Lower Antelope Canyon

As is often the case with my photography, it happens fast during a family hike or trip. Lower Antelope Canyon is a very special place, and to properly capture the experience one needs to understand its challenges and plan accordingly. I obviously failed to do that, as I had not paid enough attention to our trip’s plan, and just went along.

Antelope Canyon is a particularly deep, narrow and long canyon, which creates multiple challenges. The obvious one is the wide dynamic range requirement, as it has bright parts above, and very dark areas below, with a wide spectrum in between. The other challenge is how narrow and long. One could be tempted to use a wide angle lens, which I assume would deprive the images from the sense of depth and perspective, not to mention some details. I only had my 24-70, and only at the end of the walk thought about bracketing or focus stacking, without the use of a tripod.

The walks through the canyon are directed and managed by the tribe that owns the area, and it is a quick and fast pace experience, limited to a few people per turn, which eliminates the possibility of setting up your shots.

With all these caveats and excuses out of the way, I hope to have another chance at it soon. In the meantime, these should do.