The Background:
I captured this image at Delicate Arch in Arches National Park at Sunset. I knew that it was a popular sunset spot, and I was so worried about how crowded it would be that I almost talked myself out of showing up. I spent a bunch of time that day researching alternative locations for shooting sunset, but, In the end, I decided to make the best of it and see how it went. I am so glad that I did – this shot of the arch with the glow of sunset and framing the La Sal Mountains is such a classic image of an iconic location.
The Message:
Fear holds us back from so many pursuits. We have a natural tendency to create a narrative in our head of what the future may hold – and then we make decisions in the moment based on these unfounded fears. I kept having this vision of crowds of people standing around and under the arch and making it impossible to take any photos or enjoy the experience. This vision had me seriously reconsidering whether I wanted to make the trek out to the arch or, perhaps, to go somewhere else. In the end, it was crowded at the arch, but it was still amazing to be in this unique location at the perfect time and I have several great shots from this hike. The “spinning” I had done all day leading up to sunset – going back and forth about whether I should go or whether I should find a quieter spot – was entirely in my head. The fears of what might be turned out to be irrelevant to what was. Thankfully, I was able to acknowledge the fear and quiet it – accept that while it may be crowded, I can still have an enjoyable experience – and that is definitely what happened. The results speak for themselves…
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