Chris Aydlett's Image

The raven features a lot in native North American folklore, revered as a deity and regarded as a trickster and even as a mediator between life and death.

For visitors to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, this bold, intelligent bird, twice the size of a crow, is a familiar sight, hanging around parking spots, on the lookout for scraps or carrion, or performing acrobatics in the thermals, its loud croaks echoing off the rocks. Chris spotted this one perched on the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Seeing the photographic potential but thinking the bird would fly away as soon as he got out of his car, he grabbed his camera. But it stayed, watching him and giving him time to select a rock as a substitute tripod. Turning the strong midday light to his advantage, Chris created the shot in black and white, to give the scene impact and boost the metallic gloss of the raven's plumage.