Being a great photographer does not always mean getting the perfect shot. Knowing what you need and sticking to your plan is just as important. Even if it means having to come back later. The best photographers have something to prove in their images and they don’t settle for second best.
Timing is everything and knowing when and where to be is key, no matter what type of image your making. This time of Photographic school I share some tough lessons in getting and NOT getting the shot that serve as a reminder to be prepared when the light moves.
Sunset at the Celestial City – Grand Staircase National Monument Utah, Grosvenor Arch. Spring 2013, Gavin Seim
Grand Staircase is a secret hideaway of Utah – A grand place beyond most National Parks in beauty, in remoteness and in a wild hauntingly beautiful atmosphere. There is another wonder to behold with each new curve of it’s bumpy roads.
It’s not one of those parks you simply drive into on paved thoroughfares, hot dog carts lining the byways. We came in off HWY 89 and camped two nights within the park before we exited the other side. It was a slow winding gravel road with lots of hikes, pullouts and things to see, but no civilization except perhaps a bathroom here and there.
We made it up to the Arch late on our second day and waited for the sunset. The feature here was the double arch, but what struck me about this place was the way the entire structure stands alone out here. Columns of colorful rock sprouting from the ground in stunning display, set in a minimal non-dictating scene. It was a beautiful thing. It made me think of the distant view of the Celestial City from the classic novel, Pilgrim’s Progress.
As the sun set and the light danced on the rocks I knew I needed a panorama of this one. This was the last image I made as the light softened and fell behind the hill. It peeked from the clouds just before disappearing fully behind the horizon and left me in awe of creation.
Release details: Prints Available.. Order Open Edition originals above.. Master prints and Signature Limited Editions are listed below and can be ordered by contacting gallery.
Released prints:
112 inch Master Original on Canvas – Limited edition of, 1 (contact the gallery)
86 inch Signature Canvas – Limited Edition of, 25 (contact the gallery)
74 inch Signature Metal – Limited Edition of, 25 (contact the gallery)
43 inch Signature Canvas – Limited Edition of, 100 (contact the gallery)
