Upper Antelope Canyon

bgarland

It's a good thing Antelope Canyon was my last stop on this trip. There were 40MPH winds on the desert up top and sand was constantly falling on us while we were shooting. My poor 7D and 17-55mm lens took a 1 hour sand shower. Even after cleaning with compressed air it's still not a happy camper. I'll be sending it in to Cannon for serious cleaning before my next use. Oh well, it was my only opportunity and it was worth it. :dunno

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And the obligatory sand fall shot:


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"The Bear"

Sam

WOW! The 7D sacrifice was worth it. Great stuff...............

Sam

anonymouscuban

I've seen a lot of shots of this place but these are freaking fantastic. Even on my piece of garbage monitor at work. Can't wait to see them on my home puter.

bgarland

Thanks Sam.

Here are a few more I processed this morning.

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dlplumer

spacefuzz

really wonderful!

rwells

These are great

The slot canyons are still on my bucket list. When I went to shoot them last fall, 4 days of heavy rain forecast. I didn't figure a slot canyon was a wise place to be during heavy rains

Sam

Now I have to burn all my Lower Antelope Canyon images. :cry

Sam

bgarland

Sam wrote: »

Now I have to burn all my Lower Antelope Canyon images. :cry

Sam

Brraaahahahahaha

I still like the lower canyon too. It's way less crowded and offers some great lighting when the conditions are right. I think the upper is only one that gets those crazy light beams that in my case were amplified by the heavy fall of sand from above. Good for photo ops but not so good for your camera equipment.

Bryans12v

Wow!! Theses are great.

bgarland

Bryans12v wrote: »

Wow!! Theses are great.

Bryan, Thanks. I took a look at your photos and coming from you that is a serious compliment.

dave6253

Excellent stuff, Brad.

Doug Solis

Love the series. You captured some wonderful compositions and your post processing is spot on, love the tones.

bgarland

Thanks for the kudos Dave and Doug. I am very glad I decided to brave the crowds and the nasty winds outside to shoot the upper canyon. With all the tour groups pushing through in both directions you only get a minute or two when they clear a room to capture your shots so you either got it right, or you missed it.

The majority of the time groups of people are in the way. The guide on the Photo tour does a good job getting the photogs lined up and ready and then clearing the room for the shots.

This is the more typical view:

JimKarczewski

I'm still confused as to why Upper Antelope Canyon is to the South (private tour guide needed) and Lower is to the North (of Az 98) You would think it would be upper = north, lower = south.. but nooooo..

bgarland

JimKarczewski wrote: »

I'm still confused as to why Upper Antelope Canyon is to the South (private tour guide needed) and Lower is to the North (of Az 98) You would think it would be upper = north, lower = south.. but nooooo..

I think it's based on the direction of water flow when the flood waters run down the canyon. The upper canyon is "up stream" from the lower as the water runs North toward Lake Powell.

Or maybe it's that the upper canyon brings in 500% more revenue so the the other canyon is just the lower stepchild.

squirl033

very nice stuff! i definitely want to go back there. last time, i had only my 40D and a 17-35 lens - i'd really like to see what the Mk II would do there! *sigh* someday...

bgarland

Thanks Winston. The windy conditions above made it easy.