Navajo Reservation
USA 2011 - Monument Valley
Monument Valley (Navajo: Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, meaning valley of the rocks) is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of vast sandstone buttes, the largest reaching 1,000 ft (300 m) above the valley floor. The valley lies within the range of the Navajo Nation Reservation.
- Maya Angelou.
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Another shot from Lower Antelope Canyon. This location is just after you enter into the canyon and is the widest point once you are inside the canyon. My guide and I did the hike in reverse order so we navigated the narrow paths early on and it was a nice relief for my sore muscles to get to this wide open expanse before climbing three set of stairs to get out of the canyon. Trust me it’s not easy hiking this canyon with a camera bag and a d800 on a tripod even if it’s a carbon fiber unit. But it was an awesome hike and I can’t wait to explore more slot canyons of south western Utah.
- Paulo Coelho.
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Posting images of slot canyons, especially from Antelope slot canyons, always gives me a lot of engagement on social media. So much that I consider them cheat posts. I suspect the dramatic changes in light and color grades create a visual impact even as thumbnails that they attract a large audience. This remarkable play of light and shadows, while impressive to behold, was challenging for me to master. When I first visited a slot canyon, I solely relied on HDR photography to capture the scene. While images looked good, it felt like something was missing. As I spent more time looking at slot canyon images, both mine and other talented artists, one thing became clear. It’s the shadows that make these images click. That’s why the HDR images looked ordinary, as they often by default lift the shadows. It also meant that I had to get it close in camera rather than relying on post-processing.
Here are a few strategies that helped me. First, Avoid the sky as much as possible in compositions as the light difference is too much to make sense in a slot canyon image. There are exceptions, but it is better to shoot the sky separately and blend it in later in those scenarios. Secondly, pick your bright areas carefully and balance them with the shadow areas. ETTR or exposing to the right is super helpful here, I often meter at the brightest spot in a scene and push setting until the highlights clip. A quick tip: You can usually push your raw images a little more than what your camera histogram suggests. And the last tip is to white balance correctly, have a grey card or a microfiber cleaning cloth with you, and get the correct white balance. Because the light is limited in a slot canyon, even the best cameras struggle to judge white balance correctly, and it’s hard to get it right in post-processing; at least, that’s my experience. On the other hand, the difference is extraordinary when you get the colors right in a slot canyon. And there it is, all my tips for shooting in a slot canyon.
USA 2011 - Antelope Canyon
- Theodore Roethke.
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Since the day I first experienced it, deserts fascinated me. The fact that they seem so barren, so devoid of features on the surface, adds to the attraction. But deserts are full of surprises, from slot canyons that appear as a crack in the ground to hidden rivers badlands formations that last for miles.
One of the desert spots that hold a special place in my heart is the lower Antelope slot canyon. I was skeptical of taking a photography tour after my lackluster experience at the upper canyon photo tour. But I knew I would shell out the extra cash when I learned that they only allow tripods in with a photo tour. Our tour guide's name was Armando, and he turned out to be the genuine surprise of our whole lower antelope canyon experience. Unlike many of the guides there, Diego was an aspiring photog in training, so he had useful insights on compositions available. I enjoyed getting a second opinion on some of the frames. Now it is not a secret that both the antelope canyons are a bit of a tourist trap, and it is tough to take the time to set up an image when crowds of people are trying to navigate a space constricted canyon. Where he became invaluable is during the actual shoot, whenever we found a good composition, he would buy me time by entertaining the crowd. He offered to take photos for them, played his flute to give me precious seconds without offending the masses.
So when I heard about the news that photo tours are ending in Antelope canyon by 2020, I remembered the great visit we had with Armando. I am a bit conflicted that the photo tours are ending. I went on two photo tours, enjoyed one, and was underwhelmed by the other. Still, I felt the photo tours made the place famous and slowed down the traffic a bit, but I do feel for the people who get blocked every time a photog decides to set up an image. The reason I am not worried about is that in the last few years, we learned that the southwest I littered with slot canyons. I learned that we have enjoyed exploring these often empty locations as opposed to the crazy rush of Antelope Canyon. So my advice for fellow photographers would be to be adventurous, and to do a bit of research, there are tone of slot canyons all around the southwest if you are willing to look.
- Charles W. Chesnutt.
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On the third day of our Grand Canyon Trip we visited the beautiful little town of Page Arizona and the famous Antelope Canyon. The day started out real bad as the alarm didn’t go off and we were late. Coupled with that there was a lot of fog and we had to drive extremely slowly due to very low visibility. Then half way to the trip my wife told me that we forgot to pack the tripod, which in a low light location like a slot canyon makes it impossible to shoot. To say I was mad would be an understatement.
Anyways we reached the tour area I asked the guide if I could rent a tripod somewhere and he gave a plastic tripod which could no way holdup the heavy D800. I decided to make the best of a situation and used it but I only managed very few shots without camera shake. The Canyon itself was mind blowing though and I am sure I will be back, better prepared the next time.
- Socrates.
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Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you “The Tunnel” from lower antelope canyon. This is an impressive formation, especially when you get to shoot it without anyone walking through your frame. It felt like the canyon came to an abrupt end when we first came across it but after you pass through the tunnel the canyon opens up again and all was well.
Unlike the upper canyon which has a wider base the V shaped lower canyon is tough to negotiate especially with a camera bag and a tripod with you. I really love the way this one turned out. Thanks for visiting have a nice day.
- Saint Augustine.
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Totem pole at monument valley is always an amazing sight. I was a bit limited that day regarding composition as they only allowed us to certain parts of the valley. I have seen some photographs of this beautiful location with sand dunes as foreground interest with the beautiful sandstone formations bathed in beautiful pink light from the setting sun and was hell bent on taking a similar shot. I made this shot using a short-tele focal length to compress perspective and stitched 4 images together to get wider view. Hope everyone likes it.
Now for the shameless plug, my images will be on display at the A-Frame Hollywood gallery and if you are in the location please do drop by and say hello.
-Frederick Douglass.
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Sorry for the break from posts, sometimes I am rudely reminded that I have to work for a living ;D. This shot was taken during the guided tour of the monument valley. This was actually our last stop as the light was falling quite fast and we had to get back.
The Totem pole and Yei Bi Chei are absolutely stunning during the late afternoon light. I just wish we had a chance to go to the other side and get a shot of these beautiful formations with the sand suns as foreground. Thanks for visiting hope you are all having a happy holiday season.
Being in Monument Valley in early December I was informed the sun doesn't hit Teardrop Arch at that time. I still wanted to see it though. Once there, I realised the next challenge was not being tall enough to peep through the hole, and not having a tripod that goes up so high. So this is a manual shot, with the camera held high above my head, and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out :-)
Scatti realizzati durante l'ultimo viaggio attraverso i parchi Americani con www.viaggifotografici.biz
Upper Antelope Canyon, Page, AZ.
**Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission.
© All rights...
- Franklin P. Jones.
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Another shot from lower antelope canyon at page, AZ. this is one of my favorite shot from the trip as it has a clear representation of all the texture on the canyon walls. This one was taken pointing straight up from where we were standing and there was no sky visible. One of the challenges of shooting in a V shaped canyon is shooting straight up as there is simply not enough to room for even to stretch your tripod out. Thanks for visiting and have a nice day.
- Edward Hopper.
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After our hike of antelope canyon we decided to try our luck and head back to monument valley, to get one more sunset shot. I had this location in mind for sunset but we slightly under estimated the distance and only reached here after sunset. When we reached at the famous 13 mile marker, it was almost completely dark with only a bit of light remaining in the far western sky.
It’s really hard to make sunset shots when it’s dark all around but you still have to use ND grad filters. This was the best shot of the bunch and it was a bit of work to get the foreground to brighten up. Thank you for visiting hope you enjoy the picture..
- Elbert Hubbard.
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This shot was taken at Lower Antelope Canyon during our last trip to Page, Arizona. My guide pointed out this formation to me which he nicknamed “wave”. You basically has to take the shot pointing the camera straight up to the sky and the light range is so varied, the only way to get anywhere near a good exposure is to use HDR. I am glad I had enough time to make this shot.
Thanks for visiting, have a great day.
- Arthur Koestler.
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Sand falls at Upper Antelope Canyon, Navajo Nation. This was one of the hardest shots I have ever taken, the guide we had was blocking the tourist from walking into the frames and I had a broken plastic tripod to rest the camera and hope for the best regarding camera shake. I actually took about 5 shots of the falls and of that I got three without any shake and even though they were all high ISO, in post prod I was able to get decent enough shots. I wanted to convert them to B&W using NIK software just t see the effects and I fell in love with the look of this one.
Hope everyone likes its and enjoyed the first weekend of 2014..
Monument Valley meaning valley of the rocks. It is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of vast sandstone buttes. It is located on the Arizona–Utah border, near the Four Corners area. The valley lies within the range of the Navajo Nation Reservation and is accessible from U.S. Highway 163.
This photograph is taken from a viewpoint which is located at the entrance of the park. It is a classic photograph of this fantastic place. The interesting moment of the photograph is that at sunset, the shadow of the tower on the left is projected on the tower in the middle; achieving the effect of a hand with a separate finger.
Of course, when you go to take this photograph it will not be an easy task. You will find thousands of tourists who want to take a selfie. In fact, if you look closely, you will see some shadows of some legs on the rock in the foreground on the right. These, I could no longer remove.
Monument Valley que significa valle de las rocas. Es una región de la meseta de Colorado caracterizada por un grupo de vastas colinas de arenisca. Está ubicado en la frontera entre Arizona y Utah, cerca del área de Four Corners. El valle se encuentra dentro del rango de la Reserva de la Nación Navajo y es accesible desde la U.S. Highway 163.
Esta fotografía está tomada desde un mirador que está situado a la entrada del parque. Es una fotografía clásica de este fantástico lugar. La gracia del momento de la fotografía, es que en el momento del ocaso, la sombra de la torre situada a la izquierda se proyecta sobre la torre del medio; consiguiendo el efecto de una mano con un dedo separado. Por supuesto, cuando vayáis a hacer esta fotografía no será tarea fácil. Os encontrareis miles de turistas que querrán hacerse un selfie. Si os fijais bien vereis unas sombras de unas piernas en la roca del primer plano situada a la derecha. Estas, ya no las podía quitar.
Monument Valley, Utah, United States September 2016
KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA
USA 2011 - Monument Valley
Monument Valley
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- Zhuangzi
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Another shot from Antelope Canyon. I think this is about the last decent shot from my last trip and I just can’t wait to visit Page again. I am not sure if there is any town in America that gives you so much photography potential and such a sense of the west. For a person who grew up in a tropical climate, this is such a different world altogether.
On a different note I am so grateful that my pics are getting such exposure these days and so thankful for all the wonderful encouragement and visits.
Agathla Peak was once a volcano, where the lava hardened within the vent to a hard rock ("volcanic plug"), while the surrounding softer rocks were eroded over millions of years, forming this needle.
- Alfred Lord Tennyson.
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Another shot from the stunningly beautiful Antelope Canyon. The one thing which I noticed while I was here was commercialized the operation of the Canyon has gotten. They just dump you into a truck which takes you all the way upto the mouth of the canyon and then herd you through the Canyon while you are tumbling around with your camera and tripod and others walking through your frame. The only thing which was bearable was the funny guides. I didn’t even think its worth while spending extra on a photo tour as I did because you are essentially getting the same tour.
I hope to do a tour of the Lower Antelope Canyon next time as its much less crowded and to remember to bring my tripod. Thanks for visiting hope you enjoy the shot…
When people ask where my favorite place to travel is they’re often surprised when I don’t answer “abroad” and instead tell them the Southwest might...
Monument Valley (Navajo: Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, meaning valley of the rocks) is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of vast sandstone buttes, the largest reaching 1,000 ft (300 m) above the valley floor. The valley lies within the range of the Navajo Nation Reservation.
- Ella Maillart.
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I have professed my love for slot canyons countless times in many a Flickr posts. During our life on the west coast, both my wife and I have explored a food number of slot canyons. Each turned out to be unique in its geological features as well as the mood and drama they reveal in photographs. Of all the slot canyon that we have visited in the American southwest, the lower antelope canyon is my absolute favorite. Its less of a tourist trap than the short upper canyon but provides some equally intense compositions.
I was lucky enough to get a much-coveted photo tour of the canyon, the first time we visited. I also lucked out in getting a fantastic tour guide, Armando. Who gladly dipped into his bag of tricks, to keep the other visitors occupied while I enjoyed the luxury of time composing my images. I believe my overall experience at the canyon had a lot to do with the reason why it’s my favorite slot canyon that I ever visited. Here is another beautiful view of the stunning lower antelope canyon.
The blue hour is the period of twilight when the Sun is at a significant depth below the horizon and residual, indirect sunlight takes on a predominantly blue shade, which differs from the one visible during most of a clear day, which is caused by Rayleigh scattering.
The blue hour occurs when the Sun is far enough below the horizon so that the sunlight's blue wavelengths dominate due to the Chappuis absorption caused by ozone. Since the term is colloquial, it lacks an official definition similar to dawn, dusk, and the three stages of twilight. Rather, it refers to a state of natural lighting that usually occurs around the nautical stage of the twilight period (at dawn or dusk).
La hora azul es el período del crepúsculo en el que el Sol se encuentra a una profundidad significativa por debajo del horizonte y la luz solar indirecta residual adquiere un tono predominantemente azul, que difiere del que se ve durante la mayor parte de un día despejado, que es causado por la dispersión de Rayleigh.
La hora azul ocurre cuando el Sol está lo suficientemente por debajo del horizonte para que dominen las longitudes de onda azules de la luz solar debido a la absorción de Chappuis causada por el ozono. Dado que el término es coloquial, carece de una definición oficial similar a amanecer, anochecer y las tres etapas del crepúsculo. Más bien, se refiere a un estado de iluminación natural que generalmente ocurre alrededor de la etapa náutica del período crepuscular (al amanecer o al atardecer).
Monument Valley, Utah, United States September 2016
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- Mark Twain.
Another interesting formation from Antelope canyon. This has to be a photographers heaven, everywhere one looks its interesting shapes and play of light. Just one thing missing is being alone with no one to walk into your frames and I think you can literally take thousands of amazing shots here.
Hope you all like it. Have a nice Sunday..
USA 2011 - Antelope Canyon
Scatti realizzati durante l'ultimo viaggio attraverso i parchi Americani con www.viaggifotografici.biz
USA 2011 - Antelope Canyon
(inspired by Brad Eide's photo). The bear is one of the formations in Upper Antelope Canyon that the guides will point out to visitors. I visited Upper Antelope twice and paid the premium for the photographic tour. First time I had a guide named "Milo" and he was fantastic, finding good spots for everyone to photograph and keeping other tourists at bay. It was in May and it resulted in a good picture of the light beam. The Bear was taken on the second visit, when even more tourists seemed to get packed into the canyon, (a real moneymaker for the local operators). The guide this time was completely hopeless as she simply pointed out a few formations, piled us into the most crowded part of the canyon and then proceeded to enjoy the outside sun. Photographing "up" was the only option and this was my best result.
Earlier lightbeam photo: www.flickr.com/photos/adelheids-pictures/16189207799/in/a...
- Hans Christian Andersen.
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My initial interest in photography was the byproduct of interest in the technical aspect of the craft. I still remember visiting our local photo lab with my dad and watching him go over the negatives with the technician. I would have given anything to be able to talk the way my dad was talking with the technician. But as I grew older, I lost my fascination with photography, and there way too many things that I thought was worth the pursuit.
My second brush with photography happened during a period when I was traveling a lot. I had the opportunity to visit some fantastic locations, and I often wished that I had a camera with me. In a way, it was a desire to catalog my travels correctly, and when I moved to the US later, the interest in photography stayed strong and led to the purchase of my first digital camera.
From a cataloging perspective, moving to the western part of the US was a real blessing. Everywhere we looked, we saw landscape settings that were genuinely alien to me. Deserts, slot canyons, rugged coastlines where the mountains dropped into the sea, it was all an explorer’s dream. But then came this nagging feeling, an annoying thought that I couldn’t shake. Why was I taking photos of these beautiful locations? It's not like they are not well documented. I struggled with this question a lot and gave it a lot of thought, now I think I have my answer.
I believe cataloging is still a big part of my photography, but I am not cataloging the locations, I am documenting what they made me feel. Once I had that clarity, I knew what I wanted with photography. It was not to make a living out of it or to brag about the fantastic adventures we have had. But it was to feel. The photographs that I take and the processing I have done on them is for only one reason, and it was to convey the grandeur, the calm, the vastness, the peace, and the loneliness we experienced.
Thanks to all Phoide contributors to Navajo Reservation!
Most notably Sandeep Thomas, Andrey Sulitskiy, Maurizio Fontana, Adelheid Smitt, Yi Jiang, Matteo Rinaldi, Dominic Nessi and David ruiz luna.