Greetings all! I've been back from the Grand Canyon for almost a week, and I'm finally starting to get a handle on 19 days of photos. I have a lot that I'm eager to share, but this image best encapsulates to me what it's like to be on a Grand Canyon river trip. We were camping several miles below Phantom Ranch, with Zoroaster Temple dominating the view. A version without our camp visible is here. C&C welcome, as always.
Though I definitely feel like I got some keepers, I must say that 19 days is a long time to remain energized about shooting day-in day-out. Even though this was my eighth trip down there, it was way to easy to fall into documentary mode: "Must see as much as possible, capture everything!" Looking back over my images, I wish I had been calmer, more able to see subtle photo potential. Anyone have any insight to offer about how to stay photographically sane while overwhelmed by amazing scenery?
Posted by Jack Brauer on August 10, 2008 at 6:53 PM
That trip sounds so fun! I like the shadows in this shot.
I know what you mean about being overwhelmed when shooting in amazing scenery. I commonly get that sensation when hiking through yellow aspens in the fall... everything is so beautiful everywhere that you can get sucked into a photographic vortex. My only advice I guess is to stop shooting everything, keep moving along and just wait for that image that pops out at you.
Posted by Laurent Baig on August 10, 2008 at 7:33 PM
I think staying photographically sane is simply recognizing special moments of light and having the discipline to wait till the opportune moment. The other thing is to never go on a trip expecting to come back with an award winning photograph, that's not to say to not be there when the moments could be happening, but not to put expectations on yourself.
Posted by Grant Collier on August 11, 2008 at 6:09 PM
That must be some trip. I just finished a 4-day raft trip through Dinosaur National Monument. The thing I realized on the first day is that the majority of the time on a river trip in a deep canyon, you're going to have lousy light for the big landscapes. So I tried to focus on the less obvious shots of patterns on canyon walls and intimate details. And instead of shooting anything and everything, I tried to find an interesting scene with the right light and spend 15 minutes to 1 hour photographing it, trying to find the best composition. That being said, I definitely found it more challenging to get good photos on a guided raft trip than when out photographing on my own, as I had to shoot mostly from our camp site, which I couldn't choose.
Thanks Grant, hope you had a good trip. Yeah, it's a little different on a river trip, where you don't have nearly as much control over your schedule. I wonder how photographers on big mountaineering expeditions approach the problem. And as you said, even golden hour light can be tough when you're at the low point of the landscape rather than the highpoint.
Can't wait to see some of your Lodore shots, though!
Posted by Jeff Hackett on August 11, 2008 at 10:03 PM
Sounds like an awesome trip! I prefer your linked version. Hopefully we'll get to see some more.
I understand the sensory overload mode. For me it usually calms down the more I visit a place, and at least in my opinion my images reflect more introspection (i hope that's a real word)
Beautiful shot, and I understand the shoot everything philosophy when in such a Grand situation. I try to remind myself that most everything in the Grand has been photographed more than once, with the exception of various light quality issues. So I tried to concentrate on those unique lighting situations but kept open to other ops as well. After all you still want to document your trip for all the friends that couldn't make it as well.
Nice play of light and shadow here; camp certainly lends a sense of scale to the scene.
Similar to what's already been expressed, I typically don't stay in hard-core photo mode all day long. Besides being mentally exhausting, it detracts from the overall experience and, with harsh light, usually isn't very productive anyway. I focus my effort on sunrise and sunset, and take a more casual approach between. If an opportunity presents itself mid-day, I'll take advantage, but for the most part mid-day is for the p&s camera and simply enjoying the outdoor experience.
Discussion
7 repliesThough I definitely feel like I got some keepers, I must say that 19 days is a long time to remain energized about shooting day-in day-out. Even though this was my eighth trip down there, it was way to easy to fall into documentary mode: "Must see as much as possible, capture everything!" Looking back over my images, I wish I had been calmer, more able to see subtle photo potential. Anyone have any insight to offer about how to stay photographically sane while overwhelmed by amazing scenery?
I know what you mean about being overwhelmed when shooting in amazing scenery. I commonly get that sensation when hiking through yellow aspens in the fall... everything is so beautiful everywhere that you can get sucked into a photographic vortex. My only advice I guess is to stop shooting everything, keep moving along and just wait for that image that pops out at you.
Can't wait to see some of your Lodore shots, though!
I understand the sensory overload mode. For me it usually calms down the more I visit a place, and at least in my opinion my images reflect more introspection (i hope that's a real word)
Similar to what's already been expressed, I typically don't stay in hard-core photo mode all day long. Besides being mentally exhausting, it detracts from the overall experience and, with harsh light, usually isn't very productive anyway. I focus my effort on sunrise and sunset, and take a more casual approach between. If an opportunity presents itself mid-day, I'll take advantage, but for the most part mid-day is for the p&s camera and simply enjoying the outdoor experience.