My version... +Repost (3rd image in thread)

of the Grand Canyon. I know everyone has seen this a million times. But... it's mine! I was there for the first time in my life in May. Drove up that long, long grade in broiling sunshine with the AC on. Got to the NP gate and was mystified to see what looked like thick fog. It was the lightest, driest SNOW I'd ever seen! And I was one of a very few people who had gear for the occasion. While nearly everyone else was crammed into the cafe getting something hot to drink, I donned rain gear, gloves and warm hat and totally enjoyed having the outdoors nearly to myself. The clouds lifted and descended, thickened and parted and finally gave way to sunshine and a few remaining clouds that danced with the landscape.

d200, 24-120/3.5-5.6 VR on tripod; f16, 1/60, -0.33EV, ISO 200. Focal length 65mm (35mm equivalent = 97mm).
Processing in PSCS3: full frame, curves, sharpening, etc.

I bet that was great having the place almost to yourself! I'm sure that's pretty rare. I like the shot but feel it could use a bit more contrast down in the canyon.

Cool Story Catherine. Way to be prepared. I've never been there but, it seems like an amazing place. I agree with Eric on increasing contrast to the canyon area. It would really help to bring out the beautiful reds and yellows you've captured. Also, the brightness of the foreground area distracts my eyes a bit as I move into the canyon. I like how the sun is hitting the canyon walls in the left side of the midground.

Edit: Right, left, whatever. I really meant that I like the way the sun hits the canyon walls on the right side of the midground.

Here's a repost after following Eric and Hans's advice...
Sorry, Richard, I don't think I can go with your crop. It just doesn't portray what I shot. Not too happy you did that...
I am disappointed the way this looks on the web. Doesn't do justice to what's on my monitors at home. So much for upgrading. I give up for now.

Hey Catherine, I like the original image the best out of all three on here so far. The last repost looks too post processed, although I understand web conversion does not do justice to most images. I like the composition very much though and feel if a curves/contrast adjustment won't work to bring out more in the canyon, then maybe try to tone down the harshness of the light in the foreground just a pinch. Nice image though, very pleasing to look at.

Catherine - if you want to email me, I can give you a few ideas to try if you like... I like your composition very much by the way..

Thank you, Ned, for your generosity in helping me work out some issues with the image. I'll work on this some more and repost at another time.

Catherine,
Here's another tip to increase the contrast without blocking up the shadows too much.

Use the burn tool to burn the shadows (set the tool to burn only the shadows) and use the dodge tool to burn the highlights. Use a 2500 pixel soft edge brush and brush it over large areas of the image. Start with about 8 or 10 % in the exposure box so the effect is subtle. Multiple passes can increase the effect. (I usually do it on a duplicate layer so I can switch back and forth between the modified layer and the unmodified layer.)

I'm sure there are more orthodox ways to do it, but I find this one is pretty simple to do.

I like the composition here. Sounds like a great day out there without all the crowds. It's one reason I enjoy shooting in rainy weather.

Thanks for the tip Mike. I've never used that big of a brush to do dodging and buring, but I like the sound of it. Between you and Ned, I have a lot more to go on for making this image look as good on here as I think it does on my monitor at home. Thanks guys, very much.