Winter mornings in Bryce Canyon National Park

Shapes of light and shadow within Bryce Canyon

I recently had a morning to explore Bryce Canyon National Park which is always a treat. I’ve been to and photographed Bryce Canyon more times than I can count and I still feel each time is challenge and also a joy. For those who’ve been, you may know this to be true. If you’ve never been here in the Winter, this landscape is wild with snow covered hoodoos and a landscape seemingly off limits. But a little walking and a little adventure leads you into the canyon where beauty unfolds all around you.

Bryce Canyon as viewed from the rim is impressive and honestly, it’s overwhelming. You may think you just need to show up and see it so the photos will come as a result of simply being there. This is exactly the way to get the same photos as everyone else and capture photos which document the place. I would make a strong argument that photography doesn’t really do the place justice with this approach. Bryce is simply overwhelming and too much to photograph.

Glowing light on snow covered hoodoos

There are ways to overcome this and create images beyond what a view looks like though. I think this will be a different blog post though and will be on my photography workshop website for those interested. On this particular morning, I chose to hike down in the canyon for sunrise and was treated to an untouched landscape of snow, design, hoodoos and of course, gorgeous light. As you hike into the canyon before sunrise, you’ll likely be the only one as most people either sleep in (it’s cold!) or view/shoot from the rim. Bryce Canyon is so much more than hoodoos and the well documented viewpoints and it doesn’t take long before you see this unfolding for yourself.

I’ll be writing more about Bryce Canyon and other photography thoughts soon but am just getting warmed up now. It’s been a while since I’ve written anything here and I want to get back in the flow. Until then…

Thanks for reading,

Eric