The same horseshoe bend taken in the morning.
Antelope Canyon is one of the most anticipate stops for this trip because of the famous light beams and extraordinary organic rock formations. The tour starts at a visitor center. Being in the Navajo Nation, it means we have to join a tour run by the native Indians. I was on the photographer-centric group where they take us there at during the short time window when the light beams form in the canyon. The ride to the canyon was bumpy but fun. It was basically a pick truck on huge soft wheels. The canyon is a few miles from the site entrance, so the off road experience was a bonus.
Arriving at the entrance of the canyon was kinda of strange. Since I was just at the Grand Canyon and Zion, Antelope Canyon is really more like a crack in the rock, like the back alley in a highly populated metro downtown. The outside of it looked ordinary, like any other rock, but upon entering the opening, it was an eye-opener. Then, it all became a battle field.
There were more than 10 of us in the group, all photographers armed with our cameras and tripods. There are also tons of other tourists in the canyon. It’s a very narrow canyon with a lot of people, like a constipated large intestine. It was a fight to get a decent shot. Groups compete for the best time to be at a particular spot, and group members fight to get the best spot within each site. It was not a pleasant experience, let alone the $50 I paid for the tour. There was no time to enjoy the beauty, the colors, the organic surfaces and the atmosphere. It was a warfare.
The canyon was also extremely hard on camera equipments because of constant sand raining from above. The sand gets into everything, from your hair to the camera lens and tripod. It was bad. There was no way I’d change lens in the canyon exposing my camera to the hazard. You have to decide which lens to use and stick to it. Also, older lens that extends physically when adjusting zoom means the sand will find its way into the mechanics, causing the lens to zoom and focus with difficulty. Therefore silent-wave lens is recommended for such conditions.
No shot came easy. The canyon is actually filled with people, so it was really tough to get a clean shot.
Over all, I did enjoy the canyon. Two hours went by quickly and towards the end of it, I got some moments to catch a breath and immerse myself in the canyon. It was a short moment when it was not about the photos, but about my interaction with where I am.
During the tour, there were several other tours led by different guides. All of whom are native Indians. It was strange, and somewhat comical, that each of them carried a musical instrument, and talked about the canyon using Indian tales to explain the natural formation of the rocks. It all started to feel very gimmicky. Why would I want to hear how the rock pattern looks like a wolf head accompanied by a quick tune on flute, instead of the geological process that created the pattern? I don’t know, but the tourists seemed to take whatever that was thrown at them. In a certain way, it was quite a circus.
The other half of the day was a drive to the next site. Monument Valley. It wasn’t all that eventful except that I managed to capture some lousy sunset shots, and my friend got the car stuck in the ditch. So I’d take this opportunity to thank the kind native Indian couple who stopped by to tow us out.
You may notice that I have not posted any photo of the locals. That’s because many of them don’t like to be photographed, so I just didn’t even try.
Oh and…. Germans! The Germans are EVERYWHERE!!!!!
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