Grand Canyon - from the bottom!

[Ed Rotberg]

I normally hang out in the Nature & Animals forum, but I've got some nice (at least I think they're nice) images for this forum, so here goes. Please bear with my slow server.

I just got back from a trip rafting the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Only about 20,000 people get to do this trip every year, and it's really the only way to be able to see all of the over 270 miles of the Grand Canyon.

I've only just started processing some of the images, but I thought I'd post what I've done so far. I'd greatly appreciate and comments and suggestions for improvements. These are in chronological order.

This is from our first night. It rained in the evening - pretty steadily. You can see the storm clouds here.




http://www.edrotberg.org/images/Rim%20Shot%201.jpg



Just one of many shots I took on the river of the Canyon. I think this was near mile 30-ish or so.


http://www.edrotberg.org/images/Canyon%201.jpg



Vasey's Paradise is the waterfall that shoots out from the Canyon wall. It's at mile 33 or so.


http://www.edrotberg.org/images/Vasey%27s%20Paradise.jpg



Redwall Cavern is at mile 34 on the River. When John Weesley Powell discovered it, he estimated it could hold 50,00 people. I actuality it would be more like 5,000 people. This is a composite of 2 exposures - one for the interior and one for the exterior. I think I can do a better job at blending them, but this was the first pass.


http://www.edrotberg.org/images/Cavern.jpg



A little further down the River I took this image in Saddle Canyon. I don't know the name of this waterfall, but I believe I have it written down somewhere. There were lots of neat waterfalls in the canyon, some fo which required long hikes to get to. Others were right on the river.


http://www.edrotberg.org/images/Saddle%20Canyon%20Waterfall%201.jpg



A bit more of the Canyon from the River.


http://www.edrotberg.org/images/Canyon%202.jpg



And finally (for now) The view of the Canyon looking down-river from Nankoweap Trail. If you look carefull on the River, you can see two of the "S Rigs" that were similar to what we used to raft on the river. These "boats" are each about 35 feet long, to give you some idea of the scale of this image.


http://www.edrotberg.org/images/Nankoweap.jpg



Hope you enjoyed these. If so I can post more as I process them.

= Ed =

[khiemluu]

Brilliant shots, you have done very well.

Oh my, i thought it was beautiful from the lookouts up top, it's a whole new world when you are inside the canyon itself!

This is definitely going on my list of things to do before i die!!

Khiem.

[ElleG83]

Those are some of the most beautiful shots i've ever seen of the grand canyon. It's such a unique place to visit. Makes me want to pack up my bags right now and head over there but i doubt my shots would turn out as wonderful as yours. Congrats on the success! :)

[rssfhs]

I've rafted the Klamath and the Trinity rivers in northern California many times, but never been through the Grand Canyon. However, through your photos, I can imagine what an experience it must be. Thanks for sharing them!

[witchy]

WoW! Absolutely stunning shots!..I love all of them and I for one would love to see more when you process them.

Gorgeous!

[Carzee]

Gobsmacking - my dream destination. Thx for sharing.
You did these without a tripod and onboard a rubber dinghy?

[lomond]

So many great shots, I don't know where to begin.

My favourite has to be Saddle Canyon.
It may not have the sweeping grandeur of the other shots but it has a natural beauty of it's own.
The colours are wonderful, I feel as though I could reach out and touch the rocks.

Excellent work.

Regards,

[kenyc]

Wonderful shots. I particularly like the last one and the "paradise" waterfall.

KAC

[SimonBl]

Wonderful images, gives me a whole new perspective on my extremely brief visit topside!

[Meerkat17]

I aplogise in advance but these make many of the others that have been posted in the past pale into insignificance - fantastic shots which surely show the true "Grandeur" of the Grand Canyon.

Saddle Canyon is just excellent, one which you certainly took pains to capture and it shows!

Well done
David

[arjunrc]

Great stuff - my favourite is the 4th picture from the top. That's one view I hardly get to see.
And I don't see myself surviving the tiresome trek/donkey ride down unless they introduce a chopper service :-))

regds
arjun

[Ed Rotberg]

Brilliant shots, you have done very well.

Oh my, i thought it was beautiful from the lookouts up top, it's a whole new world when you are inside the canyon itself!

This is definitely going on my list of things to do before i die!!

Khiem.

Thanks for the comments.

Do it Khiem. It might be harder to arrange from Uastralia, but if you get the oppoprtunity - do it! It will change your likfe.

= Ed =

[Ed Rotberg]

Those are some of the most beautiful shots i've ever seen of the grand canyon. It's such a unique place to visit. Makes me want to pack up my bags right now and head over there but i doubt my shots would turn out as wonderful as yours. Congrats on the success! :)

Thanks for the kind words. It is a unique place. I had visited the Grand Canyon from the Rim before, but it's just not the same. You only see such a small portion of it and from too far away to really appreciate what it really, really is and what it means.

= Ed =

[Ed Rotberg]

I've rafted the Klamath and the Trinity rivers in northern California many times, but never been through the Grand Canyon. However, through your photos, I can imagine what an experience it must be. Thanks for sharing them!

It's a bit different as the S-rigs are so huge, and you're not ever paddling. I've rafted the Rogue, and I used to White-water canoe the lower Colorado in Texas as well as the Guadalupe River there. They are all wonderful and beautiful, and there is a certain tempo to the whole experience that is common. However, what you are traveling through in the Grand Canyon is a whole 'nuther experience. The hikes are amazing and the history of the earth's crust from the river is really awakening.

Glad you enjoyed the photos.

= Ed =

[Ed Rotberg]

WoW! Absolutely stunning shots!..I love all of them and I for one would love to see more when you process them.

Gorgeous!

Thanks for the kind words Witchy. I will probably p9ost a few more tonight, and then maybe more after the weekend.

= Ed =

[Ed Rotberg]

Gobsmacking - my dream destination. Thx for sharing.
You did these without a tripod and onboard a rubber dinghy?

Carzee,

Wow. Thanks for the compliments. First of all, it was hardly a "dinghy" :) It's a 35 foot boat with an outboard that is built to flex in all the right places to have it hold up under some of the more "aggressive" rapids. I did have my Gitzo G1325 tripod with me though it was not used for any of the images from the boat itself of course. I lugged it around in the 100+ degree heat on most of the hikes though, and it was well worth it. For example, the photo of the cavern is blended from two exposures, quite a few stops apart. One was exposed for the exterior and the other for the interior. It would have been impossible without a tripod or some sort of stable rest.

= Ed =

[Ed Rotberg]

So many great shots, I don't know where to begin.

My favourite has to be Saddle Canyon.
It may not have the sweeping grandeur of the other shots but it has a natural beauty of it's own.
The colours are wonderful, I feel as though I could reach out and touch the rocks.

Excellent work.

Regards,

Thanks Cameron. We saw a number of beautiful waterfalls, and I plan to post all of them. I only hope I can remember all of their names :) I wish the photos could do real justice to the places, but I'm just not that good :(

= Ed =

[Ed Rotberg]

Wonderful shots. I particularly like the last one and the "paradise" waterfall.

KAC

Thanks Kenny. Glad you enjoyed them.

= Ed =

[Ed Rotberg]

Wonderful images, gives me a whole new perspective on my extremely brief visit topside!
Thanks, and that's the best way to describe the expeerience too, Simon. It really does give you a whole new perspective on the Grand Caynon, and our insignificance here on this planet. Heady stuff for sure!

= Ed =

[Ed Rotberg]

I aplogise in advance but these make many of the others that have been posted in the past pale into insignificance - fantastic shots which surely show the true "Grandeur" of the Grand Canyon.

Saddle Canyon is just excellent, one which you certainly took pains to capture and it shows!

Well done
David

Thanks David! Yeah there were some pains inmvolved in lugging my tripod and the whole Pelican camera case on that particular hike. We hiked through a lot of water, and I didn't want the camera to get wet. IIRC, for that shot, the tripod was in about 2 feet of water in the creek itself.

My 54 year old knees really felt some of the hiking too, but that's probably more because I'm not in the shape I should be in. Next time I do this trip (and I do hope there is a next time), I will train for a couple of months in advance to get into better shape for sure! :)

= Ed =

[Ed Rotberg]

Great stuff - my favourite is the 4th picture from the top. That's one view I hardly get to see.
And I don't see myself surviving the tiresome trek/donkey ride down unless they introduce a chopper service :-))

regds
arjun

Thanks Arjun. Yeah, that cavern is really amazing. It's just HUGE. We stayed there for almost an hour, playing frisbee inside the cavern. One of the boatmen brought out a guitar and played in the natural echos there. Great fun!

= Ed =

[Angel_LCD]

Fantastic shoots :) Thanks for sharing :)

[Becca]

Ed~
Your pictures took me right back to my trip. We didn't get to see Saddle Canyon, but all the other ones were places I loved. Thank you so much for sharing. Your pictures are amazing!

P.S. - What rafting company did you go with?

[boomer1959]

Beautifull shots Ed, All of them. :D

[pcasciola]

These are all really great shots Ed. Thanks for posting them.

[Ed Rotberg]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments.

Becca - We went with the Grand Ecanyon Expeditions Company.

= Ed =

[Titus213]

Wow! It sure looks different from down there....as others have said, I thought it was pretty impressive from topside but this is amazing. There is a peace and tranquility to these shots and I love it. Saddle Canyon and Redwall Cavern are my favorites by far but they are all beautiful. Oh yes, and there is Vasey's Paradise - oh shoot, they are all excellent. Thanks for posting them.

[Leorooster]

Absolutely stunning shots. As many have said, it's another world on the bottom of the canyon. This is where I want to go. I definitely want to see more of your pics. BTW, what gear did you bring with you and did you have any problem protecting your gear from being wet?

Thanks for sharing.

[sparker1]

Ed, these are phenomenal shots of the canyon. Congratulations on some wonderful work.

[Ed Rotberg]

Thank you very much Dave, Leo & Stan. I do appreciate your looking and the kind words.

Leo - Pelican cases are the bomb for protecting you gear from water. I slipped in a creek on one of our treks, but I had the camera gear in the Pelican case at the time and didn't give a second thought to the case getting dunked in the creek along with me! :) Great stuff and I heartily reccommend them! In fact, I wouldn't have taken my good camera gear on this trip unless it was protected by a Pelican.

As for which gear, I brought my 20D, Sigma 15-30mm zoom, Canon 50mm f/1.4, and my Canon 400mm f/5.6L lenses. I brought a 1.4x extender but never used it. I also had a better beamer flash extender which never got used, as well as my 550 EX speedlight. I had a couple of polarizing filters, a neutral density filter, my cable release, my Gitzo G 1325 tripod and Markins M10 ball head. Extra flash cards and batteries. That about covers it :)

= Ed =

[bikerider]

Thanks for posting these beautiful shots, that's one trip I would very much love to do....can't think of anything to add to the posts already.
Roger.

[weemannie]

Those shots are b****y great :D


What a wonderful place

[Rob612]

Please post the more pics you can. I've never seen the GC except in pictures, but they were all from the upper POW. And youre are definitely different. Congratulations !!!!

[ayotnoms]

Nothing short of awesome!!
Those National Geographic pukes got nothing on an intrepid river rafter/photographer from Nevada :-)

Tell us what you're going to do with them....photo album (uh uh) ... framed large prints (getting closer)...or a bound book (where do I buy?) :-) :-)

[Ed Rotberg]

Thanks Roger, Mannie, Rob & Steve! I appresciate your looking in and your kind words.

Steve - I will definitely add them (eventually) to my online photo gallery and then offer a few of them for sale at local art fairs and over the internet. I am trying to slowly transition from my old, boring line of work to retirement/making a few buck on the side with photography. I'm just not sure that I have what it takes to succeed in this business though...

= Ed =

[ayotnoms]

Thanks Roger, Mannie, Rob & Steve! I appresciate your looking in and your kind words.

Steve - I will definitely add them (eventually) to my online photo gallery and then offer a few of them for sale at local art fairs and over the internet. I am trying to slowly transition from my old, boring line of work to retirement/making a few buck on the side with photography. I'm just not sure that I have what it takes to succeed in this business though...

= Ed =
Super. I'll be on the lookout for a couple to purchase.
We get a POTN discount right?? :lol: :lol:

[Rob612]

Are you organizing for international shipping ?? If so I may be interested in some of them. Even unframed, I can have that job done here.

[Ed Rotberg]

Are you organizing for international shipping ?? If so I may be interested in some of them. Even unframed, I can have that job done here.

Wow Rob. Thanks :) I guess I'm not to that point yet. I haven't even finished processing all of them, but if you like, shoot me an email and I'll send you a link of all of the images from the trip once they are posted to my web gallery - where they are displayed at 1024x768-ish sizes. You could thne let me know what you are interested in and we can discuss pricing. I have no problem shipping internationally - but I will have to pass on the shipping costs.

= Ed =

[Rob612]

PM sent :)

[witchy]

I have already said how much I like these shots but can't help telling you again.

They are awesome!

[Screamer]

These are stunning! Great work and thanks for posting them!

[Harold_L]

I'll add my congratulations for a wonderful set of pictures. I am particularly taken by Vasey's Paradise, especially for the way the waterfall outlines the rocky layers that are seen "dry" to the left of the falls.

Harold

[Croasdail]

I was there a couple of weeks ago on the north rim and shooting conditions were horrible - lots of haze and bland skies. Came away really bummed photographically - still worth the visit - but I came away with a lot less then I had wanted. These give a great perspective then the standard from the rim shots and I now want to plan my next trip back to southern Utah \ Arizona as soon as possible. Truely wonderful shots - thanks for sharing and getting me even that more depressed but inspired to do better next time. Cheers

[Sailfish]

ALL STUNNING :)

Well done

[Maureen Souza]

I missed these the first time around and soooo glad I found them this time. They are really stunning! Thanks for the trip :):):)