Windstone Arch is another photography secret spot! There is no trail and no signage marking its location. I found out about it from a photo ebook on the park online. Using the GPS coordinates from the ebook and my GAIA GPS app on my iphone, I was able find the general location easily, but it still took me an hour of searching to find the cave entrance, even though I parked only two hundred yards away. The entrance is very small and the arch is not visible from the outside. I highly recommend you scout out this site before you attempt to photograph it. You must crawl on your hands and knees to enter, and then contort yourself and your tripod at the far end of the cavern. It looks bigger inside than it actually is, and an average size person can barely sit upright in the space. A medium zoom lens in the 24-70 mm range works well. The timing of your shoot is critical, with the best light occurring about an hour after sunrise. If you are too early, the cavern is poorly lit, if you are too late, hot spots form on the cavern floor and walls. The dynamic range can be captured in one exposure, but several shots focus stacked on the arch and on rear portion of the cavern will improve your sharpness throughout the final image.
The amazing Windstone Arch! I have no explanation for the nature's artwork on the back cavern wall.
A vertical perspective reveals interesting relief and textures on the cavern floor. Reflected light through holes in the cavern walls illuminate the interior enough to create beautiful, rich colors throughout.
Looking toward the other end of the cave through Windstone Arch, there is a rich orange glow of reflected light. When shooting Windstone, you have to put your camera on a tripod along that back wall next to the large rock on the cavern floor. This shot is a combination of an exposure blend and focus stacking.
The same view from a vertical perspective.
There are many other arches near the site of Windstone Arch. I found this set of arches a few hundred feet away., catching some nice reflected light.