Every image tells a story. So, I've decided I should share some of the stories around the images that rotate through the banner images at the top of my blog. [If you're reading this at blog.timtyson.us, you will not see these rotating banner images. You have to go to the mirror site at timtyson.us/weblog to see the rotating images.]
I shot this particular image at Horseshoe Bend in Page, Arizona, in January, 2010. Perhaps in the larger image (click to enlarge) you can see the snow in the distant mountains. While it was cool enough to wear a jacket, it was not at all cold.
You have to walk about a mile in the desert from the parking area to get to this location. The view is very, very flat and you simply can't see the Colorado River winding through the desert until you are very close to the edge. Speaking of the edge...
Taking this shot was terrifying! I slowly and "intrepidly" inched my way to the edge of the sheer drop off holding my opened tripod out in front of me as if it were a senior citizen's walker. Though I'm certain I looked ridiculous, I could have cared less! The air was rather still while we were there which at least reduced my fear of being blown over the edge.
The view is gorgeous. Photos can't capture this type of grandeur.
This photo was among my first experiments with HDR that has "gone public." This picture is actually three shots, each at a different exposure. I then took the three pictures and merged the detail information into one photograph, which gives the photo its distinctive look and level of detail in the brighter as well as darker areas of the scene.
Finally, I have to tell you about the guys, three of them, that were walking up to the edge and shooting--literally within inches. One guy, twenty-something, just squatted down within 2 - 3 inches of the edge on a slope (downward!) and was shooting away as if there were no way he could possible fall to his death if the sand slid or crumbled. I simply couldn't stand to watch him! My knees were about to turn to rubber!
An amazing, beautiful view. The scale is astounding.
Related articles:
- Beauty of Arizona (slideshare.net)
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