When you picture a desert, you typically don’t think of a beautiful place full of lush greenery for a reason.  Deserts are dry and desolate places.  However, there are a few places which defy that definition.  I found one such garden in the desert sands in the American Southwest desert.

In a land mostly untouched by human habitation lies the canyon which makes up Zion National Park.  While the canyon itself is one of the more popular and traveled national parks in the United States, you can still find untouched gardens along the Virgin River if you know where to look.

I found myself being inspired to chase after a photo I saw on the internet.  It depicted the Court of the Patriarchs with a waterfall in front of the famous peaks.  Having been to the court once before, I knew that I would not find the waterfall by just getting off the tram and walking around the tram stop area.  I had to go deeper into the park to find it.

After a few times of going the wrong direction, we finally found the direction we needed to go in order to find the bridge depicted.  This adventure did involve making sure that we didn’t step in horse manure left on the trail.  Some of it was even fresh.

We had a limited time to get the shot in since we arrived just before sunset was scheduled to happen.  We had to make some quick tracks in order to find the waterfall I wanted.

Thankfully, we heard the unmistakable sound of water flowing over the edge of something and followed our ears.  We discovered a beautiful scene with the Virgin River pouring over and edge in the terrain.  In the background were the very patriarchs I was hoping to photograph.  All I had to do was to find the right spot to get the shot.

I determined that the best view of the waterfall was going to come from being out in the middle of the river itself.  I was incredibly grateful that I had brought my walking stick with me.  That stick was invaluable in helping me keep my footing on the slick and wet rocks of the river I was crossing.  I should probably add: “Don’t try this at home.”

After I finished my treacherous crossing, I found a great flat rock where I could set up my tripod and still have room enough to work.  Who said that gardens in the desert sands were entirely safe?  Since the quality of the light was changing fast, I got to work.  Thankfully, it was dark enough that I didn’t require a neutral density filter in order to get the silky water that I was going for in the photo.

Once I nailed both of these photos, I picked up all my gear and my stick to begin the equally treacherous return to the safety of shore.  Midway, I managed to hand off much of my gear so that it was safe and I could cross much more safely.

I don’t think that I’ve ever done a photo shoot which was so laser-focused before.  I knew what I wanted, we went in, and got it.  It’s just that simple for me.

However, I still get nonsense from my spouse about taking some time to photograph the wild turkeys sitting at the tram stop while he was busy figuring out directions from the book we had.  The turkeys were a perfect stop-gap for me.  I get told that bringing up the turkeys doesn’t show a laser-focus at all.  Well, that might be right but take a look at the photo I got.

So, you tell me who’s laughing now?

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