South Rim sunset

The thing about the Grand Canyon that surprised me the most on my first trip there was the range of color I was able to capture. I purposely avoided taking pictures during the day, since the bright sun would create contrast problems. Instead, I hoped the flatter, more even light of late day/early evening would afford better opportunities for striking images.

The flat light that emerged as the sun slid below the rim of the canyon seemed to awaken a range of blues and magentas that I had not anticipated. I took a number of long exposures long after the late afternoon crowd of tourists had left the Devil's Den overlook.

I’m trusting my memory since I shoot with film and my camera doesn’t capture any exposure information with my shots. I believe this shot was at ½ or 1 second at f22 with a graduated neutral density filter to even out the tones of the sky and canyon walls.

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.