Light Show!

Early 2019, I decided to plan a trip to the Southwest, USA. After seeing photos at Arches National Park of the Milky Way lined up through the Delicate Arch, my heart started racing and I just knew I had to go!

I decided to start planning my trip, by first finding an adventure buddy! Unfortunately life had my friends booked up and I decided I was just going to do a solo trip. I was looking forward to the trip, but trips are always so much more enjoyable with someone so…. I decided to ask my dad and he was able to go! The trip was going to be 10 days with part of the trip around the Moab area with the other part around Zion National Park. While Zion was on the schedule, Arches was my goal. I began inquiring about the best time to go for the Milky Way to be in the correct position through the Delicate Arch. The fun thing about night photography is also needing to plan around moon phases and weather. After doing research I decided late April - early May was my time frame. I then was able to find sleeping accommodations to not break the budget at a local hostel in Moab called the Lazy Lizard Hostel. While we did not spend much time at the hostel it was super affordable and we had no issues while there. I would recommend this place if you trying to travel on a budget. They also offer car camping onsite for a small fee.

Fast forward to the day I was planning to take the shot. We began hiking up the Delicate Arch Trailhead along with so many other people a couple of hours before sunset. As we arrived to the top, there were honestly probably a couple hundred people already positioned for sunset photos of the Arch. The sunset was an absolute gift and was a total burner! I was still even more excited for the Milky Way to come out! That being said there was a slight chance of rain, but I was still being very optimistic about the outcome of the shoot.

As darkness approached, clouds and rain started moving in from a distance and people started heading down the mountain and there were maybe only 10 of us left. Hoping the rain would hold off, the weather quickly got worse and we were on top of the mountain with no cover and lightning began to rain down. Thankfully the storm stayed just slightly south of our location. (Legit getting chills writing this right now!) The few of us that were lucky enough to stay received a spectacular show of lightning showering down in our back drop. We were able to capture incredible shots that I have not seen before at this location.

The clouds ended up rolling in around 2am and the Milky Way shot I had planned did not happen. But that’s my favorite thing about photography sometimes you don’t get what you want, then end up getting something you never would have imagined. I love the chase and the drive to capture more. Plus, now I have a reason to go back! Someday I’ll get the shot!