Storm in Grand Canyon

Figure 1. Storm Coming, Grand Canyon National Park, AZ.

I made a trip with a friend to Grand Canyon in late April, 2014. This is a relatively quieter time on South Rim. The weather varies a lot, depending on your luck. It can be as warm as high 60s, or as low as low 30s or high 20s like this time.

People say it is not a problem to get a good shot in Grand Canyon. The problem is how good it is. This is about right. There are so called "from A to Z Points" on South Rim. While some may argue the places overlooking Colorado River are the best, it is about all good for rock layers and panorama. In my opinion, the difficulty is to get something different, not something good.

Typically, I like sunny rather than cloudy weather. But the transition, storming forming or storm breaking, is probably the best. This can be two sides of a coin. On one side, you may get very bad shots. For experienced photographers, this is a great moment. The key is to wait and concentrate. When the storming is forming, or breaking, lighting is changing all the time. At certain moment, it can be quite dramatic. This moment may be just second short. You would need to click (with bursts) when it comes. Ideally, you should get couple good shots from many.

I got Figure 1 just from couple shots as I was kind of late to be on the scene. This is the place from the outside of El Tovar. When I was there, the storm is about completely closing the canyon. Luckily, I still got this shot.