Summer Bend

It's hard to put in words just how huge Horseshoe Bend is. The view from the edge is both frightening and incredible. I arrived 3 hours before sunset because I knew this place was going to be busy, I got to the canyon rim and there were people everywhere. I spent the next 30 minutes scouting my perfect spot. Once I found it I set up my gear to stake my spot and waited. Little did I know I was going to be in for one of the longest waits of my life. As I sat there the wind began to increase, it would fly up the canyon wall, over the ledge and run smack into my camera and my face. Now wind isn't normally a problem but this wind brought tons and tons of sand. It was like sitting inside a sandblasting cabinet for 2 hours, I pulled my jacket over my head and held one hand on the camera so it wouldn't blow off the ledge. The result was a sunburnt hand and sand stuck to my ND filter and when I went to clean it it left scratches. Now minutes away from sunset I scrambled to get another filter on with minimal sand and dust, I managed to catch the final moments of the sunset as the sun dipped behind the horizon.