Black Canyon of the Gunnison - A Quick Guide To Photography

Narrows from North Rim, afternoon
Steep, narrow, and deep, Black Canyon of the Gunnison is one of the most impressive river gorges in North America. To give you an idea of the sheer verticality of the canyon, in some places the bottom  gets less than an hour of sunlight a day. Although I am used to exposure on sheer cliffs, standing at the edge often made me feel dizzy. While the canyon is as impressive as any, because it is one of the most recent additions to the National Parks System, it has not been extensively photographed, which means there is opportunity here for fresh, unseen perspectives.
The national park sees relatively few visitors, almost all of them coming to view the South Rim overlooks, most of which are a short stroll from the paved main park road. It takes an 80-mile drive to go from the South Rim to the less developed North Rim, where the park road is unpaved and there are few facilities. In addition to the solitude, the North Rim rewards you with views distinctly dif...