Grand Canyon Expedition
May 2005
Photo by David Silver ©2005
Silver Imaging
Running Granite Rapid
Ever since my teenage years I have wanted to raft the Grand Canyon. I had been to the North and South Rims and had hiked down to the Colorado and back up. I had also done a bit of kayaking elsewhere, and the lure of the Grand's class 10 rapids was drawing me as well. Such a trip has been on my "must do" list for at least 20 years. This year the chance finally came!
I am glad that I waited as long as I did, because the trip I took was unique in many ways. My friend and photographic guide, Steve Kossack, has for the last few years taken a few photographers each year on a dream trip through the Grand Canyon. There are basically two ways to float the Grand. You either do a commercial trip or apply for the few private permits that are given out by lottery. There is usually a 5-10 year wait for these. Most commercial trips stop at the popular sites, but they don't spend long enough to do them justice photographically and most of the time you are not where you want to be when the light is best. For his trips Steve basically charters the boat and then plans with the guide the best places and times to maximize the photographic experience. I can summarize how well this concept works in one word. Awesome!
You may have noticed that I call this trip an expedition as opposed to just a workshop. Spending eight days on the river and seven nights camping on the shore puts this trip in an entirely different class than the typical 4-5 day workshop where we spend each night in a hotel. Steve was there to provide instruction as requested as well as information about the canyon. Our crew from Grand Canyon Expeditions, Bob Dye and Donna Koster were highly skilled and very knowledgeable, not to mention just being great people to be with. I highly recommend any of Steve's trips, but this one especially. The great thing about workshops is sharing information and ideas. I not only learned a lot on this trip and took a bunch of photographs that I like, but I've made several great new friends.
The Grand Canyon is a special place. Each bend of the river brings something new. The canyon can change its character completely in a short distance. Each side canyon has it's own attractions. There is magic here. The wonder and awe I felt with each new experience will last a lifetime. I shot 12 gigabytes of digital files on this trip, but have thousands of terrabytes of images and feelings stored up in my heart and mind.
I'd like to share with you some of these feelings in the following images.
For all my images of this trip including ones not in this gallery check my Image Catalog under Grand Canyon Expedition 05.
If you look closely at the photograph at the top of this page I am the one on the right of the group at the front of the raft wearing red life preservers.
For images from other participants on this trip check here.
For Steve's essay on the trip and the images he took, check here.