TRIP UPDATES

Carl is trying something new with his photography trip to Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. With the wonderful developments in Wi-Fi and digital technology, Carl will be providing daily updates on activities and feature images from his trip. Several of these images, along with photos taken during an October 2001 trip with fellow photograper Andrew Von Bank, will be featured in a special exhibition in the gallery at the Ship Creek Center starting with First Friday in March.

Day One - Thursday, February 2

Arrived in Zion National Park at around 2:00 p.m. and enjoyed the rare pleasure of driving all the way up the scenic canyon drive in the park. During the peak season, this is not an option as private traffic is prohibited. Visitors are required to ride a shuttle bus system through the scenic drive. I spent most of the afternoon scouting the scenic drive and through the east end of the park on the road toward Bryce Canyon. I saw a group of four rather habituated mule deer that allowed me and several other visitors to walk on a path within five feet of them.

Day Two - Friday, February 3

After a brief flare up of some color on the west canyon wall at sunrise, the light went pretty diffuse for the rest of the day. I spent the morning hiking at the end of the canyon drive toward the area called the Narrows, then proceeded to hike up to some emerald pools and back down along the Virgin River. I later discovered a good vantage point for photographing the south canyon wall, which sits to the east of the town of Springdale.

Day Three - Saturday, February 4

Spectacular, brilliant light this morning in the canyon! I thought I would try something different and head up to the east end of the park, near the formation known as Checkerboard Mesa. I could tell that it would not be a good place to capture the first of the morning light, so I headed back down into the main canyon to find brilliant golden light blazing all about. I had a superb "found image" moment, in the true spirit of Galen Rowell's work, and even drove in reverse back up the highway to find a spot to pull over. I then had to set up my tripod in the middle of the highway, as it was the only place to align a sillhouette of a tree against a bright golden peak. I had equally superb luck down along the river later, with bright golden peaks glimmering above deep shadows and a river that refelected a mutlitude of colors. In late morning I headed up the road to Bryce Canyon National Park. By the time I got up there, the skies were dominated by thick overcast clouds. Right at sunset, however, a bright band of red illuminated the horizon behind some ponderosa pines.

Day Four - Sunday, February 5

I arose this morning pre-dawn to head out to Sunset Point (seems a bit counterintuitive, doesn't it?) to catch the sunrise. I was pleased to get outside and see stars shining through the dark sky that was starting to show blue on the edges. The sunrise did not disappoint, giving me beautiful golden light to capture the images that drew me here in the winter. Pure white snow with the golden red clay hoodoo formations and deep blue skies. After sunrise had finished its course, I drove down the park road for a little while and came upon a group of about ten mule deer, including a fawn and a buck. Afterward, I hiked around on the Navajo Loop Trail for some good exercise and hopes of capturing a few good images. Sunset turned out to not be as good for light on the hoodoo formations, but provided some other nice opportunities.

Day Five - Monday, February 6

Another early morning, but fortunately, the Best Western Ruby's Inn where I am staying is only about a five minute drive from where I wanted to be this morning. Nature photographer and workshop instructor John Shaw has said that the "Three Ms" are a nature photographer's enemy. They are: mates, meals and motels. Siimply put, they can interfere with a good shot if you only stay at motels or wait for a restaurant to open to get your meal. Many of the best photo locations are far removed from the comforts of civilization. Fortunately, that is not the case here at Bryce. As I arrived at Sunrise Point, I came upon another photographer and a woman I will assume was his wife, waiting at the canyon rim about seventy yards from where I planned to set up. The other photographer commented he didn't think there was someone else crazy enough to get up for the sunrise. It was bitter cold and windy, but that also meant it was clear. I thought of making some wisecrack about being from Alaska and having a different concept of cold, but I refrained. It was a beautfiul sunrise and I was able to execute a photo I had previsualized the previous day. I spent the rest of the morning scouting locations along the rim for possible evening shots on my last evening and morning in the park.

Day Six - Tuesday, February 7

I started the day with a hike up a steep hill to get to Inspiration Point for sunrise. Due to some thin clouds along the horizong muting the morning sun, the early light was anything but inspiring. I was going to catch a flight for some aerial photography of Bryce and Grand Canyon, but when the pilot told me they don't open the windows because the plane goes too fast, I decided against it. There was no way I was going to drop that kind of money to shoot through plane windows that would muck up the clarity of my photos. I refrained from commenting on how pilots in Alaska will not only allow photographers to open a window, they will sometimes even take off a door. Instead, I took the long way back to Zion via Brian Head (a ski resort town in the Dixie National Forest) and Cedar City, stopping at the lesser visted portion of Zion known as Kolob Canyon. I decided to go back their for evening photography. This trip has made me realize how much people miss out on truly enjoying their national parks by visiting them in the summer and early fall. For an entire stretch of 45 miles through the Dixie National Forest near the Cedar Breaks National Monument, I did not see a single car. There are no crowded trails or visitas, no wildlife traffic jams to contend with. The only down side is the scarcity of open businesses.

I had a spectactular, yet a little scary, evening. I drove up the Kolob Terrace through the heart of the park, climbing up through sage brush desert to eventually on a plateau in full view of many of the cabins. The light was fantastic and I had several fantastic opportunities. The scary part came when I found myself thirty miles up this road and suddenly on a gas tank guage that read empty. Fortunately, it was all downhill, so I coasted down to the main highway and drive seven miles to the nearest town to refuel.

Day Seven - Wednesday, February 8

Not much shooting this morning. I had two specific images that I wanted to go back and try again, working on perfecting the vision. After a brief outing on the east side of the park, I headed back down to Las Vegas to catch a flight to Denver for the annual NANPA Summit. I will be there through Saturday afternoon before I return to Anchorage for the Anchorage Wedding Fair on Sunday.