The Grand Canyon
In American culture the word "Awesome" is heavily over-used to we Brits. However, this is one "place" - actually it spans for some 250 miles - where the word is spot on!
Formed over thousands of millions of years ( I think the earliest plate we saw set in a footpath on the south rim was 5,000+ million years), and beautifully reflected in the different coloured rock as your eye heads down towards the canyon floor, through erosion by the Colorado River.
In addition to the length, some other stats; the distance from the south rim, where these shots were taken from, to the north rim is c10 miles & from the rim to the floor is over 1 mile & will take you around 4 hrs to complete the descent (on foot).
To say the whole thing is staggering just doesn't do it justice. I had a really hard job curating the images down to the ones here from the several hundred I took on the day.
When planning the trip, we decided that we didn't just want to pass through, we wanted to spend time here, so we drove up one day, had a full day in the park & drove back the next - around a 600 mile round trip from Vegas. The benefit was that we were able to see the Canyon in many different lighting conditions as the day progressed. We also stumbled across the ultimate destination wedding - see the shots just before the sunset ones. In the lower right corner, you'll see Bride & Groom out on the rocks. Their photographer was behind them, shooting towards the north rim so her version of this shot, and the following ones as the sun went down, would have been stunning. For me, total respect for the bride getting out to there - I'd been close to her position earlier in the day when researching shooting locations . This was quite a challenge & I wasn't in wedding shoes! For the shot, they were superb, providing a sense of scale. The hill range beyond them in the background is something like 40 miles away!
As the afternoon wore on towards sunset & the sun dropped lower, it created absolutely fantastic contrasts of light & shade, perfect fo Black & White conversion.
Where's the Colorado River you may say? It is visible in the 7th, 8th, 14 & 15th shot but don't look for anything blue - look for the brown!
Big skies, big rocks, Grand Canyon, Arizona
Amazing where trees will grow! Grand Canyon, Arizona
Millions of years work, Grand Canyon, Arizona
Light & shade - morning light on the rock faces of Grand Canyon, Arizona
Nature's work over 4-5,000 million years, cutting through the rocks at Grand Canyon, Arizona
Can you see the Colorado River? (it is in this shot!) Grand Canyon, Arizona
Millenia of erosion by the Colorado River
There it is! Colorado River running through the Grand Canyon, Arizona
Changing colours of Rock, Grand Canyon, Arizona
10 miles to the north rim, Grand Canyon, Arizona
You want to photograph me?
Glorious colours, Grand Canyon, Arizona
Change light, changing colours! Grand Canyon, Arizona
Afternoon light on the Colorado River, Grand Canyon, Arizona
Destination Wedding, Grand Canyon, Arizona. The rock face in the distance is 40 miles away!
Late afternoon setting sun, Grand Canyon, Arizona
Low sunlight catching some rocks, Grand Canyon, Arizona
Stunning graphic lines make the perfect black & white, Grand Canyon, Arizona
The warmth of the late afternoon sun on the Grand Canyon, Arizona
Almost set! Grand Canyon, Arizona
