Fiery Surf

Image No. WP0301: Fiery Surf.  March 2017.  Mamiya 645AFD, 35mm lens, f/16, 1/10 sec., Fujichrome Velvia 100.  Image specs: 5277 × 3958 pixels, 25.1 MB file size.

Shot with the sun’s first light on the rock waves of White Pocket in Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, northern Arizona.  The backcountry route to this photographer’s paradise involves 1.5 hours of driving in technical 4×4 mode, trying to avoid getting stuck in deep sand.  Rain will render the roads impassable.  White Pocket is often thick with shutterbugs and photography instructors who sometimes wander into your frame (a few of them stood beside me as I took this shot), but few locations are more worth the inconveniences.