545 - Goosenecks
Well, it’s about time this summer of love had to come to an end. Today’s my last shoot in Utah- and it’s at a smokin’ hot park called Goosenecks.
You know, I have a deep found appreciation for anyone with the balls to name a state park something like “Goosenecks.” Too many people these days think they’re important enough to be able to name an entire park after themselves. You’re not special. Goosenecks, is special.
Let’s get into it.
I showed up around 2 hours before sunset, ready to hike my little heart out. But as it turns out, the park wasn’t exactly known for it’s adventurous spirit.
You show up, walk about 20 feet, and suddenly you’re standing at a massive overlook. That’s the park. That’s it.
An 89 year old grandma could have the same experience as Bear Grylls here.
So… to make the game more interesting, I hopped the stone fence at the overlook. Here, there was a steep rocky hill to enjoy in the 104°F heat. My goal was to find a vantage point that was a little different than the mainstream one at the top.
As I descended, I quickly realized that sandals weren't the move. I pulled a thorn out of my middle toe and howled at the non-existent moon. See, the thing is, when you live in a car, wearing sandals is smart 96% of the time. Your feet never get sweaty, which means your car never smells. It’s a win-win. Except when you’re in the land of cacti and ants.
I hiked down about a quarter of a mile but couldn’t find any angle worth shooting. The view changed roughly 1% because the place was so absolutely massive. If anything it was getting worse because I was getting closer to the bottom and losing the sense of scale.
Well, it was worth a shot. (Heh...)
I hustled my way back up to the top and chugged about a liter of sparkling water at my car. Then I belched like a frog. I guess I’m shooting this sucker from the top. Now I just had to wait for sunset.
Time dripped by like water from a faucet. I slowly watched the sun descend to it’s horizon point as the shade covering my car disappeared into thin air.
It was time.
I loaded up the ole’ 12-24mm and picked out my composition. I figured I couldn’t go wrong with a little plant action in the foreground:
“Lil’ Goosey”
Taken with Sony a7rIV+ Sony 12-24mm f/4 G
[ISO 400 ~ 12mm ~ f/9 ~ 1/1250s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
Not a bad sunset for Utah. I started packing my gear up when I sensed movement out of the corner of my eye. I quickly turned my head, but there was nothing. Then suddenly a camouflaged lizard moved in my center of vision. Whoa.
The lil’ babe was enjoying the sunset like the rest of us. I aimed my camera and snagged a quick shot of it in focus. Then I snagged another shot of it’s backdrop in focus once it moved:
“Lizard Lookout”
Taken with Sony a7rIV+ Sony 12-24mm f/4 G
[ISO 1600 ~ 12mm ~ f/9 ~ 1/125s] (Focus Stack)
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
Boom. Now I had a full focus stack with a lizard foreground.
Pro-tip: Always shoot the animal in focus first, then the backdrop. That way, if the animal moves right after, you can just mask it out.
Now we’re cooking. I honestly liked this shot better than the first one. Even though the sky wasn’t nearly as good. But that’s how the photo life goes, folks. You win some, you lose some. And if you’re drunk, you’re booze dumb.
At this point, I loaded up all my gear for the second time and climbed back into my car. It’d finally started to cool down a bit, so I figured it’d be a good time to do my workout before it was completely dark. I’d put it off all day because of the blazing heat, so now it was time to pay for the consequences at 9:00PM.
Then an idea struck me. I was gonna be stuck here for an hour anyway, I mind as well get an astro shot loaded up. I’d always wanted to do the “take one shot at twilight then blend it with a late night milky way shot,” but I’d never had the time. Now I had all the time in the world. It was my last shoot!
I set up my tripod for the third time and got to work. Two minutes I found the perfect rock composition, and set up my camera up for success. Now I just had to take a Milky Way shot in the same spot a few hours later, without moving the tripod.
I walked over to my Prius and proceeded to workout like a kangaroo. (It was leg day.)
2 hours later, the Milky Way showed it’s face and I got this blatant masterpiece:
“Swish”
Taken with Sony a7rIV+ Sony 12-24mm f/4 G
[ISO 2000 ~ 12mm ~ f/6 ~ 1/6s] + [15s] (Exposure Blend)
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
Yeah, so I’m gonna quit photography now. That’s the peak. That’s as good as it gets.
Three of a kind in this shoot, folks. Sunset, twilight, and night. You know, I should come up with a proper term for that. Hmm… What about a hat trick? Nah. That’s been done. It’s got to be more clever. What about a Glo Trio? No… that’s too cheesy.
What if we went old school? Just a straight up “Combo.” Nothing else. As in, “Hey bro, you going for a Combo today?” “You know it, girl.”
I like it. Straight to the point.
That’s all I got today. Utah is officially closed for the season. Now I’m heading to Denver to work for a month or two, then I’m heading to the East Coast for fall colors. Stay tuned...
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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