Snow Slide

On our last day in Utah, we left behind the beautiful, warm mid 50-65 degree temperatures in Zion and headed out for Bryce Canyon. The drive was not too far, and it showed magnificent views the whole way. But, we did go much higher in elevation. The weather was clear and sunny without a cloud in the sky. As we strolled up to our new location, we were excited about the beautiful views and the fantastic weather but then we quickly were reminded what happens when you go higher in elevation. The “feels like” temperature was now eighteen degrees due to a blistering wind. Luckily, we were all prepared for the cold. So, we threw on some extra layers and thick jackets to set out for our final day of adventure. We were now at roughly 8,500 feet, and there was clearly a lot more snow, especially at the top of the canyon — at least 3 feet to be exact. At this point in the trip, I was in love with all of the shots I had already taken from the previous days. Although, there was a void that I needed to fill, and that void was some abstract textures. As we hiked, I continued to look for abstract rock formations, snow textures, and even textures in the trees down in the canyon. Internally, I was struggling to find something that really conveyed what I wanted, and I found myself struggling with the strong contrast of the bright midday sunlight and the deep shadows in the canyon. As we finished our hike and came back up to the rim of the canyon, we continued to stroll around and walk the trail along the top of the rim. As I continued to look for a composition, I saw some cool rock and snow textures from the south side of the canyon. It was heavily in the shadow of the sun, so a wide shot just wouldn’t work. But as I put on my zoom lens and focused on the textures, I came away with this image. I really enjoy the uniformity but also the abstractness, and lastly the contrast of the snow and the rock formations. To this day, I can’t decide if I like it more horizontally or vertically, but I love how it can be hung either way.