm and dry for a little longer (it was a balmy 8°F that morning). The one thing I knew is that I didn't want any marks in the fresh snow in front of me - so better too close than too far.

 

[lightsgood]

Very nice - and no footprints in the snow to top it off. I wouldn't have know you tweaked the shot if you hand't mentioned it. Definitely a keeper.

What Alan said! No footprints! You must be a wizzard! Love it.

 

[Martín el Escocés]

Beautiful scene! The snow adds so much to it!

 

[Vieri]

Very good shot Kyle! The snow certainly added to it