Mount Sinyella After the Rain
Grand Canyon National Park
The highpoint in this image is Mount Sinyella, considered to be the center of the universe according to Havasupai legend. I made this photograph from the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park while on an 18-day rafting expedition. It had been raining and the visibility downriver was obscured when I began to see a faint hint of light through the rain. The silhouette of Mount Sinyella began to take shape as the storm lifted. Seeing a great location to setup just upstream of our location, I asked the boatman if he could fight the current and get us there. While he rowed I was frantically unpacking my high-resolution camera and a tripod from their safe place in a dry bag.
It probably only took a minute or so to get the camera unpacked and for us to reach the shoreline, but in that time the rain had stopped and the canyon walls were now being bathed in warm sunlight. I managed to make just a couple photos before the clouds completely cleared and the dreamy sense of atmosphere in the canyon had burned off. If you look closely, you can see faint specs in the water where rain drops are falling into the Colorado River. © Adam Schallau, All Rights Reserved.