On day five, we went to a location just outside Kanab near the Paria River. It’s a location that features incredible color and geology – buttes, canyons, and painted hills. We stepped out of the cars and entered a winter wonderland. I had been to the spot many times, but never like this. The entire landscape was coated in white! It was really awesome. We shot through sunrise and stayed a few hours after, as the light was consistently changing.
The rest of the day there were some breaks, but after every break, snow began to fall once again. We tried for sunset but ran into blizzard-like conditions. It was crazy, it was snowing so heavy along with some areas of Highway 89. We eventually were clouded out and returned to Kanab.
On our final morning, we tried once more for desert snow! The landscape was blanketed once again and we headed to a location near Paria once again. The snow was there, but the light never happened, but it was still awesome to see all the red rock covered in snow. Such unique weather!
After breakfast, we headed back to Springdale for an afternoon post-processing session. We discussed processing Milky Way and night shots, putting together star trails, and did some 1:1 instruction. The crazy weather continued and snow had fallen in Zion as well. Around sunset, the snow began to melt and fog was all around the canyon. We took advantage of the unique conditions and went out for sunset on the nearby Pa’Rus Trail.
After, we grabbed dinner right outside the park, and then it was time for the saddest part of the trip, the goodbyes. It might seem cliché, but it’s true. As a group, we had just spent six days chasing light, photographing everything we could, and spending almost every waking moment together. For me personally, the friendships and connections from these trips are some of my favorite things. It’s a blast to spend time with a group of like-minded people with one goal in mind – capturing the best possible images.
I thought this was a great trip, and one of the more unique ones that I have been a part of due to the crazy weather. We had a fantastic group of people for this one too, which made it that more enjoyable.
Hope you enjoyed the report and some of these images from one of my favorite places in the country!