Voice of Fire
Antelope Canyon, Navajo Territory, Near Arizona, USA -- 1997
Hélène Lawler


This is a slot canyon: a narrow, water sculpted, underground riverbed in the desert on the Navaho Reserve. Without a guide, you would walk right over it and never know it was there. Here, I met a well-known professional photographer who invited me to join him. Nearly 60 feet underground, the bare eye sees only grey, but the camera records the vibrant colour of the rock. One week later, the ominous clouds I had seen on the horizon produced a flash flood, killing 11 people where I had stood to take this beautiful shot.
 

© 2002 The Fletcher School, Tufts University