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How-to's

Superstition Mountains, Arizona

Gerry Mulligan (Gerry M)


Keywords: landscape, sunset, light, gerrym

I am very fortunate to live in the northeast part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. It is quite a large valley. My subject, the Superstition Mountains in the Lost Dutchman State Park, formations that make for a large part of its north-eastern boundary. It can be a good hour drive to get to them from my home, sometimes longer depending on the traffic on the freeway.

01

General map of the area
Click for an enlargement

 

There were scattered storms forecast for the valley that day.  Watching the radar, popcorn storms started popping up for late morning and early afternoon.  I decided to drive from my home at around 2 pm. That should allow me to get to a suitable location to setup and shoot from about 3:30 PM until sunset, at about 6:35 PM. The storm clouds, although threatening, were a sky enhancement for the occasion.  So my intention was to make a study of how the changes of light changed the mountains.

To get my bearings more efficiently I use a very convenient app: “The Photographer’s Ephemeris” or TPE. The cropped screen shot below shows where I was roughly standing with the sunset location for that day (the orange line on the left).   I find this program useful when I'm planning sunrise-sunset landscape shoots. It show distance between points, bearings, elevation, when the sun and moon will rise, etc. It is available for Android, iOS and desktop.

02

TPE cropped screen shot of my position

 

Looking south, the Superstition Mountains are one mile away on the left and about 2 miles away on the right side from where I stood.  I was about a quarter mile down one of the trails at Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction, Arizona. 

There is some 2,000 feet of additional elevation to the peaks from where I stood.  The orientation of the topography is such that it is a wonderful place for sunsets. 

This was the monsoon season for Arizona in September 2015.  The storm in the first image below was concerning for a while, but it ended up missing us with only a few sprinkles. 

03

As the storm approached the sun was hidden behind clouds
Nikon D300, 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 22mm, f/9, 1/250s, ISO 400 Image made at 4:15 PM.

Click for an enlargement

 

04

When the storm cleared, the walls were sunlit
Nikon D300, 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 22mm, f/11, 1/200s, ISO 400 Image made at 5:00 PM

Click for an enlargement

 

05

As it got closer to sunset, the “Golden Light” came up
Nikon D300, 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 20mm, f/13, 1/160s, ISO 400 Image made at 6:11 PM.

Click for an enlargement

 

06

And then I remembered “Turn around” and turned to the west
Nikon D300, 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55mm, f/13, 1/1250s, ISO 400 Image made at 6:32 PM.

Click for an enlargement

 

07

With little time to spare I captured the fiery “Red Light” on the rocks
Nikon D300, 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 23mm, f/13, 1/13s, ISO 400 Image made at 6:34 PM.

Click for an enlargement

 

I thought it could be worthwhile to see all four images together to appreciate why and how the light changes affected the mountains, and in a relatively short time.

08

The Superstition Mountains under the storms and different light
Click for an enlargement

 

The shooting session only took well under three hours. I hope you liked the results. I enjoyed it a lot.

 

 

(17 Votes )

Originally written on May 30, 2016

Last updated on December 31, 2020

Gerry Mulligan Gerry Mulligan (Gerry M)

Phoenix/Cave Creek, USA
Silver, 595 posts

10 comments

mark temen (mtemen) on October 6, 2016

Very nice results. I've been in the same spot and experienced the wonder of how the light and clouds change the outcome in just minutes. You really have to be on your toes and looking in all directions. Nice work!!! Mark

Jim Jordan (Snappo) on July 28, 2016

Donor Ribbon awarded for his generous support to the Fundraising Campaign 2015 Ribbon awarded for his generous donation to the 2109 Fundraising Campaign

We lived in Apache Junction at the base of the Superstitions for the first 15 years of our retirement. Great story and a wonderful place to get these great images. Excellent work Gerry.

Gerry Mulligan (Gerry M) on July 9, 2016

In terms of the changing f-stop. I have to say, it was changes that seemed to look "better" when checking the LCD at the time. In reality I don't think it made any difference at all. I probably should have simply left it at f9 and not worry about it. --Gerry

Howard J. Oechsner (Howard Oechsner) on June 6, 2016

Having lived in the best valley of Phoenix for 29 years before retiring to Santa Fe, I know those mountains well and have hiked and photographed them many times. Nice work with the shoot that day! I do have one question for you - what was your thinking behind closing the aperture a bit as it got later in the day (f9 at 4:15 pm, f11 at 5:00 pm and f13 at 6:11 and 6:34 pm). It seems the small changes would be nearly imperceptible in effecting the depth of field in such broad sweeping images. Just wondering what your thinking was.

Tom Feazel (tfeazel) on June 6, 2016

Donor Ribbon awarded for his support to the Fundraising Campaign 2014

Here in Florida, I'm usually shooting sunrise and sunset directly into the sun. But your advice to turn around probably works here, as well. We have a tropical storm for most of this week, but the first chance I get, I will give that a try.

Tom Feazel (tfeazel) on June 6, 2016

Donor Ribbon awarded for his support to the Fundraising Campaign 2014

Here in Florida, I'm usually shooting sunrise and sunset directly into the sun. But your advice to turn around probably works here, as well.we have a tropical storm for most of this week, but the first chance I get, I will give that a try.

Robert Boser (rboser2) on June 3, 2016

Thanks for sharing this. I loved your "4-up" showing the different light you experienced in your shoot. And thanks for the tip on the TPE app!

John Hernlund (Tokyo_John) on May 31, 2016

Spectacular work Gerry. I love those mountains, wish I could hike them every day.

Marsha Edmunds (meadowlark2) on May 30, 2016

Donor Ribbon awarded for her support to the Fundraising Campaign 2014 Fellow Ribbon awarded for her continuous encouragement and meaningful comments in the spirit of Nikonians. Donor Ribbon awarded for her generous support to the Fundraising Campaign 2015 Ribbon awarded for her generous support to the Fundraising Campaign 2017 Awarded for her in-depth knowledge and high level of skill in several areas.  Awarded for winning in The Best of Nikonians 2019 Photo Contest

Gerry - You teach a good lesson with this article. Light can take on many characteristics and it is worth taking time at a location to see what develops. What a great location.

User on May 30, 2016

This is a beautiful area we live in, so desolate but with its own beauty. Nice work Gerry

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