Sandstone Hour
Slot-canyon workshops · Page, Arizona
Upper slot, 11:02 amf/8 · 2s · ISO 200 · 16mm
Looking up, 11:40 amf/11 · 1/4 · ISO 100 · 14mm
Next open Thu Apr 8 · 7:00 am MST · $340 · Book★★★★★ 4.9 · 212 reviewsLicensed Navajo guide6 photographers maxPhones welcomeLoaner tripods
Two walls, a strip of sky, and the forty minutes the sun stands over it.
Morning photo workshops in the slot canyons outside Page, for six photographers at a time. You arrive with a camera or a phone; you leave with the beam, the glow, and the know-how to blend a ten-stop scene into one frame.
The canyons are on Navajo Nation land, and every workshop is walked in by Harlan Begay, a licensed Navajo guide from LeChee. He leads, he decides when we go in, and the canyon is his to tell about.
The hour · Thu Apr 8 · Page time, MST
One morning, 7:00 to 1:15
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Coffee in Page
Six of us around one table. The settings sheet: bracket five frames two stops apart, f/8 to f/11, ISO 100 to 200, white balance on daylight. Lens bags go on now, not in the canyon.
The wash outside town, 6:50 am · f/11 · 1/125 · ISO 100 -
LeChee, with Harlan
We drive ten minutes onto Navajo Nation land and meet Harlan at the gate. He checks the sky upstream, walks us through the rules of the canyon, and from here he leads.
Walking in behind Harlan · f/8 · 1/250 · ISO 200 -
The glow
No sun on the floor yet, only light bounced from wall to wall. This is the hour of violet and orange, and of abstracts: a 35 or 50mm, the walls filling the frame, nothing else.
The walls, 9:40 am · f/11 · 1.6s · ISO 100 · 35mm -
Waiting for it
Harlan knows where the first beam lands, to the step. Tripods go down there, legs low, cameras bagged, the frame composed on an empty patch of sand.
Ready for the beam · f/8 · 1/2 · ISO 200 · 16mm -
The beam
A shaft of sun reaches the floor. Harlan throws a handful of sand into it and for two seconds the light becomes a thing you can photograph. Everyone gets their own throw.
Upper slot, 11:02 am · f/8 · 2s · ISO 200 · 16mm -
Looking up
The beam drifts and thins. Turn the widest lens straight up: the walls fold toward a strip of blue, and the exposure is easy again.
Looking up, 11:40 am · f/11 · 1/4 · ISO 100 · 14mm -
Walking out
Shake out the sand, and only then unbag the lenses. Harlan tells us what he wants us to know about the canyon on the way out, and the rest stays his.
The crack from above · f/11 · 1/200 · ISO 100 · 24mm -
One frame each
Lunch in Page. Each of us brings one frame to the laptop and we blend the brackets together, so you go home knowing how, not just with the files.
Striations, 10:05 am · f/11 · 2.5s · ISO 100 · 70mm
Workshops
Four ways in
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f/8 · 2s · ISO 200 Late March to early October · 7:00 am to 2:00 pm
The beam morning
The whole morning on this page: the glow, the beam at its hour, looking up, and the edit over lunch. Six photographers, Imogen and Harlan.
$340a photographerBook
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f/11 · 1/30 · ISO 100 Late March to early October · the morning plus sunset
Beam and Horseshoe Bend
The beam morning, then the rim of Horseshoe Bend two hours before sunset, with a spot picked for the river and a 16mm that fits it all in.
$460a photographerBook
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f/11 · 3.2s · ISO 100 November to early March · 9:30 am to 1:00 pm
Winter glow
No beams in winter: the sun sits too low to reach the floor. What you get instead is the softest glow of the year and the canyon at its quietest.
$260a photographerBook
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f/11 · 2.5s · ISO 100 All year · your date, your pace
A private morning
Imogen and Harlan for you alone: a long lens, a portrait in the light, or the same six frames until they are right.
$1,100up to three of youBook
Every price includes the Navajo Nation permit and guide fees, the drive from Page, loaner tripods and lens bags. Gratuity for Harlan is welcome and never expected.
The season
When the light reaches the floor
- JanGlow only
- FebGlow only
- MarFrom the 25thShort, slanted
- Apr11:15–12:15Slanted
- May10:45–12:45
- Jun10:30–1:00Straight down
- Jul10:30–1:00Monsoon
- Aug10:45–12:45Monsoon
- Sep11:00–12:30
- OctTo the 7thShort, slanted
- NovGlow only
- DecGlow only
The beams come when the sun is high enough to shine straight down a crack a few feet wide: from late March to early October, around the middle of the day. June and July are the strongest, the beam reaching the floor almost vertical.
The rest of the year, the canyon glows. No beam, no crowds, and the softest color of the year. The monsoon, July to September, brings flash-flood closures; Harlan’s family makes that call, and it’s always the right one.
Coming mornings · meet 7:00 am MST in Page
- ThuApr 8The beam morning4 of 6 left
- SatApr 17Beam and Horseshoe Bend2 of 6 left
- ThuMay 6The beam morning6 of 6 left
- SunMay 23The beam morningFull · waitlist
- ThuJun 10Beam and Horseshoe Bend3 of 6 left
- MonJun 21The beam morning1 of 6 left
Who walks us in
Navajo land, Navajo guide
The canyon is not ours. We are guests on it, every morning.
The slot canyons around Page are on Navajo Nation land, and they are entered only with a licensed Navajo guide. Ours is Harlan Begay, who has guided in these canyons since he was nineteen, for the outfit his family runs out of LeChee.
Imogen teaches the camera. Harlan leads: when we go in, where we stand, when we walk out, and whether the canyon opens at all after rain upstream. What he tells you about the canyon on the way out is his to share, and we don’t retell it here.
- Stay behind Harlan, in single file
- No climbing, and no gear against the walls
- No drones, inside or above
- Pack out everything, even a lens cap’s worth
Work
Frames, in pairs
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Upper slot, 11:02 amf/8 · 2s · ISO 200 · 16mm Looking up, 11:40 amf/11 · 1/4 · ISO 100 · 14mm -
Thrown sand, 11:20 amf/8 · 1.3s · ISO 200 · 18mm Striations, 10:05 amf/11 · 2.5s · ISO 100 · 70mm -
The walls, 9:40 amf/11 · 1.6s · ISO 100 · 35mm January, 11:30 amf/11 · 3.2s · ISO 100 · 24mm -
From the rim, 7:40 amf/11 · 1/200 · ISO 100 · 24mm Horseshoe Bend, sunsetf/11 · 1/30 · ISO 100 · 16mm
Prints of any frame here, on matte cotton rag, 16 × 24 in for $280, signed and shipped from Page. Ask on the morning, or text Imogen.
Journal
Imogen Hale
My first beam came out as a white stripe on a black frame.
I came to Page in 2010 to cook on a houseboat on Lake Powell for one summer. On a day off in June 2011 a friend lent me a camera and I followed a tour into a slot. The beam came at 11:20. I shot it at 1/250 like a sunny day, and the walls went black.
I went back fourteen times that summer to understand why: the floor is ten stops darker than the sky, and no single frame holds both. Bracket, blend, keep the lens in a bag. By 2014 other photographers were asking me how.
I met Harlan in 2015, walking in behind him with a tripod, and in 2016 we ran the first workshop together, four people and one throw of sand each. We still keep it small: six photographers, so that I can kneel by every tripod before the beam comes.
Imogen
- Since 2011shooting the slots
- 900+mornings walked in behind Harlan
- 6photographers, at most
What you need
Phone or camera
If you only have a phone
- It’s enough. Phone sensors handle the glow beautifully. We show you how to lock exposure on the bright wall and let the shadows fall.
- Use the main lens. The ultra-wide is tempting; it’s also the noisiest in the dark. Step back instead.
- We bring a phone clamp for a tripod, so the beam can be a half-second frame.
If you bring a camera
- Any camera with bracketing and your widest lens: 14 to 24mm for the beam, a 35 or 50 for the walls.
- One lens, no changes inside. The air is full of fine sand. Pick your lens in the truck.
- A tripod, or one of ours with a remote, free. Low legs, so the beam lands high in the frame.
- Group
- Six photographers, Imogen and Harlan.
- Walking
- About a mile on soft sand, a few steel stairs. Easy, slow, cool inside.
- Heat
- Over 100°F on top in July. Bring a liter of water and a hat.
- Age
- Ten and up, with a parent on the same booking.
Reviews
4.9 from 212 photographers
“I flew in from Lyon for this one morning. The beam lasted maybe twenty minutes and I had my tripod in exactly the right place for all of them.”
Céline R.The beam morning, June“I only brought my phone. Imogen showed me how to lock exposure on the bright wall and my sister thought I’d bought a new camera.”
Danny O.The beam morning, May“I shoot weddings for a living and still learned something: bag the lens before you get out of the truck. Harlan’s timing with the sand is unreal.”
Priya M.Beam and Horseshoe Bend, August“We went in January expecting less. The glow was the softest light I’ve ever photographed, and we had the canyon nearly to ourselves.”
Walt and June K.Winter glow, January
Where
Page, Arizona
- From Flagstaff
- About 2 hours 15 minutes north on US 89.
- From Las Vegas or Phoenix
- About 4 hours 30 minutes. Arrive the day before; 7:00 am comes early.
- Flying in
- Page has a small airport with flights from Phoenix. Most guests drive from a bigger city.
- The clock
- Page is on MST, UTC−7, all year. Your phone may jump an hour on Navajo land in summer; ignore it, we run on Page time.
Questions
Before you come
Can I go into the canyon without a Navajo guide?
No. The slot canyons near Page are on Navajo Nation land, and entry is only with a licensed Navajo guide. Every Sandstone Hour workshop goes in with Harlan, and his family’s outfit holds the permit. The Navajo Nation permit and guide fees are in the price.
What time zone are your times in?
Page time: Arizona, MST, UTC−7, all year. Arizona keeps no daylight saving, but the Navajo Nation does, so from March to November a clock on Navajo land reads an hour later than ours. Every time we send you is Page time, and Harlan works to it.
What if it’s cloudy?
A cloudy morning means no beam but a deeper glow, and we still go in. If you booked for the beam and the sun stays hidden, you can move once free to another open morning this season.
What if it rains?
In the monsoon, July to September, rain far upstream can send a flash flood through the slot. Harlan’s family closes the canyon when there’s any risk, and that call is final. If they close it, your morning moves free or your money comes back in full.
When are the beams?
From late March to early October, around the middle of the day, when the sun is high enough to reach the floor. June and July are the strongest. The rest of the year the canyon glows instead.
How does the $100 deposit work?
It holds your place and comes off the price; the rest is due on the morning. Move your date once for free up to a week before.
Book
Hold a morning
Pick a workshop and a morning. $100 holds each place, and Imogen texts you the meet point, the settings sheet and Harlan’s weather call the day before. Booking from abroad? Every time is Page time, MST, UTC−7.
Beam morning $340 · with Horseshoe Bend $460 · winter glow $260 · private $1,100
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