Spooky Gulch, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA
Featured in “AMERICA’s National Parks and WILDLIFE Habitat” – June 2009.
A very narrow slot canyon appropriately named Spooky Gulch twists and turns for several hundred meters through a dry desert landscape. Its walls tower many meters overhead while the opening in front of you seems to get smaller and smaller. Those hikers that are both brave and thin enough to fit through will find that they are able to make it to the opposite side. At its narrowest point, the little canyon is only about 30 centimeters wide!
[Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument website]
[Spooky Gulch info and photos]
Copyright © 2004 Brian W. Schaller – All rights reserved. Copies, reproductions and altered versions are not permitted.
Spooky Gulch, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA belongs to the following groups:
Achromatic Nature, AMERICA's National Parks and WILDLIFE Habitat, American Southwest , Film Photography, National Parks of the World, Rocks and Stones and Utah Landscapes Available for sale asMatted Prints, Laminated Prints, Mounted Prints, Canvas Prints, Framed Prints and Posters
Megan Owens
Awesome shot Brian. I love that you have chosen black and white for this image. Because the landscape in this area is so rich and vibrant, most would have chosen color. The contrast is exquisite.
Cheers,
MO
Rosina Lamberti
love this brian,looks awesome in b/w
berisme
great movement and contrast!...keeps your eye moving through out the piece….great shot!
salsbells69
Excellent shot. Well done on the B&W.
GeoGecko
The pebbles in the middle bed seem to have bulges behind one side of them giving an allusion of movement. Is this bulge a real feature or is it the result of shadows?
Brian W. Schaller replied
not sure what you mean…the pebbly surfaces are real and there are pockmarks all around too, but the dark areas below the pebbles are just shadows from the overhead light. cheers
GeoGecko
OK, the shadows give, to my eye, a kind of motion effect – almost as if that part is rushing towards the camera. Just a trick of ?my eye and the play of the shadows.
Brian W. Schaller replied
yes, i see that now too! it’s an interesting effect, but not due to real motion since the camera was on a tripod because of the low light conditions in this very narrow canyon. i did not zoom the lens during the exposure either :)
being a geologist, i’m sure you’d love to explore this place. cheers
stephaniek
What color is this normally? Nice photo!
Brian W. Schaller replied
it’s a reddish-brown sandstone. thanks for the comment! cheers
Lynda Berlin
Does seem to have an eerie movement to it…a space ship rocketing through a galaxy. Like it!
Tom Vaughan
wonderful capture… such great texture on the walls, and the B&W lets the curves shine!
niggle
awesome shot, well captured
Lenka
Wonderful photograph, nice in B&W, great structures, lovely shadows!
Marion Chapman
just incredible – from the design to the colour to the angle. huge wow!!!
Dayonda
Wonderful photo!
The pebbles have little raised areas behind them because—The little canyon was originally water eroded and the direction of flow is from where you have your camera.
The pebbles provide a small windbreak that shelters the wtone behind it. In front of each pebble, there’s a tiny scooped-out spot where there was turbulance as the water crashed into the pebble’s resistance. Wind will keep up the erosion, but it looks almost identical to the water erosion.
Sharon Johnstone
I love this image!! Great shot
Scott d'Almeida
outstanding,
Jono Winnel
Hi, im an admin for the group Achromatic Nature, we’d love to have your image in our group.
cheers
jono