Attempting to Rate the Beauty of the American Landscape

The Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon Afterglow by Richard Lewis

Grand Canyon Afterglow by Richard Lewis 2015

New England

View Towards Mt Monadnock by Richard Lewis 2015

View Towards Mt. Monadnock by Richard Lewis 2015

In the last couple of weeks we were on a whirlwind tour, first in Arizona and then in New England. As a photographer, I am often perplexed, awed, inspired and completely overwhelmed at the diversity of our American landscape.

During our travels, I got to stand at the edge of the Grand Canyon at sunset and thought how good it would be to live nearby and be able to photograph this area on a regular basis. A week later, we were in New England as the Fall colors of the trees were at their best and thought, how can I ever leave this?

Where would you like to be?

A note on photography and patience. When we arrived at this viewpoint of the Grand Canyon, there were a few other photographers there. We all watched and shot a mediocre sunset and then they left. To really photograph the landscape at its best, an understanding of the natural forces in the landscape is critical. I saw that the conditions were right for an afterglow. This happens after the sun goes down and reflects up through the clouds causing a soft light that literally makes the landscape glow. I like to call it Sunset II. When the above scene happened, which was far more beautiful than the actual sunset, I was the only photographer there to capture it.