The Grand Canyon seen from Pima Point, a shaft of sunlight on red buttes above the distant Colorado River.

The Sheer Scale of It

Pima Point, Grand Canyon, AZ

This was one of the first scenes the Grand Canyon showed me. What pulled me in was a single streak of light raking across the buttes and reflecting off the Colorado far below. That warm rock against the cool, hazy blue was the shot.

Nikon Z 7_2 · NIKKOR Z 24-120mm f/4 S · 24mm · f/11 · 1/200 · ISO 40

May 26, 2026

Back to Grand Canyon

More from Grand Canyon

Black-and-white photo of a mule pack train backlit by the rising sun on the South Kaibab TrailTelephoto view of layered Grand Canyon ridgelines receding into golden sunset haze, seen from Desert View.Wide view from Desert View, last light catching the far rim beneath a purple sky.The Grand Canyon at blue hour from Mojave Point, last light on the red buttes fading into cool twilight.A lone juniper at the rim of the Grand Canyon at sunrise, first light striking the cliffs at Moran Point.Sunlight on Berry Butte, rising from the hazy blue ridges of the Grand Canyon at Grandview Point.