Tom and I celebrate great images from workshop participants by selecting a Photo of the Month. For November we chose an image taken on our Arches and Canyonlands Workshop. The image was taken by SaraLynn Lehner and edited by her husband Dave Lehner while photographing at the Garden of Eden in Arches National Park. Dave and Saralynn are wildlife and landscape photographers from Colorado Springs.
Congratulations to November 2024 ‘s featured photographer – Saralynn and Dave Lehner
The Story…
Saralynn: It took my breath away. I am not normally a person who likes deserts. I was thinking this scene is magnificent. How do I record this to capture the feeling after we leave?
I wanted to be sure I had my settings right. I am still learning the camera. I tried different apertures. I was thinking about exposure comp and asked myself “Do I want it lighter or darker?” Because I get so easily excitable, I had to think about my breathing. I was hand holding the camera and wanted to be still, so I took some deep breaths.
I took a whole bunch of photos. I moved to the left to get the arch in the frame. I felt very satisfied that I got it. I played with a variety of settings to make sure I captured the scene just right.
In the past I have not used my playback enough. On this trip I used playback all the time. I was walking back to the car and saw some tourists from India. They asked what we were photographing and I showed them my camera back. They said, “Oh my gosh, that looks like a painting.” That’s when I knew I really got it.
Dave: I like using just one tool to edit. I found PhotoShop much easier to use than Lightroom and it really meets my needs. The editing was pretty straight forward. I masked the sky separately from the mountains. I brought the whites down a bit in the landscape because the mountains and clouds were bright. I added texture to the red rocks. This brought out some of the lines in the rocks.
I did a very minimal edit on the color. I did not want to effect the pink sky because Saralynn really captured it. I did not want to lose any of the red orange on the rocks. I really just stuck to changing the textures in the scene. I did remove a few minor road signs.
EXIF Data:
Camera: Nikon Z8
Lens: Nikon 100-400 at 360mm
Aperture: f5.6
Shutter: 1/320th
ISO: 640
Mode: Aperture
About Photographing in Arches and Canyonlands
Saralynn – I loved it. I was so surprised at how beautiful the rocks and the arches were. This was especially so when the sun came out. Monument Valley was beautiful too. Arches had so much more. There were formations all over the place and the snowy background added to it. I fell in love with Moab. It surprised me.
Dave – This was my third time going to Arches. I have always been impressed with the arches and the sky behind the arches. The highlight of this trip was the recent snow on the LaSals.. They looked so crisp and clean. They looked like they were on a Coors Lite commercial.
Saralynn – We have plans to go back in late February or early March. You could spend so much time in the park and it is only 8 hours from our house. You can shoot the formations from so many different angles. We want to spend some time at Delicate Arch and Double Arch.
Dave – Mesa Arch was on my wishlist and we nailed it. I loved our angle on the right side of the arch.
Lehner Tips for Photographing in the Utah Desert
Tip 1 Saralynn
Include the iconic features. It donned on me that I was taking so many photos and yet, I did not have any of the arches in them. The snow on the LaSals and the sun distracted me. I took two steps to the left and was able to include the Turret Arch in the image.
Tip 2 Dave
Walking down the road just a bit will really change the perspective on the scene. Walk up the road and then walk in the opposite direction. Going the other direction will bring other opportunities. Keep looking for images as you walk.
Tip 3 Dave
Every day is different with the weather in November. It was a blessing for us. It gave us new opportunities every day. ND filters can add a moody element to changing weather.
Tip 4 Saralynn
When other people are photographing from a different spot, walk over and see if there is something there. Maybe they are seeing something different. Keep an open mind to others’ point of view.
On Team Lehner’s Horizon:
Bosque & White Sands National Park
Tucson & Saguaro National Park
Iceland
Redwoods National Park
Ouray, Colorado
Acadia National Park
Vietnam
What’s coming up?
Bol Holiday Gift Guide – Everyone welcome! Join Tom and Cree online for our free annual gift recommendations for photographers. December 1, 2024 at 4 pm MDT Denver. Click here to get the free link.
Tom and Cree are headed to Bosque del Apache and White Sands National Park next. A last minute space opened up on the Dec 8-12 workshop if you would like to join them Click here for details.
Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!
Tom and Cree
