Category: Southwest Deserts

Autumn in Zion

~ lawrencepallant ~ 8 Comments

I took about a week in Zion National Park in Utah. I was skeptical about going to Zion after having such a great time in the eastern Sierra, but that quickly changed. When I go out photographing I never know what I am going to find. While in Zion I found great autumn colors. But one day we had snow at the higher elevations.

Roots – Eastern Canyons of Zion

While driving in Zion, the day after the storm, I saw cars covered with snow coming from the higher elevations. I made up my mind to drive to the snow. I ended up in Bryce Canyon National Park at an elevation of about 8,000 feet.

Winter Wind in the Trees
Alone on a Hill
Winter Pines
Hoodoos of Bryce

After a day in the snow, I returned to the canyons of Zion. The storm had briefly filled some of the washes, taking away footprints and leaving patterns in the sand. The two colorful leaves in the photo below were placed there by me. The small brown leave was placed there by nature.

Sandy Wash after the Storm
Cliff Dwellers

On the following day I visited a higher elevation canyon in Zion and found the area delightfully dusted with snow from the days before.

Frosting of Snow
Dancers
Dancers in a Snowy Meadow
Frosty Leaves
Tracks – I was initially drawn to the rocks in the colorful sand. The tracks were an added bonus.

To see more photo from this collection, click here.

Super-moon from Laguna Mountains

~ lawrencepallant ~ 4 Comments

About a week ago we had a super moon. I decided to go to one of the peaks in the Laguna Mountains to capture the sunset and the moonrise. I was actually a little more hopeful to get a good sunset shot since, knowing this peak, I couldn’t imagine any foreground element to provide a context for the rising moon. This turned out to be the case.

As the sun was setting, I watched the golden light and shadows play on the peak.

Light on the Peak

As the sun was slipping over the western horizon, I shifted my position and tripod onto the peak.

Sunset in the Laguna Mountains

About a half hour after sunset, an orange moon rose through layers of haze and wisps of clouds.

Super Moon

Click here to see a few more photos from this excursion.