Courthouse Wash
One of the main reasons we wanted to return to Moab after we heard about all the rain in the area was to photograph the potholes in the Wash above the Courthouse Towers. Whenever it rains, the potholes fill with water and provide fantastic reflections at sunrise. Our favorite images from our last trip to Arches were shot in this wash.
The catch is that you have to get up for sunrise to get the golden light on The Organ, the Three Gossips, and Sheep Rock. It was a chilly 44 degrees when we got up. We remembered where to park along the road to find the best potholes and sat in the Explorer waiting for sunrise. Suddenly, the sky brightened and pre-dawn fire spread across the sky above the La Sal Mountains. It was amazing! We hustled down into the wash and started shooting reflections in the potholes. But this time, we were shooting east to include the clouds that were lighting up across the sky. The light only lasted a few minutes, but I think we'll have some good images. Even if we don't get any good images, it was a spectacular way to start the day.
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Just as quickly as the light show began, the clouds turned gray and all the lighting went flat. Sunrise was still 10 or 15 minutes away, and clouds prevented the sun from breaking through after that. We got some hazy sun on the formations, and we tried lots of compositions with the pothole reflections. We walked up and down the entire wash trying to find a new "best shot," but the light never cooperated. We never got the golden light to match our last time shooting in this area.
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Fisher Towers
We returned to camp for lunch and to get some cooler clothes. We downloaded images and tried to decide where to go for sunset because today we may be able to shoot moonrise at sunset. I checked out all my software programs to try to find the best chance for the right alignment and settings for moonrise. I finally concluded that all the best locations would have the moon rising over the La Sals. That meant the moon would be very high before we ever saw it and would likely be obscured by the clouds hanging over the mountains. We decided to forget about moonrise and return to shoot Fisher Tower over the Colorado River. All the rain last week around Moab translated into the La Sals being covered in snow. The contrast of the snow against the blue sky and the red rocks makes the shot.
I thought the Fisher Towers
shot was a sunset shot, but it turns out that the Colorado River canyon is shaded about 4:30. By the time we
reached the parking area, the river was already in the shade. I had blown the timing, but we still got good shots. The river was calmer this
time and the reflections were better. The bright snow on the mountains was gorgeous.
We started driving back to town about 5:30. I knew moonrise was about 5:40, so we started watching for the moon as we were driving back. We pulled off the road to let another car pass when we saw the moon over the plateau near Fisher Towers. We quickly took the road toward Fisher Towers and pulled over when we got a good angle of the moonrise above the main formations. The plateau and Fisher Towers seemed to glow in the sunset light, and the brightness of the moon contrasted with the red of the towers. The sun set just before the moon reached the main tower, but I think we got some good images. Sometimes, it helps to be lucky.
Today was a good day with a great beginning and ending.
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