I have always wanted to make a photograph of the Grand Canyon that drew on the nostalgic color palettes of the great oil painters of the Old West, such as Thomas Moran, Frederick Remington, and Maynard Dixon. This image brings me a step closer to my goal. I made it very late in the day, as a low hanging sun was trying to burn through heavy clouds, creating a diffused glow that rendered the copper cliffs of the canyon in tones of rustic brownish gold. Using a long 400mm telephoto lens, I compress a series of buttes into a series of tightly framed layers, completely eliminating the sky. I like the splashes of melting snow at the lower corners – it give the image a feeling of an unfinished canvas.