Categories: TravelTags:

I woke up really early this morning (3:30 am) to photograph the stars and sunrise in Arches National Park. It was another beautiful morning … I think this will be the last planned photo venture of my trip. I might take it easy the rest of the day and check out the town. I photographed this image of a cairn in the wash near Three Gossips after getting all of my other shots in (Three Gossips is one of my favorite sites here at the park, btw).

The first night I was here I hiked out to Delicate Arch to photograph it at sundown. It was a nice hike and I made it up there with plenty of time to set up and get a bunch of great images. I stuck around until dark, along with another girl named Renee, who was also hanging out to check out the stars. There were too many clouds in the sky so we decided to leave, but it was pitch black out, minus a little bit of moonlight and the light from our flashlights. It’s not a paved trail, so we were relying on finding the cairns to guide us back. I’ve always seen them in photographs and used as “zen” or “spa” imagery, but this was the first time that they ever had real purpose and meaning for me. If it weren’t for those little pillars of stones it would have been a real challenge to find the way back to the start of the trail.

It sure would be nice to have these things guiding me through life … I feel like I’m stumbling around in the dark with a flashlight most of the time.

I woke up really early this morning (3:30 am) to photograph the stars and sunrise in Arches National Park. It was another beautiful morning … I think this will be the last planned photo venture of my trip. I might take it easy the rest of the day and check out the town. I photographed this image of a cairn in the wash near Three Gossips after getting all of my other shots in (Three Gossips is one of my favorite sites here at the park, btw).

The first night I was here I hiked out to Delicate Arch to photograph it at sundown. It was a nice hike and I made it up there with plenty of time to set up and get a bunch of great images. I stuck around until dark, along with another girl named Renee, who was also hanging out to check out the stars. There were too many clouds in the sky so we decided to leave, but it was pitch black out, minus a little bit of moonlight and the light from our flashlights. It’s not a paved trail, so we were relying on finding the cairns to guide us back. I’ve always seen them in photographs and used as “zen” or “spa” imagery, but this was the first time that they ever had real purpose and meaning for me. If it weren’t for those little pillars of stones it would have been a real challenge to find the way back to the start of the trail.

It sure would be nice to have these things guiding me through life … I feel like I’m stumbling around in the dark with a flashlight most of the time.

Stay in touch

Stay in touch and get the latest updates by subscribing to my newsletter below:

Nicolesy Newsletter: Homepage Form

Nicole is a photographer, published author, and educator specializing in Lightroom, Photoshop, and photography. She is best known for her books on food photography but is widely versed in various photographic genres, including landscape, nature, stock, travel, and experimental imagery.

7 Comments

  1. Vern Snow April 21, 2010 at 9:19 am - Reply

    Nice image and post

  2. Jeremy Hall April 21, 2010 at 9:30 am - Reply

    Great photo and sentiment to go with it. Sounds like you have having an enjoyable trip!

  3. Tom Sparks April 21, 2010 at 10:53 pm - Reply

    I’m very jealous of you. I hope you were able to get some good photos today with the storm moving in. Looking forward to seeing more of your work.

  4. Emma - Caramellamenta April 22, 2010 at 12:27 am - Reply

    I like the photo very much (as usual) but I am very impressed by your description: it would be great to have a guide sometimes. Thanks for your beautiful posts :)

  5. Mike April 22, 2010 at 2:19 pm - Reply

    You are a guide for some of us through our photographic journey. Thanks for all your help. I know, a little cheesy…

  6. Carolyn April 24, 2010 at 2:51 pm - Reply

    I echo Mike’s comment… thank you for sharing your priceless photography knowledge…!

Leave A Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.