The Waiting Man

Who knew photography could be so geo & socio - political?

Antelope Canyon, near page, Arizona, has become an Instagram-famous, must-see (or at least, must-be-seen-at) photo opportunity, in much the same way as Hyams Beach & Wedding Cake Rock have, in recent years. And just like those places, the locals & the local infrastructure are struggling to cope with the influx of tourists, all looking for that shot... the one you'll see on hundreds, if not thousands, of Instagram accounts, Facebook pages etc... so much so, that there is an Instagram page called Insta-Repeat that highlights the same idea, the same pose, in the same location, for many of these scenic hotspots

I'd never even heard of Wedding Cake Rock, or Hyams Beach before all the fuss & press they gained from being Insta-famous, despite both locations being a relatively short distance from home. By the time L-SP & I decided to go see what was so good about Wedding Cake Rock, the National Parks Service had erected a fence around it, as they were worried about its rate of erosion & looking to prevent someone's photo of the rock featuring it tumbling into the Pacific Ocean, along with someone doing a handstand on it & another flashing a 'peace' sign as they headed to oblivion. Apparently, people still climb over the fence for a photo though... The residents of Jervis Bay, where Hyams Beach is just one of many idyllic places, are getting jack of not being able to park at their local shops, or even in their own street or driveway... & sometimes even in their own town (!!?) in Summer, due to the number of visitors

Of course, on the other hand, there's a lot of financial & employment benefits that come from these places becoming so popular, so nobody can really complain too much, but it must be a logistical nightmare for a small town that's used to dealing with only a handful of residents & the occasional lost tourist on their way to somewhere else, to all of a sudden having to install bathroom facilities, build motels, upgrade roads, negotiate better coverage from our Nation's woeful NBN & fend off offers from various fast-food giants to build restaurants in, or on top of, the local shopping strip, all because a photo of something they see every day, has 'gone viral'... There's a lookout at the end of my street which has a beautiful view of Sydney Harbour, the Pacific Ocean beyond it & a panorama from Manly on the left, to Bondi on the right. No, I'm not telling you where it is!!!

At least Hyams Beach & Wedding Cake Rock don't have any cultural significance for our indigenous Australians (*... that I'm aware of...), unlike the current shitstorm over Uluru & its indigenous custodians finally banning climbing of the rock, after years of politely asking people not to, as it is a sacred place to them. Of course, all the right-wing shock-jocks & political nutjobs are up in arms about it, insisting it's an assault on their freedom to go wherever & do whatever they want, whatever the cost & consequences for other people who don't really matter anyway. Reading the article about Antelope Canyon & the Navajo who live there, it must be an existential & cultural crisis for them - needing the income quite desperately, but also dealing with the spiritual nature of the place & having to be nice to thousands of the white people who forced them off their land not so long ago The Aboriginal people of Uluru must feel precisely the same

L-SP & I did visit Antelope Canyon in 2016, with a Navajo touring company. Our guide, Gibb, was actually quite informative about the Navajo's relationship with the area & was also quite proficient on a native flute, whose sound reverberated around the canyon walls beautifully. Thinking back to that day, I really hope I didn't come across as just another white guy looking for the perfect Instagram opportunity. I certainly didn't take any selfies!!!