In the winter of 2023 we went to southern Utah to escape the winter cold and provide me with yet another opportunity to improve my golf game. Neither goal was fully realized. But I did get to experience the surreal beauty of Bryce National Park under a deep cover of fresh snow.
Zion Subway Glow
The Subway in Zion National Park is a magical, iconic place. After seeing a photo so unlike anything we can really relate to, most photographers will seriously explore making this difficult all-day trek.
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Towers of the Virgin
This photo depicts why Zion is such a popular national park. A view like this and others equally striking are visible from the main road. No hiking required, but for the beautiful glow, you will need to get up before sunrise.
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Springdale Winter
The tiny town of Springdale, Utah sits at the entrance of one of the best national parks in the US, Zion National Park. Zion offers easy access to beautiful vistas for the casual tourist, strenuous hikes to challenge the physically fit and back canyons for skilled mountaineers. I had the privileged to stay here through the changing seasons…. twice!
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Rainbow at Panorama Point Capitol Reef National Park
This is one of the few times I successfully anticipated the location of a rainbow. After numerous periods of rain throughout the day and then some afternoon clearing, it seemed like Panorama Point in Capitol Reef National Park was the natural place to go.
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Peek-A-Boo Trail in Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park has numerous easily accessible vistas all looking down at the large amphitheater filled with vivid orange hoodoos. The shapes and scenery here are unlike anything you have been to before… (unless of course you have been to Cedar Breaks National Monument)
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Moab, Utah was just one of many small towns dotting my route as I frequently traveled between the University of Utah and my home town of Los Alamos, New Mexico. Stopping to explore this impressive landscape was never considered. Time was always short, rushing to get back to school, go skiing or to get home on a vacation. Now that I have nuttin’ but time on my hands I rented a VRBO cottage in downtown Moab. This great location did little good as many of the shops, restaurants and both photo galleries I wished to visit were closed, as February is considered the off season. Some shops were scheduled to open up the day we departed for Colorado. Many times while dining we were the only tourists in the cafe. It was fun listening to the business owners in town discuss the issues of the day. They seemed to look upon the inevitable onslaught of tourists starting in March with both great anticipation and trepidation. Goodbye to their quiet little town.
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Zion Waterfall
After a rain or the during the melting of an infrequent snow in Zion National Park, numerous temporary waterfalls are formed, which can disappear as quickly as they began. These photos were taken after what is likely our last snowfall of the year.
Zion Snow Melt
Pasture View
Back Seat Driver
Old cars and trucks are often difficult for a photographer to pass up. While driving a 52 mile dirt road loop in Capitol Reef National Park I stopped and photographed the above truck for well over an hour. These are not typical HDR (High Dynamic Range) images, rather they are multiple photos with varying exposures manually blended together. This is how the photo is able to show the dark interior of the truck while at the same time not over exposing the bright, sunny outdoors. To get the three cows to line up is yet another trick…. This was done by chasing the cows until they were in the proper position, then running back to the camera and hoping they had not moved.
Watering Hole
Flying Quad-Copter
Jarvie at the Controls
Met a fellow photographer in So. Utah over the weekend. He was very patient with my questions regarding his quadcopter (helicopter with 4 rotors) and a camera attached. It would seem he would get some wonderful viewpoints buzzing up and down waterfalls and cliffs in the area. While wedding photography may pay the bills, I can tell you he has some wonderful landscape photography. Go check out the site of Scott Jarvie, http://photos.jarviedigital.com/