Pink Canyon
- Philip Sidney.
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We were at the Valley of Fire state park on for a couple of days. While we were planning the trip, we thought that such a small state park could be easily covered in a couple of days. I thought the fire wave would be the star attraction and everything else would be kind of a bonus. The moment we started to drive north at the park entrance we knew that this beautiful little corner in the desert would be spectacular.
While the fire wave still wowed us, what blew us away was a small little slot canyon called the pastel canyon. It’s only a few steps away from the fire wave rock formation and contains all red/ orange pastel variations you can imagine in a few feet of distance. I particularly like this little spot where the floor was covered in pebbles which provided an extra element of interest along with sweeping lines of the canyon wall. We were here late morning, so the sunlight was beautiful and even inside the shallow canyon allowing my polarizing filter to make the colors pop a bit.
- Khalil Gibran.
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It was at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada that my wife and I first started looking for slot canyons to explore. On our first visit to Death Valley, I saw some pamphlets about exploring slot canyons within the park, but I was too scared to try exploring these wild places just by ourselves. Deserts were unfamiliar to me, and I was not taking any chances. Over the years, I have been to some of the more popular slot canyons and gotten more comfortable with the desert landscape.
While at Valley of Fire, I felt that the canyons, smaller and shorter than Antelope canyon, had a much more sophisticated color palette. Many pastel colors are mixed in with desert reds typical to the area. Also, the general landscape is not as daunting as some of the other desert parks in the southwest. So we started looking for them and found quite a few to photograph. So easily accessible and some not so easy. I cant wait to head back to death Valley and explore some of the beautiful canyon hikes that I drove past the last time I was there.
- Leigh Hunt.
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We have completed now about 6 years as residents of the city of Los Angeles, California and I have been hearing about the Valley of Fire state park in Nevada since our first trip to Las Vegas. We never had a chance to visit since we usually are only in Las Vegas when we pass through to go to Zion. While thinking about short trips to take on weekends, suddenly the name popped up again and we decided to head to this little state park that we have heard so much about.
Since its winter here and not season at Las Vegas the park was pretty much empty. We were doing parts of the 7 wonders trail and suddenly came by the pastel canyon part of it. This is a slot canyon much in the lines of antelope canyon. The walls of the canyon are made up of multiple layers of sandstone deposits in every shade of pink and orange imaginable and the canyon floor has tons of pebbles from the valley’s ancient oceanic origins.
From multiple trips to slot canyons I have learned the rules of shooting in canyons. Rule number one, avoid the sky as much as possible while composing your shots. Rule number two, using a wider focal length and get as close to the foreground as the scene allows. Rule three, while a traditional ultra-wide focus on foreground and background, provide mid-ground details for the image. Also, important to get an edge to edge sharpness in the image. Here in this image I have followed all my rules and was lucky enough to take the shot at a location so beautiful it renders perfectly as a landscape image.
- Alan Hovhaness.
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Someone once told me that if you want to see the real power of water, go to a desert. I was very confused the first time I heard that because it’s the desert, there is no water. Then I saw a slot canyon for the first time. Well, let's just say it left an impression on me. The patterns, texture, and the colors were all unbelievable as if a carved out my master craftsman. So every time we go out into the desert, we look for slot canyons. We have found some amazing ones in California, but the absolute best slot canyons occur in the American southwest, especially at the confluence of Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. That area is home to some of the most beautiful slot canyons.
Now compared to some vast slot canyons, the pastel canyon of Valley of Fire state park is tiny. It's only a few meters long. But want it lacks in size, it makes up for in color and texture, especially during morning light. I was lucky enough to be at the right place and time on a visit to this beautiful park and what a show it was.
- Donald Cargill.
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I was fascinated to see the desert when I moved to the west coast. I remember being giddy during our first trip to the Joshua Tree national park, I totally nerded out and bored my wife to tears explaining the difference between the Sonoran vs the Mojave Desert ecosystems. It was love at first sight for me with the desert, especially with the stunning sunsets and bright hues of amazing red deserts of the American southwest.
Since we live in Los Angeles, it’s just a matter of time before we started to do Las Vegas trips and I have been hearing so much about the Valley of Fire state park that is just a short drive from The Strip. So when we got an opportunity we made a trip to Vegas without visiting the strip. I took this shot while on the trail coming back from the Fire Wave. I love shooting the desert tones during golden hour using just the warm tones in the rock and sand to bring out the vividness of the subject.
Photo taken in Valley of Fire State Park (Nevada, USA).
- Vincent Van Gogh.
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I have had never heard about a slot canyon before I moved to California. I have been to what they call a glen many times, especially the Watkins Glen as well as many less famous ones in my home state in India. As soon as we moved to LA, I started planning for a Grand Canyon trip and guess which image popped up immediately, A stunning shot of Antelope Canyon in Page, AZ. Some of the pics I took there during my three trips there have been some of the most famous pictures in my portfolio.
But while visiting antelope canyon initially just resulted in me adding about 50 odd images of one of the well-documented locations on the planet, it also triggered a fascination for slot canyons. Since then my wife and I would always look for slot canyons whenever we visit a new location. So, when we planned our trip to the Valley of Fire State Park near Las Vegas Nevada, we were pretty stocked to visit pastel/pink canyon.
I was expecting a faded red color canyon because of the name and the color of the Navajo sandstones that dominate the park landscape but what we saw during our walk through the short canyon was a display of every shade of the pastel pink color in the universe. It’s almost as if the water is an artist and here it did a demo in pastel pink to show off. One of the most stunning slot canyons we have visited so far.
- Ernest Hemingway.
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Another shot from the beautiful pastel slot canyon at the Valley of Fire state park in Nevada. I saw very little info about this small slot canyon or the trail that leads up to it while planning the trip. When we got there, I learned from the park rangers that there is a new trail called the 7 wonders trail that connects this trail with the fire wave trail and make it a loop trail. We didn’t have enough time to do the whole trail so after taking the trail to the fire wave we got back to the car park and drove to the small lot next to a wash that allows you to quickly venture to the beautiful slot canyon.
As you walk by the canyon towards the end of it there was this area where the sandy canyon floor gave to rocky floor. The patterns in the rock here more and more resembled the shape of water. This area had towering rock formations above the slot canyon so light coming in was much dimmer. For this shot, I set the camera as low as I could on the rocky floor and exposed for the small shaft of light that was falling on the canyon walls at the back of the frame. I focused on the spot about a 3rd into the scene as that provides a greater depth of field. I loved how the colors and the tones in the image came out. This little slot canyon is just magic.
Thanks to all Phoide contributors to Pink Canyon!
Most notably Sandeep Thomas.