Cosmic Rift

The guide turned up twenty-five minutes late, which did not inspire confidence. What we got in exchange was the entire canyon at ten at night with four people in it — the guide, my wife, one other photographer and me.

It’s cool in there after dark in early spring, and a little eerie. The spiders were out; there was a tarantula sitting near the back exit. The guide had brought an electric lantern to put some light on the walls, and beyond that we had free run of the place for about an hour and a half, shooting from outside looking in, from inside looking out, and straight up through the slot at the sky.

This one is looking out of the main entrance. That brighter patch low in the sky isn’t dawn or moonlight — it’s Page, putting out enough light to register from inside a canyon.

I was new to astrophotography and had done my reading beforehand, so I knew roughly where the limit was: twenty seconds at 10mm, single frame, pushed as far as I could take it before the stars started to trail. It’s still one of the most unusual nights of photography I’ve had.

Same day as Stone Tsunami and Monument Sunrise, both from the photo tour earlier that afternoon.