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Day’s End, Cape Royal, Grand Canyon
Sony a7R V
Sony 24-105 f/4 G
ISO 100
f/13
1/13 seconds
Landscape images can be divided into two categories: the right place at the right time images, and the “Hey, look at this!” images (that creatively reveal something easily overlooked). While I do everything I can to get myself and my workshop groups in the right place at the right time for something special, it’s the HLAT! images that I find most satisfying.
Right-place/right-time can be an anticipated event that we mark on a calendar and make an effort to be present for (or schedule a photo workshop for)—things like a Yosemite moonrise, Iceland’s northern lights in January, or the lightning of the summer monsoon at Grand Canyon. Or they can be one of those surprises that sometimes just seem to fall into our laps—for example, a SpaceX rocket launch photobombing a workshop Milky Way shoot. As thrilling as these moments can be, photographing them is mostly just a matter of combining a decent eye for composition with an understanding of your camera and mastery of photographic craft (like exposure and depth of field).
The HLAT! images start with those basic skills, but also require creative vision and an uncommon attention to detail. It’s a mindset that knows there’s something better here, and a determination to find it.
Rather than settling for the obvious, I strive for that mindset and approach. And while I think I have decent success with it, in pretty much every workshop image review I’m reminded by my students’ images that I still miss things. My students’ images are a great reminder to everyone present, myself included, of the creative possibilities at every location.
I do find it ironic that those spectacular right-place/right-time moments we covet so much can so easily blind us to all the subtle, but no less beautiful, opportunities nearby. And while a few fortunate photographers seem naturally predisposed to recognize Nature’s subtleties and convey them in unique ways, most of us need to actively cultivate that vision. For me that means having the discipline to regularly check my surroundings—look behind me, look closer, and just plain slow down—no matter what else is going on.
Most times I start by identifying the best light and finding a composition that uses it, regardless of the scene’s primary subject. Something else that helps is switching to a different lens—for example, using an ultra-wide when the more obvious composition calls for something longer, then getting right up in a close foreground subject. Or I’ll add telephoto lens when my first inclination is to shoot wide, then remove my camera from the tripod and slowly scan the scene to see what stops me.
I had a good opportunity to apply all this at Grand Canyon earlier this month. Anyone who has photographed sunset at Cape Royal on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon knows that “the shot” there is facing west and southwest. Not only is west the direction of the setting sun, it’s also where you’ll find the North Rim’s most impressive canyon view. And starting with that view, going wider and angling your camera just a little to the left (southwest) allows you to include all of massive Wotan’s Throne, arguably the Grand Canyon rim’s most iconic feature, jutting front-and-center.
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Last Light, Wotan’s Throne, Cape Royal, Grand Canyon
Though Wotan’s Throne is a prominent feature at most of the South Rim vistas, Cape Royal on the North Rim is the closest vantage point, and the absolutely best place to catch it throbbing with the warm light of the sun’s last rays. Less heralded Cape Royal views to south and east include Vishnu Temple and more canyon, but they’re not nearly as expansive as the view west and southwest.
My workshop groups always do a sunset shoot here, and when conditions permit, we top it off with a Milky Way shoot. As you might imagine, no matter which way their cameras were pointed, no one leaves Cape Royal disappointed.
First time photographers here can be forgiven for giving all of their sunset attention to these west/southwest views. This evening it seemed everyone in my group had found some version of the obvious sunset- and Wotans-facing view. Some had visions of capturing a sunstar or red rubber ball sun, while others set up to include Wotan’s Throne’s last light (a wide shot will get both). But as you’ll hear from any quarterback who has fixed his gaze on the primary receiver while the (unguarded) tight end frantically waves his arms in the end zone, the first choice isn’t always the best choice.
In a workshop I generally don’t shoot unless I think I can get something new, but no matter how “ordinary” I think the sunset might be, I’ve learned never to walk out to Cape Royal without my camera bag. This time, as expected, my gear had spent the entire evening resting on a rock, undisturbed.
One of my roles during a shoot with a group is to be the eyes in the back of everyone’s head—not only does this benefit them, foregoing my camera keeps me from being so locked in on what’s in my viewfinder that I miss other good stuff. So while the group concentrated on the primary scene, I kept my head on a swivel, scanning for less obvious opportunities.
Long aware of the aesthetic appeal of the dead tree clinging to the cliff at Cape Royal, I’ve attempted to photograph it (with varying degrees of success) on previous visits. Usually it’s been as an accent to the primary subject (as in the Wotan’s Throne image above), and I’ve never really emphasized it. But this time, after seeing its gnarled branches bathed in golden sunset light and accented by a single lit cloud, I sounded the alarm.
Of course this was also the moment when the sun had just balanced in the horizon, so most of the Wotan’s light, sunstar, red ball crowd were otherwise engaged. But a couple in the group saw what I saw and pulled themselves away, and when I raced to my bag to pull out my own camera and tripod and set up facing the opposite direction of everyone else (Tip: when you see a pro photographer point his or her camera in the opposite direction, take a second to figure out what the attraction is), one or two more joined the fun.
With only a couple of minutes before the sun disappeared, I worked fast, starting with vertical compositions, but making sure to include horizontal options as well. The cloud was a fortuitous addition, just enough to carry the sky. And while I try to avoid cutting subjects with the horizon line, I didn’t have much choice and was grateful that the lit part of the tree was almost entirely below the horizon.
As the sun dropped, the light on the tree just kept getting warmer, but also the amount of the tree actually receiving light shrunk. At some point I realized that the tree was actually catching some of my shadow (duh), so every time I clicked my shutter (using a 2-second timer because I hate the Sony remote), I ducked to hide my shadow.
Turns out, this is one of those images that’s equal parts right place, right time, and “Hey, look at this.” I happened to be at the right place at the right time for this light and cloud, but I’d have completely missed it if I’d been too focused on the more obvious scene. In this case I was especially pleased because not only did I get an image that’s a little different than the conventional scene, I was actually able to encourage a few others in the group into photographing something they otherwise would have missed—and in the process remind them to always watch their back.
Epilogue
Less than 2 hours after this we were photographing Wotan’s Throne beneath the Milky Way, when Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket crashed the party. And at this point in the workshop it still looked like we’d be lucky to get lightning, but that changed quite suddenly two nights later. Stay tuned…
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