doclrb

Hoggers,

I'm attending a conference in LV in mid-May and I'm thinking about driving to Zion National Park and spending a day or two. More of a drive or shuttle activity than hiking, though short hiking opportunities would be welcome. I have two questions, please:

1. Please offer any recommendations for photo opps for wildlife, mtns, or other landscape.
2. The usual lens questions..I have a dedicated wide angle on a second camera body..that's going for sure. I also have a Tamron 16-300 and a Tamron 150-600 G2 w/matching 1.4 Tele Extender on a D500. Happy to carry the 'big' lens if there are any opportunities for its use.

Many Thanks for your thoughts and recommendations.

doclrb

Davoallen

In Zion, you can't miss with any lens.

Just Fred Loc: Darwin's Waiting Room

It would be a mistake to not take the [free] shuttle from the Zion NP Visitor's Center down the canyon road (unless you have a hotel/lodge permit, vehicular traffic is not allowed). There are nine stops you can get on and off. If you're up to hiking a mile, the terminal stop will take you to the entrance to The Narrows (you'll probably not go further, as you will need water shoes and more than likely you'll get wet in waist-deep water). The Temple of Sinawava, the Court of the Patriarchs and Angel's Landing (from the ground -- to much of an adventurous climb for me) are all worth seeing and photographing.

Just Fred Loc: Darwin's Waiting Room

Let me add to my comments above: Lighting in Zion can be a real photography challenge. When you're visiting Bryce, Grand Canyon, or many of the other parks in Utah, you're either on top, looking down, or out in an expanse, where sunlight bathes the rock formations.

Zion, however (and my favorite park!) is different in that you're in the canyon, looking up at rock formations on each side of your hike/ride. Unless you climb (Angel's Landing, or one of the trails. At this writing, the Upper Emerald Pools, the Kayenta Trail, Hidden Canyon and Observation Point are closed due to storm damage or rockfall. They may be open by the time of your visit), you're in the heart of the canyon, walking/shuttling between the major rock formations, and light gets very sketchy. The best light for seeing is at noon, but that's the worst time for taking photographs. You'll be well advised to take your time shooting photos, use a light meter, and frame your shots well.

I have taken a lot of photos in Zion, and many of them require some serious post-processing; either the sky is blown out when the rocks and river are lit correctly, or the opposite - the sky is radiant blue but the rocks and the river are heavily shadowed. I consider Zion to be one of the most challenging places to photograph well!

IDguy Loc: Idaho

There are deer and turkey in the canyon. And big horn sheep above the tunnel. Bring your big gun.

One of the cooler but lesser known hikes departs with stairs just above the upper tunnel exit. Parking can be problematic so go early. It is a relatively short and, for Zion, relatively flat hike. The view at the end is awesome!

Here you look out, not up!

steve49 Loc: massachusetts

Great park for sure.
We stayed at the Cliff Rose Lodge when there.. It is a 5 minute walk from the visitor center.
You get the shuttle there and you can't drive further unless you are staying at the hotel in the park I believe.

There will probably be too much water to hike in the narrows in May but there are so many photo ops there.

ras422 Loc: Virginia

Photo op behind museum for sunrise,as always pics of watchman at sunset also drive and take pics of checkerboard Mesa. Use books or google to plan these shots. Walk to the narrows great opps along the way probably too cold to hike in May. Oscars for food great place. Rich

ras422 Loc: Virginia

Whole park is just spectacular!!!

mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma

I would leave the big lens at home. Zion Jeep Tours 435-668-3756 has a wide variety of tours and hikes you can take and we liked them very much. I wish I could have done the Narrows trail when we were there. We stayed at Flannigan’s Inn 435-772-3244 which was lovely and wonderful! Good food and accommodations and a stop on the bus route. It’s a little pricey but well worth it! When in Las Vegas, we did a Pink Jeep tour of Valley of Fire state park where we saw the best petroglyphs of our trip.

knessr

I would take your big lens with you. We worked in Zion NP for two different years. The shot of the Bighorn Sheep was taken with a 70-200mm one morning on the East Side or like someone mentioned above the tunnel. The East side above the tunnel is completely different from the lower side. We found most wildlife on the East side and in my estimation, the topography is better for photography.

And yes, take the Canyon Trail Overlook walk. You won't be sorry. Parking is just pass the tunnel on the right side or along the road on the left side. There are several pullouts along that whole road to get out and shoot.

On the lower side, the Parus Trail is flat, and you can get some good shots of a rock formation known as the Watchman. Have fun.

Oh ... on the main road from the South Entrance through the tunnel and the whole East side, you can drive your own car. Like it was mentioned, you can't drive your car during that time of year on the road that goes to the Lodge unless you have reservations and only then just to the lodge. But their shuttle system is great and free so why not use it. You can hop off/hop on at will on the shuttle going in the direction you want to go.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

The wider the better I think. I used my Sigma 10-20 on my crop sensor D7000 and was pleased with the results. You’re always shooting up unless you hike to the top somewhere. We didn’t in our tour, stuck with the buses and short walks. The biggest problem was avoiding blowing out the sky. Try to keep it out of the composition as much as possible.

JFCoupe Loc: Kent, Washington

An earlier post commented on the highlights and shadows. It is very accurate.

I was at Zion in late March 2018 and it was crowded so plan to manage your time with other folks too. I was at the gate by 7:30 and the line for the shuttle from the base was about 45 minutes. The shuttle system is awesome and will get you to many points in the main canyon very nicely.

I have Olympus MFT gear, and used my 12-100 (24-200 FF) for the majority of my images. Colors are amazing and geologic formations are everywhere. At the top of the canyon, the one mile walk along the river is mostly level and a very scenic hike. It gets you tot he mouth of the Canyon and you can shot images of the folks in wet gear hiking further up the river.

BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

Here is some information on the Zion shuttle.

ronaldwrightdallas

it has been awhile since I was there, but I used a 24-70 for about 70% of photos and 70-200 for the other 30%. a lot at 24-40 range and a lot over 100mm.
enjoy

SquantoWV Loc: Born in Iowa

Here's a couple of other suggestions. The Kolob Cayon section of Zion NP (Exit 40 on I15) is very beautiful, uncrowded, you can drive to the end of the road, and stop almost anywhere to photograph. Also, you might be interested in visiting Grafton, a Mormon ghost town. As you drive on UT-9 through Rocksville,UT on your way east to Zion NP, you will see a sign pointing to the road to Grafton. The 'town' was used in a few movies, best known for the bicycle-"Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head" scene in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". About 40 years ago my wife and I found a little book which described places used in movies. We visited several of these sites a year for about 15 years.