The Riverside Walk is always a must-do in Zion.  It winds along the Virgin River from the end of the canyon road at the Temple of Sinawava back to the Gateway to the Narrows.  We spent an afternoon shooting in great sites the upper canyon during the last Zion photography workshop and this walk was one of them.

The trail is not a long one and is pretty much level.  At the end the canyon has gotten narrow enough that the canyon bottom and river bed are pretty  much the same.  Looking back downstream the river drops over a series of boulders and small waterfalls.

As the sun moves across the sky the canyon floor falls into the shadow of the towering walls and golden light filters down from above.  The air is cool, the river murmurs by and all is very peaceful.

The exposure was not particularly difficult.  With the whole scene in shade the dynamic range was pretty limited.  I love shooting in light like this.  I did adjust the exposure length, however, so I could get some blur in the water.  This added to the calming effect.  I adjusted the f/stop until I ended up with a 1.6 second exposure.  I also underexposed by 2/3 stop to ensure I didn't have any highlight clipping in the water.

I shot both a horizontal and vertical version of this image and thought the horizontal one would be the keeper. But it turns out the vertical conveys a feeling of quiet and solitude that is lacking on the other.  A moderately long focal length of 80mm gave the image a feeling of immediacy, especially with the bottom of the image framed by the two boulders.

The post processing added a little contrast and brought out the glow in the trees.  They contrast nicely with the reddish walls behind them.  The foreground is intentionally a little cool which understates the boulders a little and draws the eye to the vibrant, lively green.

The next time you make it to Zion you'll want to be sure to take a couple of hours to do this trail.  You'll enjoy every step of the way.