Antelope Canyon

Hurricane Harvey

My heart goes out to those struggling to survive Harvey in Texas. I'm not a big fan of Texas but no one deserves to be confronted with the disaster that awaits them this week. There will be flooding and a lot of damage before Harvey moves on. Let is all hope "The Donald" can get his head out of his a&% long enough to get the federal government to help with the cleanup and rescue operations. Enough said on that issue.

Antelope Canyon

I was in Antelope Canyon last year but the place is so beautiful I thought it was a good time to show another image from the place. I went in the early morning as I wanted to see what the canyon looked like with early sun. It was a different place for sure and that was a nice feeling. I didn't have any tripod or even a monopod as they are not allowed except during the special, and much more expensive, photographer's tours later in the day so I had to be extra steady. Most of the pictures came out blurred even with my stabilizer running because I tend to be more than a bit unsteady these days as I grow older. Some of the longest exposures were more than a second and not even the best lens stabilization can fix shaking that long. So I had to throw away a lot of images.

This photo is made up of 3 images, a bracketed series. What is interesting about the image is how "fluid" it looks. The lighter areas appear almost translucent, like a glassy surface is spread across the rocks. It's not, of course, but looks that way. What's happening here is the light, already diffuse from striking other rocky surfaces, is illuminating the right and left sides of this protrusion and making them appear like water is running across their surfaces. The effect only appears on the brighter exposures in the bracketing. It is a very interesting artifact of the light conditions and probably only appears in the early morning. Just another fantastic aspect of this very special canyon. I have to go back again some day and see what else is going on there.

Antelope Canyon - 35mm, F4,HDR,ISO 800,license CC BY-NC 4.0

Antelope Canyon

The sparse offerings...

I do have to apologize for the sparse offerings of late on this blog. I know I promised a photo a day but it's just been too hard to get my head into working on the computer of late. I've not been all that well and the wife has also had some very serious health issues that put her in the hospital for several weeks last month. Not exactly life threatening but damn close. Appears she had a minor stroke or a major epileptic seizure early last month and that left her with some paralysis in her right hand and overall weakness. She's now on some really awful drugs to help with the seizures and to hopefully return some function and energy but they leave her sick and weak. It's been a nasty adventure this last month and I just didn't have the inclination to sit at my computer in the hot sun and try to write blog posts. The weather has turned now so maybe I can be a bit more diligent. I'll be better ... I promise.

Antelope Canyon

The slot canyons on Navajo land near Page, AZ are a must for any serious photographer. They are gorgeous and very interesting. Carved by raging storm waters they have such amazing shapes and colors due to the layered sandstone that is everywhere in that part of the country. As they are on indian land there's a high fee to pay and you must take one of the guided tours so it's really hard to get good photos. They do offer photographer's tours but they happen at the same time as the other tours so you're always fighting the crowds to get good shots. And the special tours are very expensive ... $85 bucks for 2 hours. Maybe next year I'll opt for one of those. I took an early morning tour before the bright sun could penetrate the canyons so there was less light and many of my longer exposures (hand held) were blurred so I didn't get much to work with. But this shot came out very nice. It's HDR to get all the colors and tones. Taken with my new 6D and my 16-35 f/4 wide angle lens. Not a show stopper but nice none the less.

Antelope Canyon - 35mm,f/4,HDR,ISO 800,license CC BY-NC 4.0

Slot Canyons in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument

Update ... again

I'm 90% there on the trip home. Am presently setting up flights home from Crimea to Albuquerque. This will probably be my last flight out of Crimea as the western sanctions have made it almost impossible to get money from America. We've lost Western Union, VISA/MasterCard and SWIFT. There's not much left except maybe carrier pigeon. Unfortunately, we need money to live and that comes from the US so we've made the very painful decision to relocate, at least until the sanctions ease, to a relative's house in the eastern part of Russia. Ulan-Ude is just south of Lake Bikal, near the Mongolian border. It's a wild place, with lots of mining and logging. My wife has a cousin living there so we're taking up residence with her until further notice. Not sure how my asthma will take to all the dust but we'll find out when I get back. I'll be returning to Simferopol for a short visit with my relatives and to see how our flat is faring then on to the east. Oh joy...

Oh, dates of travel ... March 28-29 on the trip to ABQ and June 2-3 on the trip back. 2 months in the states and lots of things to do. Will be running the whole time. Have to wedge in some doctor's visits to see what's up with my blood chemistry (which is all over the place it seems) and to clean up the ever messy financial situation. Not sure yet how these off items impact my main agenda but we'll adjust as needed. Since I'm wandering I don't need to really have reservations and the road's always there leading to the next place. I'll update my trip map when I know more.

Slot Canyons in Vermilion Cliffs NM

I didn't win the Wave lottery (had a 1 in 100 chance) but I'm still determined to hit Vermilion Cliffs during my trip and maybe stop by the BLM office to see if I can get a second chance. If not I'll find other parts of the area to explore. There's lots of beautiful scenery to check out so it's not a lost cause.

One of the most amazing parts of that area is the slot canyons. Over 10 miles of wildness and are they spectacular. Not as well known as Antelope Valley in AZ but still a great place to hike and take photos. I have literally dozens of shots in the hopper and each one is better than the last. I like this one because it looks like an animal (maybe a camel or an elephant laying it's trunk against the rocks). It's amazing the shapes one gets with fast running water and sand. Just watch out for the rain as these canyons can fill up very fast.

This is a 3 image HDR, run through the usual treatment with PhotoMatix and Lightroom.

Slot Canyon/Vermilion Cliffs - 29mm(1.6 crop),f/18,HDR,ISO 100,license CC-BY-NC 4.0

Vermillion Cliffs National Monument

Damn, that was close...

Wanted to visit Vermillion Cliffs National Monument. Several people have told me what a special place it is. So, yesterday I drove my truck down Rt 89 to the dirt road that provides access to the trails and features of this area. Explored the road from north to south and then back again before the sun started disappearing below the western hills. Arrived late in the afternoon and didn't have time to register with the BLM for a camping permit so I just stopped at the northern entrance and parked my truck, intent on sleeping there until sunrise. It was a miserable night with wind and some rain but we got thorough OK. Around 6 I woke up and dressed for a cold day as there were overcast skies and lots of dark clouds. Can't say I was thinking about rain all that much as the West is in a drought. Found Wire Pass parking spot (this is also the entry portal for 'the wave' but you need a special access permit for that). Loaded up all my camera gear (a big mistake) and started hiking down the dry riverbed toward where the slot canyons were supposed to be. Walked for what seemed hours, with a very heavy camera bag and tripod bag weighing me down with each step but never got to the canyons. Knew something was not right but didn't have my brain working well enough to figure out what it was. Discouraged, I walked back to my truck and decided to wait an hour plus I dumped all the unneeded camera gear but my body, the wide angle lens and the tripod sans carrying case. At 10 I started walking again and, this time, the going was much easier. Roughly 1/4 mile past where I gave up there it was ... the first of a long string of slot canyons. Some were narrow while others were wide and very deep but each was a structural masterpiece. The camera was overloaded with images. Not that the going was all roses ... several places were blocked with debris which is not cleared (this area has been given the wilderness designation meaning almost zero interference with natural processes in the canyons) but those were minor compared to the drama unfolding before my camera. Tired but happy I reluctantly turned and headed back to my truck.

I'd had a hard night so decided to catch a bit of sleep before starting back to the main highway. The sky was cloudy but not in a really threatening way so I was surprised to awaken to the sound of hard rain hitting the truck's metal roof. I looked around and could see people frantically working to stow gear and get out of the lot. The dirt road, under these conditions, would quickly become a quagmire. With some trepidation, I started driving north and it soon became apparent the drive would not go well. About 4 miles from the main road my truck, a rear wheel drive pickup, started swerving violently and soon I was half on/half off the road. As most people had already left the park, I worried I'd be staying in this position for at least the night if not longer. However, fate smiled and a BLM ranger plus a big 4x4 came tooling up the hill and rescued me. The Jeep easily pulled my truck off the edge and towed me all the way to the main highway. The driver was such a good guy he refused any renumeration for his wonderful deed. And, the folks from BLM were more than helpful getting me back on my way.

Rain has been a scarce commodity in the West for some time so it was a big surprise when a huge storm swept thru the area and dumped a ton of water. The road into Vermillion Cliffs was just graded a few days ago and is now badly rutted and in terrible condition again. The folks from BLM tell me it will be 3 months or more before another grading is offered so anyone going in or out of the monument is in for some rough driving. We all had a good laugh about the coincidence with the repairs and the bad weather but it's unfortunate this happened. But it's also a warning to me ... don't take these dirt roads lightly. I'd planned to take another dirt road to the Grand Canyon's north rim but it too received lots of rain so that's off for now. I'll have to wait for May 15 when the paved road is opened. I can wait as I have no desire to spend many days stuck in thick, sticky mud and perhaps even hurt myself. No picture is worth that much risk.

Vermillion Cliff Slot Canyon

Most of us are familiar with Antelope Canyon, the iconic slot canyon just south of Page, AZ. My AAA atlas' cover photo was taken there. The most expensive photo every sold (don't get me started on that again} was also taken there. It's a beautiful place and well worth visiting if you have the chance. Vermillion Cliffs also has slot canyons ... miles and miles of slot canyons ... but they receive very few visitors. Why, you ask? First, it's Vermillion Cliffs, a monument administered by the BLM, not the Park Service. It has zero amenities and only the bare essentials for it's clients. No flush toilets (just crude chemical tanks that you look into as you sit and do your duty), no electricity, no running water (or water of any kind), no internet, no cell phone ... no anything so It only attracts the most hardy or foolish of us. The road in is not for the faint of heart. And the slot canyons are not well maintained and are in a very natural and chaotic state. Second, there are no guides so you have to figure out everything for yourself. There aren't any signs telling you which way to go. There's no one to even warn you if a flash flood is coming. It's all very primitive and you're definitely on your own. But, and this is the big positive but, there's no $100 fee, no guide telling you to hurry along so the next group can enter and no herd of people randomly snapping away while you try to capture a picture worth remembering. Oh ... and the canyon walls are basically only 2 colors ... vermillion (thus the name) and black. Antelope canyon is a bit more colorful. You decide which is a better bargain...

Vermillion Cliffs - 1mm (1.6 crop), f/18, various exposures, ISO 100, license CC BY-NC 4.0

The dynamic range in the slots was all over the place. Near the bottom you could barely see while the open top was ablaze with light. I did bracketed exposures (5 with 1 ev between them) to get all the shades and that probably wasn't enough. I then put these images through Photomatix and, as usual, I tried not to get too carried away with my sliders. Just blacks and whites and strength in the tone mapping. Then back to Lightroom for some final tweaking of clarity and vibrance. Now, I've got maybe 28 sets of pictures so there's a lot more to process. I quickly scanned the lot and picked a representative but interesting image to process. I'll do more as time permits and, if they're worth it, I'll post them here later.