It was definitely an adventure taking these portrait shots at the Grand Canyon. In between freezing our butts off, almost getting kicked out of the park, waiting for elk to cross our path and watching out for giant grizzly bears (Kay’s biggest fear =/)…. we managed to set up our ultra portable gear and grab some photos.

Click through for more photos and the full story.

It was late afternoon when we first arrived at the Grand Canyon National Park (South Rim). The temperature must have been around the 40s… but with the crazy wind blowing, it felt like 20s. With just about an hour left before sunset… and sitting in our hotel room we both had that adventurous look of “we didn’t drive all the way up here just to sit in this barely a 3-star hotel room!!” So we were off to the wilderness! … and then a humble 45mins later we were back in our much appreciated cozy room!! LOL.

That first afternoon was hazy, windy, and crazy cold. We’ve shot in extreme conditions before; but wow, that wind really bites at you. We didn’t surrender though… we actually did try. Poor Kay was posing 10ft away from 300ft cliffs, hair flying all over the place… trying not to freeze, and trying to deflect the looks she got from the curious crowd that started to form. I guess the combination of the piercing wind and our embarrassing perpetuation of the stereotype “these crazy Asian tourists sure love taking photos” finally did us in. We closed up shop, saved it for the next day and headed back to the room. =p

The next day was much better for us. We headed out under the warmth of the noon-time sun to search for a more secluded area. After risking it and driving through restricted roads (almost getting kicked out), we played it safe and found a nice clearing next to the parking area that we felt would make a wonderful backdrop (full of depth and texture: trees, rocks and a nice patch of snow). These were the shots that resulted.

Ok, first off… I spent a good 15 minutes trying to convince Kay that there weren’t any grizzly bears out at the Grand Canyon, especially not during the cold of late winter. If there were, they would probably be in hibernation right? Well, whether any of that was true or not… I managed to calm her down enough to drop the bags and set up shop ;p.

Here’s the BTS shot of the shoot.

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