Shivwitz Arch + BW

Gallery: LandscapePosted July 12, 2012760 views9 comments

If you stare long enough at the stone outcropping on top of the arch, it begins to look like an Indian maiden looking downward toward the cavern at her feet.

This is the Shivwitz Arch and it's located at Milepost 23 as you head north on route 15 while you are driving through the Virgin River Gorge.

My feet may be planted firmly on the ground in the gorge but these steep cliff faces are allegedly climbable. (Just not by me.) You can even find climbing directions at:
http://hikearizona.com/decoder.php?ZTN=656

The arch in the image is named after the Shivwitz Paiute Indians who live on a 240 acre reservation located near Santa Clara, Utah, perhaps 20 miles as the crow flies from this arch.

According to Wikipedia, the Shivwits' relationship with the federal government was terminted in the 1950's, but unlike other groups, the Shivwits retained ownership of the lands and leased them out to ranchers in the area.

Shivwits or Shivwitz comes from the Southern Paiute word, sipicimi. The word may be based on the prefix sibi-, meaning "east" or si-vints', meaning "people who live in the east." It is also spelled Shi'-vwits, She-bits, Sübü'ts, and Sebit. The Shivwits Plateau in Arizona is named for the tribe.

This particular image is an HDR image created from three photographs. NIK Efex Pro2 and CEP4 were used for the processing. All three were taken at f/8, ISO 100, at 850 mm.

I hope you enjoy and I thank you in advance for your comments.

Carol

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by Richard Olsen on July 12, 2012 at 10:49 PM

Very interesting photo and story to go with it. Even more interesting is I've made that drive more times than I can remember and never knew anything about the arch!

Something new to put on my bucket list!!

Registered on October 19, 2006, 306 Posts, 1571 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on July 12, 2012 at 11:29 PM

Interesting image and a wonderful history/info to go with it. You've certainly made the Virgin River Gorge your own special stomping grounds. Great color in the cliffs.

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on July 13, 2012 at 10:44 AM

Thanks for all the background on this, Carol. Very interesting. And, the arch and the outcropping are equally interesting. I like the detail in the cliffs and I think it's worth a revisit with stormy skies as well. I do see the maiden!

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on July 13, 2012 at 11:27 AM

Hi Carol, I see the maiden too, and that is pretty cool. Interesting reading all the information you included as well.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on July 13, 2012 at 2:53 PM

Carol,

Indeed, appreciate the very interesting story and info of this place - and yes, I do see the maiden too, looking down. I think your composition of the geology is excellent and this captures the rugged nature of these cliffs well.

I can't leave though without mentioning the processing. Perhaps not an issues for others so far, but honestly it's a bit off for me. The sky is uneven, perhaps polarization if anything else, but it seems patchy. I think the HDR process has created a largely feathered halo above the rim which just enhances the look that it's HDR. Also, the color in the cliffs seems to lean heavily towards green. No doubt there's green in there especially if there's some vegetation on those cliffs, but the color just seems off to me - and the green I think carry's in to the sky giving the blue a slightly different hue.

I really like the scene Carol, but just wanted to pass along my thoughts on the processing/colors.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Carol Hyman on July 13, 2012 at 3:00 PM

Lon, thank you in particular for commenting on this image. I re-worked the sky a bit and it can be seen here on zenfolio.
I still wasn't 100% happy with image and this morning cropped the image from the top and converted to B/W. I like the rocks and think the crop forces the viewer to see both the arch and the outcropping about the arch, but still need to do something with the sky; just not sure what--yet ;^)
Carol

Registered on January 18, 2007, 597 Posts, 8062 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on July 13, 2012 at 4:02 PM

Color balance seems a bit too warm in the original. The textures work great in B&W. Fascinating arch. Never heard of it. Would maybe try to burn down the halo along the rocks a bit.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on July 13, 2012 at 6:35 PM

Hi Carol, hadn't seen anything from you for a while, good to have you back. I like the colors and textures in the rocks and can see the maiden. The sky color seems off (greenish blue on my laptop) and there's a wide halo where most of the sky meets the rocks.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Carol Hyman on July 15, 2012 at 2:44 PM

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. For whatever reason, this has been a difficult image on which to work. If you click on "Purchase Print," you will see the latest color version. And this is the latest b/w version.

Again, thank you.

Sincerely,

Carol

Registered on January 18, 2007, 597 Posts, 8062 Comments