Even before night fell, the distant south rim of the Grand Canyon was being pummeled by a thunderstorm that hugged the edge of the canyon like a bird of prey with talons of lightning. Strike after strike illuminated the cloud bank that would eventually spread northward and cover the sky, but for more than an hour, our view was of the galaxy we call home, and the countless stars that vied for our attention. Days later, with many a wonder seen and experienced, my son Tadeh and I would both agree that this was the highlight of our road trip through the Southwest. Photographed August 2021.
The moment of sunrise had come, but the thick layer of clouds stretching from horizon to horizon held back the golden light that the land craved. Photographed August 2021.
The angle of sunlight is low, and every direction provides a different vista, a different view of the hoodoos carved over millions of years by rain, wind, and snow... In one corner of the Amphitheater, darkness mostly reigns for now, but will soon be dispelled by the power of dawn. Photographed March 2022.
