Postcard from Kodachrome Basin

I took this photo near the entrance to Kodachrome Basin in Southern Utah. It is a unique state park filled with with strange chimney rock formations. In fact off in the distance, you can see one of the white chimneys that inhabit this area.

I like this photo as it contains the three elements a good landscape photo should have: a foreground: a middle ground; and a deep background. If you count the sky, it actually has four elements. The flowers in front are the focal point of the photo. From there, your eye travels across wide open spaces to the red rock formations that also inhabit this region.

But, the Pièce de résistance are the orange/pink mountains in the distance. That, my friends, is Bryce Canyon National Park. As you can see, it is not a canyon…but mostly incredible rock formations that run north to south for several miles. Bryce faces almost due east. Behind those pink rocks is just forested land.

As I said, Bryce itself is not a canyon…but when you get close, you see it consists of many small canyons (or basins) surrounded by fantastic rock formations. I always thought Bryce Canyon should be called Bryce Canyons. But, what do I know?

Kodachrome also has its own unique beauty that I have shared here before. So how did this park get its name? In 1948 the National Geographic Society explored and photographed the area for a story that appeared in the September 1949 issue of National Geographic. They named the area Kodachrome Flat, after the then relatively new brand of Kodak film they used.

In 1962 the area was designated a State Park. Fearing repercussions from the Kodak company for using the name Kodachrome, the name was changed to Chimney Rock State Park, but renamed Kodachrome Basin a few years later with Kodak's permission.

So the point of all this is to show how close Kodachrome Basin is to Bryce National Park…so if you visit one you should make a side trip to the other. And while you are in the neighborhood, make a stop at Red Canyon. All of this is part of Utah’s magnificent Highway 12 country…one of the most beautiful highways in all of America.

(To see a larger version of this 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…or visit my Flickr Page.