Techniques, Tips, Trips, and Musings about my Work

West Rim Vista, Grand Canyon National Park, shot with a Sony a900 and Zeiss 24-70mm lens set to 24mm, f16 at 1/15 of a second at ISO 100.

It goes without saying that I consider the Grand Canyon the center of the earth. It is a place of such immense spiritual power that I always feel inspired and rejuvinated after every visit. Like most photographers who shoot the canyon I have my favorite places and vistas which I always revisit on every trip. This image is in one of those locations. While this spot along the west rim is fantastic in the morning I have always preferred the late afternoon light which gives me a softer, more high key type of image. This backlighting, also known as contrejour, produces images with beautiful pastel colors. In this instance the sun is setting off of my left shoulder. The sun is low enough to provide beautiful light but high enough to light up the Colorado River in the inner gorge. Many photographers are afraid of shooting “into” the sun this way. It just takes some experimentation with exposure to make a successful image. The final image processed in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop is not a composite of multiple shots. For me the beautiful soft light and monochromatic color is like a pastel painting.