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I had been spending the days scouting around Arches National Park for a potential photo composition, and at Double Arch, I felt like I found one. I had been here a couple times before and I never had much luck capturing a good shot, but that was years ago. This time I had matured a bit as a photographer so I was feeling hopeful. The days so far had perfectly clear skies, which is nice for a vacation, less so for a photo trip.
To get a great golden hour a lot of things have to fall in place. There has to be detail in the sky, or at least something in the atmosphere for the light to reflect off of. But, there can’t be so much that the light can’t get through. The next morning’s forecast looked partly cloudy, which I knew would mean my best chance so far of capturing a great golden hour.
I woke up around 4am to leave my campsite and head to the park. With sunrise being at 6:30 am this might seem like overkill, but those of us who have tried to get golden hour photos in particularly busy national parks know you have to get there before the crowds to secure your spot. When I arrived at the Double Arch parking area around 5:30 am, an hour before sunrise, there were already a lot of people there. Lucky for me, they were crowding around Windows, a popular area for sunrises on the opposite side of the parking area as Double Arch.
I waited patiently at Double Arch, and just enjoyed being in such a beautiful place. No one wandered near Double Arch, so on that particular morning I had it to myself. Pretty soon the color I was hoping for emerged in the sky, and I captured my shot.
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