Antelope Canyon and the Light Beam
We had come to this little town of Page in Northern Arizona to witness one of the most photographically spectacular subjects on earth, the slot canyons. If you’ve never heard of the slot canyons they are a magical natural formation. The canyons were created by wind and also by fast rising rushing water. The water has washed away the sandstone gradually over time, revealing beautiful patterns and colors within the sandstone. As light streams in from above it reveals colors that are almost incandescent. Hues of reds, oranges and magentas dance along on the stone, changing subtly as the rays of the sun move across the sky throughout the day.
Years ago the slot canyons were only known by a few individuals. Geologists and nature photographers would camp outside the entrance of the canyons and enter when the best light of the day was most promising. However over the years the slot canyons have gained much popularity and are now visited throughout the day with local guides.
We arrived in Page the evening before and had made prior arrangements with a local guide for the following morning to begin our photographic expedition of the canyons. We would meet the guide and be a passenger in their vehicle. The trek to get to the canyons would prove to be a skillful driving experience. As we turned off of the main highway we followed along a gravel path for a short distance. Then we rounded the corner and began driving on red sand which felt as though it was at least six inches deep.  Our guide was experienced in driving this course and navigated as though he was qualifying for pole position.
The only way that I could describe the scene before us was a beach without the ocean. There were cliffs on either side with a sea of sand from end to end. We must have driven for about five miles when the path we were on suddenly came to a dead end. Before us stood a stone façade a few hundred feet high. Then I could see the “slot” that I have read so much about. I hopped out of the vehicle like a little kid going to Disneyland. Little did I know that the tiny opening in the rock wall would change the way that I look at nature forever.
Steve and I gathered our camera gear and headed towards the canyons entrance. Immediately the light diminished and you could feel the air on your skin go from hot sun to cool shade in an instant. Something that I didn’t expect was a sudden change in how everything sounded. I have never heard anything like it. You could hear your footsteps in the course sand bounce against that canyon walls and then disappear. After about twenty yards we entered a large “room” within the canyon. We didn’t realize it at the time but this would be the area where we would capture the “light beam”.
We made our way through the canyon which at times narrowed making it somewhat difficult to get through with all of our camera equipment. For the next few hours we would capture some of the most beautiful images that either Steve and I have ever taken to date.
About an hour or so into our time in the canyon I found myself alone in an area of that was remarkably beautiful. I decided to take a short break to just kneel in the sand and enjoy that calmness of the canyon walls. The sense of time within the walls was so loud it was as if it where singing an opera. Yet it was filled with such silence that it was deafening. You felt as though the canyon walls could almost speak to you and tell stories since their inception on earth.
A short time later I began making my way back towards the entrance of the canyon and I heard Steve say “the light beam is out”. I turned the corner and there it was. A natural beam of sunlight shown from the very top of the canyon down to the sandy floor. There was light bouncing off of the canyon walls and illuminating the subtle nuances and warm colors within the sandstone. It was a natural phenomenon that I had never witnessed before. Dust that was stirred up from the canyon floor was giving the light a surface to reflect off of and you could clearly make out the actual beam of light. I turned to Steve and exclaimed “this must be what heaven is like for a nature photographer”.
~Kimberly
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