Southwest 2017

Mohave Double Strike

This amazing morning at Mohave Point, a thunderstorm moved from west to east through the canyon at sunrise. While these two lightning bolts were actually just a few seconds apart, they look better together in the same image. These mornings are what you live for in monsoon season.

Late sunset from Powell Point

Just as the sun was setting, there was a brief intense rainbow in a low hanging thunderstorm over the north rim.

Yaki Point Sunset

Interesting view of highlighted monuments looking east from Yaki Point.

Sunset Navajo Point

A telephoto view of the Colorado River as it turns northward towards Marble Canyon. The illuminated wall runs north/south at the Desert View end of the park.

Moran Point mid-day thunderstorm

A bright but partly cloudy afternoon on Moran Point looking towards Desert View. This nice old pinion pine is right on the point. This view is looking eastward towards Desert View as the river bends into Marble Canyon.

Bright Angel Canyon rainbow

Although this evening sunset to the west was nothing special, looking back east from Powell Point, there was a thunderstorm descending through Bright Angel canyon down from the north rim. The sun broke through for just several minutes producing the pinkish clouds and the rainbow over the main canyon.

Mohave Morning

This point, Mohave, on the Hermit Road side of the park, was one of my favorite locations this year. These beautiful clouds formed quickly one morning and the small lenticular shapes only lasted a few minutes.

Night Glow

After a disappointing evening waiting for storms over the canyon, I noticed a large thunderstorm south of the park. This was taken in near total darkness, showing a path leading out of Mohave Point.

Late Afternoon Desert View

A gentle late afternoon scene looking towards Desert View from Navajo Point.

West End Strike

Some beautiful clouds over the western end of the north rim, with an isolated thundershower at sunset.

Evening cloud study

As the sun sets in the Grand Canyon, the sky becomes more interesting as the canyon gets progressively darker. This soft view is a silhouette of the canyon and some soft light looking away from the sunset.

Moran Point sunset

Moran Point lies towards the eastern end of the park. So at sunset there's a view up a long stretch of the canyon. This night the sunset was quite bright, and it illuminated a small thunderstorm over Wotan's Throne on the north rim.

The Proposal

This scene comes from one of the most rewarding moments I had this past summer. I was experimenting with a long lens and noticed this couple silhouetted against the sunset. While adjusting the tripod, I saw but unfortunately did not capture, the young man go down on one knee while looking upward. I wasn't sure, but I suspected he was proposing to the young lady. My suspicions were confirmed in the next image.

The Proposal Accepted

After capturing this close up silhouette, I quickly gathered my gear and hustled the several hundred yards to try to find the couple and offer them the images. Fortunately, I located them at the Yaki Point bus stop, and introduced myself. They are a young couple from the Netherlands who had come to the Grand Canyon for a romantic, and dramatic, marriage proposal. What a great feeling it was for me to be able to record for them this wonderful moment. Smiles for everyone.

Lipan Point Wedding

I didn't think I could top the proposal shots, but later in the month, I came across this couple getting married on Lipan Point. They had been there for a while, unbeknownst to me, and I just happened to cross over the ridge as they went to the high point for some shots by their own photographer. As I stood there, the sun quickly illuminated the point, leaving the background in shadow. The shot was cleaned up some in Photoshop, but this is practically the scene as I saw it. Two nice personal events, making this past summer truly special .