kellyakinsart wrote:
You keep finding these great circular foregrounds (The Death Valley shot, the Zion with rock, and now this). I think I'll call you The Lord of the Rings
Kelly
You are so right Kelly! I'm a sucker for circular shapes in the foreground. I didn't check yet but I hope my Bryce images have different foreground patterns!
Fred
Very nice capture and I'm pleased to say it looks nice and sharp
I noticed a very similar shot posted on another forum which is more or less identical to yours which surprised me somewhat as this is a composition that I haven't seen before.
I only live about 50 miles from VoF and have only been there three times.. guess I need to spend some time there.
alatoo60 wrote:
Love your FG anchor.
So, now Valley of Fire is officially FM park
Sasha.
Thanks for all comments and feedback. I actually had a bad experience while capturing this image. There was a swarm of photographers near this location surrounding a "famous rock". I couldn't even get close to this rock, which I originally wanted to shoot because one photographer was using a fisheye lens to capture a sunset and was time-lapsing it. If anyone would get within 180 degrees of his camera, he would scream out..."You are in my frame". The problem, is that this area is very tight. Too many photographers shooting the same subject. It was an issue.
So, I found this other location near by, but in a completely empty area which faced a different orientation. I suspected that dusk colors could appear on this side, so I set up my tripod and waited for the light. Once the light finally turned on, the same photographer that was hogging the other famous rock, saw where the colors were, immediately changed his composition and then started screaming for me to move out of his way!!! I was never in his frame until the sky changed and he decided to move his orientation. I decided to just ignore him and finish shooting my image. I even told him he could stand next to me if he wanted to.
When it was time to pack up, he came up to me and started ranting on about how rude I was! At this point, I was ready to leave but instead I ended up having an argument with him. I told him, "look we are all here enjoying a beautiful sunset, doing what we love, we should have more respect for each other."
He parked his tripod with his fisheye in a very constricted area. Even so, everyone respected his boundaries. I was forced to look for an alternative location and did. Then, I waited around for the good light.
What an arrogant guy. He went on and on about how important he was. Then he hands me his card. I didn't even look at it. I just ripped it up and walked away. Too bad too, this jerk messed up the experience for me. It really is a beautiful park, but I probably won't be going back there for a long time.
Fred
Fred Miranda wrote:
Thanks for all comments and feedback. I actually had a bad experience while capturing this image. There was a swarm of photographers near this location surrounding a "famous rock". I couldn't even get close to this rock, which I originally wanted to shoot, because one photographer was using a fisheye lens to capture a sunset, time-lapse of it. If anyone would get within 180 degrees of his camera, he would scream out..."You are in my frame." The problem, is that this area is very tight. Too many photographers shooting the same subject. It was an issue.
So, I found this other location near by, but in a completely empty area which faced a different orientation. I suspected that dusk colors could appear on this side, so I set up my tripod and waited for the light. Once the light finally turned on, the same photographer that was hogging the other famous rock, saw where the colors were, immediately changed his composition and then started screaming for me to move out of his way!!! I was never in his frame until the sky changed and he decided to move his orientation. I decided to just ignore him and finish shooting my image. I even told him he could stand next to me if he wanted to.
When it was time to pack up, he came up to me and started ranting on about how rude I was! At this point, I was ready to leave but instead I ended up having an argument with him. I told him, "look we are all here enjoying a beautiful sunset, doing what we love, we should have more respect for each other."
He parked his tripod with his fisheye in a very constricted area. Even so, everyone respected his boundaries. I was forced to look for an alternative location and did. Then, I waited around for the good light.
What an arrogant guy. He went on and on about how important he was. Then he hands me his card. I didn't even look at it. I just ripped it up and walked away. Too bad too, this jerk messed up the experience for me. It really is a beautiful park, but I probably won't be going back there for a long time.
Fred...Show more →
Thats a sad story Fred. I think I know that rock. I also noted that the official rules prohibit being in the park before sunrise or after sunset unless you are camping. I found that strange. In two days of exploring the park and even hiking to the fire wave, I never really found a good viewpoint like yours. I also noted that many places had signs to stay off the rocks.
For my next visit I will camp and spend more time exploring. But I have many other places beckoning.
Fred Miranda wrote:
It really is a beautiful park, but I probably won't be going back there for a long time.
Fred
Fred, Great image. I'll bet that if you went back to that same place anytime, even soon, you would probably have the place to yourself or at least have the positive experience you wanted. Jerks like that are not always there (or anywhere). It's all chance. I remember Ben Horne's tale of jerks at the Subway in Zion. However, on the day I hiked there, I had the entire canyon to myself all day.
Fred, so sad you had a bad experience in a park. I've been there three or four times, and always had the area completely to myself - no other photographers for miles.
I wonder if this fisheye guy was the same one who was trying to push me out from Mesa Arch because my camera was not big enough
Great image Fred! Too bad about the experience with the arrogant photographer. Good you stood your ground, but unfortunately that will just make him that much more obnoxious towards people he meets in the future. We all need to stand our ground with people like that more, NOT in the Florida sense of the word that has become infamous of late, but in the decent, respectful way that you behaved. At least you modeled the correct behavior for other onlookers, and most importantly, your kids, if they were there. That will make the world a better place for us all to live in.
ben egbert wrote:
Thats a sad story Fred. I think I know that rock. I also noted that the official rules prohibit being in the park before sunrise or after sunset unless you are camping. I found that strange. In two days of exploring the park and even hiking to the fire wave, I never really found a good viewpoint like yours. I also noted that many places had signs to stay off the rocks.
For my next visit I will camp and spend more time exploring. But I have many other places beckoning.
Ben,
I took this picture on the Fire Wave trail. You don't have to hike to the end of it. There are a lot of opportunities along the way. I did stay at this location past sunset and dusk. It's useful to have a compass and GPS when hiking these trails in the dark.
Fred
