Grand Canyon After Snow

[David Stephens]

Grand Canyon Sunrise by dcstep, on Flickr

This is an image from 2011. After seeing the result of having this printed at 50" on the long side, I've decided to focus more on my landscape photography. I was extremely lucky to wake up to 3" of snow when visiting the GC in November of 2011. I shot from my tripod with mirror lockup, remote release, etc.

Technical:
Canon 5D MkII
EF 24-105mm f/4L IS at 24mm
ISO 100
f/11
1/30-sec.
Raw conversion with DxO Optics Pro

Click on the image if you'd like to see it full-screen.

[Chris Ober]

Love the lighting and the clouds. Not too crazy about the tree on the left. Not having been in snowy conditions much and I just don't know but why isn't there show in the canyon?

[David Stephens]

Thanks Chris.

[dankearl]

I think you needed a better sky but you had what you had.
The Canyon looks good and it is well framed.

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi David, I love seeing snowy images from here and would love to be there in such conditions. I do agree with Dan on the sky and would have composed this scene with just a sliver across the top edge and the snow covered tree on the left...I would like to see more of it. Looking forward to seeing more of your landscapes...there are lots of folks here that can offer you tons of great tips that you will surely find beneficial. Keep 'em coming!

[David Stephens]

Thank you guys for your thoughtful feedback.

Seriously, I thought that the sky is a very positive feature, with sunrise light shining both over and under the clouds and a bit of blue peeking through and yet the clouds actually cover part of a peak. I like that the clouds shroud the North rim, yet still let some detail through. Of course, it looks more subtle in internet size. Looking at it on my wall at 50", it adds impact.

Andrew, I really like the tree suggestion and regret that I didn't think of it at the time. As I did it, I left it a bit ambiguous, which may have led Chris to question its inclusion. I prefer it in, because it adds snow and some balance, but would have been even better if you could see the top, as you so kindly suggested.

Chris, it had been warm and sunny the day before and if you look out into the canyon you can see snow on some of the higher peaks. I suspect that nothing stuck at the lower elevations due to heat retained in the rocks. Since some of the lower elevations are in the foreground, you get the impression that snow didn't fall in the canyon.

[Dave Mills]

David, I wouldn't of added that much sky but more importantly I would of added more foreground. The clipped tree (especially the upper part) is not helping the image.