the canyon at sunrise by Daniel James -

This shot took a

This shot took a lot of time and planning. It was worth it.

From the floor of the canyon, the sunrise doesn't look like much of anything since the more interesting colors are usually near the horizon, which can't be seen. So, we opted to go for higher ground that looked out, Eastward, over the canyon. Believe it or not if we angled ourselves just right, the designated "Scenic Outlook" served that purpose perfectly, as you can see here.

When it comes to scenic outlooks and designated photo spots, my general rule of thumb is: use them. They are almost always boring, at first, not because of the view but because the picture has been taken by millions of tourists before me. However, I usually take the typical shot and then try to make it more interesting, like you see here. At least if you take the typical shot, if everything else you do doesn't work out you can still say, "well, I got this one!".