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AssetID: 35132457

Headline: The Secret Canyon: Photographer Explores Arizona's Best Kept Secret

Caption: A photographer has captured spectacular images of inside one of Arizona's secret canyons - and unexpectedly snapped the Milky Way during the process. The Secret Canyon, also known as Horseshoe Bend Canyon, is located in Page, Arizona, and is a series of elegantly curved narrow walkways coloured in 50 shades of red that look like they're from another planet. Dave Stevenson took the trip to the caves with only five other people, and travelled 40 minutes off-road to get to the scenic slots. Usually heaving with tourists, the group got lucky and had the once-in-a-lifetime experience of being able to explore the caves by themselves. "Shooting in slot canyons is really challenging – there’s such a huge range of light, from really dark shadows to incredible bright highlights, and the light changes from one second to the next, so new images are constantly revealing themselves," Dave explains. "Dust is also a huge challenge – the days I was there we had warnings of 40 mile per hour winds – since you’re in the canyon you don’t worry too much, but what it means is that the sand from the desert above the canyon is constantly raining down on you. My total repair bill for the shoot came to about £600 and I think my tripod still has sand in it to this day!" Once midnight arrived, Stevenson hit the jackpot as he was able to capture spectacular images of the Milky Way, sitting perfectly between the cave openings. "The night shoot was even more incredible. The canyon itself was totally silent and a bit spooky," Dave continues. "Because the nearest source of light is the town of Page, Arizona, well over the horizon, the starts in the sky were crystal clear. Each shot took a long time to set up – finding a nice composition with the canyon in the foreground, then getting the light on the canyon walls perfect mean there was real value on being there on our own. Even if it meant being occasionally startled by someone accidentally creeping up behind you!"

Keywords: feature,photo feature,photo story,explore,travel,wanderlust,cave,Grand Canyon

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