Mary Colter in 1932 designed the Indian Watchtower that’s at the east end of the Grand Canyon. It was constructed by the Santa Fe Railroad like many of our great historic buildings in our Nat’l Parks, to bring folks the the parks on their trains. Colter though was a very gifted architect who brought to her structures the lore of the landscape and incorporated it into their design. The Watchtower is a great example of this, perched on the edge of The Canyon with spectacular views. So, who do you tell it’s story?
It starts with the obvious, just the tower. The one important element we didn’t have to work with was an interesting background. Bald Skies don’t leave a lot to work with normally. But when you think B&W, you can use the gradient of the sky. So we started with basic symmetry of just the tower. Then in moving around to the next opportunity a new one appeared. The sun was now at the right spot to shine through the window. So shooting with the D750 and 20f1.8 AFS , physically moved laterally so just a smidge of sun creeped around the window to intensify the starburst. The 20f1.8 has a great starburst so it was fun to exploit it.
Then there is the overall shot of the Tower that I had in mind from the get go. It’s really a simple click that, with the time of day and the bald skies is a natural. Shooting with with the 20f1.8, placing the Tower on the right brings in the story of The Canyon. Now the question comes up about making the Tower straight. Well, there isn’t really anything in the Tower that is straight so I don’t worry about it. It’s just part of its character. And when it comes to finishing the B&W, well that’s a simple single click with the new OnOne Suite 9 B&W.
But then there is the last light of day and the desert glow. Moving to the west, you can show on other view of the Tower, that of being part of the landscape. Switching up to the 85f1.8AFS, the bald skies lend themselves beautifully to this simple click. Naaa, these aren’t the most amazing shots of the Watchtower. We didn’t have that “wow” moment to work with. So then you’ve gotta reach down into your experiences as a photographer. Working to make the uncommon out of the common brings up these possibilities to reach the goal to tell the visual story. If nothing else, it was a great way to spend a gorgeous afternoon.