Valley Of Fire Sunrise by Steve Perry

Valley Of Fire Sunrise by Steve Perry

YES! I finally got it! I “discovered” this photo several years ago in Valley Of Fire State Park, NV. I always liked the idea of this shot, and thought that under the right conditions it might be a keeper. The first time I saw it was at sunset – so no starburst or anything, but with the right clouds and color I thought it could be good (back then I wasn’t as vigilant about figuring the exact location of sunrise / sunset – I know better now). I continued to go back, probably a dozen times over the last four years, each time being met with either complete overcast or dreadfully clear conditions. It got to the point I didn’t even need to think about the composition anymore – I’d practiced the shot so many times! Then one morning as I was shooting the opposite direction, busily focusing on what turned out to be a mediocre photo, the sun hit my back. When I turned around and saw where the sun was coming up I got pretty excited – now THAT had some potential! The sky was crystal clear, so it wasn’t exactly the shot I was idealizing in my mind – and besides, no way to get the camera set up fast enough (to get a good starburst, the sun has to be right next to a hard object – you only get a few minutes before it moves on). All I could think was with the right clouds, that would be a knock-out photo! It’s funny – all these times I’d been trying to get the shot at the wrong time of day! Now, the pressure was on. The sun was coming up in a location that was compositionally perfect, but that wouldn’t last. Another week or so either way and it would be in the wrong spot – yeah, it was incredibly lucky I happend to see it when I did, at the exact right time of year! So, I went back the next morning… And got skunked by clear skies (but hey, at least I was setup in the right direction this time) It was disappointing, but I was determined to get the shot so I stayed on one more day, hoping this would FINALLY be the day the magic happened… And it did. It’s kind of funny. People always ask me how I get some of the shots here on the site (most of the time with an overtone of “Gee you faked that”), but the fact is, many of the shots here are a result of trying again and again until I get the image I’m after. www.backcountrygallery.com