Skip to main content

Sacred Canyons Of The Southwest

I began traveling and photographing in 2008, beginning with a trip to South Africa. Since then I have been to a lot very special places, each with its own unique beauty and intrigue. But a few of these places are extra special for me and hold a very dear place in my memory. Some of these places are extraordinarily beautiful and enchanting, while others have a sacred quality that is simply captivating and sets them apart from the rest.

One of these special sacred places is Upper Antelope Canyon. It is both extraordinarily beautiful and sacred. I had seen pictures of this canyon for years and was yearning to visit and photograph it. Finally, in 2010 we made a family trip to Page, Arizona, on the shores of Lake Powell. Antelope Canyon is very near Page and is very easy to access.  Making reservations with a guide in Page, we made straight for the canyon located about three miles out of town.

A Deeply Sacred Navajo Indian Canyon

Even though visiting is done along with of many other visitors crowed into the narrow slot canyon, one still gets a sense of the deep sacredness in this canyon. I can only imagine what it must have been like in years past when one could visit this canyon alone.  I yearn to sit in the solitude it offers, to pray, chant, or to simply be still and listen to sound of its silence, watching the changing light.




Most of the time I spend in Upper Antelope Canyon I am looking up. The canyon was formed by flood waters and the tops are very narrow with the canyon widening toward the bottom as it is eroded and made deeper by the intermittent floods. Light comes in the narrow opening at the top and bounces off the canyon walls as it descends to the canyon floor. The color of the light progresses from warm yellow hues at the top to cooler blue hues toward the canyon floor. These colors mixing with the red of the sandstone provide an enchanting array of light and form.

On this trip I was in the canyon for about an hour, not nearly long enough to satiate me. I determined to return again and spend considerably more time, not only here but in other slot canyons in the area, like Lower Antelope and Water Holes Canyon




Notes for the Photographer:

Images taken with a 16mm lens on Canon 5D, Mk II. Tripod, cable release, manual mode. Be prepared to protect your camera from falling sand/dust.  And do not to change lenses in the canyon.

If you enjoyed this post you might also enjoy A Return To Antelope Canyon






Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Aurora Borealis May 10: A Northern Lights Extravaganza

As a quick update: All of these images were taken on the night of May 10-11, 2024. on San Juan Island WA.  We were taken by surprise in the middle of our vacation when it was announced there was to be an aurora display that would likely be visible from our location.  What an understatement!  What we witnessed was simply out of this world.  We saw colors I did not know existed in the auroras, especially the light pinks and, of all things, orange (neon).   There were four of us on the grounds at the Trumpeter Inn during the "show".  I was the only one with a DSLSR camera so the others would see something interesting and I would point my camera in that direction and take a timed exposer.  Most were in the 15 to 20 second length.   At one point, Jan looked up straight overhead and saw something that was quite unusual; it looked like some kind of convergence.  I pointed the camera overhead and took this picture, which I find startling....

Art Display At The Center For Spiritual Living, Santa Rosa

 The Center for Spiritual Living Santa Rosa, has a wonderful program that encourages artist members to display their work.  The work is hung in the Social Hall and typically has about twenty pieces hanging for two months at a time.  On March 1rst I will be hanging several images taken in Iceland, along with some wildlife images, including foxes, coyotes, eagles and kites.  I will also have some paintings by my mother and two of my own.  I am pretty excited about this showing.   One of the pictures I will have in the show is of Godafoss, a beautiful waterfall in Iceland.  When I first saw pictures of this waterfall I knew I wanted to go to Iceland to take pictures of it.  This composition required gettin into some very cold water.

Mesa Arch & The Washer Woman

When the first light of the day hits the underside of an arch in Canyon Lands or Arches National Parks they glow a beautiful shades of crimson much like those found in slot canyons. A magnificent example is Mesa Arch located in Canyon Lands, Utah. However, as with many of the more popular photography spots, if you want to get a good shot you have to be there early. We were staying in Moab and it was about an hour’s travel time from the motel to getting on site at the arch. But arriving at or near sunrise would not be sufficient, we had to be there at least two hours before sunrise in other to have assurance of a front row seat. This is one of the parts shooting sunrises that I enjoy tremendously. Getting up around 3 am, traveling to the site under the stars, walking in to the location in the dark and setting up without being able to see the whole scene that is going to unfold. On this morning we had a treat. We were the first ones there so we could pick our spots. But more...