This is the second of three images of the formation called the Window. It was taken without a fill flash and later subtly lightened in the foreground so as to approximate what was visible at the time the photograph was made.
To capture this image I slid into a small crevasse that is atop a slick-as-glass “pour off.” At the bottom of this image (and not completely depicted) is a 200-foot plunge to the canyon floor below. The description nerve-wracking comes to mind and I don’t recommend taking the particular position. Due to the slick-as-glass rock surface it a little difficult to climb back out of the crevasse and very easy to slide into the 200-foot drop the other way.
I was late in starting the 4.4 mile round-trip hike to reach this point, was over-loaded with equipment and stayed too long contending with the shadow in which the Window is cast. Already over-burdened with backpack weight, I knew I would be slow and in the dark for most of the return trip to base camp.
So this image was taken during the waning minutes light that I could not really afford if I wanted a well-lit return to base camp. As for that return trip to base camp... Well, in the dark just about everything looks like a bear or a mountain lion—both of which are associated with being out on the trails after sundown.
My advice is this: Provide yourself enough walking time to be off the trail by dark. Include in your estimate an amount of time to spend at the Window.
You see, the next morning another camper described seeing bear in the region of the Window where I had hiked—and on the afternoon of that hike. So bears and lions can be there regardless of whether you see or hear them.
The original image is a Tagged Image Format File (TIFF) with a file data size of 35.1 megabytes (MB).
For display on this web site the TIFF was duplicated and the duplicate re-formatted as a Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPG/JPEG) image with a file data size of 1.28 MB. To approximate detail visible at the time of capture the image was sharpened as necessary and resampled via the Photoshop Bicubic Sharpen algorithm. The re-sampling increases the image resolution from 300 Dots Per Square Inch (DPI) to 360 DPI.
Unless otherwise noted the image was corrected to offset color shift and balance. This restores black (shadows), white (highlights) and neutral gray (neutral mid-tones).
• An unnumbered image is the only one of the subject matter.
• A number corresponds to the sequential order in a subject-matter-related sequence.
• The letter “B” indicates color correction to approximate what was visible when the image was captured.
• The letter “C” indicates enhancement beyond an approximation of what was visible at the time of capture.