ARIZONA - DAY TWO

When I was planning this trip I had an idea of the types of photographs I wanted to make. As the trip neared, I started to feel some pressure, similar to when I'm about to leave on a work assignment. It's the kind of pressure you put on yourself to ensure that you make the photographs that will tell the story and please the client. Pressure to produce better images than the last assignment. And this is the pressure that drives you to get to the location early and stay late, making sure you don't miss anything.

I kept telling myself that this trip was for pleasure. It was about seeing something new and making some photographs that pleased me. Why the pressure? Also since I was traveling solo, what would motivate me to get up early and stay late.

Today I passed the first test, rising at 4:45 a.m. and returning to Horseshoe Bend by 5:30 a.m. It was dark and guided by only my headlamp it felt really good to be out there. In fact it was a little too early to see much, but I did notice that the stars were still out and what better time to see if all the reading I did about shooting the night sky would pay off. I think the first effort came out pretty good and it did give me some starting points for next time.

Returned to hotel and had breakfast, checked out and headed to downtown Page to meet my guide at Antelope Canyon Tours who would take me to Upper Antelope Canyon for two hours of shooting.

What an amazing place with amazing light. In fact it doesn't seem to matter which direction you aim your camera, there is a shot. I rushed a bit at first, just wanting to get something usable, but once I calmed down and realized that there would be enough time, I began to actually get some photos that I am very happy with. As with star photography, I plan a separate blog post with all the details and lessons learned.

After some lunch and a stop at Walmart for canned air (there is lots of sand in the canyon), I made the 137 mile drive to Monument Valley. The scenery in this part of Arizona is just beautiful and the temptation is to pull over and make photos every couple of miles. I only made one quick photo stop, but wanted to reach my destination early and start processing the images from the morning. 

I'm staying at the Monument Valley View hotel where every room has a balcony that overlooks the valley. There is also a 17 mile loop road which takes you around the Navajo Tribal Park. Road is being kind and I wouldn't try this without an SUV. In winter it closes at 5 p.m. and I set out around 4 p.m. The sky was overcast and the light was flat, but I wanted to take the loop and at least check out vantage points for tomorrow, especially if we get the snow they are calling for.

It took a little longer to make the loop than I anticipated and it was starting to get dark, however just as I neared the end I was rewarded by a very nice sunset. Goodnight from Monument Valley and if the sky is clear it will be a night spent shooting the stars.

ARIZONA - THE PLAN

In my last post I mentioned an upcoming self-assignment trip to Arizona. Back in October of 2011 when I relaunched this blog I made the conscious decision to start taking photographs for myself. With that in mind, I began researching various photography workshops and came to some realizations.

First, they fill up quickly which means you have to book early and with my current or potential assignment schedule, that is not always possible. Secondly, they can be expensive, usually somewhere in the $1000.00 to $2,000 price range. I'm not saying the price isn't worth it, in fact sometimes I wonder how they get the workshop leaders they do for that price. Remember, with some exceptions, the workshop price does not include transportation, meals or lodging.

Taking all that into consideration, I decided that I would put together my own photographic adventure. So next week I'm headed to Arizona with plans to visit the Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, Monument Valley, The Painted Desert, and whatever else I come across in a week's time.

Why Arizona? Sometimes things just come together and that is the case here. I was on Google + and saw a post from R.C. Concepcion about a Red Rock Adventure trip he was on as part of Bill Fortney's His Light Workshops. This was actually one of the workshops I had considered after having talked with Bill during PhotoPlus in 2011 and really admiring his art and passion. However, as I mentioned above, timing was not on my side, but at $499, the price was incredibly reasonable.

RCs post started me thinking, but then I saw a Google + post from Matt Kloskowski, another Photoshop Guy, talking about the same trip and that led me to his blog post titled What I Learned on My First Star Photo Shoot about his experience shooting at night in Monument Valley.

Now I really started thinking. Next step of course was to open Google Maps and figure out the relationships between these locations in terms of distance. And didn't I have friends in Phoenix that I've been promising to visit for years?


I thought about all this for a night and the next day started to run the numbers for hotels, flights, rental car, access (some of these locations are on Navajo land which require guides), etc., and realized that I could do this at a reasonable cost, probably the whole trip for around $1000. I also had enough frequent flier miles to cover airfare and because of the time of year, many hotel rates are lower.

With the decision made, I began to line things up. I picked the dates and secured the time off from work. Called Phoenix friends and asked if I could spend first night in with them. Next step was to book two nights at the Monument Valley Inn where all the rooms have balconies with a view of the valley and based on recommendations from Matt, I secured a top floor room with no overhang. Finished off my hotel bookings with one night in Page, Ariz., and the final night in Payson, Ariz., leaving me close to Phoenix the night before I return. Sent email and made the arrangements with Antelope Canyon Tours to take me to Antelope Canyon.

With the itinerary complete, the only thing left for me to do is find the motivation to get up early and stay up late. This is one downside to not participating in a workshop; the other is missing out on the camaraderie. But I don't think I will be alone in these spots and I'm sure I'll meet other photographers. Besides, being on my own will give me some flexibility in schedule and the option to explore or discover other things along the way.

Next post will be about packing for this trip, then I plan to update this blog each day of the trip, with a final post about the whole experience.

Additionally, I will be posting some photos and other updates to my Google Plus, Flickr, Facebook and 500px accounts.