The Totem Pole 🌌
During the night photography tour with Carl who was my Navajo guide we also made a stop to the Totem Pole which is another popular location in Monument Valley.
I normally like scouting astro locations during the day first to find my composition but since many locations at Monument Valley require a Navajo guide in order to visit up close I was forced to find my composition at night which wasn’t ideal. It’s a good thing my Sony camera has Bright View Monitoring which is like night vision.
I decided to use my 50mm lens for a zoomed in perspective of the Totem Pole. It’s not a mind-blowing composition much like my photo from my visit to The Big Hogan Arch but it was certainly another great memory of my visit to Monument Valley! Carl also took us to the buttes where I was planning on a Milky Way arch but sadly stray clouds ruined it ☹️.
The Totem Pole is a pillar or rock spire found in Monument Valley and is a highly eroded remnant of a butte. The Totem Pole rises next to a gathering of thicker spires the Navajo called Yei Bi Chei which means Navajo spiritual gods and is viewed as a formation of dancers emerging from a Hogan. A dance called the Yei Bi Chei dance originated in the valley and is performed for healing purposes in a very sacred nine-day ritual called the Night Way Ceremony.
TECHNIQUE/EXIF:
📷: Sony A7IV Astro-Modified by Life Pixel Infrared + Voigtlander APO-LANTHAR 50mm f/2 ⏱️: Single exposures both at ISO 12800, f/2, 1 second 👨💻: Used DxO PureRAW 3 to reduce noise in each exposure
During the night photography tour with Carl who was my Navajo guide we also made a stop to the Totem Pole which is another popular location in Monument Valley.
I normally like scouting astro locations during the day first to find my composition but since many locations at Monument Valley require a Navajo guide in order to visit up close I was forced to find my composition at night which wasn’t ideal. It’s a good thing my Sony camera has Bright View Monitoring which is like night vision.
I decided to use my 50mm lens for a zoomed in perspective of the Totem Pole. It’s not a mind-blowing composition much like my photo from my visit to The Big Hogan Arch but it was certainly another great memory of my visit to Monument Valley! Carl also took us to the buttes where I was planning on a Milky Way arch but sadly stray clouds ruined it ☹️.
The Totem Pole is a pillar or rock spire found in Monument Valley and is a highly eroded remnant of a butte. The Totem Pole rises next to a gathering of thicker spires the Navajo called Yei Bi Chei which means Navajo spiritual gods and is viewed as a formation of dancers emerging from a Hogan. A dance called the Yei Bi Chei dance originated in the valley and is performed for healing purposes in a very sacred nine-day ritual called the Night Way Ceremony.
TECHNIQUE/EXIF:
📷: Sony A7IV Astro-Modified by Life Pixel Infrared + Voigtlander APO-LANTHAR 50mm f/2 ⏱️: Single exposures both at ISO 12800, f/2, 1 second 👨💻: Used DxO PureRAW 3 to reduce noise in each exposure