Infrared Photography at Zion National Park

by | Jul 5, 2022

Today’s Post by Joe Farace

I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again: I have captured infrared images all over this country and even in Mexico but by far the best place that I’ve found to make infrared images in the United States is Zion National Park. My friend Juan Pablo tells me that Columbia is the best country to make infrared images and I hope to join him there someday and find out. I’ll have to add it to my bucket list.

Zion National Park is located near Springdale, Utah, about 700 miles southwest of Denver. Zion Canyon, which is a prominent feature of the 229-square-mile park, is 15 miles long and up to half a mile deep, cut through the reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone by the North Fork of the Virgin River. The park’s lowest elevation is 3,666 ft at Coalpits Wash and the highest elevation is 8,726 ft at Horse Ranch Mountain.

The park’s unique geography and variety of life zones allow for unusual plant and animal diversity. Numerous plant species as well as 289 species of birds, 75 mammals (including 19 species of bat), and 32 reptiles inhabit the park’s four life zones: desert, riparian, woodland, and coniferous forest.

How I made this shot: The above image was made using a Canon EOS D30 (not 30D) that had been converted to infrared capture by a company that is no longer in business. The resolution of the D30 was three-megapixels with a maximum resolution of just  2160 x 1440, which is the resolution of the featured image. Depending on what kind of device or screen you may be viewing this on it may not be crisp but that was the IR camera I had when shooting this image in 2006.

The lens used was the discontinued Tamron SP AF 11-18mm F/4.5-5.6 Di-II LD Aspherical (at 15mm) that has been discontinued. Exposure was 1/125 sec at f/9 and ISO 200, which points up the big advantage of shooting infrared with an infrared converted camera as opposed to using an on-camera filter, you can easily handhold the camera instead of have to place it on a tripod. The RAW file was converted to monochrome with Silver Efex and tones using the Platinum filter that’s part of PhotoKit 2.

Sometime in the future I would like to hold an infrared photography workshop in Zion National Park. A few years ago one of the big photography websites approached me asking about sponsoring such a workshop but with a change in their ownership the offer evaporated. If your organization is interested in sponsoring such a workshop, please click the Contact button and let’s talk.

For my older readers: For those who are 62 years and older, the Senior Pass is a lifetime entrance pass for admittance to all US National Parks. At $10, the Senior Pass has been the bargain of the century until the US Congress passed Centennial Legislation P.L. 114-289 on December 16, 2016 increasing it to $80. The legislation states  the cost of the lifetime Senior Pass be equal to the cost of the annual America the Beautiful – The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass, which is currently $80.You can purchase a $20 Annual Senior Pass, which is good for one full year from the date of purchase.

 

You can learn more about infrared photography and my approach to it on my YouTube Channel, where I have to videos:The first is on Using Infrared Filters and the second is on IR Camera Conversions.

My book, The Complete Guide to Digital Infrared Photography is available from Amazon for $11.42 with used copies starting around $7.59 as I write this. Creative Digital Monochrome Effects has a chapter on IR photography and is available from Amazon for $9.39 with used copies starting around two bucks, as I write this.