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Antelope Canyon suggestions, please.
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Sep 27, 2022 11:47:41   #
srg
 
gwilliams6 wrote:
First of all you have two choices, Upper Antelope Canyon and Lower Antelope Canyon, both in Page, Arizona. Both are part of the the Navajo Nation Tribal Parks and they both are only accessible by Navajo-Guided tours for a tour fee.

They were both closed for awhile during the worst of the pandemic as covid hit the Navajo tribes hard. Both are open again for reserved tours run by various Navajo tour outfits.

If you choose Lower Antelope Canyon, IMHO the best tour group to use and the original Navajo tour group is Ken's tours . They offer the standard tours, which last 60 minutes and can have up to 10-12 people in a group. Or you can pay a higher fee and get the Deluxe Tour, which is a max of six people and last 90 minutes. Ken's tour guides know all the tips to get the best photos .
https://www.lowerantelope.com/

There are no longer any dedicated photo tours anymore at either Upper or Lower Antelope Canyon. These dedicated photo tours took a lot of time as each photog with their tripod would set up for staged shots in the canyons as the guides would throw up sand into the beams of light coming down. It just wasn't cost effective anymore to do for the tribes, as it was clogging up the canyons and reducing the number of tours possible each day.

No worry as you can still take your camera, but no tripods allowed. You can easily make great shots handheld in either canyon. I have done both and they are each bucket-list worthy, with or without the crowds.

For Lower Antelope Canyon you will need to be able to descend down some steps into Lower Antelope Canyon and then you will slowly navigate with your guide through and back up out of the canyon. For Upper Antelope canyon you will enter at ground level and walk through with your guide. If any in your group have physical issues, then Upper could be easier to do. I did Lower with no problem at age 69.

I will post shots from Lower first, then from Upper.
First of all you have two choices, Upper Antelope ... (show quote)


all of them excellent

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Sep 27, 2022 12:27:23   #
gwilliams6
 
Hip Coyote wrote:
Very nice shots excellent advice.


Thanks, Cheers

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Sep 27, 2022 12:27:45   #
gwilliams6
 
srg wrote:
all of them excellent


Thanks, Cheers

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Sep 27, 2022 12:30:08   #
gwilliams6
 
frankraney wrote:
Both canyons are geourgouse. Goon on the smaller group tours. They are also other canyons in the area not as well known that are just as good of you can get on a tour of one.

Also the river tour is a great trip. It leaves from the bottom of the dam.


I agree there are other canyons if you can get a tour guide.

Check first before doing the river tour as water levels sadly have been at an all-time low.

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Sep 27, 2022 13:39:07   #
wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado
 
John Hollis wrote:
Going in late October, need suggestions on which tour is worth the money for photos/sightseeing. Thank you in advance for any and all replies.


gwilliams6 is correct that you do not want to change your lenses in the canyon even if you own a Olympus or Panasonic camera. A wide angle zoom is your best option for either canyon. A gwilliams6's pictures are a great example of what is possible. If you do not have a lot of IBIS or ILIS, practice your best handholding techniques and possible brace yourself against the canyon walls. Your may need to increase your ISO in the darker areas of the canyon and shoot at your widest aperture. And have fun while you are there. And be sure to take your eye away from the viewfinder and truly enjoy the beauty of the canyon. Capture some of it with your camera. I have only done the upper canyon and still need to do the lower canyon. And gwilliams6 is right: take the photos now because I do not even know when I will get back.

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Sep 27, 2022 13:53:04   #
rcurrie Loc: Kingsport, TN
 
When I went several years ago there were tours that visited lesser known slot canyons and Antelope. We went to Rattlesnake and were the only ones in there.

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Sep 27, 2022 14:00:56   #
tomc601 Loc: Gilbert, AZ
 
Be mindful of the time of year and time of day of your tour. You want to maximize the sun directly over the canyon to get optimum illumination.

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Sep 27, 2022 15:21:22   #
Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV
 
My recommendation...Don't.
If you do some homework there are many slot canyons in both Arizona and Utah where you can go on your own, spend as much time as you wish, usually with no one else there. While Antelope may arguably, be the best, some of the lesser/unknown ones are very good and worth a little investigation to find out about.

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Sep 27, 2022 15:23:01   #
Rgandel Loc: South Orange, NJ
 
gwilliams6 wrote:
Some shots from Upper Antelope Canyon. And we had time, so after touring Upper Antelope our Navajo guide took us to another smaller slot canyon nearby and we made some other great shots, including this first shot, a shot with Environmental Scientist Brooke H. that was chosen as a Worldwide Photo of the Week by Sony Alpha Photographers in 2020.

Cheers


Great images!

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Sep 27, 2022 16:30:22   #
lnl Loc: SWFL
 
Taaddin Tours does both tours and photo tours of Canyon X part of the Antelope Canyon area. Search for Antelope Canyon X tours, or Taaddin. We went in April.

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Sep 27, 2022 18:47:53   #
gwilliams6
 
wdross wrote:
gwilliams6 is correct that you do not want to change your lenses in the canyon even if you own a Olympus or Panasonic camera. A wide angle zoom is your best option for either canyon. A gwilliams6's pictures are a great example of what is possible. If you do not have a lot of IBIS or ILIS, practice your best handholding techniques and possible brace yourself against the canyon walls. Your may need to increase your ISO in the darker areas of the canyon and shoot at your widest aperture. And have fun while you are there. And be sure to take your eye away from the viewfinder and truly enjoy the beauty of the canyon. Capture some of it with your camera. I have only done the upper canyon and still need to do the lower canyon. And gwilliams6 is right: take the photos now because I do not even know when I will get back.
gwilliams6 is correct that you do not want to chan... (show quote)



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Sep 27, 2022 18:48:27   #
gwilliams6
 
Rgandel wrote:
Great images!


thanks,

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Sep 27, 2022 18:54:51   #
gwilliams6
 
lnl wrote:
Taaddin Tours does both tours and photo tours of Canyon X part of the Antelope Canyon area. Search for Antelope Canyon X tours, or Taaddin. We went in April.



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Sep 27, 2022 19:02:52   #
gwilliams6
 
rcurrie wrote:
When I went several years ago there were tours that visited lesser known slot canyons and Antelope. We went to Rattlesnake and were the only ones in there.



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Sep 27, 2022 19:03:17   #
gwilliams6
 
tomc601 wrote:
Be mindful of the time of year and time of day of your tour. You want to maximize the sun directly over the canyon to get optimum illumination.



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