Horseshoe Bend

Thanks to Danelle's ingenious planning, we left Bryce Canyon National Park in time to get to Page, Arizona, well before sunset. That meant I got to shoot Horseshoe Bend.

I wasn't expecting the half-mile walk from the parking area to the overlook.  Through sand, no less.  But it helped the anticipation mount for what I knew was waiting for me.

The spot was crowded -- probably a couple of hundred people in all.  I picked a spot to set up, decided I didn't like it, and moved to another that felt more centered.  Then I started shooting.

The sun hadn't descended much between the last shot and this one, but the algae in the Colorado River shows up much more obviously here for some reason.

Change from landscape to portrait.  Shoot and bracket the exposure.  Merge in Lightroom to bring out details in the shadows and highlights.  I think this is my favorite from the evening.

Honestly, I couldn't look down without getting a little queasy.  Sure, I was far enough from the edge that even if I fell forward I wouldn't go over.  But my self-preservation instinct was still ringing warning bells in my head.

 As the sun dipped below the horizon, the whole scene came ablaze in fiery red and orange hues.

Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of this shot.  We were well into twilight by now, and the sky was quite dark.  The long shutter speed, HDR merge in Lightroom, and other postproduction work brought out colors that I simply didn't see at the time, like the orange in the clouds and turquoise in the sky.  But some people like this sort of "hyperreal" image, so I thought I'd include it.

It was a tremendous treat to be able to squeeze this in.  Definitely one of the iconic American Southwest landscape shots, and I'm thrilled to add it to my personal portfolio!