The final leg of our Arizona trip was a stop in Page. The primary purpose for this stop was for me to take a photo tour of the slot canyons, but while here we took in a few sites and other hikes in the area.
We arrived to the hotel before check-in, and the room was not ready. We came prepared and had a few hike ideas already identified, so we made our way to Beehive Loop Trail just west of the Glen Canyon Dam.
The hike is roughly 1.5 mile loop, and it marked by rocks stacked on top of the ground around the rock formation. There was a turn in the markers that lead up a slightly rising rock face. After climbing up and over, we were greeted with the image above. The texture and color of the rock were interesting, but the midday sun was probably not the best option for the scene. Had I stayed in the area longer, I would have been tempted to go back here before sunrise.
Horseshoe Bend is one of the iconic locations in the Page area. Val has commented many times she wanted to see it, and we debated on whether to do sunrise or sunset, as this is a popular location due to ease of access and breathtaking view. I originally opted for sunrise, but changed our minds to take a crack at sunset on the first evening we were there.
Horseshoe Bend has been photographed hundres of thousands of times. I was not looking to repeat the same shot that most people look for, standing on the rock face right of the image above, overlooking the horseshoe is almost perfect symmetry. It was good I did not want to anyway, as the area was swarming with people and many photographers had already staked their claim to the spot before Val and I arrived.
I envisioned 2 things for the image I was looking to capture…the sunset center of the image some rocks in the foreground to try and frame the horseshot. I knew I was limited in options for this, but was fortunate enough to find a spot. Set the tripod up a little low and frame the image above. I would have loved to have a more rounded frame of rocks in front, but mother nature did not provide me that option if I wanted the sun as it was.
