Photographers are visual people, who are generally adventurous. They want to capture the beauty of the world by being there, framing their shot and giving it to the rest of the world who was not there to witness the moment. This is the reason so many photographers are also avid travelers and explorers, always looking for that perfect picture to share with the world. Always trying to convey the beauty of a moment that they experienced with a camera. Photographers will venture to the areas that are not part of the everyday, and look for the visuals that you do not see as part of your ongoing routine. They take the challenge of attempting to capture these moments as part of the entire experience, and for many photographers simply witnessing an event without capturing it on film would be less than perfect. While tours of national parks are going to give photographers plenty to work with, there is one area in particular that many photographers flock to in order to test their skills. Although it is not technically a national park, Antelope Canyon remains one of the most beautiful and photogenic areas on earth. You had better bring your skills, however, because it is also one of the most difficult areas to photograph.
The reason that photography in Antelope Canyon is so difficult is due to the fact that the makeup of the canyon itself prevents ambient light from saturating the area. Typical photography is not as simple as pointing a camera at something that looks good and pressing the button, because the way your eye sees something and the way a camera sees something is not the same. Your eye has the ability to adjust to a wide exposure range, essentially allowing light in at an appropriate level in order to process the visual scene. A camera has a fixed shutter that will be able to be opened or closed based upon the amount of ambient light. If a scene is brightly lit, you can close the shutter in order to properly expose the picture. If an area is poorly lit, you can open the shutter up wider, letting in more light. While there are other adjustments that will compensate for low light, the aperture of the shutter is the most important. This leads us to the photographic challenge of Antelope Canyon, trying to photograph light beams in a dark setting. Within the walls of Antelope Canyon, you have a situation of high rock walls on all sides of you and light only being able to come into the area from directly above. This creates extreme highlights and shadows, and will generally expose correctly for one or the other. If you expose for the shadows, the highlights will be very bright. If you expose for the highlights, the walls will be extremely dark. Getting a balanced picture is extremely difficult in this situation, and between March and October of every year when the sun is in the correct position to push sunbeams to the canyon floor, it becomes even more difficult. Many photographers will have an assistant throw sand into the light beams in order to make them easier to see with a camera, but the very talented will be able to photograph the light beams themselves, getting an appropriate exposure that shows both dark and light.
Do you have what it takes to get a great picture of Antelope Canyon sunbeams? We are in the season when they show right now. Book your Antelope Canyon tour today.