Classic Monument Valley with Belt of Venus

One my favorite photos I have ever taken.
Not only is this the iconic shot for wonderful Monument Valley, but also I was at the right place and right time to catch the fabled Belt of Venus, that wonderful pink arch over the blue hour band at the horizon. The only filter used for this shot was a Hoya Circular Polarizer.

Link for the Belt of Venus atmospheric phenomenon

Every day at Valley View Overlook around the time of dusk, photographers of all varieties are happily snapping away at the sweeping panorama with rapidly changing hues before them. I found the view better 100 feet northwest of the overlook at Taylor Rock, just opposite the parking lot of the Visitor's Center. That's this shot here.

The formations are West Mitten (left, 6176 feet summit) and East Mitten (6226 feet) Buttes with Merrick Butte on the right completing a triangle layout in the valley. They are obviously a main draw for the park, though there are many more incredible
rock formations here.

Monument Valley is a region of the Colorado Plateau with massive sandstone buttes which can reach 1,000 ft (300 m) above the valley floor. The border between Northern Arizona and Southern Utah runs along the upper third of the valley. It is part of the Navajo Nation Reservation and therefore is not a National Park, but is a Tribal Park with different rules. Hiking is very limited.

Monument Valley has been featured in so many movies that the area is what a lot of people think of as the American West. This is due to the famous movie director John Ford, who used the valley for its iconic buttes as background for a number of his popular Westerns. Hard to imagine then that the valley really is only 5 square miles (13 km) of the great expanse of the American West.

Single long exposure processed in Capture One.

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Taken in: United States / Arizona / Oljato-Monument Valley (show map)

Taken on: September 25, 2018

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Camera: Nikon D7200, f/25.0, 2.5 sec, 24mm (=36mm), ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D7200
Lens:	18-300 mm f/3.5-6.3
Aperture:	f/25.0
Exposure Time:	2.5
Focal Length:	24mm (35mm equivalent: 36mm)
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Scene Capture Type:	Landscape
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Capture One 20 Macintosh
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