Some images require a photographer to hike through miles and miles of unforgiving terrain, in inclement weather, uphill both ways. This is not one of those images. Truth be told, one could almost quite literally park, fall out of the car and land on my tripod holes. But if that were the entire story behind the image, it wouldn’t make for a very compelling documentary so…read on.
There is another Moab photographer who made a similar image many years before I did. His photograph wasn’t bad, but it inspired me to create my own, and I wanted mine to be better. Now, I fully realize that “better” is subjective. Some people till, I mean, will prefer the other photographer’s image and I’m okay with that. I will say that after seeing this one come to life on my computer monitor, I felt that I’d succeeded.
Though easy access to the location doesn’t exactly make for a compelling story, I did have to clear a couple hurdles in creating the photograph, the first of which was…easy access. You see, every Bob, Jill and Johnny with a camera wanted to make this photograph and since it’s literally right off the side of the road, there were times when I’d show up and the lone bushel of mules ear wildflowers was already occupied. I also wanted an interesting sky, and since these wildflowers are at peak bloom for only a few days each year, the chances of all the elements coming together at the same time aren’t exactly awesome. But alas, one morning I showed up and the wildflowers were healthy and unoccupied and the sky looked promising. Shortly after setting up my tripod, BOOM…this image came was born.
I’m glad I persevered as this later became one of my best selling prints and greeting cards at The Edge Gallery. I still think I can improve upon it and will continue to try to do so. If/when I do, y’all will be the first to know. :-)
Tech Specs:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon 16-35 Lens
f/16 @ 1/8 second
ISO 200
No filters
RAW, processed in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Software
This photograph may be licensed for commercial or editorial use and is also available as a beautiful fine art print in a variety of sizes. Please visit my contact page to inquire about pricing or to discuss print options.