Paddling

Obsession

If I had to describe the Grand Canyon and could only use one photograph for an aid, it'd be this one. Smack dab in the heart of Muav Gorge is Obsession Canyon - It's a scene that you might not even see unless you are actively looking for it because the actual slot is hidden by the geometry of the river for all but :60 seconds or so.
As the river sweeps from right to left it slowly reveals a massive buttress of Redwall limestone that towers over the river and you can see the final two rappels that go at about 300 and 100 feet respectively. It's the main canyon in the film Last of the Great Unknown we shot in 2011. I've probably shot more footage and photos of this canyon from either in the canyon or on the rim than anywhere else in the ditch, but I'd never had enough daylight at river level to get out and shoot a proper photo of the final sequence. (When we descended the technical slot, we were on river left, and it was getting dark). It's also a hard place to photograph in good light because there aren't really any camps close by for golden hour, so you have to be fairly deliberate about waking up early and getting to it. Last year I saw a photo from @adamschallau from river right that blew my mind, and I made a note to eddy out on my next trip and see if I couldn't get a comp from that side of the river as well. I rowed out of camp about 15 minutes early and set up on a nice overlook when Lindsey and Brian came rowing through. We also just happened to have some nice wispy clouds for the first time in over a week.

Rich Rudow and I sat on this rock for 15 or 20 minutes firing off shots of the group as they floated by and laughing our asses off that we have never stopped to shoot it before. Psyched to finally capture it.
Thanks for the inspiration Adam!

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