Winter Light at the Grand Canyon
After a slow start to the 2023-2024 winter season, the weather finally changed and became more winter-like in January. My annual winter workshop at the Grand Canyon was held in January of this year, and we were blessed with a great display of light and color on the last evening of the workshop. The photo below, Gold on Cheops Pyramid, is from that evening.
While the snowfall this winter was not as abundant as the previous season, breathtaking light and atmosphere were. A particularly memorable photography session took place in early February when a storm system swept across northern Arizona. Despite the canyon receiving less snow, the weather conditions created a dramatic setting with clouds and stunning light, as captured in Ethereal Light on the Temples, Striking Gold, and The Hope of Light.
Although winter technically ends in late March with the March Equinox, the winter weather often continues into April and occasionally into May. I was on the South Rim in early April for a private photo tour & workshop when a winter storm came off the North Rim and then moved across the canyon from north to south just before sunset. The light and atmospherics were incredible, with the snow melting and becoming rain as it fell into the warmer temperatures in the canyon. The rain, backlit by the setting sun, made for epic light amongst the temples and buttes in the canyon. I was able to position my clients so that we could shoot into the light to emphasize the layers of ridges in the canyon, as you can see in the photos below titled Light Eruption, The Heavens Upon Angels Gate, Winter’s Departure on Angels Gate, and Golden Veil Across the Canyon.
A colorful sunrise over the Grand Canyon as ragged, low-hanging clouds scrape across the temples and buttes below the North Rim. Photographed from the Hermit Road near Hopi Point on the South Rim of the national park. © Adam Schallau, all rights reserved.
A winter storm begins to lift, and as it does, a touch of light breaks through and falls upon Cheops Pyramid. The blue tones in the distant reaches of the canyon were almost neon in appearance. From the Rim Trail on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. © Adam Schallau, all rights reserved.
The warm light of sunrise chases off the chill of the winter breeze. A touch of snow from a recent storm clings to the canyon's upper reaches. Far below, in the shadowy depths, the Colorado River rushes over boulders, and the soft roar of the rapids is barely noticeable from the rim. Another day comes to life at the Grand Canyon. © Adam Schallau, all rights reserved.
Clouds from a clearing winter storm drift amongst the ridges and buttes below the rim of the canyon. From Hopi Point on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. © Adam Schallau, all rights reserved.
A sea of clouds fills the Grand Canyon. In the distance, visible through a gap in the clouds, is the Colorado River. The rainbow-like effect seen on the left side of the photograph is a Brocken Spectre. © Adam Schallau, all rights reserved.
Sometimes, all that is needed is a touch of light to give hope during dark times. © Adam Schallau, All Rights Reserved. © Adam Schallau, all rights reserved.
Low clouds scrape along the North Rim of the Grand Canyon as the early morning light begins to fill the canyon. © Adam Schallau, all rights reserved.
Winter light paints Zoroaster Temple in golden hues as storm clouds roll across the upper reaches of the Grand Canyon. From the Rim Trail on the South Rim.© Adam Schallau, all rights reserved.
A moment of winter light on the Tower of Set and Isis Temple. As snow from a winter storm falls into the canyon, it reaches warmer air and melts, turning to rain. © Adam Schallau, all rights reserved.
Light appears to erupt from within a winter storm. I photographed this scene at the Grand Canyon as the storm began to clear just before sunset. © Adam Schallau, all rights reserved.
Morning light breaks through a gap in the clouds and illuminates falling snow from a winter storm. The resultant soft light casts a warm, ethereal glow across the Grand Canyon. © Adam Schallau, all rights reserved.
The heavens descend upon Angels Gate in the Grand Canyon. A rain shower was moving across the canyon, creating ghostly apparitions. Angels Gate is the prominent formation to the left of the center of the image. In Paiute mythology, Angels Gate is the place where the gods would return to Earth by descending from the shadow world above.
The Grand Canyon is a place of immeasurable importance to Native people in the American Southwest. Grand Canyon National Park shares boundaries with three federally recognized tribes. A total of 11 federally recognized tribes, including the Kaibab Paiute, are traditionally associated with what is now Grand Canyon National Park. © Adam Schallau, all rights reserved.
Angels Gate is silhouetted against golden light, the result of snow and rain from a clearing storm being backlit by the setting sun. From the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. © Adam Schallau, all rights reserved.
Sunlight momentarily pierces through a gap in a storm, creating a dreamy atmosphere as rain falls into the canyon. From Moran Point on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Moran Point is named after famed landscape painter Thomas Moran of the Hudson River School, who is best known for his idealized views of the American West. © Adam Schallau, all rights reserved.
A dramatic display of light and weather in the Grand Canyon. Snow from a late winter storm melts as it falls into the depths of the canyon, creating a veil of rain backlit by the setting sun. © Adam Schallau, all rights reserved.
Sunlight pierces through a break in a clearing winter storm, illuminating Isis Temple in golden light as snow falls into the canyon. From the Rim Trail on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. © Adam Schallau, all rights reserved.
In a dramatic display, early morning light breaks through a narrow gap in a winter storm, striking the cliffs below the Tower of Set and Horus Temple in the Grand Canyon. © Adam Schallau, all rights reserved.
Thank you for viewing the photos
I hope you enjoyed the winter collection. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the photographs that I made this season. You are invited to leave a comment below or join the discussion on Facebook. As always, the photographs are available as fine art prints on traditional paper, metal, and acrylic.
What Else is Happening?
I try not to write too much about camera gear, but I have to say that this was my second season shooting with the Arca-Swiss C1 Cube geared head and their P0+Hybrid, which is a combination ballhead and geared head. I’m incredibly impressed with both tripod heads, and they have handled the winter weather conditions very well. After using ballheads for over 20 years, I have come to love the precise adjustments that I can make to my composition when using a geared head.
I’ve also added the Arca-Swiss Pan System Pro for creating stitched panoramic photos. I don’t have a lot of experience with the Pan System Pro yet, but it has been working well for me, and I look forward to using it to create multi-row stitched panos in the future.
As winter comes to a close, I am beginning to prepare for my upcoming Rafting the Grand Canyon Photography Expedition. We launch on April 30th and return to Flagstaff on May 9th. I’m home for one full day before returning to the South Rim for a week of private workshops in mid-May then I'm on the road again, this time heading to Texas for my grandson's high school graduation.
Several bolts of lightning strike the Grand Canyon on the rim overlooking the Colorado River. Photo © Adam Schallau, All Rights Reserved.
Later this coming summer, I’ll be back at the Grand Canyon for my annual monsoon photography workshops to chase storms, photographing lightning and rainbows. I still have a few spots open on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon monsoon workshop, and I hope you can join me!