Working. And working...at Hope Arch.

  Working at Hope Arch down in Arizona.  I'd heard rumors of it but it took a bit of doing to figure out the access.  

  I wanted to shoot the image of the projected dot of light.  It projects wildly opposing places depending on the month of the year, plus it's morning and evening.  Might as well not be the same arch.

  Started with 5X7 on tripod in the afternoon.

  Here's the basic layout seen when you get into position.  It's a slightly dicey perch.  You can't miss a step or drop anything.  I had a full bag of film and lenses.

  The first image that kind of made the cut.  Good enough sky.  Interesting shapes.  Never seen anyone shoot this, et.

Rode it out until it shimmered away.  Theres a whole sequence in the negative file, from 120mm wide shots at first to longer lenses as it receded.

  I wanted to see it in the morning.  The second trip I was in a group.  One of the guys got up early and off we went before dawn.

  Spent the rest of the day guiding the group around and then came back for late afternoon light.  I went up on top with a roll film camera- a Fuji SW6X9.

  When I say I wen "up top," I'm vastly understating.  It's a long hike around and a sandy hill climb and some route finding to get on top of the arch.  Once you get there its a series of fractured slabs and loose rock.  It's dangerous to navigate and dangerous below.  Even a small rock can ruin someone, and their are slabs that would flatten a tank that teeter when stepped on.  Anyone above others should take extreme care. 

  The projected sunlight dot varies wildly by season.  It crosses an amphitheater more completely in the winter months than the summer  as the angle of the sun changes.  In the Summer a bluff to the West cuts it off earlier.

  

Arch from above.

Dot starting.

These just from proof sheets.  I haven't printed any of them.

You can see the West bluff cutting off the bottom.

  Was very glad I saw it and found the route, beautiful, but not for beginners.  Lion sign all over the area including a female and cubs. 

  Of all things...I needed my ladder up above.

We saw four extremely (cold). slow-moving rattlesnakes.  Seemed very early for them to be out and it killed this one.

One of my friends walking in the desert.  We went to another arch in the area, but that's another story.