Our next stop after the Grand Canyon on our long scenic detour back to Colorado was in Page, Arizona, where we spent a day hiking a slot canyon similar to the famous Antelope Canyon but without the crowds. See LOTS more photos below!
Despite my aversion to the clichéd photos which slots canyons generate in abundance, I must say that photography in slots like this is SO much fun!!! Hiking through there is just as fun, never knowing what’s around the next bend.
The unusual forms and ever-changing bounce light coloring make for a photographer’s playground for sure. I generally prefer slot photos with people in them, which gives the canyons scale and highlights their mind bending reality. Claudia was kind enough to oblige for some modeling! But of course I couldn’t resist honing in on some of the more abstract shots as well.
Liquid Sandstone : Prints Available
Sandstone Music : Prints Available
Sandstone Sunset : Prints Available
Hey Jack,
Some real fine work from an area that I have grown to love over the years.
Floris van Breugel has a good explanation for the blues that our cameras can detect in these areas in this blog post:
http://www.artinnaturephotography.com/wordpress/2012/the-navajo-rainbow-sandstone-slot-canyon/
Hope you both have a happy and productive winter (pray for snow)!
Thanks John! Yeah, I love how Floris always works in the scientific perspective… good stuff.
I wasn’t aware that you’re in Cortez. We passed through there on the way home to Ouray. Visited Mesa Verde for the first time… very cool. (Post coming soon).
Jack,
Looks like you had a successful trip. I’ll be going to arizona for ten days in early July so im wondering what lenses and focal lengths you found your self shooting in the slot canyons and surrounding areas? Any photographic challenges I should be aware of?
Thanks!
Hi Jeremy, I used the whole range of lenses, from my 17mm and 24mm wides, to my 35-70mm zoom. The majority were in the 35-70 range, but you can probably tell which once are wider. No particular challenges except to decide which direction to point the camera! 🙂 Make sure you have your tripod too.
So did you go with one of the expensive tours to get into these? Which tours and which canyons are these if you don’t mind me asking? I want to go see Secret canyon, Waterholes, Cardiac, Canyon x, Owl, Rattlesnake etc… because I found the Antelope canyons too crowded to make any nice photos in. I love your photos and have been visiting your page for years.
Hi Christian, no we did not go on one of those expensive Hummer tours. We were actually scolded by one of those tour guides who said we didn’t belong there. Minutes after that encounter, we met a local Navajo man on horseback who had some very harsh words to say about those tour operators – basically stuff along the lines that the tour guides have no right to limit access, that they profit from Navajo lands without any benefit to the Navajo people, etc. Personally I would never pay to ride in a Hummer just to access wild places that I could hike to instead. The whole concept seems absurd. As for the exact canyon names, I think you must know more than I do already! 😉
Thanks for the info Jack! I think I will head on down and just avoid any run-ins with the hummer guide!
Jack – great pictures. Do you recall the name of the canyon that you visited in the shots above?
Jack,
It would appear that you had a fruitful excursion. I’ll be going to arizona for ten days toward the beginning of July so im pondering what focal points and central lengths you discovered your self shooting in the opening gorge and encompassing ranges? Any photographic difficulties I ought to know about?