As I have mentioned previously, with my description of my "
Echo Canyon" poster in Zion National Park, I find it extremely exhilarating to be blessed with being in the right place at the right time. Often times, no amount of planning can prepare you for the wonderful surprises that nature has to offer. This silhouetted image of "Balanced Rock," with the crescent moon, is a perfect example. My brother, Patrick, and I had been exploring Arches National Park for most of this day in October of 1992. We had spent the late afternoon photographing
Delicate Arch and we were the last people to leave the arch at just about dusk. As we headed back down the trail we noticed the beautiful crescent moon that was shadowing us as we descended to the west. I began to wonder if there was anyway that I could capture that moon against the silhouette of one of Arches magnificent sandstone shapes. I suddenly remembered how frustrated I had been, earlier in the day, when trying to photograph Balanced Rock. We picked up our pace down the trail and hustled to our car. At this time it also became apparent that a beautiful sunset was just beginning to develop. We then drove the short distance to the road that leads to the Windows section of the park, constantly keeping our eyes on that crescent moon. We parked right alongside the Windows road and I began to frantically set up my tripod and camera as the moon passed, with amazing speed, behind Balanced Rock. In the four or five minutes that I had, I was able to capture this scene with three different lenses as the moon chased the sunset westward, between the two giant sandstone monoliths.
