High School Photo Winner's Showcase

School: High Tech Los Angeles

Teacher: Mr. Merril

This photo was taken in Arizona’s Antelope canyon. It was taken from the inside of the canyon with the camera facing the top of the canyon. Floods, rain, and a windy environment began to form the inside of the canyon. Over the course of many years the water from the floods and the wind formed the narrow pathway in the canyon. As seen in the photo, sunlight enters through the top of the canyon. The light shines down on the rocks and the sand, both containing mineral deposits. The mineral deposits that are inside the rocks and the sand are different colors. This allows the light to change the color of the rocks and sand. The light changes the color by reflecting off of most of the minerals. The reflection of the light displays a variety of colors across the surface of the rocks and sand. This concept of light reflection is connected with the concept of diffuse reflection. Diffuse reflection is when light reflects off of an object at multiple angles instead of one single point. It is also when light reflects off of a rough surface, resulting in light beams bouncing off in many directions. Since most of the mineral deposits in the sand and rocks have rough surfaces, the reflection bounces off into many directions. In result, the rocks and sand in the canyon help display a variation of color in the canyon.