Zion National park

Various constraints meant that Phil and I were unavailable for our usual on location format in the UK this month. The upshot was that two national parks, Bryce and Zion, in the south-western American state, Utah, were given the green light instead. Although each location is visually outstanding, we plumped for Zion with its spectacular miles of weathered pink and red sandstone cross-hatched with vertical joints.

    There was a palpable air of excitement within the group as we meandered along the road through tunnels and-at times-perilously close to overhanging cliffs, while gawping and gasping at some of the most incredible scenery on the planet Finally, I learnt that a walk in awe-inspiring large scale scenery can produce an image from a small detail hidden in the shade.

     Several thousand feet of descent later, we had hit the Zion Canyon, where, over a million years, the Virgin River has cut a path through the Navajo Sandstone. At one point the canyon walls are 2,000 feet high and a mere 18 feet a part. Trekking in the river through the narrows section is a delicate procedure and must only be attempted when there is no imminent threat of flash floods.

     Our day had begun photographing Bryce Canyon in snow at over 8,000 feet and ended at Zion being greeted with magical end-of-day light with a few storm clouds gathering overhead.

Surrounding beautiful cottonwood trees had not yet shed their leaves and when backlit, their vibrant yellows formed an excellent color contrast with the red sandstone. Some of the canyons of the southwest, and Zion in particular, come alive when bright sunlight bounces off a cliff face onto another sandstone wall opposite, although to capture it-planning and correct timing is crucial. The grandeur of this national park is hugely impressive and the slick rock formations on the plateau are mesmerizing. The desert varnish-where minerals seep out of the rock and appear to paint the cliff face-is extremely photogenic, too. My favorite thing is to walk along the riverbank when it’s in the shade and under a cloudless blue sky.

Peter Wilman

Peter’s reflections on the shoot from Clive I learnt not to always look for the big picture and that often less is more. Phil taught me why to shoot Jpeg as well as RAW, and that what the camera meter sees is not the same as we see. Both Clive and Phil taught me time to compose them.

    I learnt at lot about composition from Clive and I am now determined to put this into practice.

Chris Howe

Chris’s reflections on the shoot I learnt to look at the detail near your feet, not just at the big view. Also, to use the angle finder rather than stooping down for low level images.

    I also discovered that it’s perfectly safe to take two images. With varying exposures for combining in Photoshop, and not use ND grad filters, especially when the horizons undulate wildly. Finally, I learnt that a walk in awe-inspiring large scale scenery can produce an image from a small detail hidden in the shade.