April 8, 2016 / Tim Shields

The deep and silent depths of this Arizona slot canyon contain untold mysteries. Only the howling wind, the grinding sand and the long forgotten torrents of rushing water can tell the stories of what has happened inside this lonely place for the past thousands of years. I set up my tripod and camera at this location where the elements have cut a swath through the solid rock 50 feet deep. A beam of sunlight streamed down like a spotlight from the top surface over our heads when our Navajo guide began playing on a wooden flute. The haunting high pitched sounds echoed back and forth throughout the tight confines of this canyon, and when he was finished he took a handful of sand and threw it into the sun beam. That was when I clicked the shutter. It was haunting. It was magical. And it is why I love landscape photography.