DHPSP is one of the primary tourist attractions in the SE Utah/Moab area. DHPSP is also the place that the brother of a friend --or someone-- had chosen to get married late yesterday afternoon. It was an extremely low key and highly casual affair, and was attended by 15 (or 18, I didn't count) friends and family, including the fiddle & guitar duo who stood in the murky shade of a large juniper the entire time and softly played adapted Grateful Dead tunes as each of the others milled randomly about. Myself, I'd probably not have known about the wedding, or would've attended --I'd never met, so did not know, the couple-- had another friend altogether not asked a week or so before whether I might shoot the rite, and I'd agreed.

Back in the early '80's I was one of perhaps a dozen 'stringers' who photographed for a commercial Portrait/Wedding Studio for a time, so it wasn't as if I was clueless as to what to expect. In this particular instance, I also gleaned that nobody knew what to expect, realistically, since none of the party had thought to ask for or try to find an actual photographer and presumably figured that whatever cell phone shots anybody got would more than suffice.

I have herded cats extensively (as an NPS Park Ranger), and I like to believe I have a fair bit of experience herding (or shaping, or chasing) light and shadow under glaring afternoon/evening conditions in Utah's out-of-doors. And what with the controls available in today's image editing software(s), figured I could tame most of the unruly and contrasty cats. The only thing I couldn't control was the more or less constant squinting that was imposed on the principles by the close to setting sun. It was what it was. and what it was, simply was. And the challenge --both in the shooting and in the now in progress image processing-- was/is a whole lot of fun. Plus, the tenderloin & veggie kebabs --& etc.-- that were grilled by a master chef and were sumptuously served after the ceremony were literally to DIE for!

I'm intentionally NOT posting shots of the now-wed couple, or of any of the guests. For what I'd hope would be obvious reasons. Heck, I'm likewise not posting anything I might've shot after the nuptials and the vittles were complete, and if I'd stopped and shot at 'the Point' where hundreds of random tourorists were out shooting the sunset and the glowing cliffs and whatever-all selfies they were shooting. 'Cuz I didn't stop, and didn't shoot anything amidst those teeming touroids. I did climb up a short way from outside the picnic area in which the wedding took place, though, just for the heckofit.