The charm of Antelope Canyon lies in: the mottled red sandstone is directly exposed to natural light, then reflected and diffracted to produce gorgeous colors. Light and shadow weave a gorgeous space, like a dream, and it is worthy of being one of the top ten photography places in the world. Many friends want to ask, the photos are so beautiful, why can I only take photos of passers-by? In fact, you can also become a professional photographer.
Antelope Canyon is divided into Upper Antelope Canyon and Lower Antelope Canyon in terms of terrain.
Upper Antelope Canyon has a wide valley, its rock wall is about 20 meters high, and its total length is about 150 meters. From a distance, there is only a very thin crack. The Upper Antelope Canyon is relatively deep, and the light is brightest at 1 noon. So at noon, you can see a very clear beam of light pouring down, and the scenery is more classic. There are many people in the Upper Antelope Valley, and the tickets are very expensive and popular. It can be said that it is hard to find a ticket.
The Lower Antelope Canyon is located underground. You need to climb metal stairs to go deep into the ground. You may need to rely on some ropes to walk through the Lower Antelope Canyon. It is more difficult to enter the canyon. Although the bottom of the Lower Antelope Canyon is very narrow, it is not deep and the light is very good. Moreover, the Lower Antelope Canyon is clean, cheap, with fewer tourists , and there are many opportunities for photographers to play freely.
Shooting Precautions
Whether you have a professional video camera or just an ordinary mobile phone, the following are worth reading carefully.
- Choose the time to enter the valley
11:00~13:00 noon time in the Upper Antelope Valley is the best time period, and you can take pictures of the “Light of Heaven”, which is a beautiful beam of light. The Lower Antelope Canyon is relatively dark, and more light is reflected on the rock wall. Photos taken at noon may be overexposed. It is recommended to take 9:30~11:00, or early morning and evening. Therefore, there is no need to deliberately pursue the team at noon in the Lower Antelope Valley, and it will not have much impact if it is early or late.
- Shoot from multiple angles
Look up and look back in the canyon, and you will often find surprising pictures. The sky may be overexposed, so you can change the angle and block it with stones. The same piece of mottled red sandstone will have different colors and textures under different light after being refracted by natural beams of light. The same location, different viewing angles, will get different views.
- Make good use of chiaroscuro
Look for light and dark scenes in Antelope Canyon or scenes with gradients, so that the photos you take will be more vivid. For example, you can find many scenes with high contrast between the darkest areas and the brightest areas, and using different white balances can produce very different photos. Adjusting the white balance to cloudy mode will take a beautiful orange-red stone. Change the white balance option to “color temperature”. The darker the place, the lower the color temperature will be, and the photo will turn into an elegant purple.
- Find the center of focus
If the landscape photo is not in focus, it will appear empty, and people looking at the photo will not be able to perceive what the photo wants to express because they cannot find the focus. In photography, a focal point can take many forms, a rock or rock formation, a silhouette, etc. In the canyon, although the surrounding stones are similar in color and appearance, the pictures produced by the light irradiation are different. You can use the light and dark boundaries of light and special rock formations as the focus.
You can also set the foreground, placing the image’s attraction point within the foreground. In this way, you can not only bring the person looking at the photo into the photo, but also create an extended depth of field.
camera precautions
For small partners with professional equipment, the following should be paid special attention to.
- A must-have wide-angle lens
Wide-angle lenses have a wide field of view without distortion, which is more conducive to expressing the effect of long depth of field in photos. There is no doubt that it is especially suitable for shooting large-scale scenes in such a small space in Antelope Valley. In addition, the wide-angle lens has a wide viewing angle, which can produce a stronger perspective effect, making the picture wider and more three-dimensional.
Please believe me, you must not change the camera in the canyon. The wind in the valley is very strong, and it is easy to blow a lot of fine sand particles. If you have a second camera, you can attach another lens to it. When shooting, we should keep blowing the lens clean with air blower, never directly wipe the lens with sand on the surface with lens cloth/paper.
- Adjust to a smaller aperture
Set the camera to manual (M) mode and shoot in RAW format. The best shutter speed is between 2-6s. When shooting the scenery of a large scene, we can obtain a larger depth of field by using a smaller aperture. Usually, if you use an aperture around F/16, you can basically get enough depth of field, and you can keep the aperture at F/11-F/18. Although the smaller the aperture, the greater the depth of field, but try not to use the minimum aperture of the lens, so as not to affect the image quality.
The smaller the aperture, the less light will be picked up by the camera sensor, so you need to do exposure compensation, such as increasing the ISO or increasing the shutter speed, or even doing both. Opening the ISO to 100 will take the best quality photos .
- Use a tripod more
When you choose a small aperture, you generally need a longer shutter time. At this time, your camera needs to be stable throughout the exposure process. In fact, even if you can use a fast shutter speed, using a tripod will help you. If you want the camera to be more stable when taking pictures, you can consider using a shutter release, or a wireless remote control.
- Set Live View
There are many people in the canyon, and the space is small. In this case, the crowd can easily break into your viewfinder, so use live view instead. Frame the scene on the clear and bright LCD, press the shutter after confirming. Another advantage of using Live View is that you can take into account the situation around you when shooting, making the shooting safer and more assured. But having people in your photos isn’t always a bad thing, the presence of people can add a little life to a photo.
Ways to plan a trip
- Self-driving tour
The time of self-driving tour can be arranged flexibly and freely. But after all, it is troublesome, time-consuming and labor-intensive, and there are even some safety hazards. However, due to the abundant time, you can dig deep into the local food and customs. In terms of accommodation, it is recommended to live in Page City and drive to Antelope Canyon early the next morning. And if you live in Page City, you can also take a look at the surrounding Horseshoe Bay, Lake Powell and other scenery.
- Travel with a group
Traveling with a group is safer and more convenient than driving by yourself. You can save worry and effort, just follow along. And there are guides to play with you, so you don’t have to find it yourself, so that you can gain a lot of knowledge while enjoying the tour. But it may not be free, and there is not so much time, so it seems to be rushed. However, the cost of the trip is relatively low and manageable.
tips
- If you are late, you will not be able to enter the valley. Please be sure to prepare the amount in advance, otherwise you will have to bear the loss caused by being late and unable to change the ticket to enter the valley.
- The Indian tour guides are very familiar with every line and every light and shadow in the canyon. Even if it is an ordinary group, they will enthusiastically tell tourists about various shooting angles and secrets.
- If there is no bathroom in Antelope Canyon, please make sure to settle it before entering the valley.
- Personal luggage such as backpacks, large and small bags, and suitcases cannot be brought into the valley. The photography group can bring camera equipment such as tripods, tripods, and selfie sticks.
- Be sure to apply high-power sunscreen, wear sunglasses, hats and scarves to do a good job of sun protection, because the road is rugged, and comfortable shoes can facilitate walking. There is also enough water to bring, after all, this is a desert area. However, food is not allowed to be brought into these attractions.
Finally, I hope that after reading this guide, you can become professional photographers and take your favorite photos in Antelope Canyon.
