Landscape
Hazy desert sunsets over the Las Vegas valley, the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon, and the sandstone curves of Antelope Canyon.
Sun Sinking Into Desert Haze
About
About this collection
Most of these came from road trips through the Southwest: the sculpted sandstone of Antelope Canyon, the hoodoos at Bryce Canyon, and a couple of hazy desert sunsets closer to home. Slot canyons are a lesson in patience. The light changes by the minute, and half the fun is waiting for it.
Camera settings across this collection: Sony a6500 & iPhone XS · 4–200 mm · f/1.8–11 · 1/546–1/64 s · ISO 100–125
01 · 13 frames
Photographs
Sony a6500 · 78mm · f/11 · 1/250s · ISO 100Sunset Haze Over the Valley 
iPhone XS · 6mm · f/2.4 · 1/95s · ISO 125Bryce Canyon Hoodoos at Dusk 
Purple and Orange Slot Canyon WallsPurple and Orange Slot Canyon Walls 
Sandstone Waves in Pink LightSandstone Waves in Pink Light 
Violet Walls, Peach Glow AboveViolet Walls, Peach Glow Above 
Glowing Orange Chamber in the SlotGlowing Orange Chamber in the Slot 
iPhone XS · 4.25mm · f/1.8 · 1/546s · ISO 100Keyhole of Blue Sky Overhead 
Blue Curl Beneath the Orange ArchBlue Curl Beneath the Orange Arch 
Violet Ribbons Rising to SkyViolet Ribbons Rising to Sky 
Narrow Passage to the LightNarrow Passage to the Light 
iPhone XS · 4.25mm · f/1.8 · 1/64s · ISO 100Layered Sandstone Swirl and Overhang 
Zigzag Sliver of SkyZigzag Sliver of Sky
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Captions
Notes on the photographs
- 01Sun Sinking Into Desert Haze
I had the 18-200 zoom on the a6500, racked out to 200mm and stopped down to f/11 so the sun would not blow out the whole frame. The haze that evening turned everything into layers of orange, and the mountains dropped to plain silhouettes.
- 02Sunset Haze Over the Valley
Same evening as the tighter sun shot, this one at 78mm so the mountain range and the edge of town came into the frame. The haze hanging over the valley softened everything into shades of orange.
- 03Bryce Canyon Hoodoos at Dusk
Shot on my iPhone from the rim at Bryce Canyon just after the sun went down. The hoodoos held onto that pink-orange glow for a while after the direct light was gone.
- 04Purple and Orange Slot Canyon Walls
A tall vertical pano looking up through the slot at Antelope Canyon. The shaded side of the canyon goes purple while the wall catching bounced light turns bright orange, and the phone rendered the sliver of sky pure white.
- 05Sandstone Waves in Pink Light
The layers in Antelope Canyon look like fabric when the light rakes across them. This wall went almost pink in the shade while the rock catching direct light up top burned bright orange.
- 06Violet Walls, Peach Glow Above
Looking up from the canyon floor. The walls closest to me were in deep shade and went violet, and the wall farther up was catching the sun and glowing peach.
- 07Glowing Orange Chamber in the Slot
A spot in the canyon where the light bounces down into a pocket of rock and the whole thing looks lit from inside. I framed it tall on the phone to fit the full height of the walls.
- 08Keyhole of Blue Sky Overhead
Straight up from the canyon floor with the iPhone. The walls swirl around a keyhole of blue sky, and the sun on the upper rock pushes it to bright orange against the deep blue.
- 09Blue Curl Beneath the Orange Arch
Looking up from the canyon floor at Antelope Canyon. The lower walls sit in cool blue shade while the sun lights up the sandstone overhead, and the whole thing looks like a wave frozen in stone.
- 10Violet Ribbons Rising to Sky
The colors in this one are wild. Deep purple in the shade, bright orange where the sun hits the rock, and a wedge of pale blue sky at the top of the slot. One of the most saturated of my Antelope Canyon shots.
- 11Narrow Passage to the Light
A tall, narrow view along the slot at Antelope Canyon. The sky blew out to pure white, but I like how it turns the gap into a bright keyhole between the purple walls.
- 12Layered Sandstone Swirl and Overhang
The layering in the rock at Antelope Canyon is incredible up close, and the light bouncing down from above gives it that peachy glow. Shot on my iPhone XS. The sky blew out to white, but the rock kept its detail.
- 13Zigzag Sliver of Sky
A jagged sliver of sky cuts between the walls at Antelope Canyon. The blue on the shaded rock is mostly reflected skylight, which is a big part of what gives these canyons their crazy color range.