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Antelope Canyon Sun
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Antelope Canyon Sun



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How I got this shot was really by luck. As we were wrapping up the photo tour, my guide and I lead the pack and we kinda rushed our way to the mouth of the cany...
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How I got this shot was really by luck. As we were wrapping up the photo tour, my guide and I lead the pack and we kinda rushed our way to the mouth of the canyon. He pointed out a few angles he liked to shoot, but I simply looked up through my sunglasses to see what you see in this shot. I threw my ND filter on and setup the camera for a 3-step bracketed shot - the longest exposure was 10 seconds. The hardest part was setting up the tripod in just the right spot to get the sunbeams peaking out from the top of the canyon.
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cameraSONY ILCE-7RM2

settings Aperture f/22 ISO 100 Focal Length 18/1 

upload_dateApr, 2016

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8 Comments |
MaxSan
 
MaxSan April 15, 2016
Great Lens Flairs !!!
danmiami
danmiami November 18, 2016
Made me smile when I was taking it :)
john_arsenault
 
john_arsenault October 04, 2016
certain compositions of narrow canyons have been photographed to the point of overexposure; happily, this is not one of them! good change of perspective!
danmiami
danmiami November 18, 2016
Thanks for the kind words!
AliAlzuhair
 
AliAlzuhair October 04, 2016
Pretty work!
danmiami
danmiami November 18, 2016
Thanks!
Pupparazzi
 
Pupparazzi October 05, 2016
WOW, Love this Pic
danmiami
danmiami November 18, 2016
Thanks you :)
Alwolfe Platinum
 
Alwolfe September 19, 2017
Absolutely gorgeous!
Mikelsr Platinum
 
Mikelsr January 19, 2018
Stunning photo! You have a great creative eye.
Time-Is-Momentary
 
Time-Is-Momentary November 18, 2018
Awesome!
BenjaminHornePhotography PRO
 
BenjaminHornePhotography December 20, 2018
Wow, stunning

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#sun #sky #canyon #blue #red #clouds #nature
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Behind The Lens

Location

This was taken as I left Antelope Canyon on Navajo land near Page, AZ... yes, the famous canyons with the light beams. This was my last shot at the canyon!

Time

It was about 1:30pm

Lighting

The hardest part was setting up the tripod in just the right spot to get the sunbeams peaking out from the top of the canyon.

Equipment

ND filter, 3-step bracketed shot - the longest exposure was 10 seconds. This was shot on a Sony 7RM2 with the 16-35mm F4 set to 18mm, f/22 using 100 ISO.

Inspiration

As we were wrapping up the photo tour in the canyon, my guide and I led the pack and rushed our way to the mouth of the canyon. He pointed out a few angles he liked to shoot, but I simply looked up through my sunglasses to see what you see in this shot - flares and all! It was just a stunning thing to see that I knew had to be captured.

Editing

I brought the three exposures into Aurora HDR, HDR Efex Pro 2, and Photomatix to see which would do the best job on this photo before picking a starting point. Lightroom and Photoshop were also used.

In my camera bag

I get to travel quite a bit and everywhere I go in the world, my bag always has 3 things. My camera, two lenses (16-35 and 24-240 FE), my carbon fiber tripod and my iPhone of course!

Feedback

Expect large crowds at the canyon - even if you take the appropriate photo tour!!! From the numbers quoted by our guide, up to 420 people per hour go through this narrow canyon! The photo tours are marketed as being "for photographers" and you must have a DSLR and tripod to go on the specific photo tours. All other tours are not catered to photographers and you will not be allowed to take tripods. This all sounds great, but I have to say that unless you go with the right tour company you may not have an ideal tour. Other groups walked in front of our shots, lectured us and our guide, and generally made us feel unwelcome. I will also say that there were other photo tour operators which hogged up the premium tripod space, stayed in place longer to shoot light beams, and corroborated with each other to exclude our group from having the same opportunity. In my opinion, the photo tours are sold in a misleading way. They do enforce the tripod rule, and limit groups to no more than 6-10... but if you think you will have a lot of time to setup your shots and then have even more time to take them - you are sadly mistaken! The photo tour guides simply stop traffic from all the other (regular) tours for anywhere between 30-90 seconds for you to get "the shot". Maybe this is enough time for you, but I can tell you that our group felt extremely rushed. We also had more time in the canyon than the other tours, but again, it seems that the extra time went to waste since you have only a short window to shoot. And then, there is this shot. This is not the traditional shot of light beams that you think of when visiting a slot canyon. And the only reason I got it was because I was fed up with the disparity in treatment of our group because we did not go with "the right guide." If you have Antelope Canyon on your radar, I am happy to share more of my experiences with you - just ask away! For those of you even THINKING of selling photos you take here, I suggest you apply for the photography permit from the Navajo Nation at least 2-3 weeks prior to your tour. If you don't to it ahead of time, they quadruple the price!

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