North Rim After the Storm

Monsoon season is a wonderful time of year in Arizona, if dramatic skies are of interest. We had travelled to the north rim of the Grand Canyon to hang out with some hunting friends, driving through pissing rain every few miles. After locating our campsite, we took off to the North Rim Lodge where the Bright Angel Trail begins (or ends), depending on which direction one is headed. The trail joins the north and south rims of the canyon.

I have shared a number of images from this time (2016), but was re-working one recently, based on some new things learned from discussion forums on optimal exposure. Look up ETTR (expose to the right) if you are interested. In any event, the sun had just about vanished when I looked to the west, towards the south rim in fact, and saw these marvelous cloud formations and the brilliant colors. Choosing what seemed to be the optimally-exposed frame from a bracketing series, I used minimally invasive curve adjustments to bring out what I consider to be optimal contrast, texture, and saturation.

It's a beautiful scene and I hope you like the end result:

North Rim After the Storm

Nikon D800E, Nikkor 28-300 zoom @ 28mm, 1/180 sec, f/8, ISO 200

PS The North Rim is closed from October through April due to snow. It is at 8,500 ft elevation and so temperatures can be quite chilly in the evening and maybe even during the day. A beautiful spot, well worth visiting.

Images can be viewed on my website.