My big vacation this year was to travel out west to Arizona (and briefly, Utah), to see the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Antelope Slot Canyons, Sedona Red Rock, and other incredible landscape attractions that the region had to offer. It turned out to be one of the best vacations of my life, and definitely one of the most photographically-friendly trips. The Grand Canyon lived up to the hype as one of the world’s seven wonders. With 10 miles between the north and south rim, and nearly 5000 ft in elevation change between the rim and river, no images can do justice to the view that is absorbed in person. Lake Powell is a man made lake, damming the Colorado River and flooding Glen Canyon, upstream of the Grand Canyon. It’s a popular launch point for adventurers taking a 5-14 day white water rafting trip through the Canyon, which is now on my bucket list. during a sunset boat cruise on Lake Powell, we were able to view the incredible narrow canals of deep blue water surrounded by towering rock cliffs.
The Antelope Canyon Slot Canyons (Think James Franco in 127 Hours) have been photographed by National Geographic and actually rest on Navajo land; any tours through the canyons are lead by Navajo guides. Opposite of the Grand Canyon, these slot canyons are more awesome when viewed through a camera lens. The canyons were created by desert flash floods over centuries of time. A long shutter speed brings out the detail in the walls that has been whipped by wind, water and sand. The last few days of our trip were spent in Sedona, a resort town about 100 miles North of Phoenix. Sedona is home to gorgeous red rock formations (Think beauts found in Monument Valley Utah, featured in just about every Western film).
I had actually never been West of Iowa City previous to this trip, but I instantly fell in love with the colors and landscapes found in the desert. After snapping somewhere around 500-600 pictures during my travels, the best 50 or 60 are on display on the Portfolios page on this site.