How to take an Amazing Photo! – Canyonlands National Park , Moab, UT
Step 1) Plan an 18 day road trip through the national parks of the western United States.
Step 2) Stay in an area such as Moab that is surrounded by beauty and national parks.
Step 3) Wait until the coldest day of the trip and get up way earlier than you need to.
Step 4) Drive an hour in the dark and miss your turnoff several times because you have trouble reading a map in the dark.
Step 5) When you finally get there make sure you forgot something that would have made you a lot more comfortable in 10 degree weather. In my case it was gloves, but a hat, scarf, shoes would all work.
Step 6) Wear shoes that absorb water like a sponge when you hike through the snow. Your extremely cold feet will make you forget you didn’t bring gloves. This works until you have to hold a metal tripod and camera in your hands and then you forget about your feet.
Step 7) Once you get to your planned shot, say hello to the warmly dressed local photographers who somehow made it there before you. If they ask you about your missing gloves tell them you are from north of the Arctic Circle and you didn’t think 10 degrees warranted breaking out a pair.
Step 8) Set up your shot and then feel free to move around and check other angles. I am always amazed how other photographers seem to cement their tripods into the ground during their photo shoot. Not me! I move around like a madman.
Step 9) Talk to the other photographers about other interesting places to photograph in the area and be the last one to leave the site. You never know what opportunities might happen so stay alert.
Step 10) Arrive back at the hotel and start the rest of your day with a smile… and dry shoes, of course!
Share and Enjoy
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Great, funny, imaginative list…and clearly worth it for that photo! Thanks.
I love the humor in this post – the image is fantastic, too – I have one similar taken this past fall, without the snow. Isn’t America grand?
Wow! Those dogs are just awesome! Especially the first one. Straight to Pinterest!
Wow!
Beautiful shot
Thanks for stopping by my blog. Yes that is an amazing photo. I will check out your blog from time to time to gather tips on photography for sure. Dianne
Thanks for checking out my blog. These are amazing photos and I thank you for the tips–always need help with my photos!
It is an amazing photo. Personally, I prefer the tropics. It doesn’t matter how much you forget there, as long as you’ve got your camera!
Thanks for visiting my blog…I am now a follower of yours
amazing photo … PhotoBotos
thank you for stopping by my blog, I am now following you and getting needed photo tips …you don’t even know
thank you
Amazing photograph, awesome post!
Great photo and very amusing writing
I prefer to stay out late to getting up early – but sunsets can be equally spectacular. I only have one sunrise shot but have quite a few sunset ones… Don’t think I’d have coped without gloves though – if I get cold, I lose concentration completely!
Carol.
Amazing photo! Thanks for the tips and for visiting Lexa’s Journal.
really COOL, keep it up and THAX for sharing.
very nice!!!!!!!!!!
very nice SHOT!
Thanks for liking my blog also!!!!!
Awesomely Amazing!
Thanks for liking my blog also!
Nice planning, cool photo and well done on the whole project
Any more ehh simple tips?
Wow amazing shot. Well done.
Thanks for hitting the “like” button on Cardboardmetravels.com today. I enjoy your amazing photos, just like you said.
Must be following your own GOOD advice! Excellent.
Best, Ruth in Pittsburgh
Amazing photo, although I’m not sure I’d have had the gumption to follow through with all you did to capture it
Kudos!
Thanks for stopping by my blog.
Stunning photo and great sense of humor.
I bow to your obviously incredible natural insight into what makes an amazing photo. I myself will NEVER be any sort of competition to you
). I am happy to trundle along in my blurry semi-focussed world of badly staged attempts to interest my blog followers. Should I ever be able to produce something as amazing as your work, my dear constant readers would expect it of me each and every post, so I maintain my barely visible landscapes and my somewhat hazy portraits because as a most insightful man (albeit a ficticious man…) once said “trying is the first step towards failure” I maintain my closet delight at your constantly being able to produce these amazing, breath taking and soul satisfying pictures. I don’t even want to crack the code of how you do it, just never stop, because if I ever open that secret closet door and you are no longer there I will have to take up clog dancing to fill the gap and my poor long suffering husband will most definately leave me for that hobby…so you see…you have a duty to we 2 Australian’s living out in the wilderness to maintain your passion, skill and obvious talent for photography…its you…and ONLY you that is holding our marriage together (no pressure there…) 
)
We will do our best!
Love the gorgeous photo and your hilarious story. I was lucky enough to visit Mesa Arch and other Utah sights a few years ago. I can’t even believe such wonders exist, but yet they do!
http://catherinesherman.wordpress.com/2008/11/15/awesome-utah/
Marvellous photogragh!!!
Breathtaking photo! And I can truly relate, I usually am guilty of leaving behind both gloves and a hat! Keep up the awesome blog.
Very Nice
that would be me
love this blog post! really left me smiling! Thanks for liking one of my posts, and funny you chose this one specifically (apparently for the content) as it is the first one I have posted on my current blog WITHOUT a photo. I try to get amazing shots wherever I happen to me, but no where near the photos you have here. Just amazing! Hope you check out the posts with photos as well…you might also enjoy my India Journal blog where there are lots of photos from fantastic places in India… http://janesindiajournals.wordpress.com
Great post and a well-timed capture – thanks for sharing, and for the grins! And thank you too for taking the time to read my recent post “Photography: making a difference to cancer patients” – delighted you liked it!
What a stunning, vibrant image! I love how the blue of the snow and sky frame that fiery orange on the rock arch, and the receding view that fades into grey gives a wonderful sense of depth. You rocked that lens flare! That tutorial is great—I’ve followed some of those steps myself, although not for the duration of #1, and the mix of humor and candor is fun! Great post! And thanks for the “like!”
Phenomenal photo. I’m based in London, the south east England. Nothing quite as spectacular but I like taking shots of the same thing from different perspectives.
Excellent photography and a great blog! Keep up the great work!
There are no words to describe this photo. It evokes emotion at the site of it.
Great photo taking – love it.
Isadora
such great tips!!
I love Moab, it’s gorgeous and you captured that!
If due to cold your camera shakes and you have got your picture some MOVING EFFECT don’t worry you just need to say THIS PICTURE HAS GOT EXCELLENT SHARP EDGE EFFECTS…
#6.5 Drink LOTS of coffee before the shoot so that you have to pee like REALLY badly. This takes your mind off the frozen hands, the frozen feet, AND it makes you move around a lot…
Beautiful picture.
Is this photo of the Canyion real? Took my breath away. Should be a screensaver…
thanks for the photo advise… #8 is really helpful and cool
I like the blog’s concept on better pics’.
Reblogged this on The View Through My Lens and commented:
This is a very amusing post that contains a few gems for inspiration!
I love this photo blog. all the photos are gorgeous.
Beautiful photo and great advice! I’m sure the memories are just as precious as the beautiful view you caught here.
-wishingforatime
This is fabulous. Do you offer photography tips and classes?
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WONDERFUL, IT TAKES MY BREATH AWAY!
Your photography is beautiful……plus your humour and stories make this blog stand out from other ‘photography ‘ ones Ive seen.
The photos are great. Thanks for visiting our blog, too.
I love your sense of humor because we’ve all done this (maybe not been on the 18 day road trip) but when you get to look back on your shots at the end of the day and have your memories it’s all worth it!!
Wonderful photo and commentary!
Awesome!
absolutely stunning photo.. funny post also, thanks for the chuckles…! and for liking my blog also
Great blog…..I always forget my gloves but never my hipflask….
Your picture is beautiful. Great payoff for the trouble it caused you. lol Very funny post. BTW, thanks so much for checking out my blog ( http://michellesmutterings.wordpress.com/) and the like on my post. I love photography so I am following your blog now.
~Michelle
This is an amazing photo! Great post! I’m still laughing. I know what it feels like with your fingers freezing in 23 degree weather… With gloves. I could not imagine 10 degree weather without gloves.
Love your work!
I love this, its so funny and i hope its practical too. Thanks for dropping by my blog, foreveryoungdotme.
Great photo! LOVE your sense of humor!
This is incredible!
Awesome photo and priceless advise/commentary! Still chuckling as I have been known to be in the same (glove-less) boat at times.
Great post!
This is absolutely breathtaking! I could look at this picture all day. Makes me want to be there. WOW!!
It’s photos like this that make all the effort so worthwhile.
Amazingly awesome shot!!!
Love the shot and most of the advice. I’m bringing my gloves though…
Your directions worked well – that is an amazingly gorgeous photo !
I shared your photo and advice on my blog entitled: “Exploration Art”. Here is the link. http://explorationart.wordpress.com/2012/01/01/antelope-canyon-insane-spiral-and-more-from-photobotos/
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Funny post:-) I like taking pictures. I have had a fuji digital camera for a couple years or so but am thinking of getting a more professional type camera because I like the way the pictures look, at least the ones I have seen taken by others.
All true. Lucky you! I’m so not a nature photographer…I like dry feet.
Great photograph! Loved your sense of humor. There’s wisdom in there.
I like your post. Photos from areas like this are really inspiring. Look forward to more.
Wow!
Definitely worth getting the frostbitten single hand!
Amazing Shot ! Beautiful !
Best photography tips I’ve heard yet! And a very cool shot. Bonus!
I have wrapped my tripod legs in foam tubes ( kind of what you would wrap pipes in) just because of the cold. It works very well when you are lugging it around in sub zero temperatures. ( gloves help too…)
worth the hassle though, beautiful photography
Love that photo
Great post – it bought a big grin to my face (and I keep wishing we had snow in my area so I could shoot snow pics LOL)
Great shot too.
Wow. That is one of the most breathtaking photos I’ve ever seen!
that is quite a nice photo lol
Very entertaining, thanks for the smile.
This cracked me up
Love the picture, too.
Hi
Laughed out load great comments.
And that picture is stunning.
Absolutely incredible! Mesa Arch is one of my favorite places in the world. I have some nice pics of there, but nothing that compares to your shot. Congratulations.
incredible photo! good job!
Looks like the shot was worth the frozen feet! Looks awesome!
Worth the discomfort!
The photo is simply breath taking!
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I can totally agree with your advise (1), (2), etc, —- though, to the most of an amateur photographer, = if only the person can do those.
I managed to live on photography —– may be I was a mountain climber as well.
Nature can show us amazing images, and only a person who worked hard can capture it. Its a hard reality.
So, I can see, how dedicated, hard working person you are.
Wow!
Really amazing Fotos.
We just subscribed to your web.
Thanks. sjpaderborn.wordpress.com
Cool shot and post to match… I like the humour, hehe!
Superb photo and just love your adventure getting there! You’ve made something that would have been uncomfortable be very entertaining, and happy to say, I’m glad it was someone else! hehe
With every great photo comes a great story! Great post
love it…
Beautiful. And love how you told the story of the shoot, too. Very entertaining.
I’m always down for a great sunrise picture. Nice!
Love that fantastic image, and totally identify with your How2s! Winter Solstice blessings from Cerena the Garlic Lover!
Excellent how-to! So THAT’S what I’ve been doing wrong!
Yes, amazing!
Wow, amazing amazing photo