The sky over Moab that had been crystal clear turned overcast this afternoon. That could have either been great for sunset photography or awful. A cloudy sky can be more interesting or it can make the scene look dull when it blocks the sun. I took a chance that the sun would break through just before sunset, and again I was lucky.

I decided to return to Delicate Arch in Arches National Park. This morning I viewed it at a distance, but I wanted to take the three mile hike up to it, like I did in February 2009. Earlier today I wrote that I doubted if I could improve on the shot of the arch that I took then. But this evening I decided to try anyway.

In the past 14 months since I was here last I have learned a few things. Today I stayed until the last light faded; for the second shot below I used a prime lens, which is inherently sharper than a zoom lens; I used a tripod and cable release; and I processed the images with HDR. Plus, I had a more interesting sky today.

Since I can’t decide whether I prefer the horizontal or vertical orientation for the image, I will share one of each.

Delicate Arch and the La Sal Mountains

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A Vertical View of Delicate Arch

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I think that I succeeded in improving on the shot of the arch that I took on my previous trip. That image is online at http://www.mendosa.com/fitnessblog/?p=3181 so you can be the judge.

Delicate Arch is the most photographed arch in the world. It certainly is the one that I have shot the most, especially after taking 57 images this afternoon in order to show you these two.