Angel's Landing Lone Tree

Angel's Landing hike in Zion was one of the most memorable times on my trip. Little did I know when I crested the first major hill and saw this magnificent tree that I was only at the beginning of the most exciting leg. Seeing this tree standing proudly with the sun beams peering through it made for a glorious moment that I stopped to photograph. To make it even more surreal, a Tibetan Monk walked up to me with wonder about what I was doing; so I showed him my stitched image. To top it all off, he pulled out an iPhone from his robe and asked me in very broken English which apps he needed to be able to stitch photos together so he too could create such beauty.

Now I know I joked about putting fires out at ESP in past blog posts, but this is honestly what happened that afternoon.

I was later told that when I was busy capturing the lone tree, the monk was posing for people to take his photograph among the Oriental looking scenery on the other side of the hill. Ahhh to be able to be in two places at once.

I chose to process this image in B&W using the Dynamic Light app. I saturate the clouds for even more drama. I also added some dodging and burning with Filterstorm. The frame came from Crop'n'Frame app. I tried some other techniques to try to sharpen the limbs of the trees more since the wind was blowing slightly which cause some blurring but none of them gave me the look I need to correct the problem.

Angels Landing

The view from the top looking east.
"I am on top of the world looking down on creation...."
Angels Landing is a destination to aspire to. When I left this morning to go on this hike, I had no idea that I would be in for such an adventure. The hike is difficult to describe in words so I am going to be posting a few photos tonight to show you how incredible this place is.

I was fascinated by the number of people willing to venture beyond what some would call impossible. An amazing variety of people made it to the top:grandmas, a women who had 4 knee surgeries, 13 yo boys bragging that it took then only 14 minutes, a women with perfectly painted long fake nails, and high school and college students by the ruck loads. The trail at times was continual line of ant like creatures.
Looking up to the peak where Angels Landing is.

The first 2 hours of the trail was a switch back hike that most hikers would consider strenuous. The last 1/2 mile was even more intense with a knife edge scramble that had a 2000 foot drop on both sides and at times was only big enough for one person. Thank goodness for the chain railing that I continually used to pull myself up and balance with. 

I frequently reminded myself to look where I wanted to go and not where I didn't. Most of the trail was slippery sandy sandstone, while other parts were icy and snowy.
 
Part of me never wanted to leave this spiritual place where the turkey vultures soar just feet above my head. Another part of my couldn't wait to get down so I can share this story and a few of my photos to hopefully inspire others to face their fears in order to experience this place of beauty and wonderment.
I am happily on top of the world.

Some quotes I heard at the top today: "I just don't want to think about it anymore." "I almost threw up twice." "I crawled on all fours." "That is the scariest thing I have ever done." "If my mom knew what I did today she would kill me." "I was just one step away from death."

Looking down from the top, Yes I walked along the knife edge.

Do you want to learn to use the apps of the iPhone to create photographs beyond a basic snapshot? Sign up for the iPhoneography 101 online course for easy to follow instruction. The course allows you to work at your own pace while having a professional standing by to provide assistance, answer questions and offer critiques. Contact instructor: Teri Lou at teri@terilou.com and ask for a course outline.