This one is exceedingly dear. Somehow it wouldn't do to call it "Detail, Escalante River..." or the like. The f/9 lens was wide open, just barely allowing sufficient shutter speed to prevent excessive movement in the river. The only depth of field involved was effectively obtained using the camera's ability to tilt the lens and film relative to one another. Anything either above or below the plane of focus (which is very carefully adjusted to be coincident with the surface of the mud) would be out of focus, as are the reflections. The moment came and went too quickly for a second good exposure.

The Escalante Basin was one of three places I had been by the time I made this picture which were notable for their lack of its inclusion in the National Park system, a serious oversight which has since been remedied by its inclusion in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.  It is the principal remnant of Glen Canyon, the magnificent section of the Colorado River and its side canyons drowned by the dam which I and many others consider to be the most loathsome work of man. Glen Canyon was probably the most beautiful place on Earth.