A Zion Grand Scenic + A BIG ONE!

Here's a BIG ONE for ya. Just wanted to post one that at least gets you into the ballpark of the kind of scale and secret scenery exists in Zion. The back side of the Alter of Sacrifice. Zero reported accents. You are looking at about 2,500 vertical relief in a little more than an 1/8th of a mile. To compare, Longs Peaks summit to Chasm Lake is about 2,500 too, but it takes a half mile of ground to cover that vertical. Fairly certain there's nothing like this in Colorado.



http://www.kaephotography.com/photo/alter-of-sacrifice-1600/




I've been holding off with sharing this one for personal reasons. Mostly due to the unfulfilled feeling I have when comparing my images with the actual ridiculous scenes from my back country backpack back in May. They just don't compare.

A secret land, a place where basically 0-5 people a year frequent. No photographers, just climbers interested in climbing all the Zion peaks make it back in here. Thus I picked up my route beta from an old friend that climbs religiously in Zion. Shes from Denver too. I promised her I wouldn't share the route to this area...I suppose I see what she sees; Zion is like no other place in the world.

I spent four nights up in this area and it was easily one of the most enchanting places I have ever been.

Here's my clue where this image was shot...Locals call this peak "The Red Triangle." My challenge to you is, where was this shot taken?

I had bluebird weather so I had to concentrate on the terrain and the Earth's Shadow.

This is a four image pano. I laid off the usual contrasty style I love to convey to make this one come across a bit more soft, mainly due to the fact it was a nice, and soft scene,(go figure) about 20 minutes after sunset.

Comments and Critique welcome.

Very nice and unique view of Zion.

Just to avoid spending toooo much time researching the location, I'll make these observations. It appears you are west of the main canyon looking eastward. The far ridge is the back (west side) of mountains that line the west side of the main canyon. Definitely feels this way due to the bias of the ridges and the smoothing as you look more left or north. I am having a tough time identifying the foreground peak, but I would say you are just north of Cougar Mountain, perhaps north of the small canyon.

Definitely shows how photographically diverse Zion National Park is. There are so many areas outside of the Main Canyon that are equally incredible.

Hi Karl, you are certainly in the ballpark. A great first stab at the location!

Nice! You'll have to go back when the snow flies.

This is drop dead gorgeous, Kane. So much beauty and so much of interest that it keeps the eye engaged far longer than the usual Zion image. Earth shadow was the way to go and I love the curves included. The contrast (and the entire 'development') is pitch perfect. Your time and effort were well rewarded here!
I imagine this will translate into a fairly large print. I would love to see that.

Very nice, Kane! I like the pano format and composition you chose here. Beautiful pastel light and sky color.

The soft light, sandstone and earth shadow work exceptionally well here. It appears that the earth shadow shifted vertically a little between the right and left side of the red topped peak 1/5 from the right, and the color is a tiny, tiny bit darker/smudgy right above the red knob. This is a really nice view and should make a great print.

Twilight is the perfect time to shoot places like Zion it looks like. The sensor picks up every nuance in the soft, colored light. The pano works perfectly here, and the color is wonderful. Yep, it should make a killer huge print.

Well, since I've never visited Zion, this scene is not what I have imagined existed in the park. Encouraging to know there's more to the area than just the traditional iconic images. The light is so special in this image. Kane, you are on a great roll with your images this summer

I appreciate the nice feedback "Team RMNP." Ken, Zion is limitless. One could spend a lifetime exploring the park and never see it all. Most of Zion is just too sheer, and terribly difficult to navigate. However, there are ways to get back in there. Have a look at the new shot I linked in my first post.

WOW. That big shot you posted is simply fantastic! Sometimes scale is hard to convey in photography, but you had no problems here! :)

So awesome!! Not very often anyone can portray the grand magnificence of these scenes. You did great.

Gorgeous image Kane! Who needs great clouds at sunrise when you have such incredible scenery before you. Beautiful comp of one of my favorite Parks.

This is a tremendous image. Comp and colors are outstanding! I like how there are no clouds, but just the purple hue of twilight.

Superb work, Kane. I've got to find my way back there some time. Zion is one of my favorite places on earth, and part of that is knowing I've only seen a fraction of what it has to offer. Let me know if you ever need a hiking partner.

Niiiiiiiiiice - this is absolutely gorgeous !!