Here we were, at the 4th and final opportunity for a golden hour and sunrise at the Grand Canyon! Because we were camping on the eastern side of the park, I took the opportunity to explore each promising spot that I could reasonably access.

We had found the Desert View Watchtower overlook to be a fantastic sunset location with its sweeping views to the west. I had taken a chance with sunrise at Grandview Point and discovered it to be the ideal location for that time of day. We hiked into the canyon on the Bright Angel Trail for an adventurous midday activity. And we were blown away with the incredible sunset God gave us at a small, yet ideal location at Navajo Point, complete with open views of the Dragon Bravo wildfire on the North Rim.

Now, it was time to discover the last location I had on my list to visit at Grand Canyon and see how it would score for sunrise.

Lipan Point is a lot like Navajo Point in that it is a small overlook with similar views. However, in some respects, it was better. Among it’s strengths is that there was a lot more room to explore here. Not only is Lipan Point a trailhead to another, less-known trail into the canyon (the Tanner Trail), the overlook itself is at the top of a long, gradually sloping peninsula jutting out into the canyon upon which you could explore as far as you wanted. In addition to it’s other strengths from a photographer’s perspective (which I share in the Scouting Guide for this pin), this ability to move around unhindered makes Lipan Point one of those places that I will look back on as a place worth returning to.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me show you with my favorite photos from that location how the morning unfolded.

The moment I stepped out on the overlook, I was met with a blast of cold air blowing up from the depth of the canyon. It was the most windy place I experienced that day. But the thing I noticed right off, as a photographer, was this was the first overlook where the river was a close and prominent part of the landscape!

I made my way off the actual overlook to explore some potential foreground material. The pre-dawn light was gorgeous.

As sunrise approached, I found myself a foreground subject that I decided I would try to work with.

And then, like a curtain being drawn back from a stage, the sun crested the eastern clound embankment and painted the landscape with light!

The intense, golden light was glorious!

But sadly, the light wouldn’t last long. The sun moved behind another bank of clouds and from then on it was hit and miss when it decided to momentarily peek through.

At one point, I pulled out the telephoto to spot the landscape a bit.

But the glory of the early morning faded quickly. And as I made my way back to the car, black and white returned as my mindset.

Intensity of light makes a big difference in what the viewer sees in a photo. Compare the following photo, taken on my way out, with a photo I took of almost the exact same perspective, only taken on the way in. It’s almost like the river doesn’t exist in the first one!

I find this comparison illustrative of I John 1:6-7. It’s not a perfect illustration, but when I see those two pictures side by side, I can’t help but think about the work of “light” in our heart. “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth [the river is visible before the light comes]. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin [the river is no longer “visible” in full sunlight].” We still have a sin nature to deal with in this life [the river is still there], but when our trust is in Christ for salvation from the penalty of our sin, it is rendered as gone on the final day of judgement.

I had enjoyed photographing the sunrises, sunsets and golden hours at the Grand Canyon and I was beyond satisfied with my time there as I packed up my gear to head out for good.

But we weren’t leaving Arizona yet. We would take the day to drive back to civilization, freshen up, and get some rest after many late nights and early mornings. I think I only took 4 more pictures over the rest of the whole day. We were able to disconnect, spend time together enjoying our journey to the next destination, in the direction of the Phoenix airport.

Yes, we were going to be leaving Arizona soon. But we had one more day to explore a special part of Arizona I had heard a lot about but had never yet laid eyes on. I was very excited to gather just a few more shots of the southwest before heading back east. But the mistake I made the next morning was so bizarre, I’m almost embarrassed to recount it. We’ll see if I drum up enough courage to write about it in a future blog post. 🙂