This is still one of my favorite National Parks that I've visited. For me, this quest is not necessarily about the photography, it's about the journey to take the picture. This is the 2nd time I have made the hike to Delicate Arch. This time for the sunset. Both trips were majestic and amazing when I first saw the arch. The benefit to the 2nd is I knew the uphill climb would be worth it.
I was amazed how the colors changed while I was there for about 4 hours. This shot was taken almost at sunset. I have been doing a lot of HDR (will be posting some HDR of Arches later) but this was one single shot with very little enhancements in Photoshop. The colors are very accurate to what the sunset was like. Worth the trip if you can make it!
This shot may not be the best ever - but I don't care because it has a good story behind it. Since I had been to Delicate Arch before I decided I knew my way around. I brought my flashlight with me and was ready to go - wanted to make sure I got some long term exposure shots after sunset. Well....on the way back to the car....I lost the trail and ended up on some cliff overlooking the park. The real problem was that by this time it was almost pitch black with no moon. Trust me.....I was a little scared....realizing I had no idea where the trail was. After a long religious experience I saw a flashlight in the distance. I called out to them and they waited for the 45 minutes it took me to hike back around to reach them. Germany is my new favorite country. The couple that waited for me were on holiday and touring the South West. Arches was one of their stops. He was a much better trail follower than I was. They spoke little English and I speak no German, but they definitely understood "Thank you so much for waiting, I didn't want to spend the night out here." We made it back and I promised Sarah I would never hike alone at night :-)
