Canyonlands at Dawn

Mesa Arch in Canyon Lands National Park near Moab, Utah is a very popular sunrise spot for southwest photographers, and as such is typically crowded with tripods on a good morning. The standard is first come first choice for the best spot and as it turned out, I was numero uno among 15 shooters having arrived at 1:00 AM for a series of night exposures. As weather and clouds go, you never know what the morning will bring. But I was fortunate on this occasion to get a brief glimpse of the sun as it sneaked over the distant horizon and below the cloud layer for just long enough to illuminated this amazing southwest scene for a magnificent capture! Definitely worth the effort!