Eloquent Images by Gary Hart
Insight, information, and inspiration for the inquisitive nature photographer
Photograph Grand Canyon: When, Where, How
Three Strikes, Lightning and Rainbow from Bright Angel Point, Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon’s summer monsoon storms tend to up from the south (but that’s by no means a guarantee, and they can travel any direction). The southern exposure of the North Rim’s Grand Canyon Lodge and Bright Angel Point provides a wonderful vantage point for the thunderstorms’ approach, and nearby cover when they get too close.
Canon EOS 5D Mark III
1/3 second
24-105L
ISO 100
f/11
Many photographers are surprised to discover that Grand Canyon can be as difficult to photograph as it is breathtaking. The canyon’s layered detail shrinks in a lens that’s wide enough to adequately convey its scale, while its overwhelming scale can be lost to a telephoto lens focused on its detail. And I’ve noticed that people tend to be so overwhelmed by the grandeur from the rim that they often just point and click, wrongly assuming that their camera will capture the view exactly as they see it.
Grand Canyon is really three worlds: 1) the year-round, relatively accessible, always bustling South Rim; 2) the warm-month-only (mid-May through Thanksgiving), relatively remote, more peaceful North Rim; 3) the humbling majesty and intimate detail only experienced within the canyon walls, all the way down to the Colorado River.
And while I’ve spent many weeks looking up from the bottom of Grand Canyon, in this article I’ll stick to the two rims and the views that are accessible to nearly everyone. And it’s important to understand that the vistas I cite, regardless of their label as a “sunrise” or “sunset” spot, can all be nice at any time of the day when the conditions are right. And if you’re like me, you really appreciate the view opposite the sun at sunrise and sunset, and don’t want to limit yourself to sun-facing sunrise and sunset shots.
South Rim tips
The section of the Colorado River visible from the South Rim moves more or less east to west. Among the vista points with good views facing east, for sunrise and afternoon rainbows, are Grandview Point, Mather Point, Yaki Point, Powell Point, and Hopi Point. Vistas where you can photograph the setting sun (and morning rainbows) include Desert View, Navajo Point, Lipan Point, Yavapai Point, Hopi Point, and Pima Point.
Smoky Sunset, Desert View, Grand Canyon
An extreme telephoto lens will compress Grand Canyon’s horizontally stacked ridges; composing toward the sun at sunrise or sunset will create silhouettes. If your camera lacks the dynamic range to shoot directly into the sun, a hard-stop graduated neutral density filter will help retain canyon shapes and sunrise/sunset color.
Much of your South Rim success will be determined by your ability to anticipate and avoid tourists. The South Rim, from Mather Point west, with it close proximity to park services (parking, hotels, restaurants, shops, camping), teems with tourists. Further west, the Hermit’s Rest Road shuttles (shuttle or handicap access only except in winter) are also packed all summer.
Mather Point is so crowded for sunrise and sunset that it’s usually best to avoid. But if you hit the snooze once too often and find yourself needing a sunrise location that doesn’t require a lot of effort before your first coffee, try the view from the rail near the amphitheater, just east of the packed Mather Point vista. Or better yet, park near Yavapai Point, about a mile west of Mather, and walk the rim toward Mather until you find a view that moves you.
For a South Rim sunset, it’s hard to beat Hopi Point. With views in both directions, Hopi is well worth the (free) Hermit’s Rest Road shuttle ride. But this fact isn’t lost on everyone else in the park, and you may just feel like they’ve all joined you. If you don’t want to deal with the crowd at Hopi, less crowded Hermits Rest Road options are Powell Point (a short walk from Hopi) for views to the north and east, and Pima Point for views north and west.
Sunset, Hopi Point, Grand Canyon South Rim: Walking the canyon’s rim not only gets you away from the crowds hovering at the designated vista, it’s also the best way to find the trees, shrubs, and rocks that add depth to your images.
The eastern vista points along Desert View Road (Highway 64)—Lipan Point, Navajo Point, and Desert View—tend to be a little less crowded than Hopi Point, especially if you’re willing to explore a short distance from the designated (railed) vista. If I don’t have a specific objective other than to find a nice shot, this is where I go, especially for sunset.
What makes these east-side vistas particularly appealing is their view of the ninety degree bend in the Colorado River. Near the bend you can look north, upriver, toward the Little Colorado River and Marble Canyon, and a great distance downriver to the west. This west view from any of the South Rim’s east-side vistas is the best place to break out the telephoto lens and compress the succession of ridges that recede into the distance.
North Rim tips
After spending a few days battling crowds on the South Rim, the relative peace of the North Rim is a blessed relief. This peace, and the variety of scenes, is why I consider the South Rim the tourists’ Grand Canyon, and the North Rim the photographer’s Grand Canyon.
While South Rim photography is primarily about grand views (not that there’s anything wrong with that), on the North Rim you can also find summer wildflowers and evergreen forests accented by groves of aspen that turn brilliant yellow in late September. And its views to the south make the North Rim the best place to view approaching thunderstorms during the summer monsoon, and the glow of the Milky Way’s glowing core on a dark summer night.
For the best south and west views on the North Rim, check out Bright Angel Point and Cape Royal. Bright Angel is a 10 minute walk from North Rim Visitor Center and Grand Canyon Lodge (the North Rim’s only rim-side lodging). The trail is paved and less than 1/2 mile, but prepare yourself for lung-sucking grades at 8000 feet.
Monsoon Milky Way, Cape Royal, Grand Canyon
Dark night skies and an open view of the southern horizon make the North Rim idea for summer Milky Way photography. Because the view from Grand Canyon Lodge and Bright Angel Point is partially washed out by light pollution from Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim, Cape Royal, Angel’s Window, and Walhalla Point are a better place to fulfill your Grand Canyon Milky Way dreams.
Cape Royal is about a one-hour drive from Grand Canyon lodge, at the end of Cape Royal Road, and an easy (no more than) ten minute walk from the large parking lot there. While walking out to Cape Royal, if you’re not bothered by heights, make sure to take the short detour out to Angel’s Window.
The other easily accessed North Rim vistas look east, and are all accessible from the Cape Royal Road: Point Imperial—at 9000 feet, the highest Grand Canyon vista (a personal favorite); Vista Encantada (a little too obstructed by shrubs for great photography), Roosevelt Point, and Walhalla Point.
If you want to do a little exploring, you’ll find that just outside the National Park Boundary, the North Rim is crisscrossed by a network of unpaved National Forest Service roads (many navigable by passenger cars). While dusty, washboard fifty mile roundtrips aren’t for everyone, if you like rarely photographed, solitary canyon panoramas, these roads are well worth the effort.
Caution: Your GPS can’t distinguish between the relatively navigable primary NFS roads and the narrow, often impassible side roads, so never attempt these roads without a prior visit to the North Rim Visitor Center for a detailed map and consultation with a ranger.
Equipment
While wide angle shots are everywhere on the rim, it’s a mistake to leave your telephoto home. I used to think I’d be fine if I could cover focal ranges from 20mm to 200mm, but the more I visit, the more I appreciate the value of a long lens for isolating individual features at Grand Canyon, and now many of my images are in the 200mm to 400mm range. And when the Grand Canyon sky does something truly special (not unusual during the monsoon season), I’m sure glad that I also carry a 12 – 24 lens.
A polarizer not only deepens the blue sky and enhances the clouds (especially for cross-canyon compositions), it also cuts some of the haze that frequently hangs below the rim, and enriches the Canyon’s predominant red and green hues. I also find my polarizers helpful when I need to cut light enough to capture daylight lightning.
And while I rarely use them anymore, if you have a camera with limited dynamic range, you’ll probably find a graduated neutral density filter invaluable for wringing every last stop of dynamic range from Grand Canyon’s high contrast sunrises and sunsets. The canyon’s flat horizon is ideally suited for hard-transition GND, and before switching to Sony Alpha made frequent use of my 2- and 3-stop hard and 3-stop reverse GND filters.
Final thoughts
Regardless of where you end up, arrive early enough to explore the rim nearby. In addition to a little more elbow room, you’ll likely find a foreground tree or shrub to accent and add depth to your composition.
And most important, at each stop be sure to set your camera aside long enough to simply take in the view and appreciate that you’re witnessing one of the most beautiful scenes on Earth.
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Eloquent Images by Gary Hart 