The Great White Throne and The Organ, Zion National Park

The Great White Throne and The Organ, Zion National Park

Back in February of 2009 I spent four days roaming around the southwest with friends, photographing as much as we could. Leaving from Las Vegas, Zion National Park is en route to any other southern Utah locations, and a logical first place to stop. We visited Zion the year prior without a great deal of success, and this trip was not substantially different in that regard. As time has passed and I've seen more of Zion through others' work I have gained a new appreciate of it, and would love to return.

We arrived just a couple hours prior to sunset, and very briefly drove deeper into the canyon to at least briefly see a few of the icons. Since it was late in the afternoon, this view of The Organ (the darker red sandstone feature on the right) was in shadow, while the Great White Throne (the taller white sandstone feature to the left) was still getting direct sunlight. This lead to an ugly dynamic range issue. Since the sandstone at the right was a distinctly different red sandstone, I tried using a 25A (red) filter to hopefully boost its level of exposure in relation to the rest of the scene. I'm not sure how effective the filter actually was, but in the end I am pleased to have retained as much detail in each feature as I did.

It has taken me nearly two years to post this because I have always had limited access to a scanner for my large format photographs. I have a hard time judging the viability of a black and white negative by simply looking at it, so this was always a lower priority piece of film to scan - I just assumed it hadn't turned out well. After finally scanning it this evening I am very pleased with how it turned out and decided to share it.

Tachihara 4x5 | Schneider SA 90mm f/8 | f/22 | 1/2s | TMAX 100 | Tripod | D76 Developer

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