399 - Arch Rock
Finally got my shit together in the desert. I think I needed a day to transition into the harsh climate- been on too many beach and waterfall excursions. Today's shoot was at Arch Rock in Joshua Tree.
Haha, ironically I didn't get a shot of the actual Arch Rock. Which is something I've been thinking about a lot recently... Whenever I show up to a place with a famous scene, I feel this intense pressure to get a shot of it.
The problem is, the odds are usually stacked against you in a situation like this. How are you supposed to predict the conditions perfectly to light up that scene?
It's a setup for losing.
Doesn't mean I'm not going to try though.
In order to get to this place, you basically just drive through Joshua Tree National Park until you get to the White Tank campground. From here you park out on the road and walk about .3 miles to the Google pinpoint. It's extremely easy to find, and there's a ton of other cool rocks in the area.
I honestly didn't expect all the massive boulders in the area. I always assumed Joshua Tree was entirely composed of desert and trees, with barely any rocks. That's not the case at all. There's MASSIVE round rocks everywhere. And they make for killer compositions.
Reminded me a lot of the rocks up in Sentinel Dome in Yosemite, except all these rocks were red instead of blue/white.
Before I show you any photos I took, I have a disclaimer. Both the photos from this shoot feature skies from the NEXT day... AKA my shoot at Jumbo Rocks- which is probably up and edited as you're reading this right now.
What's my reasoning for this, you may ask? Well, the sky didn't line up where I wanted it this day. There were insane colors, but they weren't in the backdrop of these rocks. It was only a boring, blue sky behind them. So I popped them over to fit this scene better.
I had this realization last night about what my ETHICS are for Photoshopping photos, because it's been bothering me a lot lately. When is editing TOO far? I have to draw the line somewhere, but I had no idea where.
So I made a rule for myself. I decided that I have complete freedom to Photoshop WHATEVER I want with any image- as long as it involves something I've taken on another shoot. Basically if I've taken the pixels on my camera, it's free game.
No sky replacements, unless it's mine. No moon or bird additions, unless they're mine from another shoot. This finally set my mind at ease- mainly because I felt like I could effect my shooting rhythm if I began relying on other's skies and features. It didn't incentivize me to get out and shoot. So the rule is that it has to be MINE. AKA part of the Intricate Explorer universe.
OK. Now back to the story. The first shot I got scratched my curve itch. Haley got on the top of the rock, and this nice silky rock led the way to her perfectly. I put this green plant in the foreground to balance it, and wham:
“S is for Plants”
Sony a7rIII + Tamron 17-28mm 2.8
[ISO 640 ~ 17mm ~ f/9 ~ 1/50s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
Next up, I wanted a shot with Haley walking down the middle of it, so we patiently waited for the place to clear for a few precious seconds then snagged this baby:
“Half Moon Reflux”
Sony a7rIII + Tamron 17-28mm 2.8
[ISO 100 ~ 17mm ~ f/10 ~ 1/80s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
For a couple moments I got lost in the scene, and forgot that my lungs were completely fucked. It was glorious. But then the rain came.
Figuratively and literally. It started POURING out of nowhere (well... I guess we could have predicted that from the lighting earlier and the wind), and we ran for cover under a nearby palm tree. The whole place scattered like rats in a pantry, and Urban Lights became completely empty while it down poured.
I took note of my fucked up lungs again as adrenaline pumped through my body.
But I HAD to use this opportunity for a shot of the entire thing, especially because the ground was starting to get reflections on it. I lined up a frame, did a little editing, and here's the shot I got:
Wow. Killer street photography style shot. I keep saying I need to do more street and urban ex photography.
Well, I got through it guys. As I type this up the acid reflux is gone, and I'm feeling like a king again. Fuck that was a brutal experience though. Honestly I'd rather rock climb El Capitan for a shot then go through a whole adventure with acid reflux. God damn.
Until next time...
I’m on a mission to explore as much as humanely possible.
Want to see my progress? Check out the Adventure Map.
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