So for the last couple of weeks, I’ve been sharing images I made while out in the Arizona desert.  I mentioned that I had met my friend here for the express purpose of photographing the Milky Way in dark skies, but I also just wanted to do some exploring around to see what we could find that hasn’t been shot to death.  In a world with platforms like Instagram and others, it’s hard to feel like you’re creating anything unique… especially when you’re visiting places that are popular.  This trip, we went to a place neither of us had ever heard of.  I had rented a jeep, and so we took off one afternoon just out into the desert.  We had seen signs for a few canyons, and so Allen and just decided to drive until we found something cool… or didn’t feel like the rental car could make it any further.  Turns out we found both! 🙂  

The further we got back into the canyons, the more washed out the trail got, so I finally just pulled over and we explored around.  The area was stunning.  As I was standing on top of a rock I started noticing that it looked like the sun was going to set right in the gap of the two mountains!  Luck was on our side, so we decided to hang out till sunset and see what happened.  I really like the way this image worked out with the light filtering up the canyon at the camera.

–Dan Thompson

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