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Grand Canyon couple #1

Man and woman looking out over the Grand Canyon, Arizona

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The story behind this image

When faced with a place like the Grand Canyon, which can temporarily overwhelm your senses, it's all too easy to think that all you have to do to get an interesting photo is to point your camera at it.

Actually I found it very difficult to photograph the canyon in a meaningful way that went beyond just a visual record of an astounding place, and started to tell a bit of a visual story as well.

When faced with this problem I tend to look for interesting and unusual juxtapositions, or visually stimulating foreground details that add to the atmosphere of the image.

Such was the case here with this young couple and small tree on the canyon rim. Including these elements in the shot takes the image beyond a simple record shot, such as 'Grand Canyon 01' above, and starts to tell a story that makes the photo more interesting. I particularly like the contrasts between youth and age, life and barrenness, organic and inorganic. How about you?....more to come.

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Image data


Filename - grand canyon couple 01.jpg

Camera - Canon 5D

Lens - 24-105mm zoom @ 32mm

Exposure - 1/80sec @ f11, ISO200

Location - Grand Canyon, Arizona

This image - 800x640px JPEG

Conversion - ACR & PS-CS2

Comments - Polarising filter use dto enhance colours.