SEPTEMBER 2003 – A TV crew films the beauty of a sun beam that illuminates the red and purple walls inside Antelope Canyon in Arizona. Photo © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com
The story behind the image
Earlier today I shared an image of Antelope Canyon, a so-called ‘slot canyon’. Its key feature is the narrow split (or slot) at the ceiling. (It is clearly visible on Google Maps.)
The canyon is on private property but can be visited. So we drove to the main entrance where we had to hire a transfer service to get to the actual site with the entrance, i.e. the crack in the rock. A narrow path with reddish walls and a sandy floor leads you to the other side of the canyon. We walked through in maybe ten minutes and were a bit disappointed when we saw the sky again. We wondered what’s so special about this canyon? Sure, it was interesting to follow the path, but a breathtaking experience? No way.
But – when we walked back, the miracle of Antelope Canyon happened! The noon sunlight entered the canyon through the crack at the top, forming spectacular light beams and illuminating the interior in rich, deep colours that changed almost by the minute.
I took several photos at Antlope Canyon, and the challenge was to hold the images from hand. They charged for taking a tripod to the site, which we wanted to avoid. So I tried to keep the camera as steady as possible. And I succeeded!
Part of our group was a TV crew that had brought a camera (and tripod!) to capture the beauty of the experience.
P.S.: The lab ruined some of the photos. I had ordered the developed slides with frames, but they cut the film at the wrong place! In the framed slides, the black separation bar between each photo was clearly visible… Those were the joys of analog photography! (Not.)
Design ideas
The high resolution image
| Capture Date | 14-SEP-2003 |
| Location | Antelope Canyon, Arizona |
| Camera | Canon AE-1 Program |
| Image Source | Fuji Slide Film |
| ISO | 400 |
| Digital Image Source | EPSON Perfection 4870 Photo |
| Digital Image Source Format | TIFF, 48 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Size | 4272 x 5919 Pixels |
| Copyright | © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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