Reflection Canyon

Reflection Canyon, a side canyon of Lake Powell, is one of the most iconic views of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and a hotspot for landscape astrophotographers ever since National Geographic Magazine published images of it in 2006.

 

Although the canyon is accessible by boat, a sternous 16-mile hike is required to see it from above because of the 200-foot-high, unclimbable cliffs.

 

As Lake Powell's water level has dropped dramatically in recent years, the cliffs increasingly block the view of the meandering waters, making the view less attractive.

 

Although it had been on my list for some time, I did not plan to visit the canyon during my astrophotography trip in May. Then the weather in New Mexico turned sour on me, while the forecast was favorable further west. So, I changed my plans and took the opportunity to photograph the canyon while water levels still allowed the classic view.

 

The canyon did not disappoint, and the weather cooperated nicely, allowing me to capture the Milky Way arc over the iconic canyon.

 

EXIF

Canon EOS-R, astro-modified by Richard Galli from EOS 4Astro

Sigma 28mm f/1.4 ART

IDAS NBZ filter

iOptron SkyTracker Pro

 

Foreground:

Focus stacked panorama of 9 panels, each 5x 0.5s @ ISO100 during twilight.

 

Sky:

Panorama of 9 panels, each a stack of 7x 45s @ ISO1600, unfiltered & 3x 105s @ ISO6400, filtered

Done