All images © 2007-2013 Aaron Meyers
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
Bryce National Park, UT
I’m a night person and spend most of my nights editing photos till the wee hours of dawn. I like to get a few hours of sleep, wake up, and get to work. I don’t usually shoot sunrises because living on the west coast means we face the wrong direction for sunrise. Many mornings during the winter I do wake-up early though, to see if there’s low fog at the Golden Gate Bridge. On this particular morning I went to bed early knowing that I’d be getting up before sunrise, not for the fog, but because there would be a gorgeous sunrise in the morning. The GGB actually provides a perfect backdrop as it faces east when you drive through SF and into the Marin Headlands. A number of photographers were in place at Kirby Cove when Willie and I arrived and we had fun running around like crazy chickens trying to find rocks and different angles to use as foreground elements. The Golden Gate Bridge provides a perfect setting for the golden clouds that Mama Nature graced us with. Before the sun came up too high the city lights add to the beautiful morning! Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8: 19mm, f/5.6, 5.0 sec, ISO 320 3 photo focus stack w/various shutter speeds
