Leafing Tree, Kolob Canyons, Zion National Park

After photographing along the "green wall" on our unscheduled wander down Taylor Creek Canyon, we were considering what we should do next. On the one hand we were loving the scenery, and on the other hand it was not what we had planned for the day. I decided to wander another hundred yards or so down the canyon to see what was around the next bend, and what caught my eyes were these glowing red walls towards the terminus of the canyon. The decision to keep pressing on was an easy one.

This particular canyon started very wide and just grew increasing narrow as we hiked its length. Towards the terminus of the canyon, where this was taken, the canyon may have been only about 50 feet wide, with walls reaching up a thousand feet. It was about noon when this was taken, which put the sun almost directly overhead and directly on the north wall of the canyon. The light reflects off that red sandstone to this south canyon wall, and back and forth again and again, intensifying the red color to what you see here. The converging vertical black streaks seen gazing upwards help give a sense of scale. I left the top of a young cottonwood tree at the bottom of the frame to give the whole scene some real context.

The red light actually overwhelmed the scene a bit and some careful color balancing was required. It does wonders to emphasize the red color of the sandstone, but muddies the green leaves and lightly colored bark, so care was taken to ensure everything was recognizably colored.

View more related images in my Zion National Park Gallery.

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