Wouldn’t you just love to sit by yourself at this spot to watch the sun go down and contemplate your life, nature, and how good it is to be at a place like this? Actually, so would I. When you are at this spot at sunset, especially in Autumn, you are not alone. You are usually surrounded by many photographers…in fact if you want a good spot, you better get there at least an hour early.
Zion National Park is an extremely popular place in November because of the Autumn colors, of course. And this spot is probably the most popular spot in Zion at sunset…or really any time of day.
It easy to find. Its only a couple of miles from the south entrance to the park…and its on the only automobile bridge that crosses the Virgin River. One must stand on the sidewalk on the bridge because if you don’t, you run the risk of being yelled at by a park ranger. And it’s a narrow sidewalk, which is another reason to come early.
The large mountain formation in the photo is called The Watchman. To get a good shot, it needs to be at sunset, so you get a red glow off of the the Watchman and the other nearby rock formations…and you definitely want some clouds. This is probably not the best collection of clouds ever seen here, but it was by far the best of the 4 days that I tried to get the right shot. My friend Dave, who was next to me on the bridge, says he has come here for 10 years and has only been satisfied with one photo over all that time.
So me, I will have to settle for this shot, but I do like it as I captured the sunset glow off the mountains as well as a few clouds. Like some of the other Zion photos shown here, this was a five exposure shot, reduced into one using the Exposure Fusion method.
By the way, if you turn 180 degrees and walk to the other side of the bridge, you will see this view:
Not a bad spot to spend sunset at, eh?
(To see a larger version of either photo, just click on the image)
To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com.
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