There are two Antelope Canyons near Page Arizona, Upper and Lower. Both offer amazing compositions. What we view inside is a "slot canyon", a fairly narrow passage, which is open at the top to sunlight, which streams in onto the sides of the inner walls, producing a beautiful glow on the opposite wall. The amount of sunlight inside the chamber decreases from the top down. As seen here, there is a huge gradient of light, from bright areas to the lower dark areas. It is almost impossible to capture the full range of light in one shot. This image, however, is only one shot, although I bracketed for at least 5 shots. One definitely needs to use a tripod and cable release, or shoot at high ISO, typically 800 or higher. This was taken at 200 ISO, for a 3 second exposure at f22. A very useful accessory is a right angle viewer for your camera, due to the fact that the camera needs to be pointed upward, very close to the ground. Otherwise it is difficult to look through the viewfinder. All of my shots were taken with a wide angle lens.
Both Upper and Lower Antelope have a risk associated with flash flooding, which can occur without notice. Seven people died in 1997 when a flash flood occurred. It does not even need to rain nearby for a flash flood to occur. Rain falling several miles away can funnel into the canyon. Still an awesome place to visit.
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