Day two of a forty year dream that came true! Grand Canyon National Park
A magnificient sunset and a gorgeous sunrise at Desert View Tower - Grand Canyon National Park
15 April, 2025
~ 8 min read
Rising early for a national park sunrise never fails to amaze me! My experience during a wonderful sunset and a gorgeous sunrise from the Desert View point, on Grand Canyon's south rim road. The skies were bland with no clouds but the canyon views were spectacular.
After experiencing the Grand Canyon for the first time from Mather point, that too during a glorious sunrise light, me and my son had that whole day to explore.
We first made a visit to the visitor center near Mather point. Collected the customary national park brochure, talked to a ranger for recommendations for sunrise and sunset photography and then watched a documentary about the native people that call Grand Canyon their home for generations. Next stop was the gift shop. Refrigerator magnet and a baseball cap bearing the national park name are ‘must buy’ souvenirs for me these days at every National Park I visit.
Grand Canyon during the regular, daytime light, especially under a clear blue-sky day can be pretty underwhelming. If you happen to see it with this lighting for the very first time you will NOT have a great first impression about it. Unfortunately, a majority of tourists only see this version though. When I have some more days (i.e., sunrise and or sunsets) left in the trip, I use available day time to scout for spots to go back to either during the same trip or to plan during a next trip.
We drove to the Grand Canyon village and had a great lunch at Arizona Steakhouse, with a view of the Canyon. We strolled along the rim trail for about a mile. I had a small hike planned that day, but the icy conditions required crampons (spikes) for the shoes. The ranger we talked to earlier mentioned it as well. I should have had it in my camera bag. I didn’t plan well. We tried to buy it in the local shops but apparently, a lot of people are like me (poor in planning) and no shops had them. To be fair, there weren’t that many shops. I had to let go of the idea to hike. Safety comes first. There will be another time for the it.
We decided to take the shuttle that goes all the way to the Hermits rest at the west end of the rim road. Along the way there are multiple stops with canyon views (and restrooms). The shuttles ply frequently enough, so that one can spend enough time at each viewpoint they like and then hop on to the next one. Walking to the next stop is also an option. We got down in a few stops. As I said earlier, the views all looked ‘not so interesting’ because of the time of the day. None of these viewpoints were interesting enough to go back to in the evening, to my evaluation.
After coming back to where we boarded the shuttle, we started driving to the Desert View area, the east end of the rim road. This was in my list based on my research and was also recommended by the ranger that morning. The view point is great for both sunrise and sunset according to him. I wanted to confirm that myself. The drive was about forty minutes on the Desert View Drive. We crossed many of the viewpoints recommended in my preparation to reach Desert View on time.
After confusing ourselves (thanks google maps!) with the Desert View Campground instead of the Desert View Tower viewpoint, we finally parked the car and started walking. It was getting cold already. There was a lot of snow and the paved trail was slippery. We treaded carefully and reached the tower view point. I can immediately see why the ranger recommended me to this spot. On the west facing side, to our right was a beautiful wall of the canyon (awaiting to glow with the glorious sunset light). To our left (east facing) was an expansive part of the canyon which was going to be a great place for sunrise. I decided at once to come back next morning.
I had a great time capturing beautiful shots and panoramas of the canyon. The fact that I can literally do my composition at home with a 100 mega pixel wonder in my hands, I had a wonderful time shooting away. I was definitely missing a good telephoto reach for sure (such as a 70-200mm). Prior to the trip, I sold many of my canon lenses and a body to make a part payment (!) for a single Hasselblad prime lens, that too a used one. But I realized later that it was worth every single penny. The equivalent I had with the full frame system was the Zeiss 85mm/f1.4, which is still a masterpiece in producing panorama images. The Hasselblad 90mm/f2.5 was no slouch. Coupled with 100mp of crisp details (compared to the 20mp EOS R6), I had a ‘lot’ of wiggle room. I was creating power packed panoramas!!!
GAS is a real problem for folks with this expensive hobby. Wait! Don’t let your imagination run wild. This is Gear Acquisition Syndrome! Once in a while, the urge to get ‘that’ shiny new piece of equipment creeps up. A new body or a new lens or something else. We start finding reasons to justify that purchase. Somehow, I feel I don’t fall into that trap as often as I have heard about other photographers. But I do buy my fair share of gear, after I have waited enough. The Hasselblad system is the recent example. Hopefully, this will last for some time and it should. It cost a bunch.
After the blue hour was gone, the sky was getting dark. We headed back to our hotel. I have made clear plans for the sunrise - when to start, which spot I have to be, what type of shots I had to take, etc. I was pretty excited for the morning. The weather forecast was good as well. No clouds, unfortunately. We had our dinner and promptly went to bed on time. I needed a good rest after a long day.
The morning couldn’t have arrived sooner. The drive was quick as there was no one on the road. The Desert View parking lot was empty. We were the only souls in that part of the park. Compare that with being there during the peak season. You will struggle to find a parking spot. In my experience, the ideal time to visit the national parks is when you least expect the crowd. If you can only go during a peak season, at least make good use of the sunrise hour. Not a lot of people get moving that early.
We headed to the spot I picked. Ours were the only pairs of human eyes witnessing the vast canyon in front of us. I set up my iPhone on the gimbal for a Timelapse of the sunrise, which turned out to be a great video. It compressed the entire sunrise hour drama into a short video. Just about when the sun was coming up, we were joined by another photographer from Vermont.
The east facing side of the canyon was transforming every minute along with the beautiful transformation of light from pre-dawn to the golden hues of sunrise. Witnessing sunrise do its magic on these magnificent places is an experience I will not miss. The Hasselblad system was allowing me to bring some of that magic back home in great detail. It was also taking me back to experiencing the sheer joy of photography. Its menu system is simple and easy to navigate. The ergonomics and handling of the camera is so well thought out, I want to keep shooting until the light becomes uninteresting.
I had another excellent photography session. The results can speak for themselves. If there were some clouds to hold on to the colors, it would have been even better. But, us landscape photographers have to make best of what we get. I hope to get back to the Grand Canyon during the storm season and capture some of that drama. Someday…
