I Shot a Goblin

“Goblins are demons of any size, usually in human or animal form, that are supposed to assail, afflict, and even torture human beings.” From dictionary.com, this is what I had in mind when entering Goblin Valley State Park in Utah. What would I find there? How would I be tortured?

We arrived in this remote area of Utah late in the afternoon, ready to photograph the valley at sunset. We read that the best place to photograph was the far end of the valley where there is supposedly a “fantasyland of spires and chimneys”. Since we already visited Candy Land, we were game. We trudged up across the valley up and down small hills, building up a sweat and stopping often to catch our breath (we were at nearly 5,000 feet of elevation). After a bit, we arrived at our destination ready to photograph wondrous rock formations. And to our surprise, there were No spires. There were No chimneys. And, certainly there was No fantasyland. We were duped. Or, shall I say, we were tortured. Goblins can be so cruel.  We now had to rush back to the main viewing area to shoot sunset, with the goblins seamingly snickering all the way.

You can see a small dome on the far side of the valley, approximately 1:00. This is where we were tortured by the goblins.

We made it back just in time and were rewarded with a beautiful scene from the main viewing area.

At sunset the valley is bathed in warm light, the goblins resting in their places.

Kas went off on her own, risking more torture from the goblins.

She shot perched upon a hill just out of reach of the goblins. Smart girl.

Then the blue hour arrived and we got to see this:

I’ve been instructed over and over to always make sure to take a vertical. They were right!

Lastly, as the blue hour waned, I shot a panorama of the valley.

This panorama shows about 2/3 of the valley. I would have shot it all but there were obstructions to the left and right (other photographers).

Thanks for stopping by. And, remember, it’s all about the goblin light.