### Friday Apr 16, 2010 at 10:37

# Wave Goodbye

A quick update on the last few days activities:

Having successfully procured an online permit to visit the wave at 6:45am on January 1 (in Edinburgh, with a hangover), the appointment finally came around last Monday. Jim Talaric and I trekked in, arriving mid-morning and found ourselves almost last to arrive, but also last to leave.

The light was pretty decent, but things soon started to cloud up and the wind picked-up as forecast. We had planned on hanging out until late afternoon in order to shoot the Second Wave, but the deteriorating weather convinced us to high-tail it out by 2pm. Sure enough, by the time we got back towards the sandy stretch beyond the saddle, the wind was blasting us with sand and the temperature was falling. (We also encountered a grimly determined Frenchman and his young family just heading out to the Wave as all this was picking up – nuts, if you ask me.)

The temperature had fallen by around 35 degrees Farenheit by the time we got back to the car, all the way down to 39°. On the drive out along House Rock Road, it even started snowing. Not quite what I had expected. Not sure when I’ll be back to the Wave – the permit situation makes it tricky and you need to have plenty of flexibility in your plans and dates.

Things cleared up the next day and we headed out up the tricky sandy roads to White Pocket, somewhere I hadn’t planned on going by myself given the risks of getting stuck. However, Jim’s Jeep Rubicon ate up the sand and we got there with ease.

Very glad we did as the area is spectacular, although somewhat overwhelming to shoot when it’s the first time you’ve seen it – so much to point the camera at!

Next it was on to Coyote Buttes South, the last stop on my tour (as it turned out). Sunrise was clear with some nice light, but things blocked up for sunset. However, the subdued light still allowed some flattering tones to be captured in the rock formations:

After camping out two nights, it was back to Page for a fat-boy breakfast, then time to hit the road. In the end I drove the full 635 miles back to Boulder, awaking this morning to my first overcast skies in two weeks. (I needed to get back – after all, I have a product to launch tomorrow…)

Stephen · Friday, April 16, 2010, 10:37 · Permalink

## 3 comments on this post

1

19:00 2 May 2010

Steve said:

Stephen- beautiful pictures! I’m heading down to St. George, UT this week and can’t wait… do you have any suggestions for Zion, Capitol Reef, or Arches? I’ve got a day in Zion and 3-4 hrs in Arches, but Capitol Reef will be a drive-thru visit unfortunately.

2

20:30 2 May 2010

Stephen said:

Hi Steve – good to hear from you. Maybe we’ll see you down there – we’re heading that way too this week! If you’ve not done the Virgin River Narrows in Zion, I’d highly recommend that. Getting in there would depend on how high the river is running right now (check at the visitor centre). Alternatively, see if you can score a permit for the Subway (Left Fork of North Creek) – it’s a long day (10 miles total round trip), but quite stunning. Arches – depends which 3-4 hours you have: if it’s dawn, then do the Courthouse Wash area, three Gossips etc – should be beautiful this time of year – the wildflowers should be out; if it’s sunset, then do Delicate Arch – a little bit of a hike, but nothing difficult; if it’s middle of the day, you could try exploring the Fiery Furnace, or do the trail up to Landscape Arch and beyond. Have a great time!

3

10:20 16 Apr 2011

Joseph Stanski said:

Good Morning,
The Photographer’s Ephemeris is GREAT – can you print the maps? Joseph :o)

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