jackpinoh Loc: Kettering, OH 45419

Antelope Canyon (upper and lower) are as crowded as Disneyland. The only pictures you will get without people in them will be when you point the camera up. Use a super wide angle lens (18mm or less), set the f-stop to 6.3, set the AF to manual, focus once on something 6' away (depth of field 3' to infinity), don't change focus, use a lens hood, blow the dust off the lens and lens hood with a rocket blower every few minutes.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Be creative.
Try a different perspective rather than the same shot millions of others take over and over and flood the internet with.
I thought this was a creative hobby yet I see the same complaint over and over wanting to take another me too photo like millions of others have taken.
Did it occur to you to walk around and try some other view away from the lemmings?
Make lemon aid out of a lemon and you will come away with a better set than what all have seen over and over.
Just think about it a bit.

jam Loc: Beaufort, NC

I just got back from doing the Upper Antelope tour in Nov.. You camera and lens will be fine. The only suggestion I would have is that if you plan on doing brackets limit it to three shots one stop on each side of 0. I tried two stops and it took to long. Plan on shooting with an ISO of 800 and f/11 or something in that range. Know your camera when you get in there they will limit your time to 2 minutes on some shots where they stop the groups of other people so no one will be in your shot. I went on the first tour of the mourning and there were only two of use on the photography tour.

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steve49 Loc: massachusetts

Notable comment on that.
I was on a photo tour, which was fine and allowed tripods...
6 people as I recall and a couple of them were screwing with their tripods for 1/2 the time
trying to figure them out.
practice ahead of time... time will be very limited in there.
know how to shoot up, sideways, etc smoothly and quickly.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

Yes, I think I would be using a well braced monopod - NO tripod ...and I think I would also be using a small/powerful LED light on the camera hot shoe for fill lighting/details ...

It also seems to me, using a mirrorless type camera where you can SEE exposures and a Sony camera to do fast 3-shot HDR's would speed things up for all involved.
.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

Selene03

How disappointing to hear they are ending the tours! Your camera and lens will be fine. When I did the tour of the upper canyon three years ago, you had to have a tripod to be part of the tour, so no non-photographers. I guess that has changed. I am glad I had the tripod, as it was pretty dark even during the Spring at mid-day. I agree with those who recommend mid-day by the way. They had already eliminated both photo tours and tripods in the lower canyon when I was there. We took the regular tour, and I was able to get some decent shots without the tripod and people though it was a bit tricky. I would recommend doing both canyons if you have the time. Horseshoe Bend is very easy to get to--just a short walk from the road; hence, lots of people there ready to take photos. It should be a bit better in December, but it is worth the effort.

As several others have mentioned, it is very dusty in the canyons. You will be shooting in low light. I am pretty short, so I ended up mostly standing with my tripod and shooting up the walls. I also ended up cloning out a lot of people in shots where I didn't do this. Enjoy your time here and listen to the Navajo guides. They have been doing this for a long time and understands what works and doesn't work for photographers.

ekfelton Loc: Michigan

Just did the tour of upper Antelope Canyon in late November. The light was very poor and we only had 2 to 3 minutes at each location to set up and take images. Dusty and lots of regular tour folks cause many on the photography tour to rush. Still worth the trip, but don’t count on having a lot of time to set up.

TXYank Loc: Granbury, TX

I was at Antelope Canyon two weeks ago. It was worth the cost. The guide told us about the elimination of the photo tours, but the regular tour gave us plenty of time to photograph. I braced myself for a slow shutter speed and bumped my Canon 80D ISO to 1600. (See attached.) Due to weather conditions, the rest of my photography vacation was a dud. I never did get decent images of Monument Valley or Mesa Verde. Maybe next time. Enjoy your trip.

Dayton

Use the widest lens you have and be prepared for lots of fine dust.

wdcarrier Loc: Eureka, California

I walked through alone in 1967. Quoting Pogo, "we have met the enemy and it is us!"

PGHphoto Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Is your husband ok with having to be on a tripod ?????

Photolady2014 Loc: Southwest Colorado

Seems they are very particular now! They will not allow you to go if you only have iPhones! They say it they do not help you with photos and if you have a non photographer spouse they must stay out of the way and no wandering off. Lots of rules... Oh well, I'm sure it will be great!

Photolady2014 Loc: Southwest Colorado

Actually he is usually my sherpa and helps me carry stuff. Such a nice guy. When we are in a crowed place he just stays near the back observing!

Photolady2014 Loc: Southwest Colorado

Good info, thank you!