Canyon de Chelly Cliff Curves B W 1993
by Connie Fox
Title
Canyon de Chelly Cliff Curves B W 1993
Artist
Connie Fox
Medium
Photograph - Outdoor Bw Photo
Description
The face of one of several hundred cliffs of steep canyon walls in Canyon de Chelly (duh shay) in Arizona, photographed on film and converted to BW grayscale. This National Monument lies within the borders of the Navajo Nation, near Chinle, in northeastern Arizona.
While this one has no obvious apartment-like structures carved out of the cliff, it does have crevices that may have served as shelters to some brave Anasazi whose fear of their enemies proved greater than their fear of heights. It also curves deeply into what could have been a great place for a small town. Not exactly Little House on the Prairie. But if you browse through my Arizona album, you will see the lengths (rather, heights!) to which the Anasazi went to be safe, secure, and protected. So I would not be at all surprised if a group of pueblos were hiding around the bend in this image.
The Anasazi civilization grew in the dry lands of the American Southwest. Called The Ancient People, they lived in groups of houses built along the sides or under the overhangs of cliffs. The Spanish later called these homes pueblos. Some of the structures look somewhat like apartments. Others are simple cliff ledges on which the Anasazi lived, and nearly all of these abodes were reached by ladder. The Anasazi, who also inhabited Mesa Verde, were excellent basket weavers, known to grow maize and pumpkin.
Though most people view the canyon from above, as I had done prior to this trip into the canyon in 1993, the only way to really see it is to get down into the canyon and let a guide escort you. I recommend the Jeep tour, though there are a few places where one would be allowed to explore without a guide. Be sure to check ahead of time.
Photographed in the summer of 1993 with a Minolta Freedom Escort and Kodak 200 film. Scanned from my original print. More images of Canyon de Chelly, along with Anasazi dwellings, can be found in my Arizona Gallery.
Copyright 1993-2014 Connie Steitz Fox
All Rights Reserved
Minolta Film Camera, Kodak film
Epson scan
FEATURED on the homepages of Black and White Images and Vertical Images, February 2022; The Grayscale Outdoors, May 2023.
Canyon de Chelly Cliff Curves BW 1993 by Connie Fox
Uploaded
August 18th, 2014
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Viewed 189 Times - Last Visitor from White Plains, NY on 03/25/2024 at 2:03 PM
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Comments (1)
Allan Van Gasbeck
Congratulations! Your outstanding artwork has been chosen as a FEATURE in the “The Gray Scale Outdoors” group on Fine Art America — You are invited to post your featured image to the featured image discussion thread as a permanent place to continue to get exposure even after the image is no longer on the Home Page.