Conclusion
The area today called Zion National Park has a long and rich cultural heritage. Many different groups, with their own unique traditions, called Zion home and made their lives from the bounty of the land. Today, Zion National Park is one of the gems of the National Park System. In its first 100 years as a national park, Zion has grown exponentially. Its boundaries have significantly expanded, as has its visitation—from 1,814 people in 1919 to nearly 4.5 million in 2018. In the year 202, Zion was the third most visited park in the National Parks System. The draw for many, including landscape photographers is clearly in its massive sandstone cliffs of cream, pink, and red that soar into a brilliant blue sky, and in the slot canyons carved out by the rush of icy cold river water tumbling from their headwaters high on the above plateaus.
This area has a significant geologic history, as well. A tale for another day.
Humans have been drawn to this land for generations, as we have learned. Their stories, their history, are as much a part of the Zion we see today, as the rock we can touch. And while we cannot physically connect with the people of Zion’s past, we can grow to understand, which in the end helps us all understand the place, as a whole, better. How can knowing a location help with the photography of a place? That might be up to the individual photographer to find out. In every image, we look to tell a story. How would you tell the story of Zion’s past through an image taken today?