Capitol Reef Cracks

[JimFox]

Here is another one in a series of shots from Capitol Reef and specifically the Temple of Sun and Moon that I got a few years back when it was wet out there. I had hoped that with it being freezing at night that it would help with the wet roads, it didn't. So it made for conditions that I wouldn't recommend for driving.

This evening there was color in the clouds that just kept going and moving, so I moved too facing different directions to make the most of the color and the different foregrounds.

All comments are welcome,

Jim

 

[Ben Egbert]

Nice Jim, I never considered doing an WA at a distance like this. I have walked all around there and spent a night, but did not see this composition, always learning something new.

 

[Darcy Grizzle]

Nice Jim, I never considered doing an WA at a distance like this. I have walked all around there and spent a night, but did not see this composition, always learning something new.

What is a WA?

 

[AlanLichty]

You managed to position yourself well to get this point of view and got some nice colors out of the clouds.

Those roads can get pretty slick when wet. You would need frozen all day to avoid the mud.

 

[AlanLichty]

What is a WA?

Wide Angle.

 

[Darcy Grizzle]

Wide Angle.

OMG I was thinking walk around, all kinds of things hahah but never wide angle duh!

 

[Tom Narwid]

Here is another one in a series of shots from Capitol Reef and specifically the Temple of Sun and Moon that I got a few years back when it was wet out there. I had hoped that with it being freezing at night that it would help with the wet roads, it didn't. So it made for conditions that I wouldn't recommend for driving.

This evening there was color in the clouds that just kept going and moving, so I moved too facing different directions to make the most of the color and the different foregrounds.

All comments are welcome,

Jim

View attachment 5081

That is a winner Jim!

 

[Joe Colozzo]

fantastic colors and great image !

 

[Jim Dockery]

Great shot, you've reinforced why my wife and I didn't take our van back there last trip. When I get a 4x4 I will.

 

[Jon Buffington]

Very nice, Jim. I like the foreground with the mud cracks along with the desert vegetation and the lines on the right leading up to the monument. Beautiful pastels as well.

 

[JimFox]

Nice Jim, I never considered doing an WA at a distance like this. I have walked all around there and spent a night, but did not see this composition, always learning something new.

Hey Ben,

You know me, I am addicted to my WA lens, so I do work most of my shots with it. It had taken me a few trips back there and some exploration before I found this area. It's one of those things where the more times you get to go visit an area the more you learn new compositions and angles to shoot from.

 

[JimFox]

Great shot, you've reinforced why my wife and I didn't take our van back there last trip. When I get a 4x4 I will.

Thanks so much Jim. It had actually been snowing as I was driving in late one night, so I thought for sure the road would be okay. I even stopped, got out in the dark and walked on the road to make sure it was dry and hard enough. But when I got maybe 4 miles into the drive back to the Temples there was a slight incline and even in my 4x4 I got stuck. Since it was about midnight and no one but me I guess was dumb enough to be out there, I just slept in my jeep on that incline because there was no way I could get moving with that wet thick clay surrounding my tires. I woke up about 5am, the road was now just enough drier that I could stick carpet pieces I carry in my jeep for when I do get stuck. I dug around my tires a bit, stuck the carpet down. Finally got a bit of traction and made it up the top of the hill. I stopped in safe spot and went back to retrieve my carpet. I then shot the sunrise in that area as it was then too late to get to the temples for sunrise.

So I learned a bit more about to what limit I can push that road, and I found that just because it's snowing, it doesn't mean the road will be hard.

 

[AlanLichty]

Thanks so much Jim. It had actually been snowing as I was driving in late one night, so I thought for sure the road would be okay. I even stopped, got out in the dark and walked on the road to make sure it was dry and hard enough. But when I got maybe 4 miles into the drive back to the Temples there was a slight incline and even in my 4x4 I got stuck. Since it was about midnight and no one but me I guess was dumb enough to be out there, I just slept in my jeep on that incline because there was no way I could get moving with that wet thick clay surrounding my tires. I woke up about 5am, the road was now just enough drier that I could stick carpet pieces I carry in my jeep for when I do get stuck. I dug around my tires a bit, stuck the carpet down. Finally got a bit of traction and made it up the top of the hill. I stopped in safe spot and went back to retrieve my carpet. I then shot the sunrise in that area as it was then too late to get to the temples for sunrise.

So I learned a bit more about to what limit I can push that road, and I found that just because it's snowing, it doesn't mean the road will be hard.

Utah mud can and will turn into cement when sufficiently frozen but you need sustained cold temps before the mud thoroughly freezes. Once it does it takes a serious thaw before things get messy. These are normal conditions for the Wasatch Front during winter months but Capital Reef is a bit warmer so not certain I would trust the mud down there to be fully frozen. Snow storms are usually warmer than the conditions that are needed to freeze mud in Utah so the ground had to be frozen before the snow fell. Guess you figured that out the hard way.....

 

[Alan Hoelzle]

Beautiful scene, might be even better of the foreground was not so light. I think everything could be darker.

 

[Jameel Hyder]

A very interesting composition. Had pretty bland skies there in my only trip there a few years ago. You had great light to work with. The cracked mud is a strong foreground.

 

[Marcy]

beautiful - was this a focus stack - what WA did you use - great shot