Today is a very special day in the history of our great national experiment with lands in our country owned by all of us and managed for the benefit and enjoyment of everyone. On this day in 1919, Grand Canyon became a national park. Theodore Roosevent, in 1908 as President, had designated the Big Ditch as a national monument and in 1918 Woodrow Wilson had made it official with national park status. His action, as much as anything, was a reaction to the cattle and logging interests of the day who wanted for nothing more than to be able to “Drill, Baby, drill, and cut Baby cut.” I think you know what I mean. Roosevelt and Wilson saw in these treasures more than resources to be exploited for the profit of the few.
A focal length of 200mm gave me the angle-of-view I wanted, moderately narrow and moderately telephoto, with some magnification and compression. An aperture of f/20 provided depth-of-field from the camera-to-subject distance; and a shutter speed of 0.4 second at ISO 200 gave me an overall somewhat darker-than-medium exposure.
In the Hindu Religion, Brahma is the Creator deity within the supreme triple deity including Vishnu and Shiva. So it was with great gratitude that as the sun sank on the last evening of the last EarthSong Workshop, we watched the light gather Brahma Temple, up the watershed of Bright Angle Canyon, within itself: the light of creation.
The Brahma Temple certainly looks majestic bathed in the warn light. The cool blue light in the background seems to be showing it’s respect by allowing the temple to have all the spotlights That must have been a humbling experience. I am sorry I missed it.
Hi Nancy T. It was really good to talk with you this week. You sounded calmer and more at peace than I can remember in a long time.
Brahma Temple is such a special formation and yet seen from the Bright Angel Overlook it somehow loses a bit of its majesty. That’s only because the North Rim is over a thousand feet higher than the South Rim and the elevation of Brahma is somewhere in between, so it’s a matter of perspective.
Late in the afternoon when the sun is very low, the South Rim is in shadow and the cool blue light is a perfect contrast to the warm light on the temple.
Whenever I stand on the edge of the Grand Canyon I am both awed and humbled. I feel my insignificance and hopefully the gratitude that accompanies being in the presence of such a place.
Be safe and Walk in Beauty.