Grand Canyon Sunrise and Sunset

Sunset- Navajo Point

Recently my eldest daughter did her graduation walk for her PhD in Arizona.  After the ceremony, I took the opportunity to camp for a couple of days in the Grand Canyon.  Although this was not my first visit to the Grand Canyon, it was the first time that I camped inside the park, thereby allowing the possibility of being at the rim for sunrise and sunset.  For my first sunset location, I chose Navajo Point, which is located on the east end of the rim drive, near Desert View Point, and looks nearly due west down a long stretch of the canyon.  The wind was howling that evening, causing me to have to hang on to my tripod to keep it from blowing over.  I think some of the haze in the canyon during my visit may have been from some wildfires in the region.

The images that I came away with at sunrise and sunset are stylistically different from most of my previous work.  Rather than showing much detail, these are really studies in color and shape.  So I'll be interested in other's opinion as to whether these images work for you or not.  Feedback is welcomed.

Tech info- Canon 5D2, 24-105 L zoom.  Cropped to an 8:10 aspect ratio, and warmed in the raw file conversion plus a warming filter.

Sunrise- Yavapai Point

The next morning, I headed to Yavapai Point for sunrise.  There must have been fifty other photographers there with the same idea, so I didn't have a great choice of tripod locations left to pick from.  As the time for sunset approached that evening, I decided the atmospheric conditions were less than optimal, plus I was a bit tired and hungry, so I elected to go to sleep early and hope for a good sunrise the following morning.

Sunrise- Mather Point

On my final morning in the park, I decided to give Mather Point a try.  I have not yet decided which, if any, of these images to print for display.  Perhaps over time I can decide.  Or maybe the opinions of friends will help me decide.

Grandview Point panorama

I know I said this blog post was supposed to be about sunrise and sunset images, but I'm throwing this one in anyway.  On my way out of the park, I decided to stop at Grandview Point.  The image above was shot at 67mm focal length, with three exposures stitched together for a 2:1 aspect ratio.  While this blog may not be the best way to be able to see the detail in a panorama image, if nothing else, it serves to show a contrast of styles versus the first three images.