SEPTEMBER 2003 – View from the backseat of a 4×4 that drives the dirt road towards Antelope Canyon in Arizona. Photo © by Petra Zanzig/zanzig.com
The story behind the image
I shared already several images of Antelope Canyon.
This one was taken by Petra and shows our drive in a 4×4 towards the canyon. We had booked a guided tour and used the transport service of the property owners. This was a good decision as we didn’t want to expose our rental car to dirt roads. (A couple of days later, at the Monument Valley we did, though, and it worked great!)
This backseat view shows a second 4×4 speeding through the sandy and dusty road in front of us. If you look closely you will spot that looong hair on the slide that was scanned. Ha! That was a crack in the front window of the vehicle.
All-in-all, just the drive to the canyon was a fantastic experience! (Of course, we did not really know what to expect, so we were quite happy with the drive.)
The key feature of Antelope Canyon’s is a narrow split in the rock. The sunlight illuminates the canyon through this slot from the ceiling when you are inside the canyon. (It is clearly visible from the sky on Google Maps.)
Once we arrived at the site, a narrow path with reddish walls and a sandy floor lead us 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!
Antelope Canyon – 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 |
| 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 | 6462 x 4258 Pixels |
| Copyright | © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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