The House on Fire Ruins has been a bucket list item for about 35 years. I was finally able to visit the site in June of 2019. I spent a good hour photographing, observing, testing, in hopes of getting that shot I was looking for. I thought everything was good, came home, looked at the photos on a large monitor, and that’s when it hit me…. I missed focus. So honestly, it wasn’t too terrible, but there was one spot on the image that wasn’t in focus. Now, most people wouldn’t have noticed it until I pointed it out, and even then, they would be struggling to see it, but I saw it. It was a glaring mistake that stuck out like a sore thumb. I knew that I would have to come back for another attempt because this place meant so much to me that I wanted that “perfect” photo. I didn’t cross it off my list and figured when I am visiting that area of Utah again, and I’ll fit this in my itinerary.

First off, why is this place so special to me? When I was about 7, I remember vividly going on our first summer family trip out of state. We were going to be spending a week in St George, Utah and visit Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and so on. Now, I wasn’t a smart kid, and honestly, it’s probably debatable that I am smart now, so hearing the news, I had a bunch of questions. I remember sitting in my patio with my friend and neighbor at the time, Roger Martinez, trying to figure what language do they speak in Utah, and how do I talk to the locals? I went to the Torrance Public Library and found a random book on Utah. I was flipping through the pages, and that’s when I first saw a photo of the house on fire ruins. It was a black and white photo, but the textures, and flame looking rock, everything about this amazed me. Growing up in the Los Angeles area, I didn’t have much of a relationship with nature or anything outside of city life. Sure I have been to Griffith park, but I am talking out in the middle of nowhere nature. I had no idea stuff like this existed up to that point, and that sparked my interest and desire to explore. Just that one photo completely changed my trajectory in life. My well being is based on my ability to have easy access to public land to explore. In 2010, I had to move to San Antonio, TX, for work. While yes, Texas has a lot of history to see and learn, it’s mostly fenced off to the public with only 1.77% open public land. I lasted 18 months, and the first opportunity to come back to the west, I took it. I couldn’t handle it. Also, the humidity, mosquitos, and tex-mex were also deciding factors, but I digress. I do believe a photograph can inspire people and change lives just as it did to me.

Fast forward to 2020, My travel plans originally were to spend a week in Yellowstone National Park to do more wildlife photography., Well the pandemic that hit us in March pretty much shut down all my travel plans. For five months, I stayed local, but I was getting restless. I have not taken any time off from work for the first six months of the year, and I was feeling it. In early July, I decided to plan a trip to take a long weekend somewhere. I researched all my travel notes and decided to head out to the Capitol Reef National Park area. A couple of factors that went into that decision. I wanted to maintain as much physical distancing as possible. Out of Utah’s Big 5, Capitol Reef is the least visited National Park. In the height of the summer vacation season, I never had a problem with crowds or lack of parking.

Also, Capitol Reef is an International Dark Sky Park, so it would be the perfect place to photograph the Milky Way and also see the Perseid Meteor showers. The meteor showers were scheduled for early August, so the hotel was booked and time off scheduled. I arrived at the hotel on a Wednesday, and that evening I drove out to Goblin Valley State Park to stargaze and to do some test shots.

My star tracker was working great, found a good composition or two for the next night of photography. I was good to go. Thursday was when everything changed. Thursday morning was fine, explored a little, hike a trail or two, but the afternoon, a thick fog of smoke had descended into the area. California is on fire again, and the winds changed, bringing smoke into the area. I could barely make out the mountains and mesas through the smoke. My milky way shooting was a no go. Thursday evening, I started going through my notes again, looking for a plan. I saw that the House on Fire ruins was only a 2-hour drive, and the conditions I was experiencing would not have a negative effect on my shot. While the daytime temps were hot, they weren’t triple digits, and most importantly, no thunderstorms were forecasted.

I made the 2.5-hour drive down to the mule canyon trailhead, and paid my $5 fee and was pleasantly surprised I was the only one there. Now, this place is out in the middle of nowhere, so don’t expect large crowds, but there might be a car or two. It was 9 am and descended into the canyon to make the 45-minute walk. To get to the ruins, its only 1 mile, so it’s not a difficult long hike, but that doesn’t mean there isn't any danger. The best time to shoot this is during the summer months, and late morning, so you’ll be out during the heat of the day. Pack light, wear sunscreen, bring lots of water, and wear appropriate shoes. Flip Flops and a 16oz water bottle isn’t going to cut. The closest town is 1 hour away, so if you get into trouble, help will be a little while.

For equipment, all I had was my D810, 14-24mm, a remote, and a tripod. I arrived at the ruins at about 9:45 am. I got set up, found my composition, and then just waited for the sun. It was nice to lay on the sandstone and listen to the crow's squawk, feel the breeze, and honestly, I fell asleep for a few. It was just a peaceful place to be. When its time to shoot, you need the sun to be at the highest point in the sky. To get the effect on the ruins, you need the reflective light from across the canyon and the sandstone shelf your standing on the light up the ruins. Otherwise, your image will look very flat. At about 11:15 am, the light was getting good, and I started shooting. I shot 12 image blocks to focus stack to ensure I have every inch in focus. When you're at the ruin, you’ll notice the roof is “pointing” towards you, the houses are angling away from you, and the gound has these interesting layers that are pointing down to the right. It’s a very complex scene. Also, I set the picture control to vivid. I wanted to capture as much red and orange tones as possible. I had a good hour with the light. I didn’t feel rushed. So if you show up and there is a crowd, there is plenty of time for everyone to get their shots. I shot the scene several times to make sure I got it

Processing might be a bit controversial? The scene is very monotone earth colors. Shooting in vivid helps warm up the image and bring out the red and oranged. This is called the House on Fire ruins, so I want it to look like it's on fire. I did push the reds, oranges, and saturation a bit farther than I normally would to get the effect I was looking for. It’s an artist's interpretation of the scene. After my processing, everything came out exactly as I had hoped. Focus stacking sharpened up the image. While I did post the image on the landscape page of this site, I will continue to tweak while I get it ready for print. Overall I am happy I finally got it, and its been finally crossed off.