Nikon D810, 50mm, ISO 200, 1/40 sec, f/13
This is a second composition of the Desert View Watchtower. While the first composition on this blog presented a close up, looking up, view of the tower, this image is an in situ view of the tower and its surroundings.
In this image you can see how the materials used to construct the Desert View Watchtower blend in so well with its surroundings. Notice the triangle around the top of the tower are the same color as parts of the dead tree in the foreground. This image was captured 15 minutes after the previous image and from a different angle. The clouds framing the tower, puffy in the previous image, are now solid with areas of blue. The additional clouds change the light and mood of the image.
Desert View Watchtower: 36.043408° -111.825842°
Nikon D810, 44mm, ISO 200, 1/60 sec, f/13
It is said that on a clear day there is a panoramic view over 100 miles from the top of the Desert View Watchtower. The tower looks to be a snippet of the Grand Canyon with the layers of colors and shapes. I was lucky that the sky was full of puffy clouds that further accentuated the tower shape.
There are dozens of angles from which to capture the Desert View Watchtower at Mojave Point in Grand Canyon National Park. This is the close up, looking up, view of the tower. The next post contains an image showing the tower in its natural surroundings.
Desert View Watchtower: 36.043408° -111.825842°
Grand Canyon Weekend Photography Locations (click to enlarge)
The map above shows the locations where I spent time during my Grand Canyon weekend. By the way, a single weekend is not enough time to photograph the Grand Canyon properly. Unfortunately, I was limited by my work schedule to a late Friday to early Sunday visit. I would have liked more sunrises and sunsets to photograph from different locations.
During summer hours, you must ride shuttles to many of these locations, especially to the west of the main visitors center. No worries tho, the shuttles run early enough to catch sunrise anywhere in the park.
I planned my days around sunrise and sunset so there are lots of pictures taken at several of the points. I started on a Friday at the Grand Canyon Visitor center for sunset at Mather Point. Sunrise Saturday was at Yaki Point, sunset Saturday at Yavapai Point, and finished with Sunday sunrise at Moran Point as I was leaving the park. Each number on the map represents the number of images taken at each point.
Photographing sunrise and sunset, combined with the drive back to Tusayan every night, made for one sleep-deprived photographer.
From left to right, using the numbers as a guide, here are the areas I visited during the weekend.
- 9 – Mohave Point
- 20 – Hopi Point
- 33 – Village Area
- 19 – Verkamp’s Visitor Center
- 136 – Yavapai Point
- 23 – Grand Canyon Visitor Center
- 51 – Yaki Point
- 26 – Moran Point
- 4 – Lipan Point
- 41 – Desert View Watchtower
