Utah Part V - Bryce National Park

Picking up from where I left off... the day before we were up at 6am to get the sunrise at Arches National Park, then off to Dead Horse State Park to take in the views and the history, and finally the long road trip down the very scenic Hwy 12 towards Bryce, stopping briefly for the sunset / moon rise just before finding a little motel. The next day would include Bryce National Park and then off to Zion (which will make up Part VI).
Bryce offers stunning views at every look out, the formations are called "hoodoos" and make for spectacular pictures.


Now, as I mentioned, the day before started at 6 and went till about midnight. I set my cell phone alarm for 6am this day as well, to get the sunrise at Bryce (dad's idea). Indecently, if a cell phone (or at least my cell phone) looses service, it will revert back to it's normal time zone. In this case, one hour earlier. So, instead of 6am Utah time, we are up and out at 5am... and it's pitch black outside! Now, I'm not much of a morning person, and the shot below proves that.
I'm wearing the warmest clothes I brought.



In all the shots above, the sun hasn't even broken the horizon yet, but here it is peaking out... finally.

I was wearing my sandals!




It's not a place I would bring my kids till they were a little older.








On deck is Zion National Park .... save the best for last! Oh, and for anyone wanting to see Bryce park, if you go at 5am you don't have to pay admission... you also don't get any maps.

Fun with the Persing Family

I did this fun little family session a couple of weeks ago. It's was really great to see this family again. I shot 2 of their 3 kids weddings (Heather & Dan and Aaron & Bry). They are such a fun loving family and incredibly easy to photograph.

Meet Taylor - The Stunning Rosemount Senior

Taylor is incredibly photogenic and was so very easy to work with. She wanted a mix of back drops, a little rural and a little urban. Northfield is the perfect place for that combo.










She is also a track star. I love this shot, very intense.

Utah - Part IV - Scenic Highway 12

We took Highway 12 from Moab towards Bryce National Park. It is supposed to be one of, if not the, most scenic road in the U.S. At times it boarders the Grand Staircase (one of the most remote parts of the country), it was well worth the trip, and Hwy 12 easily lives up to its reputation.


So as we are driving along this road (not yet Hwy 12), everything as far as the eye can see is pasture, and not very lush pasture... the tumble weed kind of pasture. Then out of no where is this little bit of red sand.






I was hoping for an old animal scull but this white branch had to do.



This is the "Fruita" School house... it housed 26 students!!!! Not to mention it gets REALLY hot here.


Above and below are some of the scenic overlooks from Hwy 12 (processed as 70's Polaroids).

The Sherpa


Then as we approached the end of our trip that day, we had to scramble to find a spot for the moon rise. Which is actually pretty hard since we are mostly down in canyons and it wouldn't be visible for at least 20 minutes after it had officially risen. But luckily enough we found a good spot.



Then it was off to find a motel...

Up next - Bryce National Park