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.

More Grand Canyon National Park

Evening Light and Shadows from Mather Point

On this trip, I only had a chance to photograph one sunset, and I chose Mather Point, located near the visitor center, as my spot.  I can't honestly say that there was anything especially dramatic about the light or the atmospheric conditions on that evening.  However, any evening at the South Rim is probably not a bad one for photography.  It reminds me a little of that old saying about a bad day fishing being better than a good day working.  

Clouds at Sunset

I would wager my usual limit of a nickel that there was some spot on the South Rim that had a better view of these clouds that evening than the spot where I was.  But, luck plays a role in a lot of things, landscape photography included.  And only being present on one evening does not provide the best of odds at getting a memorable shot.  Guess I will have to return another time!

View from Hermit's Rest

Tech Info-  All images shown were taken with a Canon 5D2 and 24-105 L lens with polarizer.

Yucca Plant at Hermit's Rest

If you would like to compare these images, taken in the July heat, to a previous post of the South Rim in a spring snowstorm, you can click on the April, 2012 post on the right hand side of your screen.

Colorado River from South Rim

Most overlooks on the South Rim do not show much of the Colorado River.  However, this view shows the river winding its way into the canyon from one of the points on the East side of the South Rim, perhaps either Navajo Point or Desert View Point.

Easter-Grand Canyon

In 1999, after a long winter, Vickie and I decided to plan a trip to the South Rim over the 3-day Easter weekend.  Our flight to Phoenix was delayed several hours due to a heavy storm there.  We arrived at the rim barely in time for sunset on Good Friday.  Early in the day on Saturday, it began to snow so hard that visibility was near zero.  Retreating to our room, we kept hoping the storm would ease up enough to let us get out and photograph.  We knew we had to leave on Sunday evening for a return flight home.

By mid-morning on Sunday, the snow was first beginning to show signs of tapering off, so we went on a hike through the snow toward the Rim.  Most of our hike, there was still too much snow to be able to see anything of the canyon, but a few minutes of brief interruption allowed me to capture the image above.

Nikon F3, Fujichrome Velvia, Nikkor WA zoom.

One more brief lull in the snowfall let me get the image above.  Then, the snow resumed!

Finally, in late afternoon, the snow let up and the sun began to dart in and out of the clouds.  This was the view from Moran Point.

In Vickie's scrapbook of our trip, she included the following quote (attributed to Mary Anne Radmacher-Hershey):  "Just when it's tempting to think days are predictable...something extraordinary happens."

My friends, may you also have an extraordinary Easter this year!