If you've watched my web site over the years you can tell I love shooting this arch. I've been to this location at least a dozen times and every one is a different opportunity to create something new. While the arch is such a simple thing, it exists in sharp contrast to the surrounding rocks and boulders. Add to that the variety of changing clouds and weather, you get a tremendous opportunity to see what there is to see and shoot what the world gives you. It's wonderful.

Every good thing has its limits. Even the most awesome and photographed location on the planet has limits for inspiration. After a while, the challenge becomes creating something new and different with an old familiar friend. The task becomes to making something when you don't think you have anything to make anything with. That's a challenge!

What's neat about this version of our arch? It's a panoramic taken from a fairly unconventional perspective. Mt. Whitney isn't framed through opening like other more famous images. The image's center is pointed to the north towards a outcropping of rocks not 100 yards away. The most observant can barely see Mt Whitney right next to the left most boulder. Wait, if the image is centered to the north and Mt Whitney is just to the left, how wide is the field of view of this image? It's a 360 degree panoramic.

What you see is the sun rising just behind the right arm of arch, the boulders to the north and Mt Whitney on the left. The south is blocked by both the left and right most boulders. I shot this by setting my tripod about a foot away from the right arm of the arch. The boulders are less than five feet away. Distance is exaggerated with this wide-angle perspective.

All together I used my Nikon D1h and 14mm f/2.8 lens. I shot two rows of 8 images for a total of 16. All images were processed by Nikon Capture and stitched together in Realviz's Stitcher to make a 150 meg Photoshop file. A little bit of masking was required to make the final image perfect after which I made the Quicktime file using Stitcher's conversion tool. The three biggest challenges making this image was making sure my shadow didn't accidentally fall in the image, leveling the tripod perfectly, and finally setting the nodal point.

If you have broadband, you can see this image as a Quicktime file to experience the view as if you stood in my shoes right next to the arch.

Cheers

Tom Hill