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Photographing Mesa Arch at Sunrise: What You Need to Know

As it turned out, photographing Mesa Arch at sunrise was not only a shot of a lifetime, but a life-lesson as well.

Full disclosure: Before we arrived on the scene, I had no idea that photographing Mesa Arch at sunrise was such a big deal. Our photog-daughter, who organized our trip, simply told us that we were going to a really cool place to take sunrise pictures. Since she had been to this location a number of times before, I didn’t do my routine pre-trip research. Luckily, it all worked out great and I’m excited to share our adventure and tips for photographing Mesa Arch with you. But before I do that, I want to share a little story.

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Photography Lesson: The Shot of a Lifetime

We arrived at the parking lot at the Mesa Arch Trailhead about an hour before the first hint of sunrise shrugged up the horizon.

Mr B and I made the short hike to Mesa Arch in about eight minutes. Our (mostly adult) kids were way ahead of us, and as we arrived, we found them momentary stopping under the arch for the requisite selfie.

As we maneuvered the uneven ground between the trail access and the arch to meet them, I passed an older man (older than me, at least) who was visibly agitated. His ire seemed to be directed at our kids, and I had no idea why.

“Get outta there!” he shouted at them, waving a hand in the air like an umpire calling out a batter. They were already moving away from the arch before he called out.

“Damn kids, trying to ruin my shot,” he muttered to me, by way of explanation. He had no way of know they were with us.

I should have just let it go, but I couldn’t help myself. “They’re really good kids,” I said quietly as we passed. (Sometimes I cannot make my inner mama bear shut up no matter how hard I try.)

He paused and looked back, face pursed, “They were going to ruin my shot.”

“Seems they were just catching the moment,” I replied, nodding toward the now empty Arch.

As I passed him, a young woman joined him on the trail. I overheard him say to her, “Damn kids were going to ruin my…”

“Dad…” she interrupted, using the same tender tone I once used with my own aging father in times of frustration.

“But I’ve been waiting a lifetime to take this shot.” I heard his voice break ever so slightly.

“I know, Dad.” She patted his shoulder, and his face softened. Together they went to set up before the inevitable crowd arrived.

We spent the next hour watching the crowd gather and set up. I kept an eye and ear on the old man, who seemed to snap to life when the camera equipment emerged. I watched him carefully set up his tripod, and adjust it so that he had a prime, unobstructed shot right through the arch. I watched him lean in to his daughter as they considered the optimal angles and adjusted their camera settings. By the time the haze on the mountains started glowing, he had every detail plotted out.

I was surprised when, as the sun began to rise over the mesa and light the La Sal mountain range beyond the arch, the old man motioned me over.

“You should shoot through right here,” he instructed. And then he stepped aside to share his carefully selected space with me. “See,” he pointed, “you can get a perfect shot of the cones rising up from the mesa right here.”

“You know,” he said, his eyes intent on the glowing skyline. “I’ve been waiting a lifetime to get this shot.”

I nodded, grateful for the lesson.

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Photographing Mesa Arch at Sunrise: What You Need to Know

Arrive Early

Set your alarm so that you can arrive at the trailhead at least an hour before sunrise. This will allow you to catch the first glow on the horizon. It also gives you plenty of time to adjust your camera settings, and figure out where you want to be when that much-anticipated sunstar pops through the arch.

Note that the trail into Mesa Arch, which will take you about ten minutes, is very dark before sunrise, so take something to light your way. A headlamp or flashlight are both good choices. Sure, you can use your phone, but don’t blame me if you run out of juice in the process.

Stake Your Claim, But Be Flexible

Crowds are inevitable. Arriving early will help you get ahead of them and allow you to find “your spot.” However, be flexible; if you manage to secure a prime location, be compassionate to those who didn’t. (Karma, my friends.)

Take a Tripod

A tripod is helpful for photographing Mesa Arch in two ways: first, it allows you to stabilize your camera in the low light conditions and take awesome pictures. Second, it helps you stake your claim.

There is something magical about a tripod placed. I can’t offer any guarantees here, but for the most part, people seem to respect the space a tripod takes up and won’t move it, even if you aren’t hovering over it every second. With your tripod securing your little square of Mesa Arch real estate, you can move around a bit without feeling like someone is going to “steal your spot.”

Change Up Your Space

If you watch the light when you are photographing Mesa Arch, it’s difficult to take a bad picture. Doing so, however, will require you to move occasionally.

Look Around

There are so many amazing shots at this location, and many do not include the Arch at all. If I had only been paying attention to the Arch itself, I would have missed this one entirely:

And this one.

And this one. (Those are two of our kids in profile on the left.)

Stay Late

If you don’t heed any other information here, do this. The biggest surprise I got while photographing Mesa Arch was the number of people who snapped the money-shot – that sunstar coming through the arch – and then immediately packed up and left. It’s literally like watching the first pop of fireworks on the 4th of July and leaving before the rest of the show.

Why would you take all the time and effort to get up early and drive out into the desert, just to snap one or two good shots and walk away? I don’t get it. My best advice: stay at least 45 minutes after you see that sunstar.

Be Alert

It just so happened that our visit to Canyonlands fell on the morning of July 4^th. Just as we were heading back on the trail to return to our car, I turned back one last time to take in larger scene behind us.

At that moment, someone standing on the rise next to the Arch rose up and stretched out, revealing the American flag they’d had wrapped around them. They then turned and hopped down to join their friends on the ground below. The whole movement took less than five seconds, but somehow I managed to capture it. The image is below, and is one of my favorites from this trip.

Finally, Put the Camera Down

There are two maxims I strive daily to follow. (I’m not always successful, but I try.) The first is, Be Kind. The second, Be Present. That means putting everything down and just being there in the place with the people. Take some time to put your camera down, and take in the spectacular show that the universe is putting on for you.

More information on photographing Mesa Arch:

Mesa Arch Photo Tips [Fototripper] – This post has some good technical info, including recommended equipment and panorama tips.
Mesa Arch Sunrise Photography Tips for Boomer Travelers [My Itchy Travel Feet]
Mesa Arch: The Southwest’s Best Photo Op? [Firefall Photography] – Great info on camera settings.

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Sunset on Hawaii {Pretty Pictures & Free Background Images}

September 4 By Renée 8 Comments

Sometimes I just need to look at something peaceful and pretty. Maybe you do too.

From recipes to hikes to travel tips, the focus here for the last month and a half has been on our vacation to Hawaii earlier this summer. Thank you so much for indulging me – it’s been so much fun to relive our trip and share the best parts with you. Now that the summer is winding down and the kids are going back to school, I wanted to leave you with a last look at some of the beautiful scenes we experienced in one final Hawaii post.

Note: I’m the first one to admit that I’m not a professional photographer, but if one of these images catches your fancy and you’d like to use it for a background or some other [non-commercial] use, full-sized images are available to download here from my Flickr account, or just click the picture you like for a direct link.

↑ This was on of the first images I took on my Sunrise Photography Tour. I love the way the light reflects off the tide pools in the foreground.

↑ One of my very favorites! This image illustrates many things; the most interesting (to me) being that we never know when or how we will become part of someone’s memories. I have no idea who the guy on the beach is, nor do I know the tiny surfer in the waves, but because of this photograph, they will forever be a part of my memory of my first trip to Hawaii.

↑ My favorite part about the image above is the tiny paddle boarder making his way along the coastline. You don’t notice him right away, but when you do, he changes the whole story of the photo.

↑ A very exciting image for me: this photo represents the moment when I learned how to control the shutter speed to do what I wanted it to do.

↑ My kids’ Grandpa David used to take millions of pictures of trees, and I never really understood why. I think get it now though, because I could take pictures of the ocean all day.

↑ Dole Plantation Bromeliad Garden. I just think this is pretty.

↑ The first time I saw Hanauma Bay, I was overwhelmed by how clear the water was.

↑ You can’t really have a bunch of pictures of Oahu without a shot of Diamond Head. This was taken while we were on our dinner cruise on the last night of our trip.

↑ From our hotel balcony in Waikiki, you could literally see what was playing on the enormous television screen on the far left side of the apartment building on the right (fourth floor down). We weren’t trying to look, but that giant TV was like a bright, flickering fire that drew your eyes to it. Good thing the sky was more interesting to watch.

Until next time, Aloha.

Photography Tips for Beginners {Or, What I Learned at Sunrise in Hawaii}

August 20 By Renée 18 Comments

A Sunrise Photography Tour is a great way to see some of Hawaii’s most beautiful locations, all while getting professional guidance that will help you to take your landscape photography to the next level.

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Years ago, I took a writing class from an editor-turned-publisher, who shared that when he started out, he made his bread-and-butter money writing instructional manuals for a high-tech company. He told us that he got the job not by virtue of his vast store of technical knowledge, but ironically, because of his complete lack of it. In other words, he was full of questions and no answers, just like the people who would be reading the manuals he wrote.

“I remember the day I knew I had to find a new job,” he said. “As I often did, I’d asked my teenage daughter to proofread a computer manual I’d completed before turning it into my editor, and when she handed it back to me, she said, ‘Looks good, Dad – except one thing. How do you turn it on?’ I knew then that I knew too much about the product. I didn’t ask all the questions anymore.”

I’m a wannabe photographer, so I read a lot of articles and blog posts about photography; most written by talented, capable photographers who have thoroughly learned their craft and are generously passing their knowledge on. The problem is, even in pieces aimed at beginners, they often forget that some of us are still trying to learn how to turn the camera on.

Alex, owner and operator of Oahu Photography Tours, is an exception. Not only does he remember all the questions, but he guides you to the answers in such a way that you go home with some truly valuable knowledge that you can use going forward. I learned more in one morning taking pictures with Alex and our small tour group than I have learned in hours and hours of reading blog posts and books on the subject.

**“Never let the truth get in the way of a great photo.”**

If there is one message that I took away from the tour, it was, “Never let the truth get in the way of a great photo.” While I use this guideline nearly daily when taking food images (if you had any idea what’s going on just beyond those cropped edges…) I hadn’t really thought about applying it beyond close-ups. Anyway, Alex must have repeated this advice at least twenty times in the six or so hours that we spent with him, and it is perhaps the most important thing I learned. Move things, change angles, or do whatever you need to do (within law and reason) to capture that perfect shot.

Here are a few other tidbits that I gleaned from the tour.

Silhouettes

Taking pictures in silhouette is powerful. Since you can’t see faces, people can imagine themselves in the picture.

Composition

Be aware of where things are happening. Don’t overlook something cool in the foreground because you are too focused on what’s going on on the horizon.

Exposure

Under-expose sometimes. You can always add fill light with an editing program, and the under-exposure often creates some nice drama.

P Mode

P Mode was the one piece of technical learning I took away. (Once again, this will be ultra rudimentary for Real Photographers.) When you are ready to move on from fully automatic, but not ready for Manual, P Mode is a great intermediate step. In P Mode, you can:

Learn what works: The camera will show you which aperture and shutter speed settings it has decided to use for your picture, so instead of guessing which aperture and shutter combination will work, you can shoot in P mode and take some notes. Then when you are ready, you can use the same settings in manual mode.
Adjust the exposure compensation, which makes your images brighter or darker. Start off by switching to P mode and taking a picture of something you see. Then look at a preview and decide if it’s too bright, too dark, or just right. If it isn’t quite right, just adjust the exposure compensation up or down.
Adjust your camera’s ISO speed. Sometimes there isn’t enough light in a scene and you still want to avoid using a flash. If that’s the case, you can make your images brighter by increasing your camera’s ISO speed. ISO speed controls the rate at which your light sensor picks up the information it gets from your lens. Just experiment to see what you like. Don’t go crazy though, because if you increase the ISO too much, your images will start to look grainy.

Forest and Trees

Remember while you are photographing the forest to take a few pictures of the trees – you might find something interesting. Conversely, remember to capture the forest, even when you are focusing on the trees.

People

Don’t forget the people in the forest. They tell a story all their own.

Finally, take a lot of pictures. This probably seems like a no-brainer, but even though I’ve been taking all my pictures with a digital camera for well over a decade, until this tour, I don’t think I had completely made the mental shift from film photography, when counting the number of exposures was a thing. However, I’m cured now: I took so many pictures of this stand-up paddle boarder that I can practically make a stop-action movie.

If you are planning a trip to Hawaii, I highly recommend including a photography tour early in your itinerary. You don’t need a fancy camera – you can even use your phone – and some equipment (e.g., tripods, and some filters) is provided. For me, this was some of the best-spent money of our entire trip, and the images I captured, both on the tour and subsequently on our vacation, are priceless.

While this post specifically highlights my experience with Alex and Oahu Photography Tours, there are a number of photography tours on the Hawaiian Islands, offering a number of different types of tours, from Sunrise to Sunset.

NOTE: All of the images in this post were taken by me (except the last one) during my photography tour.

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