| This is what the canyon
actually looks like. Four companies run tours to the canyon
which is only about a quarter of a mile long. Some are
"photographers" tours which include a lot tripods and fancy
equipment and there are also shorter duration tourist-type
tours, so at any given time, there may be a hundred or more
people in the canyon with you. Since the canyon is on the
Navajo Nation you can't go without a Navajo guide, which I'd
initially suspected wasn't as romantic as it sounds. But as
it turned out, Al, my guide, was indispensable. He's a
photographer wrangler, a tourist wrangler, and he also knows
when and where the beams of light are going to appear. Your
guide spends most of his time barking "You! Here! You! Here!
You! Over there! You! Step out of the way!" lining people up
with the precision of a drill sergeant and holding back the
tourists as long as he can before they ruin your shot. Then
he races you to the next scenic place, lines you up, and
throws some sand in the air to make the beams of light stand
out. All this serves to create, or perpetuate, a belief
that you are a good photographer. But really, all you did
was pay the $50 to get into the canyon. Anybody can take a
breathtaking photograph in there -- t's like arm wrestling
third graders.
[www.kylecassidy.com]
[secret of
antelope canyon] |
