Eggshell Arch

[Guy Schmickle]

Beautiful Eggshell Arch aglow on the Navajo Reservation of northern Arizona. Ok, first let me get the confession out of the way. I realize that this location has been closed for non-native american visitors for some time now. Despite that, I went...I saw...and I photographed it. I'm far from the first or the last paleface to do so, however. And I also left it cleaner than when I arrived as I picked up some of the litter strewn about, which really surprised me to see. That said, this massive arch is very similar to the much better known Mesa Arch in that it's underside glows due to reflected light off the adjacent cliff. It differs from Mesa Arch in that the glow occurs in the evening and only happens a few weeks a year when the sun is positioned just right.

 

[Ben Egbert]

Really beautiful and unique.

 

[Kyle Jones]

Wow - that is really, really nice! Great glow, great framing, great jealousy...

 

[JimFox]

Hey Guy,

That is pretty cool looking indeed! I like the glow, and I like being able to see the valley below through it.

Sadly one thing I have seen with my Navajo connection is that there can be a lot of trash laying around, which surprised me the first time I saw it. I have found there is a lot of disfunction in the Navajo community still today which I think contributes to that. I have a Navajo friend who works pretty tirelessly to try and improve their community, but for some reason it's an uphill battle, but hopefully it improves in the future.

 

[AlanLichty]

That is an amazing view. Thanks for sharing it since it does not sound readily accessible for most of us. The glow in the arch and the view of the river valley below is beautiful.

 

[Jeffrey]

Guy, this is fabulous. What an elegant arch. Great processing. I've never heard if it and don't know where it it but I love it. Only nit is the quite large foreground rock blocking some of the view.

 

[Bart Carrig]

I'm with Jeffrey, fabulous. A truly grand site.

Bart

 

[Zeph]

The peak of the arch seems a bit washed out, maybe burning it some would bring out the detail.
Great place, wonderful image...

 

[Aaron Macomber]

What a cool experience!!

 

[Guy Schmickle]

Thanks everyone for your input. I agree that there's probably a bit too much of the rock shelf in the foreground...kinda bugged me too. I was trying to get the entire fg v-notch in the composition and probably should've slid over to get it centered with the arch (although there may have a distracting element on the left side that kept me from doing that). Unfortunately, the sun only broke through the clouds on a couple of occasions while we were there and I only got two compositions shot while the glow briefly happened.

 

[lionking]

WOW, great.

 

[MonikaC]

Gorgeous!

 

[Jim Sanderson]

Nice shot. The glow of the arch really brings me into the photo.