Photography in Canyon de Chelly

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Thursday, 19 October 2023 - Drove up Canyon de Chelly with stops at Standing Rock to photograph high petroglyphs, Cottonwood groves, and Elephant Rock, explored White House Ruins with its cliff dwellings, visited Newspaper Rock, then photographed Navajo guides and local families including Jacque Hunter and her grandchildren, explored nearby sand dunes with horse rides for photo opportunities, and ended the day at Spider Rock Overlook at sunset capturing the iconic 700-foot spire.

arizona2023 — Our first stop was Standing Rock, a sacred site with many petroglyphs.

These petroglyphs were high on Standing Rock - over 50 feet up the rock wall.

arizona2023 — Cliff face cracked by the seasons.

arizona2023 — A wave on the rock wall.

arizona2023 — This is one of two faces which can be seen in the profile of Standing Rock.

arizona2023 — Lower on Standing Rock are these hunters on horseback.

arizona2023 — Very low and behind a bolder is the "centipede".

arizona2023 — A tree thriving next to the red rock cliff.

arizona2023 — Sun reaching into the canyon and lighting up the trees.

arizona2023 — The higher petroglyphs in the sunlight.

arizona2023 — We stopped in a stand of Cottonwood trees to photograph the colors and the early sunlight.

arizona2023 — Across the creek was Elephant Rock.

arizona2023 — A small window at the top of the canyon wall.

arizona2023 — Our next stop was at White House Ruins. Named White House due to the pale mortar used in construction. There are ruins on the ground level and high in the canyon wall.

arizona2023 — Nice Cottonwood near the cliff wall - Cottonwood trees grow close as the creek come up against the cliff wall.

arizona2023 — When the dwelling was occupied, from 1060 A.D. until about 1260 A.D., there were as many as 80 rooms, multiple generations of multiple families living in this castle in a cave with a view. The residents used ladders to reach the alcove, and the relative inaccessibility was a natural defense against marauders from other tribes, as well as protection from the flash floods that periodically roar down the canyon.

arizona2023 — Leveraging the Cottonwood tree to frame White House Ruins.

arizona2023 — A black and white of the ruins.

arizona2023 — The workshop team and Navajo guides/drivers in front of White House Ruins.

arizona2023 — As we were leaving the canyon we stopped by Newspaper Rock - a rock cliff covered with petroglyphs.

arizona2023 — More from Newspaper Rock.

arizona2023 — We then went back to the park entrance to photograph a couple of models with lights.

First up was James Yazzie who was my jeep driver on our trip into the canyon at the beginning of the day. He happened to mention that he had a medicine man regalia and would be happy to pose for us.

arizona2023 — He looks great in all the eagle feathers - he has collected them his whole life.

arizona2023 — Next up was the pretty Sierra Joe who has long flowing hair which was picked up by the lights.

arizona2023 — We were also able to take pictures of Sierra in natural light.

arizona2023 — We then traveled to Jacque Hunter's home for a photo shoot of her and her grandchildren.

This is Daisy and Naomi (granddaughters) in the entrance to an old hogan.

arizona2023 — Daisy and Naomi standing in the hogan doorway - they were pretty good models as we all took several pictures.

arizona2023 — Then the whole family got in the picture. Jacque Hunter, her daughter, granddaughters, and little grandson, JJ in front of the hogan.

arizona2023 — Daisy and Naomi demonstrate how the long silky hair is combed and wrapped.

arizona2023 — We drove to an area of sand dunes where the sun and sand made some nice pictures.

arizona2023 — Ripples in the sand.

arizona2023 — An odd little dune.

arizona2023 — There was some wind and here the sand blows off the top of a dune.

arizona2023 — A rock at the edge of the sand dune field.

arizona2023 — The dunes and shadows.

arizona2023 — Hard to imagine how the wind can create some of the dune formations.

arizona2023 — Lots of sand.

arizona2023 — Kyler rode Rain into the dune area for us.

arizona2023 — Kyler rode rain along a ridge which offered us some great shots.

arizona2023 — The sand was deep and Rain had to really work to climb a small hill.

arizona2023 — Kyler and Rain walking with their shadows.

arizona2023 — A Navajo on a horse looking over Navajo Land.

arizona2023 — For sunset, we set up at Spider Rock Overlook. The sun still reached into the canyon touching the top of Spider Rock.

arizona2023 — Chinle Creek reflecting the sun on the rock wall.

arizona2023 — Spider Rock rises 700 feet above the floor of the canyon.

It's named for Spider Woman, a key figure in Navajo lore who is the constant helper and protector of humans. Spider Woman is also said to cast her web like a net to capture and eat misbehaving children. The white color at the tops of the pillars comes from the bones of those naughty Navajo children.

arizona2023 — The sun has set and Spider Rock stands tall. It is amazing to consider the erosion which leaves the tall spire.

arizona2023 — Looking into the canyon past Spider Rock. The rock stands at the confluence of Canyon de Chelly (straight ahead) and Monument Canyon (coming from the right).

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