April 27,28, 2015

The Phoenix Camera Club sponsored a field trip to Page, AZ to photograph Antelope Canyon at both night and day.  However, we had, rare for April, clouds and rain so that part of the trip was canceled due to uncertain cloud cover and the expense of the Navajo guides.  We found other locations nearby to photograph.  The first was at Horseshoe Bend in the Colorado River.  A half mile hike through loose sand is need to reach the view point.  This is quite an experience as the land is relatively flat and with no hint of where the river is located.  Then you approach the top of the cliff and cautiously peer over the rim to see the bend in the river 800 -1000 feet below.  There are NO guard rails, so if you are afraid of heights this is not the place for you.  I made a series of individual shots to be combined into panoramas while kneeling on the edge.  The muted skies made for nice saturated photos.

After consulting the radar app, we decided to go to Marble Canyon with the Navajo Bridge across the Colorado and then to Lees Ferry.  In the 1800s, Lees Ferry provided the only river level crossing of the Colorado within 700 miles.  It is still used as a launch point for the river rafting trips.

The next morning we were up at sunrise at Antelope point which is below the power plant.  Then it was on to a place called the Totem Poles about 25 miles west of Page.  Here a series of rocks have survived the erosional forces because a hard capstone  has prevent erosion.  The nice clouds filled in to general overcast by the time we finished.  So in the end, we worked around the weather for a good photographic trip.

Please check out more photos on Ophardtphotos.com