Raining Gnats
We heard that Antelope Island State Park is one of the better places to see the Great Salt Lake and decided to go during the early evening. When we pulled up to the entrance, the attendant warned us that the gnat situation was pretty bad. As we drove into the park, we heard heavy rain hitting our rental car. Except it wasn’t rain – it was biting gnats. They were everywhere and we were definitely surprised by the onslaught!
Since we were already there and had slated a couple of hours to drive/hike around the island, we decided to continue our visit as planned. That evening I ended up with almost 10 bites! Even with flailing my arms every few seconds to swat the gnats away. I rolled down the window for some of the shots thinking that it would be safer, only to realize that a couple of gnats hitchhiked with us back to our AirBnB! That was not a pleasant surprise! But the views were incredible.
Antelope Island State Park (Golden Hour)
Originally, I wanted to arrive around 10pm to do some astrophotography, since the light pollution is not horrible and I thought I could get a nice Milky Way shot with the city in the background. I then discovered that the sun wasn’t going to set until 10pm, and the stars probably weren’t going to be out until past 11pm, which was too late for me as I had a conference the next morning and it was about a 40min drive back into the city. So I just focused on the lake itself.
There were several short hikes around the area and we pulled over on the side of the road to take photographs. As the sun set, I saw the perfect opportunity to get a golden hour shot right as the sun hit the mountains in the background. I love this shot because it makes the lake seem so peaceful and warm. I didn’t want to set up my tripod, so I bumped up the ISO to shorten the shutter speed. This allowed me to get the shot quickly before I could get more gnat bites.
The next photograph is similar in composition, but I put the sun on the right instead to show more of the Great Salt Lake. A lot of birds flew through and I wanted to freeze some of them in the image, so again I increased my ISO and used a quick shutter speed to freeze the birds in flight. I love the tones in the sky and wanted to capture as much of it as I could.
Antelope Island State Park (Blue Hour)
After the sun set, we went on a short 0.25mi hike that gave us additional views of the Great Salt Lake. I love taking mirror shots of landscapes, and the water was so calm that this shot was pretty easy to get. The golden and blue hues give the image some nice contrast. I also love how the mountains are silhouetted against the sky.
This next photograph is one of the most unique ones I took of the Great Salt Lake. It was also the most difficult to frame in terms of composition. I really like how Salt Lake City appears small in the background. In addition, the mirror effect of the mountains from the Great Salt Lake, coupled with the visible receding marks on the shoreline make for a wonderfully complex composition.
It was really lucky to have such calm waters so I didn’t need to plant a tripod to get the mirror shots. Imagine trying to do all of that while trying to keep the gnats off skin and camera equipment. Definitely not something I’d want to do!
The quick trip to Antelope Island State Park was a great introduction to the Great Salt Lake and to the city itself. I highly recommend at least a quick visit!
A Bit of History of Antelope Island
Antelope Island is a whopping 28,022 acres. Contrary to what the name suggests, antelopes were absent from the island for many years. It wasn’t until 1993 that they were reintroduced. The island is also home to about 600 American Bison.
During its prehistory, the Fremont tribe inhabited the area, followed by the Spanish in the 1600s and the Ute tribe until the 1840s. The American explorer/soldier/politician John C. Frémont mapped the Great Salt Lake and its islands in 1843 and gave Antelope Island its name in 1845 after the antelope meat that was acquired there.
A lesser known settler, Daddy Stump, grew orchards in the area when the Mormon pioneers arrived in 1848. No one really knows what happened to Stump. Some say he left the island in 1849, and others say he disappeared in 1856. In either case, the Antelope Island State Park occasionally holds a Daddy Stump History Tour.
In 1893, people started bringing in wildlife such as bison, sheep, pheasants, deer, and elk. They also mined for minerals and oil. It wasn’t until 1969 that the state of Utah bought 2,000 acres in the northern part of the island and declared it a state park. In 1981, Utah bought the remaining 26,000 acres in the southern part of the island. However, the development of the park was not without obstacles. In 1983, rising lake waters flooded the area, causing the park to close. The highest water level recorded, so far, was in 1987 when the water level reached 4,211 feet above sea level. Massive pumps pumped the water into the desert. It wasn’t until 1993 that the park reopened to the public.
As usual, comments, conversations, feedback, and messages are always welcome!
Very pretty. Love all pictures!! Thanks for sharing..
Thanks!