deannefortnam
deannefortnam
Virgin River, Zion
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Virgin River, Zion



This extraordinary landscape is along Rt. 9 in Utah's Zion Canyon, looking southwest toward The Watchman

This extraordinary landscape is along Rt. 9 in Utah's Zion Canyon, looking southwest toward The Watchman
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upload_dateAug, 2016

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14 Comments | Report
BorisToronto
 
BorisToronto August 16, 2016
Wow this is stunning.
djamesbarr
 
djamesbarr August 22, 2016
Amazing capture. Beautiful!
deannefortnam
deannefortnam August 22, 2016
Many thanks, much appreciated
suemullerwebel
 
suemullerwebel September 09, 2016
My favorite!
keithfey
 
keithfey September 14, 2016
Fantastic! especially the family central lower which gives the whole scene scale.. You can be very proud of your passion which shows in your entire portfolio.. will be back often Regards Keith
deannefortnam
deannefortnam September 14, 2016
Many thanks! This is probably my favorite image I've ever taken. I'm just learning how to do landscape photography and was pleased with the impact this image makes and gives the feeling and mood of the late afternoon in that beautiful spot.
tylerolsen
 
tylerolsen September 22, 2016
This picture wow! I love the shot the colour and really made me feel special, like I was there. GREAT work!!
deannefortnam
deannefortnam September 22, 2016
Thanks so much!
joshmoore
 
joshmoore December 05, 2016
Beautiful image!! Is this the Virgin River and Zion??
deannefortnam
deannefortnam December 05, 2016
Thanks very much! Yes it is Virgin River at Zion
JDLifeshots
 
JDLifeshots February 05, 2017
Great shot! Voted Landscape.
Alfredo_Jose
 
Alfredo_Jose April 20, 2017
Excellent photo!
Eddieuuu071 Platinum
 
Eddieuuu071 August 21, 2017
Love the lighting
SteBil30 Platinum
 
SteBil30 December 02, 2017
Always love this POV, however this one has that added drama of the clouds and dark foliage. Great job Deanne!
Pjerry
 
Pjerry March 02, 2020
It's like a painting, you nailed this one, so beautiful.
deannefortnam
deannefortnam March 02, 2020
And again, thank you so very much for all your kind comments. I truly appreciate your taking the time to look at my gallery and comment. Cheers!
MelissaSueBall
 
MelissaSueBall December 16, 2020
Stunning photo
deannefortnam
deannefortnam December 16, 2020
Thanks very much!
bobtoye Platinum
 
bobtoye December 17, 2020
Sweet shot, Deanne.
deannefortnam
deannefortnam December 18, 2020
Thank you!
lizziemellis Platinum
 
lizziemellis September 19, 2021
Amazing landscape, l have been learning landscape seems I have a long way to go:-)

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Tags

#National PArk #sandstone #utah #zion #zion canyon
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Behind The Lens

Location
This photograph was taken on the bridge over the Virgin River on Scenic Byway, Rt. 9 Utah in Zion National Park. At the time I took this I didn't realize that this was one of the most popular and most photographed vistas in this iconic park. I was just so inspired by the sweep of the Virgin River and the gorgeous light hitting The Sentinel (mountain in the background).
Time
This image was taken during early evening just before 7PM. My husband and I had been hiking the park all day and returned to our hotel for a rest. (we are no spring chickens and were tired after walking about all day at these elevations) Anyway, the lowering sun and changing and dramatic shadows lured me back into the park with my camera and I'm so glad I did as this is my favorite image from our two week trip to Utah and Arizona.
Lighting
The late afternoon light on the sandstone rocks is just magic. It's beautiful during the day but as the sun is setting the light becomes softer, warmer and just magical while the shadows creeping up the sides of the mountains become cooler and create very harsh contrast. I especially liked the contrast in color temperature between the glowing peaks and the cool sky and river.
Equipment
This was taken with my Canon 1Ds MKIII and Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS - f/11, 45mm bracketd from 1/500, 1/200 to 1/80. I also used a tripod and shutter release.
Inspiration
Sometimes when you are taking pictures it's good to put down the camera and just LOOK at what is in front of you. We'd taken a drive up Rt 9 into the park and on our return crossing the bridge the view just took my breath away. Parked the car, walked back to the bridge and couldn't believe the magical view in front of my eyes. After absorbing the visual feast and the 'feel' of the view I went back to the car for my gear. I'm new to landscape photography and wanted to attempt to capture the enormous sweep of the setting, (the people in the foreground provide scale) the magical feeling of the light, mountain and river.
Editing
Yes, I recently began experimenting with HDR about a year ago and find it to be really useful for capturing the extremes of contrast in an image like this. I try not to oversaturate the image or make it unrealistic looking by removing too much of the contrast. I use Photomatix Pro for combining the exposures and then import into Lightroom to tweak the levels as needed. I wanted to create the feeling of the light on the mountains and river and still show the beautiful cloud formations in the sky and detail in the foreground.
In my camera bag
I normally travel with my full frame Canon 1Ds MKIII, and a 7DII, Canon 24/105, and 100/400. I am primarily a bird photographer and have a Canon 600 f/4 IS II. I also keep a flash, shutter release, and UV filter, lightweight and heavyweight Gitzo tripods, ball head and a Wimberly Gimbal head for the 600mm.
Feedback
I'm always evaluating the world around me to 'see' what can be framed and cropped into a good composition. With this particular image, I was lucky to come across this shot as I was driving by. Most of the time, that doesn't happen! Take the time to evaluate the landscape to see what you want to show, what feeling you want and what kind of light and atmosphere will give you the results you want. The more time you research a location the better the chance for good results. Shoot many exposures trying different aperture settings and framing. If you are in the 'golden hours' shoot then wait, wait, wait. The light and shadows change by the minute and something better might come along five minutes after you think you're done.

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