A 10 member contingent of Sony’s Alpha Imaging Collective recently trekked through the desert landscape of northern Arizona to capture some of the finest views the American Southwest has to offer. opening with one of the most magnificent natural wonders in North America, the photographers first stopped for a few days to explore the south rim of the the Grand Canyon and even hiked down along South Kaibab Trail. Next the group headed to Page, Arizona where they had special access to the highly sought after slot canyons (including Antelope Canyon), a special perch above Horseshoe Bend, and a spectacular sunset and night session at remote Alstrom Point.

The desert provided the photographers of the Collective a nearly limitless shooting adventure that not only provided special access to several marquee sights of the Southwest, but also led them off the beaten path to discover some of the magnificent hidden treasures that offered a creative paradise away from the crowds.

 

A place dreams are made of, only I saw it with my own two eyes. . Captured on a recent expedition to @grandcanyonnps with the @sonyalpha #alphacollective. Shot on my a7R III + FE 70-200 F2.8 GM. Check out more from the trip: #AICdoesArizona (spoiler: you won’t be disappointed).

A post shared by Dan Joyce (@danjoyce) on Apr 26, 2018 at 9:48am PDT

 

Choosing to spend my life experiencing as much of this beautiful planet as I can is a life worth living in my opinion. When you get to step foot on land as beautiful as this, your mind expands and you start to see the world in a new way. When you expose yourself to different places, cultures, people and their traditions, you can't help but to grow. Travellers are a different breed of people. They are open, less judgemental, accepting, spontaneous, dream seekers and go getters. They tell the best stories of dreamy places like this one. To my travellers out there: Keep dreaming. Keep exploring. • • • Sony a7rII | 16 - 35 mm F4 | F 4.5 | 1/320 | ISO 100 • • • #aicdoesarizona #arizona #horseshoebend #unitedstates #travel #wanderlust #naturephotography

A post shared by Kristen Sarah (@hopscotchtheglobe) on Apr 20, 2018 at 8:43am PDT

 

? balance ? #AICDoesArizona . #SonyAlpha a7Riii + @tokinausa FiRIN 20mm f/2 . . . . . . . #GlenCanyon #FindYourPark #NationalParksAtNight #NationalParkGeek #nationalparks #nps100 #milkywaychasers #milkyway #longexposure #longexposure_shots #astrophotography #livetheadventure #adventuretime #lifeofadventure #takemoreadventures #beautifuldestinations #adventureculture #adventurevisuals #traveltheworld #grandstaircaseescalante #hypebeast #artofvisuals #moodygrams #livefolk #visualsoflife #igmaster #sonyimages #EarthDay

A post shared by MICHAEL HOLLENDER (@mrhollender) on Apr 22, 2018 at 12:21pm PDT

 

navajo land. | #aicdoesarizona

A post shared by Humza Deas (@humzadeas) on Apr 23, 2018 at 11:08am PDT

 

Photographer pickup lines in case you need better game... - Random cute girl on trail (RCGOT): OMG I like your cameras! I want to get one, what kind should I get?!? Me: the one that rhymes with my name, Tony (pointing to the Sony Label on camera) RCGOT: My friend said to get a Canon but you're cuter than him and your lens is so big. But Why do you have two? Me: (holding up the 70-200mm GM in my left hand then 12-24mm G in my right) Because I like it when I'm long and wide RCGOT: (uncontrollable giggling) Me: (dohhh Tones, why did you say it like that, dude... what should I do now, how bout awkwardly twist your wedding band and maybe she'll stop) RCGOT: (still giggling while playing with her hair) Me: I didn't mean it like that but yeahhhh you should get a Sony RCGOT: Oh I'll be getting a Sony alright Me: There's nothing that will satisfy you more (walks away - #aicdoesarizona #alphacollective #a7riii 12-24G

A post shared by Tony Bennett for Senate (@tony.bennett) on Apr 23, 2018 at 5:52pm PDT

 

#MH_STORYTELLERTIP / 007 / DYNAMIC RANGE BEAST ↓ Hey Storytellers! I wanted to share another visual story from the #aicdoesarizona trip with the @sonyalpha #alphacollective last week! Do you know what dynamic range is? Don’t worry I did some research for you, just to make sure my response is accurate. I also watched a very informative video from @irablockphoto on Alphauniverse.com, which I highly recommended you check out! Dynamic range is the ratio between the lightest and darkest regions of a photo. This image was taken with my new A7Riii, with a 16-35mm F2.8 GM lens attached. When we arrived most of what seems to be the shadowy areas of this photo, were even darker! Because of the incredible sensor in the @sony A7Riii, I was able to recover an incredible amount of detail from the shadows that was present in the raw file. This camera also has 15 stops of dynamic range, which I knew I could depend on for a situation like this. Sometimes areas of photos can be over or underexposed, because of a creative compromises you have to make. That’s when you have to rely on the dynamic range in your camera, and your skills in post to bring that detail back. If this information was valuable to you in any way, leave a like and a comment telling me your thoughts! It really helps! Tags: #sonyalpha #passionpassport #lppathfinders #lonelyplanet @lonelyplanet #loweprostorytellers #beautifuldestinations @beautifuldestinations #livebravely #theweekoninstagram #iamatraveller #tlpicks #stayandwander @stayandwander #earthcapture @instagram #earthonlocation @bbcearth #bbctravel #lovetheworld @bbctravel @thenorthface #yourshotphotographer #cnntravel @cnntravel @adobe @lightroom #adobe_naturalstate #lr_earth #adobestudents_inbloom @earth @adobecreativecloud #creativecloud_terra #utah #alstrompoint #yesvisitutah @visitutah

A post shared by Mic-Anthony Hay (@micanthonyhay) on Apr 28, 2018 at 4:24pm PDT

 

This is slot canyon Arizona. We managed to shoot at the end of the canyon and had it all to ourselves for a couple hours. This was shot using Sony a 7RIII and 12–24mm G series lens. Can anyone else see the ? face in the mountain? #aicdoesarizona . . . . . . #beautifuldestinations #arizona #sonyalpha #alphacollective #sonyimages -#travelandleisure #explorearizona #astrophotography #nationalpark #nightphotography #pose #sony #a7riii #gtechnology #wildernessculture #beautifuldestinations #horseshoebendtours

A post shared by GreggJaden (@gjaden) on Apr 24, 2018 at 3:52pm PDT

 

“Grand Views” I loved the way this old tree framed the shot over the Grand Canyon. The views are so epic that it’s easy to overlook the fascinating foreground along the hiking trails. Shot on my Sony A7RIII (aka my precious) with the 24-70 mm G Master f/2.8. #AICdoesArizona #AlphaCollective

A post shared by Rachel - Astralis Photography (@rachel_jones_ross) on May 1, 2018 at 4:20pm PDT

 

For me, this was the most inspiring moment of the #AICdoesArizona trip. To hear one of our Navajo tour guides play the traditional flute in Antelope Canyon was amazing and something I would have never thought was possible years ago when I was stuck in my alcoholism. Thankfully once I quit drinking, I picked up a camera and the rest is destiny. . #alphacollective #sonyalpha #ourplanetdaily #beautifuldestinations #wonderfulplaces #earthfocus #wildernessculture #earthpix #visualsoflife #awesomeearth #modernoutdoors #theimaged #artofvisuals #visualsofearth #sonyimages #sonyalphasclub #way2ill #agameoftones #ig_color #createcommune #weekly_feature #fatalframes #visualambassadors #madewithmefoto #gramslayers #eclectic_shotz #theimaged #usaprimeshot #depthsofearth

A post shared by Andrew Eggers (@andreweggers) on Apr 29, 2018 at 6:38pm PDT

 

@micanthonyhay is actually beginning a new career as a professional cliff-model. I think he’s off to a pretty great start! Shot with the A7iii, 12-24mm f/4.0 G. #alphacollective #aicdoesarizona

A post shared by Nate Luebbe (@nateinthewild) on Apr 27, 2018 at 10:45am PDT