Prior to leading a photo tour to Canyonlands and Arches National Parks in Utah a couple of months ago, I spent a few days exploring the Moab area and doing some photography for myself. One of the first hikes I did was to False Kiva in the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park. The circle of stones in a cliffside cave certainly resembles the spiritual sites of the Pueblo and Hopi cultures, but apparently it is not an authentic kiva.
When I arrived at the site, I spent some time walking around the shallow cave looking for a good angle and figuring out how I was going to photograph scene. After trying several viewpoints, I decided to position myself directly behind the circle or rocks and partially frame the scene with the overhang of the cliff above. Even with a very wide angle lens, I was backed up right against the rear wall of the cave. Once I decided on this composition, I bracketed exposures over a 5-stop range, figuring I’d have to use some HDR processing in order to hold the range of contrast. When processing my trip photos, I was surprised and pleased to find that the sensor of my Nikon D7100 was able to hold enough detail in both shadows and the bright white clouds to produce this image from a single capture. I had to make some heavy adjustments in Lightroom with the Shadows and Highlights sliders, and I’m sure that when I blend the bracketed exposures I’ll find less noise in the shadows, but I find it remarkable that our modern cameras can handle scenes like this. I don’t think there is any way this photo would have been possible shooting Fujichrome Velvia film in a 35mm camera.
You won’t find False Kiva on the Canyonlands park map, partly I think because the trail is a bit sketchy in some places (loose rock, slippery sand and sheer drop-offs) and partly because of sensitivity for the native culture. Nobody wants crowds here like there are every morning at Mesa Arch. Those who can respect both of those factors can find directions to the site in Laurent Martrès’ excellent guidebook Photographing the Southwest, Volume 1 (this is part of the series of award-winning guides for photographers that includes my books Photographing Oregon and Photographing Washington).
False Kiva makes an excellent photo subject, but also is one of those special places to just sit quietly and contemplate the spectacular scenery, the incredible geologic processes that formed this dramatic landscape, and the culture of the native people who lived in this amazing area.
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Beautiful image, Greg! You captured the emotion well, and I can totally picture myself spending a peaceful afternoon sitting there contemplating all aspects of life and appreciating the shear beauty of the surroundings. Nice work.
Thanks, Don. I know that you also would appreciate this place on several levels, and would come away with some great photos.