Visiting & Photographing Zion National Park
- markhoude
- Oct 21
- 4 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
Truly, a place of heavenly appeal, and yet a challenging approach to landscape photography, at least from the valley, as the tall canyon walls and surrounding mountains proved difficult to capture the best light of the day.
Standing guard near the South Entrance at 6,545 feet (1,995 meters), ASL, or 2.600 ft (790 meters) above Zion's canyon floor, the Watchman is a sandstone mountain and a prominent photographic icon within the park. In October, it's sidelit from the valley, and the best light comes long before sunset, before being obscured by neighboring mountains. On our first day, we arrived shortly before sunset, but it was already too late, and finding a good composition was challenging.
We entered the park from the East entrance (Mt Carmel Highway, Hwy 9), but for the remainder of the trip, we used the South entrance (Springdale) as we were staying in La Verkin, some 30 minutes to the west.
Springdale is very commercialized and feels more like an extension of Zion NP rather than a small town next to it. I like to call it "Downtown Zion", but in hindsight, I wish we had stayed in Springdale despite the steep lodging costs. We lost much time traversing to and from our hotel in La Verkin - earlier mornings, later evenings, and little sleep = less time in the park and unfortunately, despite having 3 days to explore and photograph, I hadn't seen much of the park aside from a couple of hiking trails, a partial ascent to Angel's Landing, and a hike up the Narrows of the Virgin River, all of which were outstanding.
The park feels somewhat like an adult Disney World, but there's a reason it's the 2nd most visited NP in the states, with close to 5 million visitors in 2024; The scenery is stunning! Only the Great Smoky Mountains had more visitors, and that's probably due to its location and ease of access.
Like many National Parks, Zion is busiest during peak season, Memorial Day through Labor Day. My visit was just after Labor Day, and the park was busy but less so than in the summer months.
I found photographing Zion's valley to be inopportune. Ironically, the road into the park from the East, Mt Carmel Highway (Hwy 9), was simply lovely, and incidentally, where my best photographs were created. This is due in part to the fascinating rock formations, mountains, and enticing trees, and if you know me, then you know I love rocks and trees! Almost the entire span of Mt Carmel Road into the park is pullouts, with some small parking lots. So I guess you can say my favorite images of Zion were all roadside photographs, 😳, and I'm not ashamed to say it.
The area is just so dang gorgeous! I kept wondering what it would be like as a geologist passing through. Stop the Car, Stop the Car! In truth, that's exactly what we did. We were like three kids in a magical playground, climbing rocks, searching for just the right tree, or the many sexy curves within the rocks.
At first, none of us knew that we would end up spending lots more time over the next couple of days/nights along the winding curves of Mt Carmel Road, stopping for unique and intimate landscape photography, including a wonderful moonlit evening. I'm so glad we did, rather than spending that time in the valley.
What I loved most about this was the exceptional work I created in an otherwise renowned park. Yes, you've seen the Watchman photos, the Narrows, the Canyon views, etc, but have you seen the amazing Juniper tree who's layed down roots long ago over it's mountain counterparts, or elaborate S-curves carved in stone where Ponderosa's and shrubs thrive in an otherwise harsh environment.
As for the valley, it just didn't work out well. By the time the morning sun illuminates it, the towering canyon walls are blown out, and the images are contrasty and spotty. Most of my shots were bracketed as a result, I certainly tailored shots where I had more control over the light, and these didn't turn out too bad, as shown in my Zion Gallery.
While hiking up to Angel's Landing, I captured the notorious "down the canyon shot", but the photograph didn't "wow me," (the view on the otherhand was spectacular) and I was surprised I included it in my gallery. If nothing else, it represents the iconic canyon view that Zion rewards to those only by way of foot travel and steep, elevated, narrow switchbacks.
It's much more impressive to experience this view in person than in a photograph. Honestly, I was not only pleased with that thought, but quite thrilled that no photograph can really capture what I experienced up there overlooking the raw beauty before me. For those who have made the trek up those steep switchbacks, you know full well what I mean. I didn't attempt Angel's Landing, nor did I have a desire to; I was more interested in spending my time photographing, as were my two photog buddies, Mark & Sam.
Hiking the Narrows was incredible, an unforgettable experience. Both Sam & I were leaning towards renting "special shoes" from the many Springdale outfitters, but after talking with others, we decided to wear our Keen sandals and Salomon Water shoes, respectively, and they worked out fine. I highly recommend trekking poles (yes, plural), or at least a walking stick, because even at lower water flow levels, you'll still find yourself fighting the current in some areas. The water flow was in the low 30's when we hiked it.
I packed light for this hike. No tripod, my Z50 with the 14-30mm in a dry bag backpack. Simple, lightweight, and a happy wader, although at times I wish I had a small tripod. Sam let me borrow his Peak Design Travel Tripod and that would have made for my perfect companion for this adventure.
On my next trip to Utah, I'll visit Arches, Canyonlands, and Capitol Reef, and if time allows, a short revisit to Bryce because... Utah is magnificent.
- The Houdsta
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