Cape Royal, North Rim
Afternoon sun breaking through the clouds, view from the trail leading to the point from the Cape Royal parking lot.
Yaki Point, looking east at sunset
Desert View, late day
The late hour, and the nearly setting sun, give the canyon a pastel look. Desert View is the easternmost view on the south rim. One of the longest views of the river available from the rim.
Desert View, sunset
Another view here taken on the same day, as the clouds developed some rich color, reflecting off the rain storm on the right side of the image.
Rain storm within the canyon
Looking west from Desert View, a cloud of rain slowly wound it's way across the canyon. As I stood there, a line of large birds flew along the ridge against the backlit rain.
Rainbow at Desert View
While it's easy to be captivated by the canyon, there are often atmospheric events happening behind your back. This rainbow arose as I turned to leave, and I may have missed it if I hadn't turned around.
Golden haze
Looking west just after a rain event had passed through the canyon..
The Milky Way is in the south, so I reasoned the best views would be from the north rim looking south. This shot and the next one were taken from Bright Angel point, a few hundred yards from the Lodge.
Milky Way, north rim
Another shot taken from Bright Angel Point. The golden glow seen in the distance is almost invisible while observing the sky here. It only shows up so strongly in the photo due to the long exposure required for the stars. I was joined for these shots by couple of charming young Dutch tourists who helped me pass the time in the darkness of the moonless night.
The best Milky Way shot
This was taken on a moonlit night from Mather Point on the south rim, hence the shadow in the foreground. The lights in the canyon are from Phantom Ranch, and the light on the rim is the North Rim Lodge. The image came out great, even though it is not geographically correct.
Cape Royal Sunrise, north rim
Wonderfully scenic point on the north rim.
Two elk fawns
Lucky to get a shot of these young elk. They're very jumpy around people. The older elk are very accustomed to humans.
Mother and child reunion
These two were among a large group milling around in front of the apartment where I was staying. This young one would come over and touch noses with his mom every few minutes.
Nankoweap Canyon
The light version of this image.
A bit darker version. I couldn't decide which one i liked best. The lighter version would look better in a darker area. The darker one might look better in a bright room on a white wall.
