Photographing the Vibrant Colors of Bryce Canyon

Thor’s Hammer Sunrise | Sony Alpha a7R II + 24-70mm f/4 @ 24mm, f/8, ISO 100, 1/4 sec

Hello blog! It is already the end of the year, and I am sad that I am just getting around to writing my first blog post of the year. Last Christmas, my family and I took a road trip to Utah to visit Bryce Canyon National Park. Since we were driving from California, we also enjoyed exploring a few places on the way including Zion National Park and Las Vegas. I have been dreaming about coming to Bryce Canyon in the wintertime to see the unique rock formations (called hoodoos), and I was finally excited to go this past winter! While we did not get to see the landscape covered in snow, the weather did treat us to some colorful skies. And I was amazed by the beauty of the landscape filled with red limestone rocks dusted with white strips.

My favorite photo from our trip is the one at the top of this page, and it was taken on our last morning in Bryce Canyon. It features Thor’s Hammer which is maybe the most famous hoodoo in the world. While I did not check the weather forecast before going out this morning, I could already see the clouds catching some pretty colors as I was parking the car. Excited by the lovely conditions, I ran to the trailhead and down the switchbacks to get to this vantage point. To compose this photo, I made sure that top of Thor’s Hammer broke the horizon so that it could be featured more prominently in the frame. Additionally, I framed Thor’s Hammer slightly off-center which I felt was balanced by the brighter sky and other scenery to the right.

Family photo in front of Thor’s Hammer

Aside from photography, I enjoyed learning about the geology behind how these hoodoos form by a process called frost wedging – where water enters cracks in the rock before freezing and expanding to break off parts of rock. Hanging above the bed in the inn my family was staying in, there was a black and white photo taken a long time ago of this same hoodoo. That photo was cool to see and compare against what I saw in real life. The hoodoo I saw was much thinner due to all the additional weathering.

Bryce Canyon Sunrise | Sony Alpha a7S III + 16-35mm f/2.8 GM @ 18mm, f/8, ISO 100, 1/25 sec

Rewinding a bit, it was quite overcast on our first evening in Bryce Canyon, but I got a chance to walk along the rim and explore possible locations for a future photo. I found a cool spot with these hoodoos that lined the edge of the cliff, and we woke up early the next morning to catch the sunrise at this same location. It was nice to already have my composition in mind when setting my camera in the morning, and I think the hoodoos in the foreground provided some nice depth for this wide-angle photo. It ended up being a pretty colorful sunrise as we saw the bank of clouds light up with hues of oranges and yellows.

Bryce Canyon Sunrise | Sony Alpha a7R II + 24-70mm f/4 @ 70mm, f/8, ISO 100, 1/15 sec

As the sunlight broke the horizon, it started to paint warm light into the valley. As the colors in the sky faded and the rocks reflected the sunlight, I decided to zoom in for a tighter composition. From this viewpoint, it was pretty cool to see all the layers of rock and the patterns they formed. After doing photography in the morning, we enjoyed hiking in the cool winter air. We hiked along the Navajo Loop and Queens Garden Trail and passed through the switchback trails of Wall Street. It was very cool to walk in the shadows of towering hoodoos around us in the Wall Street section.

Pretty Sunset colors in southern Utah | Sony Alpha a7R II + 24-70mm f/4 @ 24mm, f/8, ISO 100, 1/10 sec

On Christmas Eve after spending the morning in Bryce Canyon, we drove to our accommodation near Zion National Park. Since we could not check in early, we stopped and rested at this roadside recreation area. The landscape looked pretty cool as it featured this butte rising above the flat surrounding area, and the textures in the clouds looked quite nice too! After resting a bit and then checking in to our stay, we started making dinner before realizing that we did not have any cooking oil. Since it was about sunset time, I wanted to take a detour to catch the sunset before heading to the grocery store to get some cooking oil. While it could have been nice to catch the sunset in Zion, it would have taken too much time. Instead, I decided to go to the same location we rested at earlier since it was close by, and the clouds looked promising a few hours ago. Once we got there again, I could not believe my eyes as the stormy clouds were reflecting the sunset colors in all directions. I scrambled to set up my camera to take a time-lapse with a nice wide frame and not too many distracting shrubs in the foreground. After sunset, we rushed to the grocery store and just made it in time to get some cooking oil before they closed.

After our Christmas morning festivities, we explored Zion which featured some pretty large rock formations. It was quite a bit more crowded than Bryce Canyon, but we still enjoyed going on a few short hikes with the limited daylight we had. The sunset that evening was calm without any of the colorful clouds like we experienced earlier in our trip since all the storm clouds had already passed over this area. In the end, I did not take any photos with my camera in Zion that I thought were worth sharing. But that is okay, since it was still an enjoyable time to spend with my family.

Nighttime view of Las Vegas from the High Roller | Sony Alpha a7R II + 16-35mm f/2.8 GM @ 16mm, f/2.8, ISO 640, 1/10 sec

On our way back home, we stopped in Las Vegas. It was my first time visiting Las Vegas, and it was fun to walk around the strip and eat some fancy meals. On this night, we decided to ride the High Roller Ferris wheel which is the second largest Ferris wheel in the world. Initially, I was not sure if it would be worth it, but it ended up being such a nice view at night with all the city lights shining. I was hoping to time our Ferris wheel ride to reach its peak just after sunset during the Fountains of Bellagio show, but I underestimated how long the line would be. Regardless, I still enjoyed it a lot.

To take my photo, I tried to balance my exposure settings to let in enough light to be sharp enough without being too noisy since tripods are not allowed. To do this, I braced myself against the window and used my camera’s in-body stabilization to take a slightly longer exposure than I would normally be okay with doing handheld. I also wrapped by hoody around my camera lens to block out as many of the reflections as I could since the gondolas are enclosed. Afterwards, we ate at Gordon Ramsay Burger which I was very excited for, and it tasted very good too! Additionally, we also made our way to the Bellagio to see the mesmerizing fountain show up close.

My brother and I pose for a photo in Wall Street, Bryce Canyon

Overall, I felt lucky to see all these cool landscapes with such pretty weather conditions, and I was excited for the photos I captured. Regardless, it was of course the time with my family that made the trip memorable. If you are feeling inspired to take a similar trip, here are a couple of other assorted things we enjoyed. Valley of Fire State Park is near Las Vegas, and it had some cool rock formations and was an enjoyable place to hike. Also in Las Vegas, there is the Sphere. We enjoyed watching Postcard from Earth which was a cool immersive experience with wind and vibration effects.