I love photography! Pretty cliché I know. There is just so much to learn and explore. So many things to try. But the main reason I love photography is this "Photography is about savoring life at 1/100th of a second." - Marc Riboud
I am a portrait and wedding photographer based in Cedar City Utah. I also love landscape photography, but every great landscape I encounter, I can't help but think how much better the shot would be if I stuck a person in it.
I went out there again on the actual summer solstice and did another time lapse. It was fun to meet other people that were there to watch. I met some locals, people from California, Washington, and who knows where else they came from. One couple drove down from Washington just for this event.
Okay, I promise not to post any more Parowan Gap stuff for a while. Although just remember that it is an ongoing project of mine, so I will eventually post more:)
So, technically, summer solstice is tomorrow, June 21 at around 7am. Tomorrow’s sunset is really recognized as the main event at Parowan Gap. I went out there tonight, June 20th to scope things out. Crowds have already gathered. Here is a quick shot I got standing near the summer solstice cairn at Parowan Gap.
I will be out there again tomorrow. I did a time lapse series tonight, but I realized I needed to be in a different spot to get the right angle.
Parowan Gap Summer Solstice
Update: I added a short time lapse of the sun setting through the gap. This time lapse was taken on June 20, 2010. I didn’t make this one HD, so it doesn’t look real great. I plan on posting another one from tonight that is going to be in full HD.
That was awesome! Way to catch the Parowan Gap at its best. The cars coming and going with the jets flying over was fun to watch.
Wow! That is so neat! Post this on facebook so I can copy it to my page. I want the still shot too. That needs a frame! Soooo cool.
Can hardly stand to stay indoors anymore. Saturday I loaded the boys into the truck and headed out. I specifically headed to Parowan Gap to try some different techniques for photographing rock art. I’m convinced there is a better way to photograph rock art than I have been doing for the past 8 years. I just haven’t found it yet.
The sky was mostly cloudy with patches of sunlight peaking through the clouds. As we were driving away, I looked in the rear-view mirror and saw this. I pulled over immediately and grabbed the shot. I love it. My favorite shot from the outing.
So every time I go here, I am secretly location scouting for portraits. Although it isn’t very far from Cedar City, a photoshoot out there involving other people will be longer than my typical 1.5 – 2 hour photo session. I will need to find the right subject(s) to take out there. To be perfectly honest, this is the type of stuff I long to shoot. People in settings like this.
So back to the purpose I originally went out there for, rock art. I tried various things. I took a bunch of bracketed shots to see what rock art would look like in HDR. My results failed miserably. Turns out the purpose of HDR is to blend a wide range of exposures. I knew that, but it wasn’t until I tried turning a fairly tight shot of rock art to HDR that I realized it was just the wrong application for HDR. There just isn’t a wide enough range of tones to make it work. Now, if I were shooting much wider and including more sky with the rocks, then HDR might be the trick. Anyway, I scrapped the HDR idea.
Instead I shot some wide angle like this.
Zoomed in on just the rock art itself.
And zoomed in really tight on specific details.
Not sure which I like best. I guess they each have their place. I’m not sure what I’m after really. Ultimately, I want to have a really nice collection of rock art images and hang them on my wall. Which would you rather see hanging on a wall?
Personally I like the first one because you not only see the rock art itself but the context that it is in. If you’re more interested in art then the others might be fine but I feel like context is a huge part of any type of art. It is what gives it meaning. Have you thought of doing a triptych?
p.s. Have you ever been to Lions Mouth? There is some interesting rock art there.
I really like number three. Especially in black and white. I think what I like best though is the juxtaposition of the dark, moody mountains to the bright & clear sunlight.
I can totally relate to what you said about scouting locations and always thinking of a person in the landscape, not just a landscape alone. Though you’re landscape shots are ahhhmazing! 
I like the first one (with the shrubs), because I like shrubs and I like the rocks themselves. They make a beautiful canvas for the art!
I’ve seen a lot of photos of The Gap but never any with such good color. It’s like being there. Thanks for sharing.
Shooting black and white out there is a good idea. As you well know I feel the same way about this magical location. I can spend hours out there just watching and waiting for time to pass by. Thanks for sharing your shots and let me know if you ever just want to go out there and shoot with a friend.
Parowan Gap has become one of my favorite places to go. I like to go there for a number of reasons. First, I am always fascinated with rock art. I’ve spent a lot of time exploring places just in search of it. I grew up in Emery County Utah where you can find a plethora of cool writings.
Second, Parowan Gap intrigues me. Specifically, the theory about the Gap being used as an ancient calendar. Ironically, another place considered to be an ancient calendar system is the Rochester Panel in Emery County, a very unique collection of rock art. I have yet to visit the Gap on any of the solar events, but I plan to. Definitely need photos of the sun right smack in the middle of that gap. I’ve seen some on the interwebs elsewhere and they suck. I can do better:) I have lived in this area for almost 10 years now and I only recently went to Parowan Gap.
Also intriguing to me is that Chief Wakara is said to have referred to Parowan Gap as “God’s own house.” There is definitely something special about this place. It keeps drawing me back to it.
It is also a really great place to take photos. It even makes an awesome setting for portraits. Interestingly enough, there is an art exhibit opening at Southern Utah University soon with works inspired by Parowan Gap. So, I am not the only one drawn to it.
This is a view looking South toward Enoch from the West side of Parowan Gap. The Gap is just out of frame to the left in this photo.
John Lisonbee - June 24, 2010 - 10:51 am
The shot you got of the group out in front of us is a great shot. Nicely done.
Emilie - June 26, 2010 - 10:22 am
So neat! I always wanted to see it but forgot about it every year. Thanks for sharing.