Since I posted a photo yesterday with ruins and star trails, I figured I would follow up today with a photo of rock art and star trails, which is something I’m hoping to do more of in the very near future.
After photographing sunset in Arches National Park, I set out to visit the Moab Maiden (Moab Princess) for a night photography session. Since I knew this petroglyph panel faced approximately north, I had envisioned making an image looking up past the Maiden to Polaris with the other stars circling around. I ended up taking this shot with the aperture wide open so that the very close foreground and the stars were out of focus. This is something that I have not seen done before, since most photographers prefer nice sharp star trails, but I think it looks good and adds a feeling of depth to the ‘vortex’ beyond the Maiden. I lit up the boulder and petroglyph by bouncing the light from my headlamp off of a nearby cliff. I’m very happy with the way this image came out.
The Moab Maiden is surely one of my favorite petroglyphs around, and I’ve enjoyed trying to create a unique image at this location.
