These are a series I did in 2016. It was from mid afternoon til sunset and afterglow. They are all HDR because of the high contrast and especially needed when the afterglow started because of the deep shadows in the canyon area. One doesn’t often see portrait aspect ratios because of the extreme wide angle just to get the shot. I did two five shot AEB brackets. One into the canyon and immediately after, a five bracket series of the skies. Both were rendered in ACR, and stitched at the horizon. It was then cropped to fit a 3:2 vertical ( portrait ) aspect ratio. Final tuneups and balancing done in Photoshop with a few layer blends. I went back in 2018 and they actually installed a platform exactly over the spot I took these ( standing at the edge of a 1000 foot drop off. And here, I had previously thought I was brave ( perhaps stupid too LOL ). Although there are millions of pictures of this iconic location everyone should experience this beautiful scene in person.

Here is one of mine of Horseshoe Bend and the Colorado River, near Page, Arizona, USA, taken Feb 28th 2020, before covid closed down many places.

It is an HDR image of five exposure-bracketed shots, merged in Lightroom in post. I decided I wanted late afternoon light, so I planned my trip there accordingly. It is about a 1.5 mile hike from the parking lot out to the rim and back, with some elevation, but with places to rest along the way if you have a hot day for the hike.

Sony 61mp A7RIV camera, Tamron 17-28mm f2.8 lens, 17mm, ISO 100, f8 with camera on a tripod. I chose the shutter speed to be bracketed by the camera as i did not want to change the aperture and change the depth of field. This shot is facing west. And this shot will look quite different at different times of day with different directions of light. The sheer drop is about 1000 feet.

FYI, I am a longtime professional photographer with 48 years in the business, but still enjoy the fun of photographing a new place for me. This was my first time there at Horseshoe Bend, though I had visited nearby Lower and Upper Antelope Canyon a few times. Another bucket-list place to shoot.

This is a reduced size file as the raw file from my 61mp A7RIV is too large to be accepted in UHH. Please click and download the shot to see the best image quality.

Cheers
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