Alain Briot Print of the Month Collection
Print of the Month Photograph Number Seventeen

Bright Angel Trail, Grand Canyon National Park
(copyright logo not present on actual fine art print)

I received your print today and just want to say: WOW! Yes, it is breathtaking. I get some ooohs and ahhs from some of the work I print but your print was awesome. Keep up the good work. Thanks for running the special to entice some of us to sample what is possible with current technology, skill, and a strong dedication to excellence. From the matting to the packaging it was a first class job. Carl Fountain, Lakewood, California

The Photograph
I am pleased to announce the release of the seventeenth Alain Briot Print of the Month Collection photograph: Bright Angel Trail, Grand Canyon National Park. This month's selection is one of the most unique photographs in my entire collection.

The Image
Let me start by asking you a question: have you visited the Grand Canyon? And if you have, have you hiked the Bright Angel Trail? Well, if you haven't visited the Grand Canyon you have to visit it. It is one of the two most beautiful places in the world. If you have seen it in person, you know what I mean. And if you have hiked it, then you really know what I mean. I have been fortunate to visit the Grand Canyon hundreds of times (I stopped counting), raft it, and hike numerous trails, including the Bright Angel Trail, the subject of my photograph.

The bright Angel trail is the only trail that crosses the Grand Canyon from the North Rim to the South Rim without requiring you to raft accross the Colorado River. When you hike the Bright Angel Trail you can use either one of two suspension bridges. These are the only two bridges accross the Colorado in the Grand Canyon.

The Bright Angel Trail is so long, nearly 20 miles, that seeing it's entire length from either the North or the South Rim is extremely challenging. I found the only overlook that allows you to see as much of the Bright Angel Trail as possible from the South Rim. I used a large format panoramic camera to capture this breathtaking view of the Bright Angel Trail. I captured it at sunrise when the colors are at their peak.

The detail in this photograph is stunning, because of the print quality and the huge size of the original. I am offering this image in three sizes: 10x20, 18x38 and 26x60. In all of these sizes you will see details you never saw when you were there! You will be able to study your journey accross the canyon in ways you never though imaginable, and this from the comfort of your favorite chair! While admiring this photograph you will reap the spoils of the victor as you narrate your journey accross the Grand Canyon, either past or future.

But let me tell you more about what this splendid image depicts. On the left side of the photograph, in the V where the rim makes a turn (where the light and shadow areas meet) is the El Tovar Hotel and the Bright Angel Lodge, perched high on the rim of the Canyon. There, past the Kolb Studio, starts the Bright Angel Trail (or ends if you come from the North Rim or did a loop hike from another trailhead). After a leisurely start on a well-paved surface the trail quickly becomes dusty, then rocky, then steeper and steeper as it "dives" into the Grand Canyon. You pass the several rest houses at mile 1,2 and 3, then go down the Redwall formation and on to Indian Gardens. There you may stay at the Campground and most likely catch your breath in the shade of the huge Cottonwood trees. From Indian Gardens it is either off to the Inner Gorge or to Plateau Point (or both) depending on the length of your journey. Both are visible in this photograph. Plateau Point is prominently displayed at the end of the trail, at the very tip of the mesa, overlooking the river and the Granite Gorge.

The Granite Gorge is the next step for those who have decided to go all the way to the river. Once you cross the Suspension Bridge it is only a short distance to Phantom Ranch and the relative comfort of this unique location. You may have stayed the night there, or several nights, so you can explore North Creek, Ribbon Falls and many other hidden secrets of the Grand Canyon. If you decided to go all the way to the other side then it is off to a long climb along the Northern part of the Bright Angel Trail, past Roaring Springs and up to the Douglas Fir and Ponderosa Pine forest of the North Rim.