I was able to visit many of the places mentioned during a two week trip in April of this year. Every day brought new vistas that just begged to be photographed.
Zion was almost a pain in the neck because I was constantly looking up at the spectacular scenery. A Bryce you are looking mostly down so it's easier on the neck. The short hike to a small water fall near Mossy Cave off of highway 12, about miles east of the road entrance to Bryce, was simple but interesting and not crowded. The views from the various lookouts were stunning, as advertised.
Island in the Sky at Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point also had fantastic views from their lookouts. The hike to the southern tip of Island in the Sky was easy and worth the walk. As was mentioned, Arches has its wonders somewhat spread out making it difficult to get them all in the best light during a short trip. The nice thing there is that you can walk right up to and under most of the arches and other wonders giving you that ant-at-a-picnic point of view. One of my favorites was Sand Dune Arch. Surrounded by other formations, it wasn't so big that it was out of scale. Rounding out the Utah parks were Natural Bridges, Capitol Reef and Kodachrome, each with its own charm, vistas and hikes.
Near Las Vegas were two easily accessible parks, Valley of Fire and Red Rock Canyon. Both let you get close to their natural wonders and and offer interesting points of view.
Rounding out my visit I made a quick side trip to Death Valley for more spectacular views. Sometimes after admiring the vast beauty of the landscapes, you should look down and notice some of the small wonders right at your feet. Some great pictures are down there just waiting to be made into images.
Is was a short two weeks, not nearly enough time to really see and photograph the natural wonders but a great introduction to them anyway.