We left Bryce mid-morning on New Year’s day 2015 and made it to Page. After my fiasco with the Antelope Canyon tour company we decided to wander out to Horseshoe Bend before the light failed. This was our first trip there and I was not quite prepared for the precipitous drop off. At that time there were no guard railings of any kind, merely signs warning of the danger. On top of that the top of the cliff was icy and pretty slick in some spots. I literally crawled up to the edge with the tripod fully compressed ( I was NOT going to stand up). The wind was fairly strong and cold but I got a few shots before retreating to safer ground.>=))>
Feedback Requests
Thanks to the recommendation of Dennis Plank I’ve been using DxO PureRaw on some of my older images and am really impressed with the results. All and any suggestions welcome.
Pertinent Technical Details
Sony A700
Sony DT 16-50 f2.8 @ 16mm
ISO 200, 1/30 @ f8
I really love this shot Bill. I can’t recall seeing another photo from this spot with snow on the rocks. The first time I was at this place I was floating down the river below on a raft, and the next day I was photographing it from this exact location. I was also there another time when the wind was fierce, just like you described. I was lucky to get out of there without my camera, tripod and myself being blown off the edge. I just wished that the lower part of your frame had included more of the river, but I know you need a wide enough focal length to get it all in one shot. A very nice image indeed. And yes, DXO Pure Raw 5 is a very useful tool to have.
Bill, wonderful image from this iconic site. I can’t recall seeing one with snow all over the scene… Glad to see your rework of the image came out really nice too…
This was a fond recall site for me. Although sadly, my images did not work out to my liking. While you said you crawled up to the edge I’m sure you saw my borrowing hole in the same area…
Sorry to hear about your Antelope Canyon SNAFU. I went there twice over the years and got several images from lower and upper canyons. My wife and I were only one week ahead of the disaster in the lower canyon years back. No more trips there after that.
You mention guardrails at Horseshoe Bend?..is that there now?
Suffering from acrophobia myself (I get really scared watching someone else walk up to the edge), I fully sympathize with your approach, Bill. As in the Grand Canyon image, the snow did wonders for this iconic vista.
Paul: I have heard that there are but I’ve not been back since the summer of 2015 when we finally did get into the slot canyons. I revisited Horseshoe Bend and got the conventional shots but nothing as compelling as this one. >=))>
PS: Did a little research and there is now a viewing deck that was opened in 2018. I’ve not seen any pictures of it.
Bill, your adventure gave you a fine view of Horseshoe Bend with a fine dusting of snow. The snow and the overcast do a good job of emphasizing the deep colors in the river and the red rocks.
Interesting, and glad to hear they added that safety measure. I have never been able to walk to the edge of any high points like that. Immediate vertigo feeling takes over…
I photographed this scene during a snow squall and that drop into the abyss would be a very unpleasant way of perishing. Glad that you survived tis “Ice Walk of Death”! I think that you captured this scene quite well and like that you were able to capture the different depths in the river. The snow brings out some of those diagonal cracks in the rocks…Jim
ps.: The Ice Walk of Death originates from a birding trip where we decided to venture out on a cement breakwall out into Lake Erie near Cleveland, Ohio. The walk went well until we encountered very slippery ice on the domed surface of the breakwall. It was a white knuckler crawling back to solid footing! And to make matters worse, no rare gulls or sea ducks were spotted.
Glad to see your rework of the image came out really nice too… 
