Turning up canyon on Floor of the Valley Road from Canyon Junction, the first trolley stop you come to (after Canyon Junction) is Court of the Patriarchs Viewpoint. If you can convince yourself to climb a bit higher up the somewhat steep hillside behind and above the overlook, you reach a vista from where, looking across to the opposing canyon wall, you are nearly face-to-face with the magnificent visages of the Court of the Patriarchs. And if you can manage to arrive just before the first light filters into Zion Canyon from over the slickrock behind me to the East, you may find a real treat of a lightshow staring back at you as the awesome Navajo Sandstone gathers and reflects the coming rays.
A focal length of 255mm narrowed my angle-of-view and magnified the great walls a bit. An aperture of f/14, given the camera-to-subject distance, provided depth-of-field; and a shutter speed of 20.0 seconds at ISO 100 gave me an overall medium exposure. Including the tip of the shaded hill on my side of the canyon, with the settings just mentioned, allowed the hill to be nearly a silhouette, the contrast serving as an anchor for the bottom of the image.
We are loving this amazing park to death. New regulations on the use of tripods have made a photographer’s work more challenging. I am grateful to have been able to visit often when movement was much easier; still Zion remains a great favorite.
Great shot!! Unfortunately I have only seen the Prophets from the canyon floor. Thank you for sharing a different perspective. I agree that Zion N.P. is a great national treasure that needs to be preserved for future generations.
Amidst all the ads, newsletters, messages, and sundry emails, I found this touch of the Great American Southwest. I heard myself say, as I had said to many others, “It really does look that way. The colors are real.”
With that thought, your true image brought a flood of memories about the physical and spiritual beauty of the American Southwest. Thoughts of those who settled and lived there so many centuries ago crept up as I thought how those people (who are not so different from our modern selves) had to appreciate it the longer they lived there.
Thank you for the beautiful photograph that overwhelms the senses in a good way—leaving gifts for future senses to enjoy anew. Thank you for capturing such a beautiful story of the ages. It is far more than beautiful. It is a testament to Walking in Beauty.
This is a beautiful composition that shows off the ruggedness, colors, and size of the sand stone against a clear blue sky. The silhouette in the foreground is somewhat mimicking the shape of the ridges. The sandstone seems very proud that it has withstood the ages and keeps us all looking up in awe. Thanks for bringing the west back east to share.
Good evening Everyone. Thank you all for joining me for this conversation. I was recently watching a YouTube video by a young couple from the Cumberland Plateau region of East Tennessee, Cookeville, as I recall, who travel around the country hiking well-known hikes and then creating videos of their experiences. The video I watched was their hike to Angel’s Landing in Zion. It was well-done and informative, but more importantly to me was the scenery they showed from that lofty perch and from the route looking down canyon as they climbed upward. Although never quite visible, it was never hard to imagine the Patriarchs down the line of sight.
Hey Chris. Thank you for joining us; it’s always good to hear from you. Hope you’ve been enjoying this weather-filled winter. I hope you will join me in advocating at every opportunity for the protection of our national treasures, among which Zion must surely be included. I appreciate your kind comment and thoughtful words. Walk in Beauty.
Ah, J. Warren, you have been on my mind lately. It’s great to hear from you. I’m hoping your new life in the Lands of Raleigh is proving fulfilling and deeply enjoyable. As we both know, that amazing realm of the Southwest “really does look that way” for we have seen it together. And the memories that are evoked in recalling the layers of history, both cultural and natural that remain alive and well there, become the impulses that compel us to act so that the memories can be passed along to all those who follow us, that they as well may enjoy what we have experienced.
Hey Nancy T. You have also been on my mind a lot lately. I like the idea of “proud sandstone,” and I can even now see that pride swelling up from the depths of the rock. As I was working this image, it did occur to me that a small white puffy cirrus cloud stuck between two of the patriarchs might have need a bonus, but I had no problem with the contrasting golds and blues that the morning offered me.
Thank you all, again, for helping me celebrate one of our truly magnificent treasures. This is such a wonderful landscape that it does deserve all of our best efforts to preserve and protect.