Where in the world can you find over 2,000 natural arches, a balanced rock, a “devil’s garden” and a night sky dark enough for taking stellar astrophotos? On road trip day 6 we found just such a location: Arches National Park.
Below is a collection of our favorite photos from the trip, using our Fuji X-T1.

Daytime long exposure at Arches (14mm/2.8 and neutral density filter, 30 seconds, f/2.8, ISO 200)
Above left: Delicate Arch accessible viewpoint at Arches National Park (cell phone photo)
DID YOU KNOW?
In order for an arch to be considered an arch, the opening must span a minimum of 3 feet in any direction. Read more about the arches at Arches on the NPS website.
PHOTOGRAPHING THE MILKY WAY AT ARCHES
Though we reserved a campsite at Devil’s Campground, we only used it for about 4 hours. There was no sleeping in for us at this campsite because of the hot rising sun. That, paired with a 4am bedtime, made us two sleepy travelers the next day.
We did end up with some colorful photos, though. (Below photos by Ian with the X-T1.)

Milky Way over Devil’s Garden, Arches (14mm/2.8, 8 x 25 seconds stitch, f/2.8, ISO 6400)

Milky Way at Arches (14mm/2.8, 25 seconds, f/2.8, ISO 6400)

Milky Way at Balanced Rock, Arches (14mm/2.8, 30 seconds, f/2.8, ISO 6400)

Milky Way at Arches (23mm/1.4, 6 x 10 seconds stitch, f/1.4, ISO 6400)

Milky Way at Arches (23mm/1.4, 13 seconds, f/1.4, ISO 6400)
PHOTOGRAPH THE MILKY WAY
Get Started! If you’re interested in getting into Milky Way photography, check out our free info and tutorials on lonelyspeck.com (our Milky Way photography website). You can also download a free copy of Ian’s Quick Guide to Astrophotography.
WHERE DO ALL THE COLORS COME FROM?
The rainbow of colors in these photos come form a variety of sources. See the chart below for details, and read more about airglow on lonelyspeck.com.
We hope you enjoyed our photos from Arches! Check out more posts from our summer road trip here.
About the Author
- In March 2014, Diana called it quits on her traditional American working life and set out to explore the world with her partner in crime (and love of her life) Ian Norman. They now live a sustainable life of full time travel, working for themselves and seeking adventure at the same time. Here on North to South, Diana documents their journey in achieving and maintaining this "road less traveled" way of life.
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