Rows of hoodoos at Bryce Point. Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah.
Bryce Canyon is one of my favorite locations in the southwest. The alien landscape with rows of hoodoos (thin spires of rock with variable thickness) never fails to amaze me. I grew up in Ontario, Canada and there is nothing even remotely similar to the unusual rockforms in Bryce.
Taking this picture was relatively easy and the primarily skill involved was patience in terms of waiting for the sun to set. Basically,
- Show up before sunset at Bryce Point and walk along the rim to find a position that will yield the composition you want.
- As the sun sets, the sky will dim and its brightness will eventually match the foreground. You can monitor the relative brightness of the sky and foreground by either using a spotmeter or simply checking the histogram on a digital camera to see if the sky is blowing out.
- Once the brightness of the sky and foreground are similar take the picture. For landscapes I use a sturdy tripod, cable release, and mirror lock-up. On this day, it was very windy so I anchored my tripod with a bungee cord (the bungee cord attaches to a hook on the center column of my tripod and I stand on the other end).
Note that the rim at Bryce Canyon varies from 8000 to 9000 feet. If you are not used to the altitude, walking and any physical activity will be more difficult because of the thinner air.
Photo details:
- Canon 5D with 24-105mm f/4 L lens at 105mm (IS off)
- ISO 100
- f/13
- 2 second exposure
- mirror lockup
- processed in Lightroom
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