On June 10th, I traveled from Oljato-Monument Valley, UT to Moab, UT to return to Canyonlands National Park. I spent the afternoon photographing some of the park before finding a hotel for the night. The next morning June 11th, I packed up all my gear and drove to Canyonlands National Park again to photograph Mesa Arch at sunrise knowing I was going to be traveling later to Cheyenne, WY during the afternoon. Just before sunrise, I arrived at Mesa Arch to setup my camera and tripod. The crowd soon followed as we all awaited for the much anticipated sunrise. We were all rewarded with our patience with a stellar sunrise which made for a good hour worth of photography. After that, I began making my way back out of the park. I ended up stopping a few times along the drive outside the park to snap a few more photos before heading into Colorado. I shot all these photos with my Canon 5D Mark III and Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 II L lens. I've added photos from the two days I was hiking and photographing in the park below:
The much anticipated "orange glow" on this morning at Mesa Arch!
Waiting patiently...
Even without the sun making an appearance thus far the lighting was great!
"When darkness begins to turn to light"
Wide-angle shot at sunrise of Mesa Arch!
This is what we all were patiently waiting for...
After exiting the park I found some dramatic landscapes...
A bridge over the Colorado River in Moab, UT
The morning sun-angle bringing the desert landscapes to life!
Canyons as far as the eye can see!
The cirrus clouds that moved overhead really added more to the photo!
"Desert life"
"Canyons and more rocks"
A walk across the Colorado River was pretty cool!
I was glad I stopped to shoot some more landscapes!
The southwest is such a great region of the U.S. for photography!
More scenic views...
Wilson Arch on the way to Moab, UT
One last shot before driving north to I-70...
Overall, these were another productive couple of days of photography. I was quite happy waking up before sunrise on this day to say the least. I had a long and grueling drive ahead of me where I would later travel to Sidney, NE for what looked to be a great day to chase storms and potential tornadoes on June 12th. I'll add that post in the coming days.
