Photography Travel Guide to
Bryce Canyon National Park
Amphitheater

   This is only a partial guide to Bryce Canyon National Park. The full guide is in Photo Traveler's Guide to Southwest Utah available for $15.95.

   For more information on this guide or other Photo Traveler Publications to order Southwest Utah

   Bryce Canyon National Park is one of the most photographically exciting places in the United States. If you've never seen Bryce Canyon, it is difficult to describe. It isn't a "canyon" at all but an amphitheater of pillars of limestone, eroded into fantastic, intricate shapes and gloriously colored in shades of red, yellow, purple, and lavender. Some pillars are even crowned with pure limestone that glows like delicate white porcelain. The Indians had a descriptive name for the area. They called it "red rock standing like men in a bowl-shaped canyon."

Getting the Best Picture

   Although all the elements for good photography are here--the interesting shapes and magnificent color--Bryce is a difficult place to photograph. Lighting and the time of day make a big difference. Don't rush to the first overlook at mid-day and start taking pictures--you need shadows to give definition to the formations. When photographing from the rim, limit your picture-taking to sunrise and the few hours after and to late afternoon.

   Sunrise is a particularly rewarding time to photograph the formations. Most views face east toward the rising sun and, from viewpoints, you can shoot north and south, catching the first rays of the sun as they turn the rock pinnacles gold. Sunset, however, is difficult because the amphitheaters of limestone are on the east side of a plateau which blocks the light from the sun long before it sets. Late in the day is still a good time to photograph Bryce--just plan to be there a couple of hours before the actual sunset if you want light on the formations.

   Exposure at Bryce is tricky. The high altitude, reflections, and extreme contrasts can fool your camera meter, so photographs of Bryce often look washed out. If you're shooting color slide film during mid day, you'll want to underexpose your shots by 2/3 stops. No matter what film you are using, be sure to bracket.

   The formations at Bryce look spectacular when you are there in person, but when these views are reduced to a small, two-dimensional picture, they can look pretty dull. You need some perspective to give depth to your pictures. Try using some photogenic gnarled limber pines or junipers that grow along the rim to frame your pictures, or include a person in your composition. In addition to panoramic views, use a telephoto to zoom in on the shape, form, and color of prominent features.

   Most photographers limit their photography to shooting from the rim, but intriguing pictures can be taken by walking down into the formations and shooting up at these fantastically-shaped red pillars against a deep blue sky. You need not walk far and several short hikes are mentioned later. Consider making several trips and photograph these shapes at various times of day and from different angles for beautifully changing images.

Photo Equipment

   For overall views from the rim, you'll want a lens in the 24mm to 35mm range so you can include some foreground interest. For most rim photography, however, you'll want to zoom in on the pattern of the forms, so include a telephoto in the 200mm to 300mm range. A zoom lens is indispensable for choosing your composition.

   Below the rim you'll want a wide-angle lens in the 24mm to 35mm area for shooting up at the formations, and a shorter telephoto in the 70mm to 200mm range works well for isolating the shapes of some of the prominent features. A polarizing filter on all lenses is essential to filter out the harsh highlights, to give more saturation to your colors, and to turn the sky a deep, contrasting blue.

   In the low light of sunrise or sunset, you'll need a tripod. The parking lots are close to all of the best viewing areas, so a tripod won't be a burden to you.

As the Seasons Change

   Although Bryce Canyon is at 8,000 feet, it's an all-season park, and the major areas are kept open through the winter--an excellent time for beautiful photos of red rocks contrasting with white snow.

   In late summer, thunderstorms pass through and provide some dramatic skies and lighting. Many panoramic views, normally not interesting photographically, become very exciting when the sky is full of white clouds or when a passing storm creates an afternoon rainbow. Even fog can turn the bizarre rocks into delicate ghosts.

   There is more than just rocks to photograph at Bryce. During spring and summer, a hike below the rim can be rewarded with gorgeous wildflowers. Early in the mornings and in the evenings, you'll find mule deer in the meadows along the major roads. During May and October there are many migrating birds.

Bryce Amphitheater

   Bryce Amphitheater is the heart of Bryce and where you'll want to spend most of your time. This is where all the park facilities are located and where all the best formations and views are found.

Fairyland Point

   Just after you pass the Bryce Canyon National Park boundary marker, you'll see a road to the left to Fairyland Point. Most people, in a hurry to get to the entrance gate, bypass this view, but it's a good first stop before going to Bryce Amphitheater. The road is only a short one-mile detour to the viewing area.

   You don't have the grand views of the formations that you have from the main amphitheater, but the forms take on fanciful shapes. An easy, short descent into the delicate limestone structures where you can take interesting close-up views of the shapes.

   Looking to the northeast is a distinct rock known as the "Sinking Ship." The trail eventually goes by this formation, but it's a long strenuous hike. This is also the beginning of the Rim Trail that passes all the major overlooks and ends at Bryce Point, five and one-half miles away. It's three-mile hike along the trail to reach the next major overlook at Sunrise Point.

Visitor Center

   As soon as you pass through the entrance gate, you'll see the Visitor Center on the right- -a good place to stop. A seven-minute slide presentation is shown throughout the day telling you how Bryce Canyon was formed. There are also some museum exhibits and a bookstore in the Center. If you're planning to do some extensive hiking into the canyon, you'll find maps and additional information here.

Sunrise Point and the Queen's Garden Trail

   Sunrise Point is the first of the four major viewpoints of the Amphitheater, where the distinctive limestone pillars are the most highly concentrated. From Sunrise Point you look south into the Amphitheater, making this, of course, a good sunrise location. To the north you look back toward Fairyland Point and the Sinking Ship.

   Sunrise Point is the beginning of the Queen's Garden Trail--the easiest and one of the most colorful and photographically interesting trails into the canyon. The round-trip distance is one and one-half miles and the elevation change is only 320 feet. If you're not used to hiking, take your time, especially on the return trip--remember you're at 8,000 feet. You'll pass some fascinating shapes and walk through several tunnels cut into the formations. These tunnels can be used to frame some of the views, adding a little variety to your photos. At the end of the trail is a limestone shape that looks like Queen Victoria sitting on her throne. Right after the last tunnel, a trail branches off to the Navajo Loop Trail covered a bit later. Allow about one to two hours for this hike.

Sunset Point

   This is the most spectacular view in Bryce. If you have only an hour to spend in Bryce, spend it photographing here and forget the rest. From this point you look north toward Sunrise Point and all the incredible limestone shapes between, and south toward Bryce Point and the most spectacular formations in the park. This is an excellent place to photograph before sunset. In fact, the best location for pre-sunset photography is to stand by the sign to the right of the bulletin board and, using a telephoto pointed toward Bryce Point, catch the light on Wall Street, Cathedral, and Organ formations.

   The Rim Trail between Sunrise and Sunset Points is an easy half-mile stroll along a paved walk, with many benches along the way. The Rim Trail from Sunset to Inspiration Point is also one-half mile long and it takes you past a spectacular section known as the "Silent City." As you walk along the Rim Trail, look for interesting trees to frame your views of the area below.

   Return to this location several times during the day for completely different lighting. The formation known as Thor's Hammer is a good subject to focus on at various times of the day for interesting directional lighting effects.

Navajo Loop Trail

   If you have time, the Navajo Loop Trail is probably the best trail to take into the canyon. This is one and one-half miles long, but you should allow about two hours since it is a bit more strenuous than the Queen's Garden Trail. The one of the high points along the trail is the distinctive "Thor's Hammer" that you can photography from different views as you descend along the switchbacks. Part of the trail goes through "Wall Street" where 200- foot, red limestone walls with fantastic lighting close in for spectacular wide-angle photography. At the lower end of Wall Street you find two, frequently photographed, tall Douglas firs. The firs tower toward the sky between the canyon walls, making an excellent wide-angle composition. Even if you don't take the Navajo Trail, at least walk a short distance below "Thor's Hammer."

Copyright 1997, Photo Traveler Publications. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed, except with written permission. You may print a copy for your own personal use.

Return to Home Page