WC Bean Photography

Seems like a pretty impressive name, and it is. But I think it may be too small. This Canyon is much more than Grand. I've been to the Canyon twice now and both times I have been overwhelmed. It's so immense and so beautiful....words fail me. Almost.

In photography there are days when you have to put up with less than optimum conditions like my trip to Banff and Jasper last year. The weather was too nice..bright blue skies with not a cloud to be seen and too early for most of the aspens to have turned. My trip to Vancouver Island was a bit better and I came away with some nice images.

Then there are days like the one I spent at the Canyon. The lighting conditions are perfect, the subject matter is beyond description, and the atmosphere gives you some cooperation. When those days happen it's magic and you have to really concentrate to avoid being overwhelmed by all the wonderful images to be made and end up with nothing. So Saturday morning I put on my concentration cap and got to work.

Tuesday-Took a late flight to Las Vegas. Judy is attending a business meeting at the Red Rock Casino and Resort and I'm meeting her here for a couple of nights. The plane was right on time and Judy picked me up in her rental car and whisked me back to the hotel. We looked around a bit before turning in. This is a NICE place.

Wednesday-I was up early and caught the shuttle from the Red Rock to the Strip. I wanted to play in a poker tournament at the Excalibur and needed to get there by 1pm. The shuttle dropped us off across the street from the Wynn (another NICE place) and I got on the bus to ride down to the Excalibur. The Duece is what they call the bus and it's a freakin nightmare. They stop every block and let a bunch of folks off then let everyone on that they can get sardined into the bus. It takes a long time to get where you're going. I spent nearly 30 minutes on the bus to go 1 mile. Made it to Excalibur, played in the tournament, played badly and got bumped out after an hour or so. I was going to try and make another tournament but happened to check the shuttle schedule in my pocket. If I missed the 3:30 shuttle I would be stuck in town until 7:30! I decided to head back to the Red Rock and when I left Excalibur to catch the Duece it was raining like crazy. I got soaked to the bone and spent the rest of the night warming up. But I made the shuttle and got back to the Red Rock. After a long hot shower to warm up (the pool and hot tubs were closed for some stupid reason) I went to the casino and immediately lost 10 bucks playing video poker. Had an average supper and went to bed. Leaving tomorrow for the Grand Canyon!

Thursday-Up early and all packed to go. I have to catch the 9am shuttle to the airport and get my rental car for the drive to the Grand Canyon. Judy is flying out to Phoenix later today but she has meetings until 11 so I can't get a ride from her. We said our goodbyes and I was off. No problems getting the car and I was on the road by 10:30. As is my practice on road trips I stopped at Wal Mart for supplies before heading down the road. Got through the construction at Hoover Dam in fine fashion but decided not to stop. Maybe on the way back.

I rolled into Tusayan around 3pm and checked into my hotel before heading up to the Canyon. The sun was shining but there were some clouds forming on the western horizon and I didn't know if the sunset was going to be very nice. No problem, I have one more sunset and 2 sunrises here. There was some beautiful light for about 30 minutes before the sun went behind the clouds and I managed to make some nice images. In fact, if I had to leave now I'd be happy with what I got. But I have another 1 ½ days here! About 6pm it got really cloudy and started to snow. No problem, that's what the weather guys told me. I went back to the room and had a sandwich before heading to the hot tub for a while. I finished the evening by editing the shots I'd done at the Canyon and went to sleep early so I could be up at sunrise.

Friday-The alarm went off at 5am and I was up and dressed. I wanted to be in place and ready to shoot 30 minutes before the sunrise at 6:30. First thing I noticed was 2 inches of snow on the car which really excited me. I'd been hoping for snow while I was at the Canyon. Well, be very careful what you wish for. I was sitting in the parking lot at Mather Point by 5:45, psyching myself up for the shooting to come. About 6, it started snowing....hard. Visibility dropped dramatically and I could barely see the cars parked a few yards from me. No problem...I can wait it out.

At 8am it was still snowing like crazy. Just for reference I walked out to the overlook and was disappointed to see that there was only about 20 yards of visibility. If I didn't know there was a canyon there you would have had a tough time convincing me. I decided to head back to the hotel. No worries...it's bound to stop before sunset and I can shoot then. I spent the rest of the day alternating between the hot tub and internet poker. The snow caused the hotel's sattelite tv to go out so I was left to my own devices.

Every time the snow let up I jumped in the car and drove back to the rim but I was greeted each time by fog and snow and zero visibility. Finally I gave up. I had a real average dinner at a local steakhouse before going back to the room to haunt the internet weather sites hoping for good news. Finally at about 11pm I got what I was hoping for. The National Weather Service was predicting the snow to last through the night, stopping about 7or 8am at which time the sun would come out. I went to bed with high hopes, knowing I could sleep in till 7 and still make the Canyon for some shooting.

Saturday-This is my last morning at the Canyon. I have to catch a plane in Las Vegas at 7:30pm so the light needs to cooperate. I slept till 7 and when I looked outside I could see clearing skies to the west. I hustled to pack my suitcase and food in the car and headed out. One side note: cars you rent in Las Vegas don't come equipped with snow brushes or ice scrapers. I had to borrow one from the hotel and when I finshed scraping my car off loaned it to another guest that was visiting from his home in Haiti. He was quite surprised by 14 inches of snow having been given the impression that the Grand Canyon is in the desert and it would be warm and sunny all the time. News Flash!!! The South Rim of the Grand Canyon is at 7000 feet above sea level. The North Rim is a couple hundred feet higher and gets so much snow that it is closed from October to April. Remember that if you plan to visit in the winter.

I got to the rim about 8:00 and was setting up my tripod when the magic began. And I do mean Magic. Fresh snow, the sun peeking through the clouds, it was one of those very specal photographic days that come along very rarely. I put on my photographer's cap and got to work. I think the accompanying images speak for themselves. This was one of the times that are like opium to a photographer and I took full advantage of the time I had before heading down the road for Las Vegas. Finally, with a sigh of regret, I had to put away the gear and travel.

I pulled into Las Vegas airport around 5pm, turned in my rental car, and went though security. I had 2 hours before my flight so I plugged in the laptop and downloaded the shots from the morning at the Canyon. When I got them enlarged and looked it took all my self restraint to keep from shouting in joy. I LOVE these images!

So....I've been to the Grand Canyon twice now. Both times it's grandeur stunned me into silence. The first time was under marginal circumstances and this time was optimal. Things even themselves out. AND I STILL HATE LAS VEGAS!!!