Cape Royal after sunset

This is the view towards Cape Royal on theNorth Rim as viewed from Powell Point, west of the South Rim main visitors center. Cape Royal extends from the left edge of the frame on the horizon. Right of Cape Royal is Wotans Throne and then Vishnu Tempel. The South Rim's Yavapai Point with Yaki point behind it extends out from the right edge of the image. In the immediate foreground at the bottom of the frame is part of The Battleship. Zoroaster Temple is at the left edge of the image. This image was taken about 15 minutes after sunset. You can see some of the dark blue of the Earth's shadow in the sky, though I took the image and adjusted it to show the canyon rather than the sky. The light shortly after sunset is some of the warmest and prettiest, though it requires a longer exposure and a tripod. Being a large hole in the ground (Richard remarked around the time I took this picture "That sure is one large hole in the ground!"), it disappears into the shadows long before sunset with the northern and westward facing walls still lit by sun before sunset when the magic hour colors are their best, making photography of most canyon features difficult at best. But there is a short window of time after sunset where the colors are still spectacular if you are ready to take the shots and are patient enough to stick around for a few minutes after sunset while everyone else is heading for their cars. This image was taken at 18mm focal length with an exposure of 0.8 seconds at f/8, ISO 100.