Sunset from Hopi Point | Arizona Landscape Photography

It took me a grueling eight hours to hike 9.5 miles and gain 3,800 feet of elevation from my campsite at Monument Creek to the trailhead at Hermits Rest. I arrived at my truck thoroughly exhausted, in late afternoon, in a cold wind, under ashen skies. The odds of seeing anything resembling warm light at sunset seemed vanishingly small. I explored along the rim east of Hermits Rest and eventually settled on a spot 100 yards east of Hopi Point as my best bet for a sunset shoot. 

The time of sunset neared, then passed, with no noticeable change in the color of the clouds to the north and east, the direction I had pointed my camera. It seemed time to admit defeat, pack up, and head for my hotel, which promised my first dinner in five days that didn't come out of a bag to which I had added boiling water, and my first slumber in a real bed in five nights. 

Then I saw a faint hint of warm color on the underbelly of the sullen gray clouds to the west. I am normally reluctant to move the tripod at the last moment, since I’ve already dialed in the best composition I can find at a given location. I usually prefer to stick with that composition and hope the scene lights up, rather than moving to a worse composition in hopes of better light. But it was already a few minutes past the almanac time of sunset, and my hopes of seeing glowing clouds within my original composition were fading as fast as the remaining daylight. I picked up the tripod with the camera still attached and ran to the west side of the overlook. What had been merely a glimmer grew into a flame, then a bonfire as vivid hues of red, magenta, and purple spread farther and farther across the sky.  To my astonishment and delight, one of the most colorful sunsets I’ve ever been privileged to photograph was unfolding before my eyes. I always told my students, “Don’t cut and run, even if the situation looks hopeless. The potential reward is always greatest when the odds against you are the longest.” On that night I was glad that even as tired as I was, I had followed my own advice.