© 2020 Romi Boon All Rights Reserved
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!
Nestled in the Purcell mountain range of British Columbia, is a Staubert Lake; a small lake only minutes west of the rustic and out of the way community of Trout Lake. After an amazing couple days of ATVing around the mountains in the area (west of Bugaboo National Park), we got up early to make our way home and had planned to catch the 8:30 a.m. Gelena Bay ferry across Arrow Lake. While we drove our RV slowly down the well-maintained gravel road, we happened upon this tranquil lake view. Most eye-catching were the vibrant reflections in the calm waters and the quickly moving shadows from the clouds above. As we stopped to take some shots, I noticed the shadows on the hillside and they were moving fast and this scene was just coming into play! Wow! I knew time was of the essence and that I wouldn't have time to swap out my heavy 400mm lens for my 25-200mm lens; I had to deal with it’s cumbersome size and weight. Quickly, I changed my ASA/ISO to 80, changed my shutter speed to 400 , set my f-stop for 5.6, and then set my lens to 171 mm.... I held my breath and held my camera as steady as I could, with hopes for a great shot. My efforts paid off! As many of you know, the “rule of thirds” applies to most artistic applications however I feel that when reflections are involved, that rule can be broken, it’s the artist’s right as an artist. You’ll notice here, that I placed the lake’s edge in the middle of the photo, rather than at a third. I absolutely love this photo’s balance; it what makes this photo so appealing and strong! Notice the dark shadows that outline the trees on the left. Not only does it surround the group of trees but it does so equally (in balance). Then notice the group of well-lit trees to the right (without the shadow), they’re opposite to the group of trees on the left. Finally, the darkness of the foreground frames this photo nicely and balances the dark shadows above. There was so much to see and do here in this off-grid valley; we look forward to visiting the area again very soon!
