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Essence of Light IV
Published: 2005-07-30 04:37:34 +0000 UTC; Views: 15159; Favourites: 693; Downloads: 3328
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Upper Antelope Canyon, outside of Page, AZ
This is one of the few slot canyons that survived being flooded by Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam, and is probably the most famous slot canyon in the world.
Upper Antelope can only be reached on a guided Navajo tour, due to a flash flood that took the lives of 12 tourists in 1997. It is narrow at the top and widens as it descends. This allows the little bit of sun that gets in to bounce around all the curves and lines in the walls. It is this reflected light that makes the canyon come alive with glowing reds and oranges, and also allows sunbeams to come in, Antelope Canyon's most famous feature.
The "Essence of Light" series, featuring the marvelous sunbeams of Page, AZ's Antelope Canyon
This is about as close to symmetrical as you can get in Antelope Canyon. To give you some idea of how crowded it is in there, there were about 5 other photographers around me shooting the same beam, and a 20-person tour group behind us, waiting for our 30 second exposures to finish before they went on their way.
*EDIT*
Wow..... my first DD. It's all too much you guys, really. I just want to thank everyone, especially those that I've gotten to know in my relatively short time here.
Also, I've been getting alot of requests to change the frame, so I think I just might, though I don't really have the time at the moment. Maybe in the next few days.
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Comments: 193
Thanks for the praise. It means a lot. I do think that not a lot of people appreciate just how difficult of a lighting situation slot canyons present. They certainly reward those who put in the effort (and invest in a tripod...) however, as I'm sure you know!
Please take a look at my website at [link] There's a lot more similar work in there if you liked this shot.
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It almost looks like, if you were to touch it, you could grab the light in your hands... amazing. Thanks for sharing.
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I hope you don't mind my presumption, I use this pic,
[link]
if you mind:
a. I apologize
b. will remove the pic as soon as I can point and click (i.e. this is a temp posting pending your approval(.
(I am also sorry if I asked you before and forgot about itβ¦.)
c. I will not turn this into a print unless you ask me to.
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Gorgeous.
Oh How I Love The Light! The Canyon! The Rock! The Beauty!
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This deviation has been chosen as a feature of the week
on *Word-worth-1000-pics which is a community project
promoting artists on dA.
It has been found browsing from the word of the week : "LIGHT/s "
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i've always wanted to go to antelope canyon...
Amazing photo. and congrats on the DD
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WOW THIS CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!
I LOVE IT!
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amazing shot! However, the frame you chose weakens the powerful image that you captured. It's a very rich shot, rich colors, and rich contrast, but the frame in my opinion cheapens it.
Great job though.
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Thanks! You're definitely not the first to criticize the frame.
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Absolutely beautiful.
Kind of looks like something out of one of the Indiana Jones films - the golden lance of sunlight cutting down into a cave.
Just beautiful!
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Thank you
Interesting, I never thought of that scene....
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I was recently backpacking just near there in the Paria canyon, which is similar in that it has a lot of sections that are pure slot canyon, and they are extremely hard to photograph, so I can really appreciate this shot. Great job.
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I hiked a bit of the Paria canyon myself, although I did not do the thru-hike. I hope to go back someday and do the entire hike. It's beautiful there.
Thank you for your kind words
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Well to be honest, we didn't hike all the way through, we just hiked down Wire pass to the confluence, camped there, spent the next day hiking down the Paria before camping, then hiking back to the confluence the next day, and finally hiking out White House. We decided that the lower Paria might be too open and unpleasantly hot. It really is beautiful there and in that entire region (Iβve done a lot of hiking in the Escalante Grand Staircase as well). Hope you get a chance to go back and finish the hike though, it is really spectacular.
Herald
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This is a gorgeous shot, and I found your comments and information very interesting. A well deserved Daily Deviation!
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Oh congratulations! I knew it was just a matter of time for one of these.
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Was this not in the most recent issue of Shutterbug?
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Hm I don't think so, although Antelope Canyon is a very popular place with photographers, so I imagine plenty of Antelope Canyon light beam shots go through the magazine now and then.
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Beautiful work - the colors and composition are very strong and I really like the way the light is so defined! Superb work!
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I've always been drawn to the slot canyons. I've never been to one, but when I'm older I'd love to go- perhaps not alone, since... I don't want to die. 
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Hehe, you really don't have to worry about the slot canyons unless there is forecasted thunderstorms in a 10 mile radius, which there very rarely is during the dry season. I would highly suggest going sometime though, their beauty is absolutely unparalleled. Bar none, Antelope Canyon is the most fantastic place I have ever been.
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Does the light really form a beam that defined, or is it reflecting off dust in the air?
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The light is there, but sand and dust in the air of the canyon makes them more pronounced. On perfectly clear still days with no sand and dust blowing in to the canyon the light beams are not as defined. They are still visible, to be sure, just not as defined. But on any other day, or if some sand is thrown into the light, they stand out in their full glory. This is very close to what I saw in person.
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While I won't deny that this is a beautiful image, I strongly believe that it has been enhanced. The ray is too perfect. It is exactly symmetrical and the same width from the top of the image to the bottom. Naturally, the light should spread out as it gets further from the hole in the top of the cavern. It is my opinion that this is not worthy a DD because of this editing and its catagorical placement. If it were in "Darkroom" it would be more acceptable. However there are many other image in your gallery which are more deserving of such an honor.
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Sorry, while I am somewhat flattered that you don't think it is real, this is completely unedited besides very slight curves and contrast in Photoshop. If you'd like, I could show you the original file. The light beams in Antelope Canyon don't behave like normal rays of light. Most of the smaller ones like this one are perfect cylinders, without any spread towards the bottom. Again, I'd be happy to show you the original file.
Cheers!
-Ben
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That's amazing, it's almost too pretty to be real. Great shot!
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That's amazing, it's almost too pretty to be real. Great shot!
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Holy crap! That look insanely awesome!.. looks like it's rendered and not a photo! Rad job!
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Thanks! Definitely not a render though
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... a gorgeous vision and a remarkable capture... makes me wish I could witness something like that someday...
... what's really cool is that another shot of Antelope Canyon got a DD about 2 months ago HERE ... it's interesting to compare and contrast the two...
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Thank you my friend
I am familiar with Pat's work, and her shot is wonderful as well. Very deserving of the DD. I think it is more like my Essence of Light V shot than this one though.
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OO This is love. No, really I'm serious. I wish that dam was gone...we need more places like this.
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If the dam were gone we'd have more places like [link] (not my photo).
I wish it were gone too, so many incredibly beautiful places were wiped out by its torrents....
I'm glad you like the photo though, thanks for the comment
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