I first learned about slot canyons in the desert southwest of the US from a Dewitt Jones video that I had used during my management consulting career. I was taken with the color, texture, lighting and seemingly endless curves, twists, turns and forms visible in these subterranean marvels.

After learning of and joining a photography workshop that included a couple of slot canyons in the Page, AZ area on its itinerary, I had my first opportunity to photograph my interpretation of what I had first seen in that video years prior.

The shooting conditions inside the canyon were challenging. I was particularly aware of the exposure triangle and planned my settings to optimize tones, depth of focus and dynamic range. Fortunately, I was able to use a tripod in this particular canyon (some of the commercial canyons do not), so aperture priority was the mode I shot in. I selected a higher ISO of 320 to reduce the shutter speed a bit.

Finding interesting compositions was not as easy as one might think, as seemingly infinite possibilities exist laterally as well as vertically. My head was literally on a swivel as I slowly walked into and through the canyon, trying to be selective while giving myself time to really absorb and appreciate what my eyes were seeing.

This particular shot was taken vertically in a portion of the canyon where the sky was not visible, yielding beautiful, soft and indirect light. On my knees, I spun around in a circle on the soft sand floor of the canyon, looking for a perspective that captured the sense of movement I perceived in the spiralling walls above me. This is the perspective I chose.