Rocky road trip

Tom returns to his native America to explore the red rock formations of Utah, and captures an evocative sunrise at Bryce Canyon

- Tom Mackie

It's great to be back on the open road after two years of limited travel. I never get tired of photographing the southwestern United States, so I headed for Utah. I wanted to shoot some locations that I hadn't been to before, and to revisit some of my favourite landscapes.

When it comes to landscape photography, I have a fascination with unusual rock formations, and the southwest certainly has an abundance of them. I've been to Bryce Canyon National Park countless times, but each time I walk to the edge of the canyon, my jaw drops in wonder of its incredible geological features.

The last time I photographed Bryce was with a lower-spec camera, so I was anxious to try out my Nikon D850. I wasn't disappointed: the quality and resolution are outstanding.

Because Bryce Canyon is situated at 9100 feet, it is subject to low temperatures at night and high temperatures during the day. Water seeps into the rock and freezes, creating these incredible hoodoos (rock pillars). As it was March, I was hoping for snow to cover the formations; although I had just missed a heavy snowfall a week earlier, there was still enough snow in places to give a good contrast to the oranges and reds of the rocks.