Turret Arch, Arches National Park

Usually landscapes are shot with the sun at your back. It's the light the makes the image pop, so naturally you want most of the illumination on the subject. But once in a while it's more intriguing to break outside of the conventional wisdom.

This shot of Turret Arch was taken on our first, brief visit to Arches National Park in 2005. When I say brief, I really mean brief. We were vacationing with the kids in Grand Junction, CO, for a few days and decided to take a jaunt to Arches. Unfortunately we got a later start than we intended (not unusual with our group). Plus we took the scenic route instead of the faster, more direct one. As a result we reached Arches near sundown. The Windows Section, with Turret Arch, was really the only part we could get to before we lost the light.

I was intrigued with the glow through the small window in the formation. The only way to capture it was from the dark side. There is a stark and dramatic quality to this image that I really like. I felt it would be equally impressive in black and white, if not more so, so I shot a roll of that as well.


I may have to break with convention more often.