/// Wild Tracks - Landscape Photography by Eduardo Gallo

WILD TRACKS

Passion for Landscape Photography

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Zion National Park, UT, USA

October 2010

Zion National Park, UT, USA

Canon 5D MkII & EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM, 1.5s f/13 ISO400 @40mm

Google Earth for this photo
BALANCE

The aptly called "Subway" is a short section of the canyon carved by the Left Fork of North Creek within Zion National Park. Located far from Zion Canyon, which receives the vast majority of the tourist flow, visiting the Subway nevertheless requires the obtention of a permit issued under a strict quota system to preserve the canyon pristine condition as well as the visitors experience from the degradation caused by too many people in such a small place.

It takes a few hours of hiking along the creek to get there. The trail crosses the creek so many times that at the end one realizes that it is far easier to forget about trying to keep the feet dry and just walk along the shallow creek. As you make progress upstream, the canyon becomes increasingly narrow, the reflected light starts to work its magic warming up the sandstone walls, and you notice you need to move on because you are not going to get there if you stop to take photos such as the one above every 100 feet.

However, nothing prepares you for the beauty of the Subway itself, as shown in this image. The water has carved a tunnel across the rock, with only a very narrow opening at the top. Hence, all the light comes in from both ends, reflecting so many times in the polished rock that it achieves a subdued effect I've never seen anywhere else. The wonderful light emphasizes the colors on the wall, the ground, as well as within the azure and green pools across which the creek trickles down in small cascades. As I had started hiking just after sunrise, I had the whole place for myself for at least an hour before anybody else arrived. I made the most of it, not only taking all the photographs I could possibly want but also absorbing the moment with all my senses.

On the way back I started thinking about the wonderful place I had just visited and how it contained all the elements I usually look for. Somehow my mind wandered towards an AC/DC song that mentions all the elements required to have good rock, and I modified it accordingly: Let there be light, and there was light ... Let there be silence, and there was silence ... Let there be water, and there was water ... Let there be canyons, and there was canyons ... Let there be sandstone, and there was sandstone ... Let there be peace.

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