Long Canyon is a magnificent section of the Burr Trail in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. And while I make absolutely no pretense of supporting the 2017 reduction of the monument by half and hope to see that unfortunate action reversed sooner than later, I take comfort in knowing that Long Canyon is within that portion of Grand Staircase that continues to enjoy monumental protection.
There are many small auxiliary canyons the feed into the main body, among which is a thin slit of a geological groove that we designated with affection as Gorky Canyon, after a dear friend who joined Bonnie and me for an adventure in the Southwest a number of years ago. Its narrow floor is lined with spindly cottonwoods whose leaves become an autumn carpet to contrast the burnt orange of the sandy bottom and rising walls.
A focal length of 54mm, just plain normal-land, gave me the angle-of-view I wanted, much as my binocular eyes saw it. An aperture of f/22 provided depth-of-field and a shutter speed of 2.5 seconds at ISO 100 gave me an overall medium exposure.
What this image does not reveal is that beyond the confines of the narrow canyon, there were a couple inches of snow on the ground that made our adventure that day even more interesting.
Beautiful, Don. I’m already longing for the colors of Fall.
Hey Lynne. Thanks for your very kind comment. After this heat wave that seems intent upon blasting us like an oven, the colors of autumn and some modulated temperatures will, indeed, be welcome. Since we do not have cottonwoods in the Southeast, I suppose I’ll have to head West for relief in more ways than one. Stay safe and well. Walk in Beauty.