Double Arch, Cloud and Sky

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona

I wait, camera in hand. This rare double arch, high on a desert ridge, is framed nicely by my telephoto lens. But something is not quite right; the composition is not complete. Clouds slowly pass behind the ridge, their shapes evolving even as I watch. My patience is rewarded; a cloud passes directly behind the arch and I press the shutter. Cloud shape echoes cliff shape, and each arch becomes a cloud shape in the rock. Since both cloud and rock are caught at one instant in the process of being sculpted by the wind, this exact pattern will never be repeated again.

Date: March 10, 2001
Time: 11:14am MST
Location: Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona
Camera: Olympus OM-1 35mm SLR
Film: Fuji Provia 100 slide
Focal length: 200mm
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure time: 1/500 second
Scanner: Nikon Coolscan LS-10E