On my very first visit to the heart of red-rock country, my mind just couldn't fathom the formations I had been seeing: arches of all shapes and sizes hewed out of smooth red sandstone, set in a landscape full of sinuous curved canyons where towering pillars of rock precariously balanced on narrow fins. This was Arches National Park, a place so bizarre that even listening to ranger talks didn't help my brain comprehend the diversity of forms that arose from erosion by water and wind.
I would return to this park multiple times, and even though it covered only a small area, I never felt like I got to experience the entirety of this unique park. I knew that one of the places I wanted to return to was Delicate Arch, pictured above, hewn out of a narrow slab of rock over thousands of years of erosion. Between getting the right weather and avoiding the crowds, it is not easy to shoot this formation while surrounded by the best of the La Salle mountains. This image is my take on this one-of-a-kind arch, and not pictured is a queue of about 50 people waiting to get their portrait taken by the arch.
Arches National Park
UT USA
