Silent City

Willie and I spent 6 days in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and by the end of the trip we had visited most of the major spots and anything that didn’t require waking up at 1am to photograph sunrise. When the weather forecast predicted clouds for our last morning we were stumped on where to go. Half jokingly I threw out: “Bryce?”. Off to Bryce it was!

We weren’t quite sure if our hour+ long drive to Bryce would be worth it. Patches of clouds existed but we couldn’t quite tell until the sun started to rise and lit up this patch of clouds gloriously.

Strangly named ... “Sunset Point” is probably the best spot to photograph sunrise and we ran around the Rim Trail for quite some time trying to find our perfect spot. I love the way that this scene forms layers upon layers for our eyes. Up front you have the towering Hoodoo’s and Thor’s Hammer (on the right), while the whiter colors of the Upper Member sit behind. Sandstone hills lie further back before Bryce drops into a valley and is then finished with more mountains in the background. Thanks to Mama Nature for finishing the sky off with a matching orange and red sky. The drive and early wake up was *totally* worth it!

Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S:
28mm, f/11, 3 sec, ISO 100
3 image focus stack

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