Would You Mind If I Said You Had a Grand Canyon?

wxwax · May 15, 2006

Had the opportunity to hit the Grand Canyon, among other places, last week. Longish story, I'll tell it if anyone cares.

It was my first visit. What an impressive place. Never seen anything like it, of course. In some ways, hard to shoot. Lots and lots of haze. And sunsets seem to draw a crowd.

Anyway, here are a few.

This is sunset from the most popular location, can't remember what it's called, but get your spot early, 'cause you ain't elbowing your way to the fence if you get there late.

It's hard to convey a sense of the scale of the place.

You have to fight like crazy to get rid of the haze in any long distance shots.

wxwax · May 15, 2006

The most amazing drive of my life was from Bryce Canyon to Moab, Utah. Every inch of the six hour drive was saturated with breathtaking scenery. Stunning.

In Moab, there's a national park called Arches. They have stone arches there. Which is why I shot the Balanced Rock instead.

gus · May 15, 2006

Wow they are terrific waxy ! Scale is so hard to show in a photo as you mentioned. I keep staring into #2. Something i noticed about the US & Europe is the never ending 'jet trails' in every shot as with your last one. Its something we dont see here i suppose because of such low air traffic compared to more populated countries.

Andy · May 15, 2006

This is where Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner are, right?

asd · May 15, 2006

Wow, yes, I really like #2 as well. The background looks almost like it's underwater, with light shimmering down across the canyons. Crisp, clear, beautiful.

wxwax · May 15, 2006

We shot a lot in broad sunlight, which makes for dark shadows and a contrasty shot. My PS skills aren't where they need to be, but I thought this shot might help give a sense of scale.

wxwax · May 15, 2006

gus wrote:

Wow they are terrific waxy ! Scale is so hard to show in a photo as you mentioned. I keep staring into #2. Something i noticed about the US & Europe is the never ending 'jet trails' in every shot as with your last one. Its something we dont see here i suppose because of such low air traffic compared to more populated countries.

Thanks Gus. Yeah, darn jets. I guess I could replace the sky.

wxwax · May 15, 2006

Andy wrote:

This is where Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner are, right?

Little suckers were too quick to shoot.

A great place for a future dgrin trip, btw, they have accommodations on site and no shortage of stuff to shoot. :uhoh

gus · May 15, 2006

wxwax wrote:

We shot a lot in broad sunlight, which makes for dark shadows and a contrasty shot. My PS skills aren't where they need to be, but I thought this shot might help give a sense of scale.

Sense of scale all right...i recon one day ..one 1 shooter too many will get a reeaaalllyy good idea of the scale as well as a quick geology lesson on decaying sandstone & the importance of wearing an ACME jet pack.:uhoh

wxwax · May 15, 2006

asd wrote:

Wow, yes, I really like #2 as well. The background looks almost like it's underwater, with light shimmering down across the canyons. Crisp, clear, beautiful.

Thanks, mate. I reckon clouds are a bit of a blessing, they breakup big landscapes and give depth and definition.

wxwax · May 15, 2006

gus wrote:

Sense of scale all right...i recon one day ..one 1 shooter too many will get a reeaaalllyy good idea of the scale as well as a quick geology lesson on decaying sandstone & the importance of wearing an ACME jet pack.:uhoh

That guy ended up waving an aerial around. I think he helps tracks the birds in the area.

It is a long way down, though.

ian408 · May 15, 2006

For a true sense of scale, hike down the Bright Angel Trail a ways. It's
impressive to look back up...even harder to walk back up

Nice captures. I think maybe the winter time might be a bit better for
photos?

Ian

wxwax · May 15, 2006

ian408 wrote:

For a true sense of scale, hike down the Bright Angel Trail a ways. It's
impressive to look back up...even harder to walk back up

Nice captures. I think maybe the winter time might be a bit better for
photos?

Ian

I went down about 200 yards. Even that was vertigo-inducing and I huffed and puffed back up. Someday, though...

I think some of the best shots are to be had below the rim. As you say, that's where you can get a sense of scale.

gus · May 15, 2006

wxwax wrote:

That guy ended up waving an aerial around. I think he helps tracks the birds in the area.

It is a long way down, though.

Mate that valley is just dying for a coupla gibbers to be lobbed into it...would be worth the night in the lock-up i recon.

Dee · May 15, 2006

Some beautiful photos
I was just a wee young thing, recently married, before children, when hubby and I visited the Grand Canyon with a borrowed film camera. The canyon was awsome, but needless to say the camera failed on me delivering over exposed shots.

Your shots are fantastic! And look very much as I remembered the canyon. It is indeed impressive. We walked down a little bit, but I'm prone to heat exhaustion so we didn't get very far. I really need to dig out those shots and see if any can be salvaged now that there's scanning and photoshop.

Again, your photos are fantastic! I love the "non" arches one too.

waveneyman · May 15, 2006

Hi Sid - very nice shots

particularly #3. Perfect light and shadows.

cheers
mark

USAIR · May 15, 2006

Amazing photos Sid
Mabe some day I get there sooner or later
That last sure shows the scale of things

Thanks
Fred

Andy · May 15, 2006

Su-weeeeeeeet!

livinginoz · May 15, 2006

great shots! i have made a couple of trips there, including one where i hiked to the bottom. it is awesome no matter where you view it from.

ChrisJ · May 16, 2006

Gorgeous shots waxy! I've never been there on the ground... I had the good fortune to be flying cross country one day and we hit it close to sunset. It was incredible, and I didn't have any sort of camera with me.

Can't get enough of those red rocks...

Gus, what are gibbers? Any relation to loogies, or something worse?

:

wxwax · May 16, 2006

Thanks, guys. Chris, I figured a gibber was a hand grenade. But that's only my take on Gus' personality.

ziggy53 · May 16, 2006

I found this:

"gibber"
"rock- and pebble-littered area of arid or semi-arid country in Australia. The rocks are generally angular fragments formed from broken up duricrust, usually silcrete, a hardened crust of soil cemented by silica (SiO2). The gravel cover may be only one rock fragment deep, or it may consist of several layers buried in fine-grained material that is thought to have been blown in. A gibber is generally considered a result of mechanical weathering because silica is almost inert to chemical weathering."

PossumCorner · May 16, 2006

wxwax wrote:

I went down about 200 yards. Even that was vertigo-inducing ..........

Do they still run the mule trip down the Bright Angel Trail? I did that ride in about 1980, it had its disconcerting moments but they were incredible clever animals. Wasn't confident to hold an SLR one-handed, only carried a light "plastic" Kodak cheapie so if I dropped it there would be no grief. The results were as disappointing as you'd expect. As Dee said, scanning and Photoshop might be able to help (need to find the old prints first).

gus · May 16, 2006

wxwax wrote:

Thanks, guys. Chris, I figured a gibber was a hand grenade. But that's only my take on Gus' personality.

no no no no ...a gibber is a good sized rock..one that is as big as the average person likes to throw. We have a desert here called the Gibber Plain
150 000 sq miles of nothing but gibbers.

Awais Yaqub · May 16, 2006

Excellent landscapes
it is still as it was 15 years ago

ChrisJ · May 16, 2006

gus wrote:

no no no no ...a gibber is a good sized rock..one that is as big as the average person likes to throw. We have a desert here called the Gibber Plain
150 000 sq miles of nothing but gibbers.

Ahh, okay. I used to throw gibbers a lot when I was younger (when I could get away with it). Nowadays there are always too many people on trails.

It would be nice if there was a "skipping rock" plain somewhere. Optimally next to a still lake.

traunerk · May 17, 2006

great shots that bring back memories...
Circa 1979, I, with a few friends, hiked to the bottom of the canyon from the south rim and stayed overnight at a cabin at the bottom (reservations needed long in advance) and hiked back up the next day. I also got quite friendly with a park ranger of the opposite sex, but that's another story altogether.

It is the one place I have been where photos simply cannot convey the scale of what is in front of you. Nevertheless, you did a great job...particularly on that first shot. It's really a lovely photo....

Regards...Keith

wxwax · May 18, 2006

PossumCorner wrote:

Do they still run the mule trip down the Bright Angel Trail? I did that ride in about 1980, it had its disconcerting moments but they were incredible clever animals. Wasn't confident to hold an SLR one-handed, only carried a light "plastic" Kodak cheapie so if I dropped it there would be no grief. The results were as disappointing as you'd expect. As Dee said, scanning and Photoshop might be able to help (need to find the old prints first).

Yeah, they still run the mules. I just missed a nice backlit shot of the mules kicking up sunrise dust in the corral. I think sitting on top of a mule would onlt exacerbate my vertigo on that trail!

wxwax · May 18, 2006

traunerk wrote:

Circa 1979, I, with a few friends, hiked to the bottom of the canyon from the south rim and stayed overnight at a cabin at the bottom (reservations needed long in advance) and hiked back up the next day. I also got quite friendly with a park ranger of the opposite sex, but that's another story altogether.

It is the one place I have been where photos simply cannot convey the scale of what is in front of you. Nevertheless, you did a great job...particularly on that first shot. It's really a lovely photo....

Regards...Keith

Thanks Keith, you're very kind. It is indeed an amazing place. Someday I'd like to go back and do exactly what you did. Does the ranger still work there?

GREAPER · May 18, 2006

NIce shots Sid.

You were not by chance in the Atlanta Airport eating at the Marche Bistro in the afternoon were you (1 ish).

I would swear I saw you there.

Sorry you are not here with us.

Brian

wxwax · May 18, 2006

GREAPER wrote:

NIce shots Sid.

You were not by chance in the Atlanta Airport eating at the Marche Bistro in the afternoon were you (1 ish).

I would swear I saw you there.

Sorry you are not here with us.

Brian

On Tuesday I was eating at a cafe in terminal E at around 1pm.

The feeling's mutal, Brian. I hope you have a great time.

Would You Mind If I Said You Had a Grand Canyon?

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