Sunrise in Paradise

A few weekends ago I had a chance to visit a place I have wanted to see since I started landscape photography. That place was Havasu Falls. Seeing photos of the majestic waterfalls that pour into turquoise pools just made it feel like it wasn't real. I got extremely lucky to have been invited during the best time of year and actually be able to make the trip. There were a lot of firsts for this trip, number one, it was a backpacking trip. This was something I had wanted to start doing long ago, and finally managed to get one trip in. I read numerous trip reports about this area claiming how difficult it can be and some even encouraging training for such a trek. I thought maybe I wouldn't make it back out and would have to helicopter out, but surprisingly it wasn't nearly as bad as it sounded. Secondly, I was knocking another spot of my photographic bucket list and would be spending two nights alongside the creek camping. It was a perfect combination. The first sight of the falls after hiking ten miles was breathtaking. You can hear it well before you see it. It literally looks like a painting peering off the edge of the trail. Our group needed to get camp set up before dark, so we ended up passing on a pretty good sunset (I should have ran back up the trail to get a shot), however, the first spot on this list was Havasu Falls at sunrise the very next morning. The sky looked clear in the pre sunrise light, but we were going to shoot regardless because the photo ops seem endless. My two friends veered off to the base of the falls while I made my way back towards the top with a view overlooking the falls. Clouds began to move in from the east, exactly where I had hoped and filled the sky above my composition. Moments later the sun broke over the horizon and lit up the clouds in golden hues. All with autumn foliage to compliment the scene. I was witnessing sunrise in paradise...