Posts Tagged ‘vista’

Zion National Park

The Watchman at Zion National Park ©TimeLine Media
The Watchman at Zion National Park ©TimeLine Media

Springdale, Utah

Last summer, we spent a couple of days touring Zion National Park. Undeniably this is a place to exercise your photography skills. Surprisingly, I was happier with the photos from here compared to the Grand Canyon. In contrast to my shoot at the canyon, I was confident I had something memorable. The light at sunrise and sunset was beautiful against the tall mountains. Accordingly the deep blue skies were a nice compliment to the sandy colored mountains.

Early morning light on mountain top in Zion National Park ©TimeLine Media
Early morning light on mountain top in Zion National Park ©TimeLine Media
Early morning light on mountain top in Zion National Park ©TimeLine Media

In the middle of the day, the hard shadows emphasize the crevasses against the mountain. Since it was not the best time of day to shoot, we did a lot of hiking at this time. Angels Landing was suggested by our tour guide as a challenge to complete. Seeing that I had not heard of this trail before, we researched it and attempted the long hike. To that end, we were treated to a breathtaking view from the top! Although the trail continued on, I did not have the courage to continue the section studded with chains. My fear of heights and my camera gear haul would not let me go any further!

Virgin River through the valley ©TimeLine Media
Looking into the valley from Angel's Landing ©TimeLine Media
Looking into the valley from Angel’s Landing ©TimeLine Media
©TimeLine Media
Milky Way galaxy center over dark skies ©TimeLine Media
Milky Way galaxy center over dark skies ©TimeLine Media

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Monument Valley

John Ford point in Monument Valley with a rider on a horse ©TimeLine Media
John Ford point with a rider on a horse ©TimeLine Media

Utah and Arizona

Continuing a series of posts from a trip to the Southwest United States, this is from a stop in Monument Valley, UT. Without a doubt, this was one place I knew was going to be a bucket-list place to make photos. Being that it is in so many movies, it is almost instantly recognizable as the American West. The initial photo is from John Ford Point named for the director of many movies in the Westerns genre. This was above all the most tourist-y place in the park, but having a rider on a horse in that setting is worthy of a cliche image.

Panorama stitch of multiple photos at Monument Valley ©TimeLine Media
Panorama stitch of photos at the Navajo Tribal Park Visitor Center ©TimeLine Media
Thumb Butte along the Navajo trail ©TimeLine Media
Thumb Butte along the Navajo trail ©TimeLine Media

From a photography perspective, there is a pleasing combination of colors here. On one hand the clear blue skies complements the red sands of the rock. With the dry desert air, there is no haze to contend with making all the images sharp right out of camera.

West Mitten Butte and East Mitten Butte ©TimeLine Media
West Mitten Butte and East Mitten Butte ©TimeLine Media
Close up of large butte ©TimeLine Media
Along the car trail through Monument Valley ©TimeLine Media

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Bryce Canyon

Inspiration Point view through a high dynamic range image ©TimeLine Media
Inspiration Point view through a high dynamic range image ©TimeLine Media

Utah

This post continues a trip through the American Southwest with the stop in Bryce Canyon National Park. Until I had seen it for myself, this was not high on my list of places to see. With this in mind, that was the reason we did not budget enough time to explore the area.

Storm clouds approaching Inspiration Point in Bryce Canyon ©TimeLine Media
Storm clouds approaching Inspiration Point ©TimeLine Media

Following the Rim Trail, you will come to this panorama at Inspiration Point. At this point, you will be presented with a grand view of the section of the canyon named Bryce Amphitheater. Stretching out is a layered view of hoodoos – irregularly eroded rock formations. Obviously this view really blew me away! Particularly the contrast in other canyons I have visited – Bryce had a different color, and jagged formation as far as you could see. When we were at the top, we could see approaching clouds. So, creating HDR images would bring out a little more interest from the sky. I will definitely be back to visit at either sunrise or sunset – this could have some magical color in that kind of light!

Irregular spikes of eroded rock named 'hoodoos' from the canyon rim ©TimeLine Media
Irregular spikes of eroded rock named ‘hoodoos’ from the canyon rim ©TimeLine Media
View from Inspiration Point at the top of Bryce Canyon National Park ©TimeLine Media
View from Inspiration Point at the top of Bryce Canyon National Park ©TimeLine Media
Irregular spikes of eroded rock named 'hoodoos' from the canyon rim ©TimeLine Media
Irregular spikes of eroded rock named ‘hoodoos’ from the canyon rim ©TimeLine Media

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703-864-8208

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