Canyon Travel Blog: Keep the Detail, Cut the Clutter

One Canyon, Several Ways of Looking

1My name is Tamsin, and I expected our family’s canyon trip to produce one excellent photograph. Before we left the motel, I packed a notebook, a camera, and a camera that belonged to me into my shoulder bag. My brother, Dario, packed a folded map. Mom said we had enough time to visit two overlooks before lunch. I privately wondered how two views of the same opening in the ground could possibly be different.

2At the first overlook, we stopped at the place where visitors could stand and look out across the canyon. A railing separated the paved viewing area from the slope. Beyond it, rust-colored bands crossed the opposite wall. Thin shadows filled several cracks. I took a picture, checked it, and took another picture that was almost exactly the same as the first picture.

3Dario unfolded the map beside a sign. Due to the fact that the second overlook faced a different direction, he wanted to continue along the marked path. I wanted to stay because I was not yet satisfied with my photograph. We reached an agreement together: five more minutes here, then the next stop. Mom set a timer, which made our agreement much harder to stretch.

4At the second overlook, the wind did something to the loose corner of our map. It lifted the corner and slapped it repeatedly against Dario’s wrist. He pinned the paper beneath his palm. Mom tucked her receipt into a zippered pocket. My camera strap lay across my jacket.

5From this angle, a narrow ridge separated two gullies that had looked like one wide hollow. I made a quick sketch in my notebook. The sketch was rough and unfinished, but its lines showed the ridge more clearly than my first photograph had. In order to remember the difference, I labeled both views. On the way back, I decided my blog needed both images, not a long list of words saying the canyon was amazing, incredible, and really great.