Mesa Arch. I went back and forth about photographing this location. For years I researched it, even scouting it once. I vacillated about photographing it because this location has been photographed TO DEATH. I'm not a fan of capturing images that everyone else has already taken, however, I really wanted the Mesa Arch image, so I decided to tie the experience to something near and dear to my heart: my father.
My dad, who passed away in 1990, was an avid photographer. He introduced me to it when I was a teenager and much of what I learned about the art of photography came from him. I always smile when I think about today's cameras and corresponding technology (Photoshop, Lightroom, etc.). He would have loved all of it, especially after spending hours hunched over his self-made Light Box, pouring over negative after negative. At any rate, I always made a point to photograph something on the anniversary of his death. This summer I realized that was slightly morbid - why not photograph something on his birthday and celebrate his joining the world, not leaving it? And that's why I wound up at Mesa Arch. I photographed it on his birthday and I will never forget the entire experience, or the day I was there, for that very reason.
Now, on to what you really want to know: how crowded was it at the arch and what should one expect? Here is what I can tell you:
1. However crowded I thought it could get, it was that crowded...maybe worse. If you're a tourist going with your iPhone or just to watch sunrise, God speed. We photographers get there about two hours before sunrise to ensure we get a spot right up on the arch. We will block your lovely view and somewhat ruin the experience (and for that I am truly sorry).
2. People behave badly. Not everyone, but there were moments where I was shaking my head. The worst? A tourist/photographer who walked about eight feet off the trail to take a poop in a bush... when there were bathrooms in the parking lot five minutes back. Ugh. Seriously? Bleh.
3. Sunrise was glorious - truly. The sun breaking from behind the La Sal mountains was incredible. The slight amount of haze in the canyon and the sun hitting it and providing contrast, and then lighting up the underside of the arch, was mind blowing.
4. Am I glad I went? Yes, absolutely. But it did require my getting up at 4:30 a.m., driving the 45 minutes to the trailhead parking lot, and hiking the one mile to the arch in the dark. Even though I was at the arch by 5:50 a.m. (and sunrise wasn't until 7:05 a.m.), it was already packed with photographers.
5. The guy who pooped in the bushes? He got to the arch about five minutes after me and tried to set up to my left, I sh*t you not (pun intended). But he was too late, as I got the last viable spot. My Dad would have loved that, and that thought made me smile and laugh to myself, which in turn made it all worthwhile. God certainly works in mysterious ways.