Visit to Moab

November, 2012

While not really a "trip", I did travel to Moab, Utah with 5 fellow photographers on November 5th for a 5 day photo shoot.  Enduring an approximate 9 hour drive, the experience was well worth it.

 Arriving just prior to sundown on the Monday, we headed into Arches National Monument to photograph star trails.  For the uneducated, at our latitude, Earth travels at approximately 600 miles per  hour, so we set up our cameras well away from city lights, pointing them at the heavens and take 30 second exposures for roughly an hour, providing approximately 100 images.  Then through the miracle of computer programs we end up with results such as these.  While the images are being recorded, I lay on my back on the hard rocky surface, looking up at the sky and thinking that there is nothing more beautiful in this world and I am at one with myself. 

Before dawn each day, we leave the comfort of our hotel bed to hike in darkness to an overlook to watch the sun rise; the beginning of another day.  And then after catching the first blaze of the sun, we head to other locales to watch how the sun plays on the rocks and trees and try to create our own Monet, Turner or Sisley.

During our time in the National Park, we were lucky to meet other photographers who assisted us in locating ideal vantages and sharing techniques.

On Thursday, with bad weather starting to close in, on a suggestion of another photographer, we drove north along the Colorado River to Cisco, a ghost town.  While the subject was disappointing, and few pictures were taken, we then renamed ourselves "The Cisco Kids", and kids we were as we so bonded and at times, due to exhaustion, laughed hysterically.  

Friday, we set our sights on home, but during the drive while trying to ignore the high winds and occasional rain or sleet, we did manage to take a few more pictures.

Now home, I have to get ready for our cruise through the Panama Canal which will depart soon after Thanksgiving.

(Ed. note) Thank you to my wife, best friend and proof reader for pointing out my grammatical mistakes "after" I publish my posts.