Double Arch
Just a little too wide to get with a single image.... this is actually a 3 x 3 panorama to get it all in.... and that with a 15mm lens!...
Read more
Just a little too wide to get with a single image.... this is actually a 3 x 3 panorama to get it all in.... and that with a 15mm lens!
Read less
Read less
Jun, 2018Views
377
Likes
Awards
People's Choice in Arches National Park Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Virtuoso
Superior Skill
Magnificent Capture
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Top 10 rank
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1Categories
DaveKochPhoto
July 09, 2018
It was fun- I was down there with a lot of friends, so I had to do something special!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This is from Arches National Park, just north of Moab, Utah. This is at the "Double Arch", one of the most popular and easily accessible arches in the park. This specific vantage point is a bit of a hike, and will take some work.... but the arch itself is really easy to go to.Time
This is not long after dawn. I shot dawn across the way at Turret and Windows arches, and then walked over here.... so we still have some dawn effects, but it is not strictly speaking "dawn". You can see the still yellow early light hitting the west side of the arch, and this gave a nice, rich light in the shadow areas closer to the camera.Lighting
The lighting was what I was trying to capture here. It is all natural. The slightly yellow light from late dawn is still evident, and is soft enough to give a great glow.Equipment
Due to the hike up the rocks and the precariousness of the position, I was only good taking up the camera.... so this is shot hand held. I wanted a low ISO, so it was shot at 80.I was always planning on a panorama to get wider than possible with a single lens, so I shot my 15-30 at 30 to reduce the distortion. The depth of field was important, so I went a little over my normal 11 to use 14 to make everything super sharp. This gave me a shutter of about 1/15, which is about as slow as you can go with this lens. Because I was practically laying on the rock, I could hold reasonably steady at this slow speed. The lens also has vibration reduction, so that helps, too.Inspiration
First, Double Arch is an iconic arch, and a beautiful place. I have shot it before many times. But what I wanted to do here was shoot it in a different way... And to show it's enormity. To get as much as I want, and as wide as I wanted, I could not get it all in a single shot, even with a 15mm. So I decided to do a series of images- three across, and three vertically- making a panorama of nine images. Because I could get so much more width and height with the pano method, I reduced the lens to 30mm so to reduce distortion. Even still, I am still wishing I had got this wider!Editing
Stitching this proved to be a problem. The D810 makes pretty big source files, and putting together 9 of them really stressed my computer. o I initially stitched three rows.... then I stitched the three rows together.In my camera bag
For this, JUST the camera and lens. My bad was left at the bottom of the wall. (Its actually in the shot)Feedback
Its all about looking, seeing and deciding. First, look at a subject and decide what it is that draws your interest (if there is nothing interesting, move on!) . Once you are there, SEE how you want to show that interest. Find the best angle, then the best lens to show that. The Decide on your exposure and work out all the final bits to make your image great!
