Rainbow Over Bluffs, 1995. Arches National Park, Utah

 

It was shortly before sunset in Arches National Park when a storm began to break, and the entire red rock landscape was transformed into a wonderland of red rocks bathed in golden sunlight. These are the moments that color landscape photographers hope for, and this particular sunset was nothing short of amazing. I was torn between continuing driving to Balanced Rock, or taking the nearest pullout and hoping for a perfect combination of color and light on the unearthly landscape. I opted for the latter, and parked the car in the nearest parking area, setting up my Super Cambo 4x5 view camera as quickly as I could. The timing was perfect. As I anxiously took various light readings on various areas of sunlight and shadow, this rainbow suddenly appeared over a glowing sunlit bluff. I exposed only one sheet of 4x5 Kodak Ektachrome film before the rainbow disappeared and this scene was changed forever. My exposure was fortunately good, and I am able to make very sharp and brilliant high resolution color photographs from this transparency.