Photographing Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks: Best Shot Locations, Details on Trails, Lighting, Composition...More.

By Tim Truby

Professional writer and landscape photographer Tim Truby has gathered all the photo-related information beginners and enthusiasts need to create their best images at Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks.

Best shot locations
Representative images
Details on each trail
Settings and lens thoughts
Composition dynamics for each spot
Landscape photography Top Ten
Lightroom ideas

This material is more than a typical photo guidebook. It's how savvy photo enthusiasts and pros think about shooting these Utah parks, written in a style that's readable and entertaining.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 6, 2016
• ISBN: 9781514457900

Tim Truby

Professional writer and landscape photographer Tim Truby has spent a career making abstract subjects accessible to readers. He's written numerous articles for industry publications plus how-to books, user stories, video scripts, websites, even several (produced) plays. Companies he's worked for include IBM, Toyota, Aerospace Corp., and Cars.com. For many years, Tim handled most of the corporate photographic needs at Cars.com's California offices, including company portraits, event photography, and auto shows. Tim has traveled extensively, and his portfolio of American and international photographs can be found at Tim-Truby-Photography.com. He has a special love of the Southwest and has been to the Utah parks many times over the last two decades. Tim was an army brat and grew up all over the USA as well as a couple of foreign countries. He has degrees from Brown University and Catholic University of America. He and his wife live in California.

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Copyright © 2016 by Tim Truby. 732771

ISBN: Softcover  978-1-5144-5791-7

            EBook      978-1-5144-5790-0

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 06/02/2016

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FIRST THINGS

The Utah National Parks have become marquee locations for landscape photographers from around the world. The jewel box perfection of Zion, the glowing mystery of Bryce – these parks help make the Southwest a photographer’s Mecca.

For photography enthusiasts, shooting a great Southwestern park can be the chance of a lifetime. But as any pro will tell you, preparation is essential. Luckily, as an LA-based writer and photographer, I’ve had these parks on my doorstep and each is like an old friend.

It takes time to get your head around a great park: the logistics, best locations, best time of day to shoot, trail details. And when you’re at the shooting location, there’s a different set of challenges – composition, lighting, camera settings.

There are plenty of fancy guidebooks out there. But big name travel guides don’t give you any photo info at all. This book puts all that stuff at your fingertips – so you can focus on staying in the zone and getting the best photographs.

Note: If you enjoy this book, check out my other photo-related book on the Utah parks, Photographing Arches, Canyonlands and Capitol Reef National Parks.

The Utah National Parks and the Grand Circle

The Grand Circle, an area that includes southern Utah and northern Arizona, is a landscape of thick sedimentary rock thrust up 300-400 million years ago to form the Colorado Plateau.

The geology here is so unique, the views so distinctive, it’s become a must-see destination for landscape photographers from around the world.

I cover the other Utah National Parks, Arches, Canyonlands and Capitol Reef in a companion book. … I’m currently researching a book on the Arizona section of the Grand Circle.

Whether you have a day at Zion or Arches or a month, you will enjoy. That’s the whole point of this book: great photo locations, less hassle with logistics, more focus on your craft… kick-ass shots for your portfolio.

What’s In the Book

This book provides photo locations that are creative jumping-off points for you. It’s true, there are photo guidebooks that cover these same parks. And several are useful in the locations they cover. But this book offers more than locations and trail info as you’ll see below.

In fact, I’m attempting go beyond the musty guidebook approach entirely. I can’t teach anyone to see as a photographer. We each go down that path on our own. But I can share how (one member) of the landscape photography community thinks about the craft –in a way that’s readable and un-jargony.

So if you’re just starting out, you’ll learn some stuff – and end up with better photographs. If you’re already an enthusiast, you’ll appreciate the usefulness of the info and tips. (I know that because of the many enthusiasts who gave me that feedback on the first edition.)

For each park, you’ll get this level of nuts and bolts information:

Best photo locations (and none of the just OK stuff)

Representative images of major locations, so you know what to expect

Details on each trail

Settings and lens suggestions for each shooting location

Thoughts on compositional dynamics

Landscape photo tips

Lightroom post-production ideas

Related issues from geology and photo tours to shooting etiquette

Do not expect this book to list restaurants, hotels or every activity available in the park. Our focus is on getting you good shots. And I’m opinionated on which locations I recommend because no one ever has time to cover everything.

You’ll find lots of landscape photos here. And I hope they will get you stoked to go to these spots. But don’t mistake this for a coffee-table book. It’s a different beast.

You’ll find useful landscape photography tips – but this book isn’t a magic wand. You have to get out there and make choices based on your instincts. And if you make bad choices — well, we’ve all come back to the hotel room with crappy shots.

Shared insights, great shoot locations and actionable suggestions, everything you need. Yes, you can figure out all the Zion and Bryce Canyon shooting info on your own—eventually. But the more info at your finger tips, the better the images you’ll create.

Who the Book Is For: What Are You Shooting?

As far as your gear, this book doesn’t care if you’re carrying a smartphone or a full frame DSLR. The person who can see the shot will always do interesting work.

Equipment does matter of course. If you have a point and shoot with limited lens range, you won’t get that wide-angle look. If a shot can be improved by using a specific lens or a tripod, I’ll let you know. And my tips on composition will take you to the next level regardless. So whatever camera (or smart phone) you’re packing, we’ll get you cools shots.

Shooting the Classic Southwestern Locations

I’ve chosen to focus on photo locations that I think are classics. But why go to a classic location in the first place?

First, each spot here was chosen for its impact – these are the 6-8 spots at each park that are truly kick-ass. That’s why so many of these places are iconic.

Second, (and more important) spending an hour at a great photo location pulls the best out of you. Each location has its artistic and technical issues.