Behind-the-Scenes with “Are You Worthy?” and “Forge”

Time once again for a behind-the-scenes video from a landscape photo shoot. Here’s an entry where I captured more than 1 portfolio photo in a single shoot. So, here’s the morning scene for my photos titled “Are You Worthy?” and “Forge.” Check it out for yourself.

I decided I wanted to try for a sunburst shot of the sun against the famous Thor’s Hammer hoodoo of Bryce Canyon. The hoodoo is the most famous formation of the park. I wanted an iconic photo of this huge chunk of rock for my portfolio. There was 1 big problem. I decided I wanted this photo during the lockdown of 2020. All national parks were closed and barricaded. So, I waited.

Eventually, the lockdown eased up and the national parks reopened. When it did, I anticipated the flood gates would open on the first day. As it turned out, I was correct. So, I waited for a couple more days until things quieted back down again. Then I made my morning trek to Bryce.

I arrived before dawn and hurried down the trail to set up in time for the sunrise. I was there in plenty of time for the glorious morning light.

To start things off, I positioned my tripod where I wanted to stand for the sunrise and started capturing frames leading up to that first burst of direct light over the horizon. During that pre-dawn window, I captured this photo titled “Are You Worthy?”. Here it is for your viewing pleasure.

With this beautiful photo captured, I started waiting for that magic moment when the sun would peek over the horizon. Then it happened. The sun shone over the edge of the world, and I was in the right place at the right time to capture it. That magic moment resulted in my landscape photo titled “Forge.”

I’m sure that the video shows just what a beautiful morning and sunrise I had to work with when I shot “Are You Worthy?” and “Forge.” The planning and the wait were worth it. If you want to learn more about how that landscape photo shoot went, then check out this article.

Every so often, a single shoot yields more than 1 photo for the portfolio. This shoot was 1 such happy occasion. These 2 different takes on the exact same sunrise are well worth the extra early morning wake-up call. You really couldn’t ask for much more here. So, now I turn things over to you, reader. What do you think of my photos titled “Are You Worthy?” and “Forge” now that you can see the bts video? Does the video add something to the pictures for you? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.