Lower

We do not see nature with our eyes, but with our understandings and our hearts…

William Hazlitt.

Today we woke up in Southern California to a chilly morning and it reminded me of the amazing sunrise we witnessed at Utah’s Bryce Canyon national park. A winter storm had just passed through. We didn’t know about the storm and reached the park at night as the snow was still falling. Our first day at the park was pretty much a goner but the second day we woke at 4 am in the morning and it was -12F outside. After a bit of questioning my sanity, we decided to bundle up and head outside anyway. Once we were outside the beauty of the morning totally made up for the cold. The air was crisp, and the morning sun was perfect. There was almost no wind and most important of all we were the only people at the popular sunset point.

This shot is a panorama stitch of about three images. I used a slightly longer focal length to bring out the details in the snow-covered hoodoos that make Bryce such an interesting location. I used an ND grad filter to balance the exposure between the bright sunlit areas and the darker canyon parts. Moral of the story is I have rarely regretted getting up at 4 in the morning even when the temperature outside was crazy low.

Better remain silent, better not even think, if you are not prepared to act…

Surprise!
by Sandeep Thomas

Annie Besant.

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One of the reasons why I was so excited to move to the west coast was for the opportunity to explore the American southwest. As soon as we set up shop in LA, we started to knock the National parks off of our visit list. Of all the National Parks that calls the American southwest home, none is more spectacular than the Zion National Park. For such a small park it packs so many incredible sights as well as experiences per square mile. There is a reason why it’s one of the most popular parks in the National Park system.

I came across this shot from one of our earlier visits to the Zion Canyon as was reviewing my images. We were on a hike to the emerald pools when we came across these wispy little waterfalls. In a park full of sheer canyon edges, this innocent looking waterfalls and pools have caused more accidents than any other part of the park. The rock here is extremely slippery, and as you enjoy the ponds, it’s easy to forget how smooth the edges are and how they can turn deadly if you are not careful. These waterfalls form as each of these emerald pools gets filled with water and starts to overflow off a cliff. If you happen to visit after a rare desert rainstorm, then you might see a thicker curtain falls, but most of the time, they look like this. I loved the contrast they made against the deep reds of the wet canyon walls and the green vegetation. Plus, it's beautiful to see water anytime in a desert.