Title – “The Guardian”

Even though I had previously published this image as a color photo, I was never happy with the blue cast that was present in the upper half of the image. I thought that converting it to a black and white not only solved this problem, but accentuated the rock face as well as making it look older.

On 10/15/2009 we visited the Walnut Canyon National Park. This 600-foot deep canyon, located on a densely-wooded plateau just 8 miles southeast of Flagstaff in the Coconio National Forest, was carved by the small seasonal stream called Walnut Creek as it flowed east, eventually joining the Little Colorado Rover en route to the Grand Canyon. The exposed Kaibab limestone that forms the upper third of the canyon walls occurs in various layers of slightly differing hardness, some of which have eroded more rapidly forming shallow alcoves; during the 12th to 13th centuries they were used by the local Sinagua Indians who constructed cave-dwellings along the steep well-protected ledges, high above the canyon floor. Just to get down to the level containing the dozens of cliff houses in this river canyon, one must first descend more than 225 feet. As I was taking the picture below, just off the pathway that passes in front of these ancient cliff houses, I looked up at the natural overhang that was part of the “ceiling” of the cliff house and the composition above came into view. By backing up just a few steps, I caught this angle which looked like the profile of a face, staring down into the canyon.this image. Worn by hundreds of years of natural erosion, it could only be seen by standing in just the right spot, at just the right angle; I was the only one who visualized it. Most people walked by just beneath it without ever noticing its unique beauty.