Upper Antelope Canyon

I took this photo at the Upper Antelope Canyon area, not the most visited tourist site of the area because of the difficult terrain. This photo is... more

by Angela Stanton

Title

Upper Antelope Canyon

Artist

Angela Stanton

Medium

Photograph

Description

I took this photo at the Upper Antelope Canyon area, not the most visited tourist site of the area because of the difficult terrain. This photo is further special in that it is an HDR (High Dynamic Range) photograph made of 7 different photos taken of the same view (camera hand held and not on tripod so I held my breath). The 7 different photos are of different exposures in terms of the shutter speed changing only and all else of the settings on the camera remaining the same. The total difference between exposures is 3 exposures over on the bright end and 3 exposures below of the dark end.
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The purpose of the different exposures is to capture all details in the dark and also in the light parts such that in a true HDR photograph, technically, there is nothing really black or white, unless it is black or white by nature. In this picture not even the deepest of darks and brightest of light colors kept their colors and textures. A true high dynamic range photograph looks like you saw the place when you looked at the original scene with your own eyes and your brain was able to distinguish between the details in the dark and the details in the light areas, which a camera with a single exposure cannot capture.
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The Antelope Canyon area is a favorite tourist destination in general but often times it is closed to the public because of flash flood and other dangerous events. It is also very hot in the summer and cold (with snow) in the winter. This picture was taken in October, which is an ideal time to visit: fewer people, children in school, and neither cold nor hot. I was only there for one day this time and took many hundreds of pictures; here you see 7 of them combined into one. Enjoy the unusual colors and view! If you want to avoid the crowds, you definitely want to visit the Upper Antelope Canyons, since way fewer tourists visit. When I went, I was the only person with one Navajo Tour Guide--a requirement.

Uploaded

December 25th, 2012