Grand Canyon

Now that we had accomplished what we wanted to, photographically speaking, on the first two days, we decided to actually visit the Grand Canyon. Funny how we didn’t plan to shoot or visit the Grand Canyon until the first night of our trip. We took our time photographing from all the scenic views and stops like all of the other tourists. Pretty amazing views as Colette and I gasped and awed for a few hours, shooting all the while. We finally left the Grand Canyon early afternoon and headed to Las Vegas to spend a couple of days at the Bellagio for much needed rest and pampering before going back home.

All of my photographs can be viewed here.

Horseshoe Bend and Lower Antelope Canyon

This day started with the most amazing scene of the Horseshoe Bend. After help from our tour guide on the best spot to photograph, I spent the next 30 minutes lying on my stomach at the edge of the cliff snapping pics. I felt my hands shaking, I was so close to the edge. I was also in total awe, which made for an exhilarating 30 minutes of photography. Crazy!! From there it was off to the Lower Antelope Canyon which was a similar experience to shooting in the other canyons. There was more light in this canyon and with the sun rays beaming in it made for some photos with strong highlights. You had to really get creative because of the lighting and also because of the losers posing with their iPhones and selfie sticks. Really? Really. Sheesh. Also, because of the tight space and the number of tourists, I couldn’t stop myself from telling people to move out of the way. Anyway it was a great day (long and strenuous) and I struggled to make it back to the car due to the 100 degree weather and the crazy steps to get up and out of the canyon at the end (we did this canyon from end to front) and with the walk back to the parking lot. Another quick shower, beers, camera check and cleaning before a great sushi dinner.

Owl Canyon, Rattlesnake Canyon, Upper Antelope Canyon & Mountain Sheep Canyon

Gear; Nikon D3s, Nikon D700, FujiX100T, 24-70 2.8, 24 2.8, 35 2.0 and Benro Mach 3 Carbon Fiber with Benro V3E Head

Wow, crazy tight spaces in all the canyons. There were times where I thought I was going to get stuck or not attempt to move forward because of the tight or challenging terrain. Each canyon had its own beauty and I took over 600 photos. I used mainly my D3s with my 50mm and some with my FujiX100T. I also used my tripod when it was possible to do so. The Upper Antelope Canyon was extremely busy with other photographers and tourists but you do the best that you can in these situations. For the other three canyons Colette and I were lucky to be the only ones there, just with our Navajo tour guide who was awesome. I was extremely exhausted by the end of the last canyon which wrapped up a long day that started at 5am. The drive back from the canyons to our hotel in Flagstaff was spectacular as we gazed at the amazing colours through the Painted Desert. It was hard to stop and shoot the beautiful landscapes along the Painted Desert but I’ll always remember those colours and all the ‘other worldly’ views. Back at the hotel it was a quick shower and a couple of beers, and then I spent a good amount of time that night cleaning all of the gear which was covered with dust and desert sand.