Jeff Doyle 8/10/25 Jeff Doyle 8/10/25

Sunrise at Grand View Point – Canyonlands’ Quiet Awakening

A serene morning hike to Grand View Point in Canyonlands National Park leads to first light over Junction Butte and glowing desert vistas.

The Journey In

I began the hike in near darkness, following the faint outline of the trail rim under starlight. Desert brush brushed my legs, and the soft crunch of sandstone underfoot echoed in the silence. As the horizon began to glow, I scrambled up a stack of rocks — my footsteps guided more by memory than sight — until I reached the overlook I had long scouted above Junction Butte.

There, perched on a slab that felt sculpted just for me, I laid down my pack and began to breathe in the stillness.

The First Light

As the sun broke across the horizon, beams of amber light spilled over the vast canyonlands. The sandstone formations blushed warm with the day’s first color, and haze settled gently in the distance, softening the jagged mesas into painterly layers. Junction Butte stood like a monument in the middle distance, catching the glow like it had been waiting for this very moment.

This was why I came.

The Shot

The light was fleeting, and I knew I had only a few minutes. I framed the shot to balance the sculpted foreground with the glowing butte, careful to capture the scale and serenity of the canyon beyond. The stillness, the space, the solitude — all of it came together in that one breath of morning.

Warm morning light ignites the top of a massive sandstone butte, rising from the desert floor like a fortress amid the vast plateau of Canyonlands National Park.

Location & Gear

**📍 Location:** Canyonlands National Park

**🧭 Trail & Access:** Grand Viewpoint trail

**🎒 Gear Used:**

- Canon R5

- 15–35mm f/2.8

- Really Right Stuff tripod

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Jeff Doyle 7/6/25 Jeff Doyle 7/6/25

Emberlight on the Meadow – A Morning to Remember at Rainier

Glowing skies, golden foliage, and a fleeting moment of alignment at Mount Rainier — this is the story of chasing light in “Emberlight on the Meadow.”

Anticipation on the Road to Paradise

Some mornings just feel different.

As I drove up toward Paradise, the sky had already begun to blush with color — a surefire sign that something special was about to unfold. That quiet thrill began to stir in my chest, the kind of feeling that makes you speed up ever so slightly, double-check your gear in the passenger seat, and steal glances at the clouds glowing above the treeline.

I knew this morning had potential.

The Rush for Composition

By the time I pulled into the lot, the clouds above Rainier were already starting to bloom with color. I scrambled out of the car, breath pluming in the cold morning air, fumbling to find the composition I had carefully scouted the day before.

There’s always a moment of frantic energy when you know the light is about to peak — and you’re not quite set up. Tripod legs clatter open. Gloves half on. Lens cap somewhere in the grass. And then…

The Emberlight Moment

Mount Rainier stood bold and radiant, its shoulders wrapped in drifting clouds painted in hues of lavender and flame. In front of me, the scrub oak burned gold, echoing the sky above. I paused for a breath — the light, the tones, the stillness — it all aligned.

Rainier is never a guarantee. The mountain creates its own weather, and many trips end in whiteouts or disappointment. But that morning? That morning was perfect.

A radiant autumn meadow blazes in hues of crimson and gold beneath the shadowed pines of Mount Rainier National Park. — This frame, *Emberlight on the Meadow*, is one of those images that feels like a reward not just for being there — but for loving the process.