Shooting Wide - In Search of Petroglyphs

1/40 sec. f/22 18mm ISO 640

With the simple goal of going out to shoot something, I jumped on the motorcycle and headed toward Snow Canyon in search of petroglyphs. For many years I have heard legends of some really unique carvings at a place called Newspaper Rock and I decided it was time to finally seek them out. I can tell you now, the reason it is one of Southern Utah's hidden gems is because of the difficulty locating it. I left immediately after class with the intention having hours to photograph symbols, but I discovered getting to a location can be just as challenging as finding the perfect shot.

1/1600 sec. f/3.5 18mm  ISO 100

Shooting with only a wide angle also presented challenges I had not anticipated. It forces you to look at everything with a different eye. On one hand a wide angle can provide you with a sense of scale of your surroundings, but in order to see something really interesting you have to get very close to the subject. It does create more intimate photos if you are willing to get into the thick of it. This was a great lesson in how to be prepared for a shoot and everything I should have considered ahead of time. Welcome to my adventure.

1/100 sec. f/13 18mm  ISO 100

1/40 sec. f/14 18mm  ISO 1000

Edited

1/30 sec. f/20 18mm  ISO 400

1/40 sec. f/14 18mm  ISO 640

1/30 sec. f/13 18mm  ISO 100

1/30 sec. f/8 18mm  ISO1250

Edited

1/30 sec. f/22 18mm  ISO 1600

1/30 sec. f/22 18mm  ISO 3200

Edited

1/60 sec. f/10 18mm  ISO 100

1/20 sec. f/22 18mm  ISO 3200

Edited

One of the most important things to remember is to keep your head about you and not get lost in the excitement of the moment and in that regard I completely failed. I was having so much fun in the adventure I forget to let anyone know where I would be going. It was a lot more treacherous country than I planned for and I was so caught up in my lens I forgot to think about getting out of the location safely. I didn't even think to bring a flashlight with me and with light fading I suddenly realized it could end up being a very cold night. It was a dead sprint back to the main trail just in time to catch a few sunset shots. I actually only came upon three petroglyphs in four hours of searching, but I will be heading back soon and definitely more prepared.

1/640 sec. f/5.6 18mm  ISO 3200

Not a wide angle shot of the petroglyph rocks yet....but this is what I was looking for. They will have to wait for adventure two.

1/13 sec. f/8 55mm  ISO 3200