North Rim of the Grand Canyon August 2014

View from the North Rim with Two Fires in the Background

What a pleasure it was to join the Arizona Highways Photo Workshops along with photographer/instructor Suzanne Mathia and tour leaders Ken Brown and Rick Jacobi to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. 

Two Young Navajo Dancers at the Lodge

We stayed at the Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim, a very out of the way place.  If you want crowds and the canyon, go to the South Rim.  If you want peace and quiet, come to the North Rim.

Sunrise View of the Grand Canyon

Moonrise over the Grand Canyon 

We had a number of goals on this trip.  Take sunrise photos, sunset photos, photos of the moon rising, and edit in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.  That’s the official title; most of us know it as Lightroom.  As a college professor, I wanted the experience of watching a day-to-day pro like Suzanne and listening to her teach Lightroom.  It was a good refresher of what I knew and gave me some different ways to teach the subject. 

I photographed with my Canon 5D Mark III, the Canon 24-105mm lens, a Tamron 2X extender, and a Manfrotto 190 tripod, essential for low light photography that gives the best chance at sharp photos with low (100, usually) ISO.

Navajo Bridge, on the way to the North Rim 

On the way to the North Rim, which takes about eight hours from Phoenix, I photographed Navajo Bridge. 

Inside the Canyon

We hit Bright Angel Point and Point Imperial at the Canyon.  To get the great morning light, what photographers call the “golden hour,” I got up at 3:30am to catch our van leaving at 4:30am.  In some of the shots, I caught the canyon during that pre-sunrise period called the “blue hour” which is only a few minutes, actually.  I did very little post processing to the blue hour photo of the canyon. 

Another View Inside the Canyon

On the last night of photographing, I was frustrated to find the moon hiding behind clouds.  So, I walked back to the van and put my equipment away.  Then I turned to see the huge moon peeking nicely out of the clouds. 

Buffalo

Just leaving the North Rim, we stopped to see a herd of buffalo.  They can run fast, but mostly just want to eat.  They grunt and produce a lot of, shall I say, waste material. 

 

Lee's Ferry

Coming back near Navajo Bridge is Lee’s Ferry.  I’ve included a photo of that entrance for boats on the Colorado River. 

Until My Next Adventure, 

See You On Down The Road!

Jim Patterson

See all of my photos from this adventure on Flickr or by clicking the Zenfolio slideshow below!