In February 2019 I was send on assignment to shoot a photo documentary about the Grand Canyon, the most famous natural wonder in the United States. The trip was sponsored and supported by the wonderful 5 Star Grand Canyon Helicopter Tours LLC / ADRENALINE starting from Boulder City, CA, USA
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon. It is 446 km long, up to 29 km wide and attains a depth of over 1,857 meters. Nearly two billion years of Earth’s geological history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted. The Canyon itself was carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, USA and the wind that caused the surface of the sedimentary rocks to become exposed and erode over time. The erosion of the Grand Canyon by winds, rains and the amazing strength of the Colorado River created the marvelous views and exposed magnificent caves. This reaction of land to the weather over many, many years allowed mankind to create living spaces and permitted various plants and animals a place to live and survive and flourish. In order to receive a more vertical overall perspective I flew over several days on different times of the day on board our helicopter straight into the South Rim and was incredibly impressed by the vastness and eternity and also its geology which includes one of the most complete and studied sequences of rock on Earth aged to nearly 2 billion years old. Some of the images visible in the distance show the sediment layers.
Being a silent witness in the Canyon’s existence. I felt insignificant towards its grandeur and fortunate to be experiencing it.