Light and Color in Antelope Canyon

Back in December of 2014, I made the abrupt decision to move from my long time home of Orlando, Florida, all the way across the country to Los Angeles, CA. Knowing that I definitely needed my car in LA, I also made up my mind to pack up the Toaster (Scion XB) and drive the 3,000+ miles across the beautiful United States of America. I took roughly 5 days to do the entire drive, stoping to see friends along the way, and take in some of the breathtaking sights our nation has to offer. One of those beautiful sights was one that had taken me a bit off of my route, but I knew I needed to see in person. I had seen hundreds of photos of Antelope Canyon, but really wanted to put my own take on it. I mapped my way into Page, AZ, drove through the night to get there, and slept in my car to be sure I would wake up early to get a tour into the canyons.

The thing about going into the slot canyons, is that you need to go with a tour group to get in. In the city of Page, there are a few dozen companies that offer tours of the canyons (Upper and Lower Antelope Canyon) but they are really set up for tourists, and pretty overpriced. Also, the local Navajo tribes own the land, and the tour groups from the city only give a small percentage to the land owners. The best way to do a low cost and efficient tour of the canyons, is to show up at the Navajo Tribal Parking lot and purchase a tour pass directly from the Navajo land owners. Their tours are really informative, and the tour guides are all amazing people.

I had a great time hiking through the canyons, and because of it being winter, the colors in the canyons were spectacular. Rich hues of blue and purple, with golden light mixing in towards the tops of the canyons. The light shafts that you have seen in other people photos are taking during the summer months, when the sun is higher in the sky, and I plan on taking another trip out there to capture some of those moments very soon!

Feel free to browse through some of the photos I captured below, and as always, be sure to follow me on social media (links below) for constant updates on my travels and exclusive photos you won’t see anywhere else!