SEPTEMBER 2003 – The sun illuminates the red and purple walls inside Antelope Canyon in Arizona. Photo © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com
The story behind the image
I shared already several images of Antelope Canyon. Here is another one.
The canyon is a so-called ‘slot canyon’. Its key feature is a narrow split (or slot) in the rock. The sunlight illuminates the canyon through this slot from the ceiling when inside the canyon. (It is clearly visible from the sky on Google Maps.)
The canyon is on private property but can be visited. So we drove to the main entrance where we hired a transfer service to get to the actual site, i.e. to the entrance of the canyon. A narrow path with reddish walls and a sandy floor leads you to the other side of the canyon. It is relatively short – just about 150 meters – and after maybe ten minutes we emerged at the opposite side. Honestly, we 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 wait!
When we walked back, the miracle of Antelope Canyon happened! Now, 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, which was challenging as I had to hold the camera in my hand. The owners charged for taking a tripod to the site, and we wanted to avoid these charges. So I tried to keep the camera as steady as possible. And I succeeded!
For this image, I held the camera straight to the top to include the sun in the frame. I know I should have used a higher f-stop (this was probably f/2.8 or f/4 when it should have been f/8 or f/16) but this would have required the tripod. However, the bright spot at the bottom is quite nice, too.
A magical place.
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 | 4263 x 5875 Pixels |
| Copyright | © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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