The Totem Pole from Hunt’s Mesa. Most folks who photograph from Hunt’s Mesa point their cameras north, capturing the stunning forms of the mesas and towers scattered across Monument Valley. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course – that view is superlative. But if you look northeast instead, you’ll find yourself looking down on the towers of the Totem Pole and Yei Bi Chei, which are much more commonly seen from below. And if you’re there at a particularly opportune moment, they’ll be graced from above by a gorgeous thunderhead just before sunset, as they were when I was there.

Tech info: Nikon D850 camera with Nikon 28-300mm lens at 170mm, 1/60 sec. at f/11, ISO 500.

Image ©2022 James D. Peterson