Day 03 – Last Morning in Zion and First Evening in Bryce Canyon
Our participants were interested in learning how to create panoramas, so we got up early and headed out to one of the good locations where the sun hits the peaks first and makes them glow. Every time we photograph here, the light is different along with the skies.
Later, we went down toward the river and photographed the Datura, otherwise known as Moonflower, Witches Brew, and a host of other names. Charming plant. Beautiful to admire, but poisonous.
According to Wikipedia, the plants “contain toxic hallucinogens, and Datura has a long history of use for causing delirious states and death.” One Navajo story teller we know in Canyon de Chelly talks about how in past years, the Navajo saw no reason to fight their enemies when they could just slip some loco weed (another nickname) into their food, and they would die happy! As I said, charming plant!
We headed back to one last breakfast at our favorite spot, then loaded up our cars and plugged “Bryce Canyon” into our Garmins. The trip went quickly, and we all met up in our new imaging room, worked on selects, and had a good critique session.
It was time to head out to our first spot in Bryce Canyon. Get there too late, and the light disappears, and as those of you who have been with us know, “It’s all about the light.” We love the way the light plays on the hoodoos and spires.
Whenever I come to this location, there is a formation that always draws my eye, but the light has never been right for what I want … either too much or too little. Today, I liked what I saw of this natural cement top.
Storm clouds crawled towards us. We could see sheets of rain in the distance. Then, the wind came up in hard gusts and we saw several multi-prong zaps of lightning. Since all the signs recommend waiting out these storms in one’s car, we beat a hasty retreat. After all, some of our tripods are metal as was the fence surrounding the cliff edges! Still, it was stunning.
Next: Morning Fire and Evening Patterns
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