“Delicate Arch Dawn”

Location: Arches National Park, Utah (2019)

Snow-capped mountains backdrop Delicate Arch on a Spring morning just before the first light of sunrise.

Coming to Delicate Arch in the early morning for sunrise isn’t easy.

The path isn’t well marked, and you can’t just follow footsteps since a large section of the trail is over hard sandstone.

I was about to be hopelessly lost when I found a small group who knew where they were going. (Seeing no other choice, I tagged along and made myself useful by making some lighthearted conversation.)

The reward for coming early was an arch that was without the line of selfie takers (See “Delicate Arch” (1), (2), and (3)).

The small group that had gathered this morning was more interested in exploring and keeping distance from the arch. (Thankfully.)

Instead of shooting across from the “bowl” like I’ve done before, I took advantage to approach closer to the arch.

I captured this wider angled shot that you see in this photograph.

A polarizing filter reduced the glare in the sky and allowed me to bring out some of the lovely pre-dawn glow on the arch.