Near and Far - Part One

Devil's Punchbowl Falls
click HERE to see larger in gallery

This post starts with something near my home area. The Devil's Punchbowl. I find it interesting (and most times disappointing) that so many beautiful places seem to be named after the Devil for some reason. This is a wonderful waterfall and creek area in the hills of the eastern Napa Valley. It is another of my on-going "secret" places of this area. If you want to know more about it and the opportunity to see it, please visit www.napalandtrust.org as they oversee and protect this and many other special locations within Napa County.

The trail leads to a beautiful creek and then to this waterfall which empties into a "punchbowl" that is large enough to swim. I took many shots of this area on this particular outing but was only satisfied with this one shot. I plan to revisit this spot soon so look forward to more from this area. Now lets move on to something a little farther away...............

Barbara emerging from the Lower slots

Last year I was able to go to Page Arizona and visit the Antelope Slot Canyon. There are two parts, the Upper which was last year's trip and the photos from there are in my Antelope Canyon
gallery. The other part which Barbara and I visited this time is typically referred to as Lower Antelope. Upper is the most visited section and can almost be likened to a cattle drive the way people are hurriedly shuffled through the canyon in large groups. It takes a little more $$ with a dedicated "photo tour" (which I did) to avoid the crowds and actually get any real good shots.

The Nest

The "Lower" section which are the featured photos of this post are much more interesting and surprisingly in comparison, very few people visit here. Barbara and I were able to be in here for about 2.5 hrs with only our Navajo guide and one other couple. You enter the canyon by walking in and along an ankle deep "slot" that slowly gets wider and deeper as you see Barbara above. Just a little past where she is standing is the first series of metal stairs that take you down.

Once we were down in the canyon, our guide would go far ahead of us and play his Indian flute. The acoustics and atmosphere were fantastic for that.

The Maiden

In the photo above, some people see a woman enveloped in flowing sheets. Some see a rabbit. What do you see? This is a spot that has been photographed many times and ways. I hope I got a unique perspective here.

Fractured Time

The footpath through this slot is often only about 1 to 2 feet wide. In some spots the walls come to a complete "V" with no flat foot area. Every turn is a new adventure in light, color and shadows.

Meandering Maze

click HERE to see all 15 photos larger in the new gallery

My photo tips for shooting the slot canyons are to give yourself plenty of time. If you are visiting the Upper canyon, pay the extra $$ for the "photo tour" from Carol Bigthumb's tour group (look her up on the Net). If you are visiting the Lower canyon you will enjoy a less hurried and less crowded adventure. Be sure to use a tripod as you will want to shoot with a low ISO to keep digital noise down in your images and this will require longer exposure times. Some of my exposures were running 30 seconds at ISO 50. Shoot in RAW format if you are using a DSLR. That way you can choose the proper white balance as you process your images at home because every turn in the canyon poses a challenge and change in the way the camera interprets the color and light.

Stay tuned for part 2 of Near and Far coming shortly. In the meantime, wish me drama in the skies and awesome light.