About the Image(s)

This is Delicate Arch, a 52-foot-tall freestanding natural sandstone arch located in Arches National Park, near Moab, Utah. The hike to the arch takes about 1.5 ??“ 2 hours with a steep, exposed slickrock ascent in the first half and a narrow ledge walk wide enough for about 1.5 people near the arch itself. The Milky Way is near vertical in late summer and the best time to shoot it is in September.
I’ve made the hike three times and will tell you from experience that the slickrock holds heat, so expect it to be hot. The route across the open sandstone is easy to follow and the footing is solid but uneven. Arriving well before sunset matters if you want a good shooting perspective ??“ it does get crowded. However, the crowds dissipate as soon as the sun sets usually leaving only photographers waiting for darkness and galactic core to appear. You’ll be in relatively steep a bowl, so there’s not a lot of moving around once you arrive at the arch ??“ another reason to arrive early.
Meanwhile when you descend to go home, you’ll be heading down in the dark. A good headlamp is essential, and visibility is limited and you need to move more deliberately than you did on the way up especially around the ledges. I waited for people to start heading down and when I saw a group leave, I would follow about 50 yards back. So, in addition to my own headlamp, I was able to follow the lights of the group.
Light painting is no longer allowed in Arches, so I’m fortunate I got this shot when I did ??“ although I’m sure photographers are still light painting there ??“ heck there’s no ranger station. The nice part about shooting the MW in September is the galactic core is visible in the early evening, which means you can be back in Moab and in bed before midnight.
Canon 1DX ??“ Sigma 20mm f1,4 Art lens (rented) ??“ ISO -12800 ??“ f2.5 ??“ 15 second Tv