Sunrise, Angel Arch, 1985. Canyonlands National Park, Utah

 

I first photographed Angel Arch in 1975, obtaining a similar negative to the one used to make this final print. That early negative, however, had some major flaws, notably a few very large dust spots in the smooth sky area. It took ten years and repeated visits to the same location before I was finally able to reshoot this image successfully in 1985. The window of opportunity for this shot is about 45 seconds, after which the early morning sunlight begins to spill onto the rim at the base of the arch, detracting from the clean, hard shadow edge which is evident in this photograph. The newer negative is superior in many ways and makes a very clean, clear, vibrant print. I used a deep yellow-orange Wratten gelatin filter (#16) in order to enhance the dramatic separation between the warm-colored, sunlit arch and the deep blue sky. The negative was given normal development and prints well on a strong grade 2 paper. In the past I have used Oriental Paper toned in selenium to achieve beautiful, brilliant prints. Recently I have used Forte Polygrade paper but unfortunately Forte is no longer available. The foreground shadowed cliff is dodged substantially to maintain ample detail, followed by a localized SCIM (shadow contrast increase mask) to bring "life" to the shadowed cliff by enhancing the contrast in that area, emphasizing the dark streaks in the rock. To me, this image succeeds because of the simplicity and boldness of form. In recent years the long jeep road which leads to the trailhead to Angel Arch has been closed, necessitating a two day backpack hike instead.

 

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