Walls of The Virgin River Narrows - Zion

Zion National Park, UT

The Virgin River Narrows is one of the most popular hikes in the park for good reason.

Walking through the shallow river between towering sandstone walls--weathered by years of erosion--is quite a mystical and beautiful experience. During the peak summer months, thousands of people come here each day. So I made sure that I was up dark and early for this hike, first on the trail. I also wanted to be there for the soft morning light in order to take a great shot. This giant rock in the middle of the narrows was quite peculiar and the soft lighting through the narrow walls made this scene particularly interesting. Using a polarizer and a tripod, I bracketed 5 stops to capture the full dynamic range. There was quite a contrast between the bright light at the top of the canyon and the shadows along the floor. The result is this HDR image, processed in Photomatix and digitally blended in Photoshop with the original 5 bracketed shots. Thanks to Dave Morrow for the tips on how to process this!

In the late morning the masses descend on The Narrows, and it can feel like a busy theme park rather than a pristine nature preserve. On my way out, I encountered a girl who took a rock out of this natural shelf in the wall and used it to scratch "I WAS HERE" in the wall. I couldn't believe I was seeing this act of vandalism first hand literally 10 feet from me while I had my tripod and camera set up. She paused and looked as if she was thinking about what else she could write when I decided to speak up. I got her attention and said to her, "Would you mind not doing that? I think it's a little disrespectful to others." She retorted, "It won't last." I shrugged my shoulders. She repeated her words, as I stared at her. She paused, threw the rock back into the shelf, and walked towards her mother in the river. The mother said something to her then continued on, but the girl stayed put. During this whole exchange I was ready to take a shot up the canyon, hoping that my neutral density (ND) filter would filter out the people as long as they continued to move. The girl remained gazing upwards at the walls, slowly looking left, then right. It was as if she was noticing the walls for the first time--perhaps she was appreciating the grand spectacle of where she had traveled to. At that moment, I decided to snap a shot of her. 35mm, ISO 100, f/22, 6 seconds, 3-stop ND filter.

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My Adventure in Fairyland

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

After about 10 weeks on the road I arrived in Bryce Canyon National Park, exhausted and drained of creative energy; to be honest, I was hardly excited to be there. Going through the motions, I set up camp and then stopped by one of the main view points of the Bryce Amphitheater. As I peered over the rim on the iconic view I was awestruck.

Sunset Point at Sunset

This place is spectacular and vast! At the same moment I was also hit with feelings of anxiety and fear, "How am I going to photograph such a place and do it justice?" I snapped off a couple of mediocre shots and began to plan my days (the shot above was taken on a following day). Since Bryce Canyon faces east, sunrise is the best time to view the structures. The late evening light seen above is still beautiful but fairly flat and certainly less dramatic than the morning. The first day I went to Sunrise Point to witness purple and pink clouds lining the sky and the yellow glow of the sun illuminating hoodoos in the amphitheater. This is why I get up at 5:15 in the dark...

A Majestic Morning

Following that epic sunrise, a walk through the Queen's Garden, Peek-a-Boo Loop and exiting through the Wall Street section of Navajo Loop rounded out the full morning. The Wall of Windows was particularly impressive with intricate towering walls.

The Wall of Windows

The summer monsoons came rolling in as expected and rained out the afternoon. The evening cleared up for a visit to Bryce Point where a storm to the south was brewing. Soon lighting strikes began to happen nearly every minute! As the light levels dipped I was able to capture some of these bolts which I've stacked together to create this composite image.

Feeling like that would be hard to top, the next morning I ventured into Fairyland at dawn. Duly named, this part of the canyon is a fantasy land. Tall Juniper & Pine, desert flowers, hoodoos, and sand dune-like-mountain ridges make up Fairyland Canyon. While wandering this solitary trail it's so easy to imagine one has been transported to another land. The hoodoos at Bryce Canyon are spectacular and deservedly get many photographers' attention, but what I really love at the park are the sand dune hills--the remains of fully eroded hoodoos--that have orange, pink and white hues. This off the beaten path trail lived up to its name. Here is a vertically stitched telephoto shot of a hillside as the morning light was dancing with it.

Bryce's Fairyland Mountains

This is my favorite scene of the trip so far, and I would love to see Bryce display this shot in their visitor center--blown up huge! What do you think? Needless to say I had a great time in Bryce.

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The Pink Wall

Rattlesnake Canyon, Utah

The Pink Wall

Enjoy some vibrant color!

This canyon, which is located in the same area as the heavily traveled Antelope Canyon, has beautiful sculpted walls that radiate color in the early morning light. The shapes and textures are all made by years of water running along sandstone. The colors have been enhanced a bit, however I feel they take nothing away from nature's brilliance and creativity.

As the only group shooting this canyon it was very pleasant compared to the downright chaotic Antelope Canyon. Having the space here allowed me to find my own shot and get a little more creative.

Let me know what you think, and thanks for viewing!

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A Fixture in the Night

Canyonlands National Park - Islands in the Sky

Mesa Arch & the Milky Way

Here is the heavily photographed Mesa Arch shot with light painting. I met up with a fun couple to go here at night and there was only one other photographer out. The sunrise here is absolute chaos with about 40+ people lined up to take basically the same shot.

I tried a vertical composition here to get the milky way and the arch in a more pleasing composition. What you can't see here at night is that this amazing arch sits on the edge of a cliff with a several hundred feet drop into a canyon below.

Seeing these places at night is like going to a whole new site. It's a great place to make something new and refreshing.

Thanks for viewing!
Prints for this image can be ordered through the website, just click on the image above.

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