Nikon D810, 120mm, ISO 200, 1/2 sec, F/13
Granted, not a very exciting image. What the image does show is the sunset crowd at Mather Point (there are many more outside the frame). You can always count on sunrises and sunsets at iconic locations within the national park system to be crowded, as shown above and in this image taken at Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park.
Instead of fighting for tripod space amongst that mass of humanity (and at Cadillac Mountain), I walked around the corner and found a point of land to call my own. If you have the time, arrive well before sunset, or the day before you plan to photograph a sunrise, and scout a location that will be far from the crowd. Don’t forget to bring a flashlight.
By the way, if you ever need a person to standout in an image, have them wear something red. Click on the image to enlarge it and notice the person in a blue jacket with a red shirt. They really stand out from the crowd.
Mather Point: 36.059405° -112.110962°
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
