This image starts a series from Tucson's "slot canyon." The Environmental Sciences building on the University of Arizona campus was designed to have the character of an Arizona slot canyon. Since I've spent considerable time photographing actual slot canyons on the Colorado Plateau, I thought it would be interesting to approach photographing this place with the same mindset. I wasn't exactly sure what that meant at first, but, like many situations, if I pay attention while things unfold, I eventually learn what I need to know.

One characteristic of slot canyons that was immediately apparent was that what the camera saw and what I saw were very different. While I was looking mostly at rust-colored steel, the camera was picking up the colors actually being reflected. Not surprisingly, it was seeing a mix of warm and cool shades depending on the light available to illuminate the particular surface. Warm tones from light bounced off nearby rust-colored structures and cooler tones in the shadows. It all felt quite familiar once I saw the jpeg on the camera's LCD. This is exactly how light behaves in sandstone slots. It was much easier to predict once knew it was happening.