As we arrived at twilight to our first shooting spot for the morning, Greg and I surveyed our surroundings, looking for compositions and safe areas to set up our tripods. A tapestry of snow had fallen during our nighttime sleep, accumulating from 4-10 inches in different areas of the park. Being the first people in the canyon provided us with a carpet of untouched, shimmering, new snow. The winds were relentless, stinging the naked skin on my cheeks and nose and burning through the flesh of my lips. I wore my sunglasses to protect my eyes from the bitter gusts. Frost bite was a real concern that morning considering the strength and persistence of the frigid winds. I pulled my outer winter jacket around my face attempting to protect it from the cold. Hours later my cheeks and nose would burn red with the kiss of winter and wind.

We stood outside in the soundless park, facing the blustering cold as the sun began to wake for the day. The temperatures stayed well below freezing even as the sun began to rise in the sky. This is always a risk that photographers take as they face extreme temperatures in search of the light. The right light is never certain and predicting how the weather will be comes down to good fortune more times than not. Nevertheless, we were treated with a white Christmas in the canyon that morning. The soft, white palette of snow contrasted the red hues of Bryce Canyon’s towering columns of limestone. As I stood and looked at the formations in the canyon, I thought about the meaning of their color, the language that is used to describe them, and the stories that have encapsulated their essence.

Image by Lara Matthews @ Western Images and Light

Gear:
Camera: Canon EOS 6D
Lens: Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L
Tripod: Manfrotto 057 Carbon Fiber Tripod
Bag: Thinktank Retrospective Pack

Image Specs:
Focal Length: 93mm
Shutter Speed: 1/320 sec
ISO: 125
Aperture (F-Stop): 9