Just Shut Up and Shoot!
By Sterling E. Stevens
2 Sep 2007
I simply fell in love with the National Arches Park near Moab, Utah the moment I arrived. It was a spontaneous and unplanned excursion after being convinced to make the side-trip after conversation with a fellow photographer in Colorado. "You have to go to Moab, it's only three hours away from here!" After an entire day of road travel between Denver and Durango, how was I going to argue with such infallible logic? Accustomed to the rolling hills errantly mistaken as "mountains" in the southeast United States, the journey through east Utah was an unforgettable one. With awe, I navigated by vehicle and foot among the most unique series of outcroppings, canyons, and natural formations I had ever personally seen. The most famous and photographed formation on national park grounds is the Delicate Arch.
From a parking lot near the Delicate Arch stems two paths of travel to view this wonder. Because I arrived near sunset, I took the shorter and less intimidating uphill hike to view the arch from across the canyons. Despite being in good physical shape and already having three days to adjust to the high elevation above sea level, the walk left me slightly winded with all of the camera equipment strapped to my back. Upon reaching the top of the climb, there was a clear view of the Delicate Arch and its immediate surroundings. In the distance, I spied tiny specs of people grouped throughout the area. As the sun began to dip behind the western mountains, the sound of applause resonated from across the canyon. A nearby photographer and I exchanged surprised glances upon hearing the clapping. Wow, I thought, the sunset must so beautiful as to bring out such an emotional response, I've got to see that!
I decided to stay overnight in Moab and take advantage of an extra day to witness the effect of morning daylight on the landscape that I could not see the previous afternoon and evening. In early afternoon, I took the longer and moderately strenuous 1.5 mile hike in 95-degree Fahrenheit heat to see the Delicate Arch up close and personal. After the first twenty minutes navigating level terrain, the next forty minutes is a strenuous uphill climb over a huge slippery outcropping. Until then, I thought I was in good physical conditioning! When a person finally reaches their destination after 90 total minutes, he or she will instantly realize the entire exercise was worth it. Visitors are instantly greeted with an expansive rock amphitheater to take in the awesome scene. Immediately beyond this natural seating area is a large patch of sloping land and at the very canyon edge is the actual arch with views of the cliffs and mountains beyond.
Travelers also seem to recognize that it's the one of the optimum locations within Arches National Park to receive cellular reception. As I began to unload my camera equipment, a young woman in her early 20s was chatting it up on her mobile phone. "Oh my God, you will not believe where I am! I'm in front of one of the most photographed places in the world. There's a few guys with cameras here. I'm at like the top of a mountain and can't believe I get reception here! I can't get my phone to work anywhere else in the park." She then paused only to respond, "Yeah, I know, right!"
Out of morbid curiosity, I flipped open my own mobile phone and was amused to see I had four bars - the best reception I'd have during my entire travels. The time said it was approximately 3:30 pm. Not wanting to be bothered by random phone calls, I turned my phone off. There were perhaps 10 or 15 people around, including two other photographers with tripods. I was glad to have arrived early because it is inherently difficult to get a clean photograph of the Delicate Arch without people in it. As more arrived, visitors and their families would pose in front of the arch or sit directly on it. Despite becoming occasionally frustrated with getting a clean shot there remained several hours to attain the photographs I wanted. So I discovered a nook with an advantageous viewpoint within the natural amphitheater and patiently camped, taking clear shots when able.
Over the next several hours, the entire area became teeming with hundreds of visitors, including a slew of photographers with their assorted equipment. The photographers were an amusingly serious bunch whose intent was abundantly clear - to capture the exact same pictures that many millions of others before them already took. As time passed, I took more time to observe the people around me than the color transformation the arch would soon undergo.
My two-day tour over the Arches National Park exposed me to many different European languages and as an American, immediately felt in the minority. At the Delicate Arch, other photographers found it equally frustrating to take a clear shot and many were mumbling or exchanging glances among each other to share their internal misery. The photographer adjacent to me gesticulated with impatience towards the arch as another group of tourists took snapshots in front of the arch. He then said something to me in French, a language I had long forgotten since high school. However, what he said translated in any tongue: "I wish they'd get out of the way, what in the world are they doing?"
I chuckled and grinned in response, shrugged, then replied, "Yeah, I know." Having already taken a slew of photographs, I backed away behind the mass of photographers to watch the new social dynamic. An endless supply of travelers continued to pose for photos in front of the arch, seemingly oblivious to the growing collective grumbling around me. As the sunset caused deep shadows on the glowing red landscape from the rocks behind us, a group of at least twenty aggravated photographers frantically waved towards the people in front of the arch, yelling in at least five different languages, "C'MON GET OUT OF THE WAY! MOVE!" The United Nations could never achieve such levels of international unity. Suddenly aware of the irritated mob of photographers, the other visitors scurried away from the Delicate Arch.
That was when the sounds of applause echoed through the canyons.
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Though I considered it quite a humorous testament to the human spirit, I'd like to offer a few suggestions to fellow photographers when visiting any popular tourist attraction:
Plan ahead - way ahead, and recognize that the best time to shoot tourist attractions is during the off-season. Besides, traveling during the 9-month window between September and May is typically much cheaper! If you do plan a trip during the summer travel season, know what to expect, be patient, and be willing to go early and stay late to minimize crowd interference, not to mention fellow photographers. Recognize that although the world may be your studio, that doesn't mean you own the world. You didn't create any of these places and every person with a 2-megapixel camera phone has the same right to be there and enjoy the natural and built wonders of the planet as you do with your fancy equipment. Finally, and most importantly, just shut up and shoot.
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