Sacred Passage

I first tried to photograph this glow 2 years ago. It was on slide film, and a lapse in judgement caused me to lose the shot. I returned to Zion again this year with this particular shot in mind.

I didn't take notes on the time of the glow 2 years ago, but I was able to figure it out. This is a relatively fast moving glow that ends abruptly when direct sunlight falls on the right wall. In fact, shortly after taking the shot, I was in full sun.

I decided to shoot it on color negative film, which I'm really growing to like. Kodak Ektar handles slot canyon light very well.

I used a normal lens to emphasize the glow. Though it's great to shoot down low with an ultra wide angle lens, I find it's best to use an elevated position when shooting with a normal lens. I used a polarizer to hide the glare in the foreground, but still show the glow.

I did not remove the film from its sleeve when I scanned this, so you'll see some lines down the edges. If I choose to use it in my portfolio, I'll have it drum scanned. Until then, I prefer not to remove it from the safety of the sleeve. :-)

Since this is color negative film, I have quite a bit of tonality in the shadows -- so much that it became a bit of a distraction. I darkened the shadows a bit to restore the sense of contrast. Perhaps too much?

Kodak Ektar 100 (8x10) | 50sec @ f/45 | Nikkor 300mm