Grand Canyon Hiking Photos

It wasn't a photography workshop, but I still manged to take a few interesting photos of the majestic Grand Canyon while hiking down into the canyon during our travels in Arizona. It was a magical experience for me and I'm sharing my adventure with you through these photos.

Grand Canyon rock texturesAfter we got through the steep switchbacks,
the complex textures of the Grand Canyon revealed themselves to us.

I hope you enjoy my gallery of high resolution photos of the Grand Canyon. One of the first scenic photos I took during the beginning of the hike was the one above.  The sun was coming in from a low angle and was revealing the fascinating textures of the canyon walls.

The photo below tells a tale of two stories. The first, in the foreground reveals one of the many peaks left behind from the ions of erosion.

Grand Canyon colors patternsGrand Canyon colors patterns

The second tale reveals the incredible palette of colors in the geology that can appear differently, depending on the time of day and the nature of the lighting.

The photo below, just past the Supai village, gives you a splendid view of the blue sky, red rock, green foliage, and that azure  water that flows all the way down to the river.

Supai blue-green waterThe famous blue-green water at the top of Havasu Falls.

The time exposure photo of the Havasu Creek below was taken during daylight hours. I used a neutral density filter screwed onto my lens to enable such a long expsure during regular bright shooting conditions.

Havasu Creek Long ExposureLong exposure (30 seconds) of Havasu Creek

The photo above was taken not far downstream from the main Havasu Falls.

I chose to scramble across a few rocks to get to the right spot for the photo of Havasu Falls below.

Havasu Falls at DuskUsing a tripod, the exposure was for 30 seconds.
Havasu Falls at Dusk

I shot the photo above just as it became dark. I used a tripod to steady the camera during the 30 second exposure to get this creamy-looking motion blur effect.


Mooney Falls was close to the Supai campground and was one of my favorite side hikes we got to do. The photo below

Mooney Falls-Grand CanyonMooney Falls, Grand Canyon - 200 ft.

I included our two travel guides in the photo to give perspective as to how big Mooney Falls is.

Rather than hike back to the Havasupai campground via the path, we waded back up against the gentle current of the Havasu Creek toward Mooney Falls. That's when I composed the photos above and below.

Mooney Falls and Havasupai CreekHavasupai Creek and Mooney Falls


To imagine how these mile and mile of canyon textures were slowly carved into the landscape over hundreds of millions of years is still to this day hard for me to grasp. Rock formations like these, and the remarkable hydrothermal features that have developed on this earth in Yellowstone National Park are mind boggling. 

These views along with our side trip to photograph the amazing red rock formations of Sedona, gave us hundreds of photo opportunities.

Grand Canyon at sunset after hikeThe best light on the Grand Canyon at sunset after our hike

After we hiked down and camped in the campground near the Supai village, we hike back out  off the canyon on the same trail. We were able to view the canyon from the south rim near sunset and take the above photo.

The following morning, I took this photo from the South Kaibab trail, not too far from the well-known and amazing view at Ooh Aah Point.

South Kaibab Trail near Ooh Aah PointView from South Kaibab Trail near Ooh Aah Point

The layers preserved in the rock represent hundreds of millions of years of history. If you are like I am, and you're interested in the colored  layers, you'll enjoy traveling through my photography of The Badlands too.


The photo below was taken after a short hike to The Watchtower. Known as Desert View, this location gives you an incredible view of the vastness of the canyon and is a favorite target for tourists to get a great shot of the canoyon.

Desert view near watchtower Grand CanyonDesert View near Watchtower Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon Abstract Photos

Rocks make great subjects for composing abstract photos and the Grand Canyon has thousands of such opportunities. Being the camera geek that I am, I enjoyed shooting a few abstract photos while we hiked in and around the canyon.

Grand Canyon Abstract Photo #1Grand Canyon Abstract Photo #1

As a species, we're relative newcomers on the earth and to think that these rocks formed hundreds of million years ago-it's hard to comprehend.

It's hard to figure out why the circular holes were formed as the Canyon walls eroded over the centuries.

Grand Canyon Abstract Photo #2Grand Canyon Abstract Photo #2


When you're shooting landscape photos don't forget to shoot closer up, detail images as well as the wide angle scenic views.

Grand Canyon Abstract Photo #3Grand Canyon Abstract Photo #3

Fascinating patterns of erosion are everywhere to be found when you hike down into the canyon.

It's also very interesting to imagine how so much vegetation manages to find ways to germinate and grow in location within the challenging landscape.

Grand Canyon Abstract Photo #4Grand Canyon Abstract Photo #4

These photos are from just a few days of hiking. The more time you spend in a location like the Grand Canyon, the more likely you are to witness ideal lighting conditions and get great shots.

I hope you enjoyed my small gallery of photos from our hiking in the Grand Canyon. There are thousands of opportunities to get great views and take great photos of this amazing place. My hope is that viewing these photos will inspire you to hike the Grand Canyon and take your own photos.


Bruce Lovelace portrait

Bruce Lovelace is the publisher of TravelingPhotographer.com. Bruce shot portraits full time for over 35 years. Now he shoots more travel photography.  Read more about him on the About Page. He also publishes how to articles and camera gear reviews at the  Photography Tips and Canon Geek websites.

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