Photo Workshop in Natural Wonders: Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon

This exceptionally well-run and helpful Road Scholar/Elderhostel program allows photographers of all levels to learn new techniques in three photographers’ paradises -- Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Grand Canyon (North Rim) National Parks. Though you often hear that it is impossible to take poor photos in such scenery-rich locales, everyone can improve their pictures with practice and some expert guidance from the two professional photographers along on the trip. Even point-and-shoot cameras produced accomplished photos!

Here’s a typical scene -- this one at Zion’s Kolob Canyon overlook -- showing part of our group of 18 experimenting with f-stops, shutter speeds, ISOs, time exposures, and exposure values, all of which we were taught by Blake and Eric, our young but accomplished professional photographers.



Rather than show boring photos of people taking photos, here are some of my shots from the three parks. (A link to photos from all the participants is at the end of this post.) Since sunrise and sunset are two prime times for photos, these next two are shots from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon demonstrating sunrise and sunset. Notice the interplay of light and shadow and the vibrancy of the colors of rock strata in this sunrise shot. (Click to enlarge.)



...and at the same place at sunset, with an exposure value of minus 3.0 exaggerating the effect…



We achieved similar sunrise/sunset photo results at Bryce, but three of us avid hikers had to recharge our souls after a day in the bus and “classroom” and took the opportunity to hike 4 miles among the hoodoo formations. Lynn took this shot of Carol and me posing in an archway/tunnel on the Peek-A-Boo Trail, with the hoodoo amphitheater in all its glory behind us…




Below is my shot of another such tunnel ethereally illuminated by the incipient sunset...



Here are waterdrops from one of the Emerald Pool waterfalls…



Our daily “homework” was to choose and submit one photo for review the next day. These were projected on a large screen, and comments were solicited from the professional photographers as well as classmates, all in a friendly and non-threatening atmosphere. I found these sessions extremely helpful as they showed us samples of what our classmates had captured and gave us ideas of new ways to look at scenes.

We were also encouraged to experiment with our shots and not to concentrate solely on the vistas before us, but rather to notice the small details beneath the vistas. Here are two photos I submitted. See if you can determine their subject matter…





(ANSWERS: Bubbles in a pond and a stairway built with tree branches as risers.)

Here’s a group shot featuring our stalwart group of photographers who travelled from Hong Kong, British Columbia, Ottawa, Florida, Oregon, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, and Maryland to participate in this program.


Here's a 7 minute movie of our activities, featuring our participants and some marvelous scenery...