Rick Samco Photography

Rick Samco Photography

Grand Canyon

Although I had visited the South and North Rims of the Grand Canyon a number of times, and had also hiked it rim-to-rim, rafting its length on the Colorado River was a longtime unfulfilled wish. So when last year I received notice of a photography-focused, late-Spring rafting trip, I was ready to sign up. But first I had to reconcile with the fact that this trip would be on a very large, 35' long, motorized raft, holding almost 20 people. My dream had been to experience the canyon on a small, human-powered raft or dory – where you are fully "immersed" in the canyon's environment, including in its very large rapids. However, such trips require the daunting commitment of 16 or more days. And I also worried that such a slow, strenuous mode of travel would make it difficult to visit some of the canyon's photogenic locales at optimum times. So, in the end, I decided to prioritize the photography aspects and we signed up for the trip.

Our group was composed of 3 river guides, 2 workshop leaders, and 12 photographers. We departed on the raft at Lee's Ferry (mile 0; 15 river miles below Lake Powell's Glen Jackson Dam) and came out 10 days later at Diamond Creek (mile 226). The guides were fabulous – extremely experienced nice guys, very accommodating to our photography wishes, and great cooks. The weather was great – most days in the 80's, 2-3 evenings of light rain, and only one very hot day and a night with heavy rain. The large powered raft was stable for picture taking and allowed for great itinerary flexibility, but it did result in a muted whitewater experience. One of the workshop leaders, QT Luong, has provided the following resources regarding the Grand Canyon and specifically our trip:

Before embarking on the rafting adventure, Andy & I took the opportunity to explore the seldom-visited eastern rim of the nearby Little Colorado River (LCR) gorge. It features five impressive, 1600' deep horseshoe bends, which are only accessible via rough 4x4 roads on Navajo land (permit required). And we saw no one else during our 2 days of exploration. The LCR flows into a beautiful confluence with the Colorado, which we visited later via raft. We also took the opportunity to spend a night on the Grand Canyon's South Rim, enjoying a top down perspective on where we were soon to be rafting. Photos from both of these other trip segments are included below.

Panoramas – Tap/click on a pano's thumbnail to show an interactive, moving panorama; use the on-screen control bar or your finger/mouse to move around:

South Rim Sunrise from Navajo Point (Desert View Watchtower in distance):

Little Colorado River Confluence with Colorado River:

Image Gallery – Tap to view an individual image, then swipe to advance; use the top-right controls for auto play & other options (e.g, tap the curved arrow to open sharing options):