Posted by PAMERNST on December 21, 2008 at 9:57 AM
For those that don't have a copy of the 2008 Arkansas Wild & Free calendar handy, or were not at the great arch this morning to see it in person, here is what the Winter Solstice sunrise looks like at the Buzzard Roost Arch. I hope we'll see some images taken there this morning by others...
By the way, that spot in the arch is actually a hole about 2-3 feet in diameter.
Posted by Bill Dark on December 21, 2008 at 5:27 PM
How's this one Tim? One thing for sure, it was bitterly cold this morning, as everyone present would attest. Actually, the only parts of me that got cold were my hands and feet.
The trail back to the roost is now pretty much 4-wheeler only, or hike. My trip began with pulling the truck off to the side where a large tree had fallen but was only partially cleared from the trail. So I started hoofing it to try to make it in time for the shot. Lesson number 1: arrive in time to plan on hiking, or bring a chainsaw. After maybe 10 minutes, I thumbed a ride with two other photographers in one of those Mule-type ATVs. It got really exciting about half-way, where we found a section of trail that had slumped down the hill, leaving a VERY narrow passage.
We arrived in plenty of time for the sunrise, and planned to work off one tripod (my wooden one). After setting up, and as the sun got closer to the horizon, we re-evaluated the situation and decided that the camera placement needed to be a bit lower to get the view under a notch in the arch, below which the sun would make its appearance. Using my tripod turned out to be a mistake because it could not get low enough on one leg - the one that goes in the little notch in the rock. Lesson number 2: take a 3-section tripod. I won't mention who learned this one, but lesson number 3 was to make sure you have good batteries. I learned that lesson at the Mill Pond a few years ago when I had to just watch the beautiful afternoon light while Tim E. fired away at the swans.
Despite what might be called a comedy of errors, I think we all came home with a few keepers. The last shot we took was of the tripod set-up so that the next time, it won't be such guesswork. You really have to get out and shoot this scene to appreciate the masterfully-crafted image Tim has posted. There are some obvious lighting issues, and the set-up can be tricky. And, did I mention getting there? Oh well, next time I'll have a picture in my wallet as a reminder. Getting old sucks...
Posted by David Bush on December 21, 2008 at 5:46 PM
Great story Bill, now you should have better luck next year, you'll know what to plan for.
Posted by Tom Kennon on December 21, 2008 at 6:55 PM
So Bill, what time did you get up to begin your adventure?
Posted by PAMERNST on December 21, 2008 at 7:06 PM
Hey Bill, glad to hear that you and Mark and Bob made it - and didn't have to stand in line! I reported on that road slide last summer in the Journal when I tried to drive in on a four-wheeler at night - I was too chicken to go around it so I parked and carried all of my heavy lights and camera gear in the rest of the way. Other than that I have always hiked in from the forest road - never hurts an old fat boy like me! The photo on Mark's site looks pretty good - just like a standard FRIGID winter solstice morning with the Buzzards!
Posted by PAMERNST on December 21, 2008 at 7:10 PM
Hey Bill, I just noticed something when comparing my photo to Mark's from this morning - there is now one less tree under the arch. If you look at the tree on the right in my photo that is intersected by part of the rock about half way down, that tree is missing from your photo. Since the photo was taken from the exact same spot it shows all the rest of the trees in the same places - only for some reason my shot was wider to the left - at least compared to Mark's image...
Posted by Bill Dark on December 21, 2008 at 7:19 PM
Tom, I was up at 1:45...before the rooster crowed for sure. Tim, I hope you will be doing a field test on the new X...Nikon's spec sheet says the operating temperature only goes down to 32 F. Tomorrow's low of around 10 should do it!
Posted by PAMERNST on December 21, 2008 at 7:43 PM
I'm sure the lawyers were smoking something when they made up that spec, which is silly - it will do whatever any other pro digital camera can do, which includes shooting in very cold temps...
Posted by Bill Dark on December 21, 2008 at 9:09 PM
It sure is! There were a couple of trees down that we had to navigate through on the way in, but I don't think that was one of them. It was much easier going out when there was some daylight.
Discussion
8 repliesBy the way, that spot in the arch is actually a hole about 2-3 feet in diameter.
The trail back to the roost is now pretty much 4-wheeler only, or hike. My trip began with pulling the truck off to the side where a large tree had fallen but was only partially cleared from the trail. So I started hoofing it to try to make it in time for the shot. Lesson number 1: arrive in time to plan on hiking, or bring a chainsaw. After maybe 10 minutes, I thumbed a ride with two other photographers in one of those Mule-type ATVs. It got really exciting about half-way, where we found a section of trail that had slumped down the hill, leaving a VERY narrow passage.
We arrived in plenty of time for the sunrise, and planned to work off one tripod (my wooden one). After setting up, and as the sun got closer to the horizon, we re-evaluated the situation and decided that the camera placement needed to be a bit lower to get the view under a notch in the arch, below which the sun would make its appearance. Using my tripod turned out to be a mistake because it could not get low enough on one leg - the one that goes in the little notch in the rock. Lesson number 2: take a 3-section tripod. I won't mention who learned this one, but lesson number 3 was to make sure you have good batteries. I learned that lesson at the Mill Pond a few years ago when I had to just watch the beautiful afternoon light while Tim E. fired away at the swans.
Despite what might be called a comedy of errors, I think we all came home with a few keepers. The last shot we took was of the tripod set-up so that the next time, it won't be such guesswork. You really have to get out and shoot this scene to appreciate the masterfully-crafted image Tim has posted. There are some obvious lighting issues, and the set-up can be tricky. And, did I mention getting there? Oh well, next time I'll have a picture in my wallet as a reminder. Getting old sucks...