The Photograph
I am pleased to announce the release of the seventh Alain Briot Print of the Month Collection photograph: Rainbow over Isis Temple, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. This image was created a couple of years ago and was the subject of an article I wrote for Luminous-Landscape.com: Be Prepared. This article, which is one of my most popular article, explains why it is so important to always have at least two cameras when you are photographing.

On the day I created this image I planned to work exclusively with my Linhof 4x5, my primary and favorite camera. Working with 4x5 is both slow and painstaking, but the deliberate approach afforded by 4x5, and the quality of the results it gives me, are worth each and every effort that using a 4x5 entails.

On this day I planned to photograph Vulcan’s Throne at sunset from Point Imperial, on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. When the sun shines on Vulcan’s Throne at sunset, you get an incredible glow on this gigantic rock formation which stands nearly a mile above the Colorado River. Unfortunately, on that day, the sky was overcast and there was no guarantee the sun was going to come out of the clouds. As I waited, hoping for an opening in the clouds in the Western skies, it started to rain. Rain added to overcast conditions do not make for a bright photograph. But, knowing that you really never can tell until it is over and the sun is actually below the horizon, I proceeded to set up my Linhof, compose the image, and get everything ready to go. Because the view is so immense I decided to use my widest 4x5 lens, my Schneider 47mm XL. For 4x5 this is a huge lens with enormous coverage, the equivalent of an 18mm in 35mm.

My efforts were rewarded when, a few minutes before sunset, the sun came out for a brief moment. I immediately kicked into gear and started loading film holders in the Linhof and making exposures. I may have exposed 3 or 4 sheets of film when I heard people ?oohs and aahs!? behind me. I turned around and was confronted by the scene in this photograph: a magnificent rainbow arcing above and over Isis Temple in the Eastern Grand Canyon.

In a second I considered both the possibilities and the difficulties of getting this image on film. To do it right I needed a 210mm lens on the Linhof. But to do so I had to take down the 47mm lens I had on it, reset the camera configuration from wide angle to short telephoto, compose the photograph, check the focus, and then, hope that the rainbow was still there. The other option was to grab my Fuji 645zi and take a photograph hand-held.

I chose option 2, the only concession to speed being to install my polarizing filter prior to making the first exposure (polarizing a rainbow saturates the colors and darkens the sky behind the rainbow). I had time to make about 8 exposures before the rainbow faded away and before the sun sunk below the horizon. The photograph you see here was my second exposure. All in all, the rainbow lasted less than 5 minutes and if I had not used the 645 I would not have captured it.

Orders shipped to Arizona add 7.8% sales tax. No tax for out of state orders.