Temple of Sinawava Photo

Photographer’s Note

This is a continuation of my failry short tour of the Southwest and I believe that it is my first photo posted of the beautiful state of Utah in fabulous Zion National Park. Many of you have been to Zion National Park and most of you more recently than I have been. This park is one of the crown jewels of America's National Park System. The scenery is simply spectacular. This large waterfall is at the Temple of Sinawava which is at the end of the paved road which goes along the Virgin River. This area is spectacular in early Spring when the peak runoff occurs and volumes of water gush from the towering cliffs above. It is really dificult to give the viewer a sense of scale to this larger than life scene. The waterfall must be 200 feet plus high and the winds generated from the falls sprayed the water all over the surrounding cliffs resulting in the glistening highlights on the cliffs. This is simply one of the most mystical places that I have ever visited.

This was a difficult photo to take due to the extreme contrast which pushed the limitations of the film that I was using at the time. The Sun wasn't at the ideal angle to use a polarizer. Preparing this image for a TE download was not a "piece of cake" either.

Krispyt, carper, vizion, nisko, Didi, pgorod, jwmunro, enedimd, Floydian, feather, japiey, emjleclercq, zeca, jaywalker, delic, JorgeCK, fulvio52, plimrn, gunbud trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

Krispyt (180) 2007-05-19 1:45

Hi Stan, beautiful shot! The colors are so varied for such a scene, and you chose some good elements for framing. For whatever reason, tho, the water looks almost superimposed on the cliffs. i guess it's the extra-sharpness of the rocks contrasted with the soft water. The rocks seem a bit too sharp, maybe that's what's throwing me. The colors are definitely my favorite part!
-kristy

carper (65350) 2007-05-19 1:46

I like the shot Stan,
marvelous colours, good pov en good to use a tripod by a shot like this. a tip from me too you try also a monopod, it is very easy in use. farther good photojob, have a nice day.
gr. jaap

nisko (2461) 2007-05-19 3:09

hello stan ,
very impressive composition with nice colours and beautiful point of view!i like the smooth clives..
best regards
thodoris

pgorod (1122) 2007-05-19 6:56

It's a beautiful place, and a beautiful photo!

I see you had trouble processing the image. It does look quite unreal to me, excessively sharpened perhaps, or contrasted.

However, even though I wouldn't say it's a realistic PP, if I look at it with an open mind artistically I find I kind of like the final effect. It looks a bit like a drawing (at least on my LCD screen) and looks quite beautiful this way.

jwmunro (6369) 2007-05-19 9:32

Hello Stan -

A very nice landscape considering the lighting conditions. But, I think you over sharpened the image giving it a very chunky feel. Notice the dusting of snow - I am sure this was a very smooth surface but now we see every nook and cranny in the rock face which I am sure was not the case. Anyway, I like the composition and appreciate the problems of getting a good image under the circumstances.

Thank you for sharing.

John

enedimd (1528) 2007-05-19 11:13

Hi Stan,
SUPERB POV. Colors and light are WONDERFUL.
Really impressive shot.
TFS,
Have a nice weekend.
Best Wishes.
Emir Nedim

Floydian (30970) 2007-05-19 12:29

All heavy contrast films are very hard to scan, no execption on this one i think.
Seeing it from that point you still made something very nice out of it. I like the deep red toning, and the fall is perfectly exposed, no washed out highlights in there...a real good shot, despite is is 14 years old....good work.
Regards, Henk

feather (49960) 2007-05-20 4:57

When we were in Utah, Zion was one of our favourite places too. The red rock is incredible. Wet from the waterfall I can see this was difficult to expose for with all the highlights. The slow shutter has worked perfectly on the falling water. Have you kept all your notebooks? - just interested to see you know the exposure details.
KAth

Didi (36318) 2007-05-20 6:18

Hi Stan
Very nice fall, the place is terrific your composition is well done but I suggest less sharp levels.
Cheers.

Greg1949 (8511) 2007-05-20 6:27

Stan, this is quite a shot, looks like a painting it is so dramatic, and the colors so vivid. Great shot.

Greg

emjleclercq (14414) 2007-05-20 16:26

Another very nice mountain view, with a spectacular cascade. Nice colors for the rocks, green perhas a little pale. I think we also see here the limitations of normal scanning on the surface of the water, or perhaps it is the consequence of the polarizer.

All the best,

Emmanuel

PS : I was speaking of "normal" scanning since I made some tests of professional ones (very, very expensive) and the result is as good or even better than a normal digital. But you cannoot really see it here because of the redimensionning.

danyy (69223) 2007-05-20 17:20

Bonjour Stan,
une très belle chute d'eau , impressionnante, mais je trouve que la photo manque un peu de définition.
J'aime beaucoup les teintes.

Best regards.
Daniel.

zeca (20026) 2007-05-21 0:14

Hello Stan!
Wow! The mother nature gives to you a nice opportunity for beautiful pictures here! And I am sure that you didn´t give back to her any disappointment with this capture! Its a nice crop, showing nice motion and beautiful textures. It is a pity that we lost something when scanning our old photos. This is an image to do a hi-res scan! Impressive!
Regards,
Zeca

japiey (9493) 2007-05-21 4:13

Hi Stan..

I think, you painted a piece of nature with your imaginative frame....
Feel the emotions flushing out lovely...

Congrats, and my salutes..

jean paul

:)tmr

jaywalker (12242) 2007-05-21 14:13

Hi Stan, A trully beautiful photo, the colours are stunning & the light is excellent, perfect exposure with a lovely water fall effect, the detail in the rocks is wonderful, even able to see the wet glow, kind regards Wilson.

mesutilgim (37098) 2007-05-21 16:06

Hi Stan,
Great capture, wonderfull colors and very nice compo. And great info's !
TFS
MESUT ILGIM

delic (6735) 2007-05-23 8:20

Hello Stan,
My pace at TE is much slower than the average upload rate per person, and I'm always trailing by several days at least. I was at the same spot in January of 93 for the first time. In many times I've visited Zion, not even once do I recall seeing such a waterfall in the Temple of Sinawava. Is it seasonal, or am I blind? I've been there in almost every month of the year except, well, April. Photo itself is wonderfully composed, and the light is beautiful.
Best wishes,
Hakan

euryan (8351) 2007-05-23 17:36

I really like how you captured the light glistening off the wet rocks. The waterfall is very impressive with the good spring runoff. I’ve been there some years (in the spring) when there just isn't much runoff. Good composition as well.

JorgeCK (2598) 2007-05-25 19:31 [Comment]

Show Comment

cdmonson (2757) 2007-05-25 20:18

Hi Stan:

Zion has been nicknamed "Yosemite in Technicolor," and this is a good illustration why. I've only ever been here in late summer, so I've missed the runoff, but this is absolutely fantastic. Makes me want to go back now, rather than wait until July! Take care.

Clark

Bruno40 (6442) 2007-06-14 8:41

Stan,
A beautiful place indeed. I can figure that the PP was quite challenging.
Very good work!
see you again tomorrow
Jorge

Charo (31677) 2007-07-24 0:52

Hola Stan,
Bella e impresionante cascada rodeada de esas rocas de intenso color rojo, un lugar fantástico. Excelente realización.
Felicidades por tu bonita galería.
Cordialmente
Charo

fulvio52 (8314) 2008-01-20 9:19

1993, Stan... Technically speaking : pretty damn exceptional what you came up with under the circumstances!
I personally rate Zion's light as the second most difficult in the whole Southwestern USA... Grand Canyon North Rim's being Number One. Also : one of the very best framing of this location I've ever seen.
It's one of my top-favorite spots in Zion, I always stop here for a few shots before "hiking" The Narrows...
Awesome! It brings back great memories too.
Cheers,
Fulvio.

plimrn (19688) 2008-03-21 21:18

Hi Stan,
I'm with Hakan here. The light is divine, I especially like the light through the leaves. Wonderful detail in the rocks and the waterfall. The framing is very effective as well.
HLJ, Pat

gunbud (28069) 2008-03-26 17:56

Hi Stan,
The cascading falls and high winds did a wonderful job of creating varying of gold and silver blue to the shear rock face. The colors are very clear with outstanding details and sharpness to this wonder of the west.
Regards, Tom