P174V – Toroweap Point at Sunrise – Grand Canyon, AZ

Okay, don't try this at home. Here's an early morning photograph of Toroweap Point of which I climbed down to a ledge approximately 12 feet below the rim. The ledge is only around 3 feet wide, but it was necessary to get down there so I could obtain the appropriate angle. Shooting this photo from the rim would not make it appear as if I'm in the scene. Yes, I'm tied up, but the camera is not. A slight knock and it falls over 2,000 feet to the river. Okay, sounds dangerous... it is. Now add to that that I had to get down there in the dark to be ready for the sunrise, and, well, we wont mention any more about that. As you can see, the light that morning was perfect. The sun came up at the correct angle to illuminate the (already) red rock to make it appear even more red. It required a clear sky, low on the horizon to produce the impact I was striving. Finally, after my third visit, I got what I wanted. At art shows, I display this image at 5 feet tall and hide it around a corner in my booth. When people walk around that corner, they take a step back and say "oh" as it looks a bit frightful.