Mesa Arch, Canyonlands

Photograph by Chris Carvalho , My Shot

Mesa Arch in Utah's Canyonlands National Park is one of the finest places for a photographer to start the day. This 4x5 negative was exposed with an old lens, a 121mm Schneider Super Angulon. It was a favorite of Ansel Adams. While an excellent optic for its time, it only had single-layer coating and was subject to more flare than modern lenses. In this instance, it created a starburst pattern with rainbow streaks that add greatly to the character of the image.

(This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot.)

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