Mountain Sheep Canyon – Compressions

Compression, Mountain Sheep Slot Canyon, Navajo Lands, Arizona. Shot with a Sony α900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens at 24mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f16 for 1 second.

Hi everyone. I have been away for a few days and unable to post. So here is a new image from my last shoot in Mountain Sheep Canyon, a little visited open top slot canyon on the Navajo Lands outside of Page, Arizona. An open top slot presents some interesting challenges for photography. The first and foremost is very little sunlight is blocked as it would be in a slot like Antelope Canyon which has much narrower opening at the top. Open top slots are best shot in the early morning or late afternoon where the lower light can bounce from one wall and reflect off the other side. As the sun moves higher the light is more harsh and the bright contrast is more difficult to shoot. In slots like these I find I concentrate on close ups and seek interesting combinations and patterns within the walls.

This shot which I called “Compression” is exactly the kind of light and composition I search for in these types of canyons. By selective framing I removed the sky and brighter parts of the canyon and could concentrate on the glowing yellow wall seen just through the opening. The smooth walls on my left gave way to a wild and wavy series of striations that seemed to press down over me. There are some strong leading lines that allow the eye to move around the composition. In addition there is the play of opposites. Note the darker edge of the main wall against the glowing wall beyond, and the top series of compressions that play against the bottom right. In fact this is a composition that actually plays with your perception of space. Is the right wall in front of the left or vice versa?

The image was processed in Lightroom and finished in Photoshop.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob