Bryce Canyon, Utah.

From my newly rediscovered collection of pictures taken with a cellphone I no longer use, there were several shots taken on our travels through Utah in October 2013. This view of Bryce Canyon was captured just after sunrise and a surprise first snowfall of the year. The bad news for us is that due to the large amount of snow, the park was closed to traffic on the main road. The only exceptions were two viewpoints, here at Bryce Point and a short distance away, Paria View. After visiting with the rangers at the front desk, we left disappointed in that the road through the park wouldn’t be open until very late in the day. We decided to continue our trip to Arizona and vowed to return another day.

About the photo: Captured on a Samsung S5, this image was shot at f/2.6 1/180 sec. at ISO-80. The image was captured at 8:30 AM during that hour just after sunrise that photographers call the “golden hour” when the low angle of the sun filters out much of the blue light in the atmosphere. At Bryce, there’s no doubt that the term “golden hour” is appropriately named.

John Steiner