Photographing Light Beams
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July 28, 2017
The above photo of a kiva in Pecos National Monument just outside of Santa Fe is an example of using light beams to give your photos a more dramatic effect. Typically these shafts of light are pretty muted and don't photograph particularly well. A trick you can use to accentuate them is to throw a handful of sand in the air, and for the next few seconds the reflection of the grains of sand will make the light beam come to life. Its important to take several pictures as the intensity of the reflection will fall off within a few seconds. This technique is commonly done by the Navajo guides in Antelope Canyon (see my earlier post) as well.
One important thing to remember is to grab a ziplock bag or some plastic to cover your camera from the sand that will be floating around, as it can get into your lens and cause serious damage. The first time I visited Antelope Canyon my lens jammed from all the fine sand swirling around, costing me the opportunity to take a lot more images as well as several hundred dollars worth of repairs. Also be sure to bring a soft cloth or brush to carefully wipe down your lens as this dust can build up fast.