Monument Valley From Artist's Point

Monument Valley from Artist's PointA spring afternoon at Artist's Point in Monument Valley features amazing rock formations and clouds reflecting the color of the landscape.

I have had the opportunity to visit Monument Valley several times over the years. I almost always visit in the spring while escaping "mud season" in my hometown. On this trip, I had started at Canyon de Chelly since I had never been there. I had just purchased a Jeep Wrangler and was looking for a road trip. Canyon de Chelly was beautiful but the sky was overcast for three days in a row and afternoons were really windy. So windy that my motel lost power one afternoon. Since I was in no hurry to get home, I decided to venture over to Monument Valley just for fun. 

It was a good decision. The sky was clearing creating a magical scene that I had never witnessed. Overcast skies seem to be the norm in the area in springtime. I drove through the valley on my own stopping at some of my favorite spots. Artist's Point is one of those. It was raining lightly when I got there which made the light really soft and lowered the contrast quite a bit. I had never seen the valley this way. I decided the panorama format was necessary to reduce the rain clouds overhead and to eliminate the expanse of desert that conflicted with the monuments in the distance. I do this a lot. I use a longer lens and a Really Right Stuff panorama rig that keeps my camera level and lets me make multiple, overlapping, images that I can stitch together later. This lens was my Nikkor 80-200 f2.8 which I use for lots of landscape panoramas. It was zoomed to 100mm. This equipment choice also requires a sturdy tripod and a remote or cable release with the mirror locked up to ensure a razor-sharp image. 

I continued to make photographs all afternoon and decided to stay overnight to capture the sunrise before heading home. It was a great decision since after I got this image put together and edited it became a Bronze award winner in the Epson International Panorama Awards competition last year. I hope you enjoy "Monument Valley From Artist's Point". It's probably my favorite Monument Valley photo.