© 2020 Romi Boon All Rights Reserved
We arrived at Monument Valley with plans to tour and photograph the valley, We were so excited! It wasn’t however until we checked into the KOA campground (near the entrance) that we discovered the Valley was closed to visitors (because of covid). We were very disappointed but we decided to stay and explore the outlining area instead. Being an early riser, I’ve seen many beautiful sunrises but none were quite as amazing as this. Knowing how quickly the golden colors would change, I hurried outside and walked to a clearing where (only) these monumental mountains were in view. 5 minutes later, the colors were gone and the clouds dissipated. Okay, so I didn’t get to explore Monument Valley but I consider myself very fortunate to have been here (at the right time) to photography this beautiful sunrise.
One (of many) things that Arizona is most famous for are their sunsets, and I’ve seen some stellar ones! I’ve noticed though that the more interesting the clouds are, the more spectacular the sunset is. On this particular day, I walked into the desert hoping to get some back-lit saguaro trees at sunset. As I waited for the sun to set however I could see some rather large clouds rolling in and I knew the sunset I was anticipating just wasn’t going to happen. It was chilly, so I started back when I happened upon this brilliant saguaro tree skeleton. Then I notice the flourishing saguaro tree behind it, and I knew I had a shot. I named this photo “Evolution” because it depicts the saguaro tree’s life cycle.
Antelope Canyon is a slot Canyon situated on Navajo land; slightly south-east of Page Arizona. There are actually two canyons; the upper and lower Antelope canyons. The southern upper canyon is wider at the bottom and narrower at the top, which (at certain times of the year), produces beautiful beams of light inside the canyon. Lower Antelope on the other hand, is much smaller at the bottom, and wider at the top. On this day, we chose to enter the upper canyon. To view the canyon, we had to purchase a tour. The tour took us on a 2-3 mile open jeep ride through a sandy wash and to the entrance of the Canyon. Once there, we were split into groups; luckily for us we were in a tiny group. We were assigned a vern informative guide who explained that the sandstone canyon was created by years of erosion and flash floods. These flash floods he said, can be deadly so they watch the weather forecast closely. It was a sunny day in February when we visited, and it had been nice for days so we didn’t have anything to worry about. That said however, although we thought we’d see the beams of light that enter from above, we didn’t. Unaware of the sun and canyon’s orientation, we discovered they are only visible from the end of March to early October. Oh well, regardless it was amazing! We left feeling blessed with the intimate experience of this, one of Mother Earth’s greatest treasures. In reflection, I remember how thrilled we were to have shared our day and how pleased we were with our photographic memories too; including this photo. We had a blast!
