Zion and Virgin River Sunrise Autumn

Sunrise in Zion National Park is always magical and on this early morning I took a stroll along the Watchman Trail. It’s a beautiful trail that’s very close to the campground, so it’s easy to get to and return to camp to prepare for the rest of the day’s hiking where you’re done with sunrise. 
 
I was mostly looking to utilize the Virgin River as my foreground, so I eventually veered off the trail and down to the river to try and find a unique vantage point of the beautiful Zion mountainside towering over the valley floor. When I can across this wonderful rock formation within the Virgin River, I knew this was what I was after. I made sure to set up my tripod along the waters edge with a nice view of Bridge Mountain in the distance, perched high over the amazing colors below. I also wanted to make sure to give some texture and motion to the water, as I didn’t want the water to be frozen or too silky smooth … so I ended on a 0.6 second exposure, which was perfect to help showcase the flow and texture of the water without turning the Virgin River too silky smooth.