The River of Sky

As a working photographer, it is tough to find time to go out and get back to shooting wildlife and landscape photography, even though that is definitely what fuels my creativity and love for the art. Luckily, I am surrounded by friends and loved ones who also love exploring and photography. That is how I found myself in Zion National Park in early March before the crowds of people arrived. It had taken us months to plan, but ultimately our schedules aligned and we found ourselves on a red eye plane to Utah. By the next day ,we were on the Kayenta Trail, which brings you to the infamous Emerald Pools in the park. Despite being there before peak season, this was the most people I had ever seen on a single trail before, and it was narrow and sandy. We were still having the time of our lives and trying not to get in anyone’s way to take pictures, but it was kind of sketchy because the path was not too wide and it was also sandy. The weather was kind of dull: we had intermittent showers, and it was definitely chilly when you weren’t hiking. But, it also made for a very interesting sky. I became fascinated by the moodiness of the scene and just the vibrancy of the Virgin River and the canyon walls. Because we were in a group, I didn’t have much time to sit there and perfect the shot. But I did my best, and even noticed that I caught some other people for scale in the bottom left corner. The shot was perfect for me, and I just love how it shows the scale and power of Mother Nature. It also reminded me of the great day we had, and the adventures that were ahead of us for that trip!