Photography tours to Capitol Reef and/or Grand Escalante Staircase: I'm looking for a group photography tour to those places, not wanting to wander around alone out there. I have been...

dsnoke Loc: North Georgia, USA

I'm looking for a group photography tour to those places, not wanting to wander around alone out there. I have been, and continue to search for such tours, and I have found few. So I wonder if any of this illustrious group have any pointers. I find plenty of tours to Bryce, Zion, Canyonlands, Arches and the Grand Canyon, but that's not what I want.
I have the growing impression that either Capitol Reef or the Grand Staircase may be just one day trips. Am I correct in that impression?
I hope to get there this late summer or fall, but this may have to wait until next year. But any advice is welcome.
Thanks.

neillaubenthal

Capitol Reef is essentially a big loop through the park which is relatively small as NPs go. There are a few short walks/hikes off the loop but it's essentially a one day drive through sort of park. Grand Escslante is huge and spread out so essentially you pick out a few spots to go visit using the NPS website or similar.

We found Capitol Reef to be one of those hidden gems that's a lot better than you think it will be…Grand Escalante is much less impressive overall. It's also nice but isn't anything that really stands out from much of the surrounding landscape…and as I said it's pretty huge and is mostly again a driving tour sort of park.

ahudina Loc: Browns Point, WA

dsnoke wrote:

I'm looking for a group photography tour to those ... (show quote)

Suggest you contact David Swindler at Action Photo Tours in Kanab, UT. He was the local resource used when I went with PhotoPills on an 11 day tour earlier this year of the Southwest. He has extensive knowledge of the area and the resources to get you where you want to go and a resource I would not hesitate to use again.

Matt_F Loc: Wausau, Wisconsin

https://horizonphototours.com/capitol-reef-workshop/ Not sure if you found this one yet but here's a multiday photography tour in Capitol Reef. It's during the last week in Oct which should be perfect for fall colors.

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

Matt_F wrote:

https://horizonphototours.com/capitol-reef-workshop/ Not sure if you found this one yet but here's a multiday photography tour in Capitol Reef. It's during the last week in Oct which should be perfect for fall colors.

I'm (obviously) not the OP, but this looks like a nice workshop 3 days and 4 nights is about right. Great time of year in the area.

GAS496 Loc: Arizona

Another person to check with is Lynn Radeka. I have been with him to Capital Reef and the surrounding areas several times during his workshops. Lynn has been photographing the West for over 50 years and while not a well known name he has a portfolio to rival Ansel Adams.

dsnoke Loc: North Georgia, USA

Thanks for the replies. I will see if there are spots available.

btbg

neillaubenthal wrote:

Capitol Reef is essentially a big loop through the... (show quote)

Capitol Reef has miles and miles of off trail hiking including some hikes to incredible Native American ruins and art. To say that it can be seen in a day means that you never really saw it at all. The same for Grand Staircase Escalante. I have spent weeks in Grand Staircase Escalante and have not even scratched the surface. It has some of the best Native American Art, Ruins, and of course slot canyons in the world.

btbg

dsnoke wrote:

I'm looking for a group photography tour to those ... (show quote)

You don't necessarily have to limit yourself to photo tours. There are a lot of adventure tours in the region and some of them are just fine for photography. They also have the added advantage of costing less than photo tours, plus it is possible to hire a lot of the adventure tour people for just your group and no one else, making it possible to customize your trip.

Kanab has a number of tour guides available. Most are willing to customize a tour just for you, and some have overnight or multiday tours. They may not have the same knowledge of photography as a photo tour, but they are familiar with the area, and have a pretty good idea what photographers are looking for.

Here's a link to just one of the tour companies in the region. Dreamland Safaris have a good reputation and offer overnight tours. https://dreamlandtours.net/tours/

Condorbait Loc: AZ Strip

I have lived in southern Utah for over 30 years, 20 of them in Kanab. I've guided with Dreamland Safari and other tour groups and know that David Swindler is an excellent photographer and would be a good choice for a photo tour. The GSENM has thankfully been restored to it's original size by President Biden and is a huge diversified landscape, so it would be wise to decide what subjects and areas you are interested in to make the best use of your time. Late September and October would be your best time of year. We have had abnormally high winds (even for spring) and higher summer temps forecasted with unlikely monsoons. Waterways very low with drought not seen in 1200 years.

horizonphototours Loc: From Montana but living in Southern Utah

Matt_F wrote:

https://horizonphototours.com/capitol-reef-workshop/ Not sure if you found this one yet but here's a multiday photography tour in Capitol Reef. It's during the last week in Oct which should be perfect for fall colors.

Hi, this is Eric Erlenbusch, owner of Horizon Photo Tours and wanted to chime in to say thank you for the recommendation here. Thank you also to Dick for booking this workshop! This is a workshop focusing on slow photography and not rushing from location to location and yes, it's in perfect fall colors:)

I'll also post an intro on that forum soon. I offer small group workshops, custom workshops and private tours. I'm looking forward to being a part of this community here and thank you again.

jklepomis

While you're in the area, have you considered adding Monument Valley? Beautiful place. I don't know about photography tours, but I took a small, native Indian led tour of just 4, two of us photographers, and the guide was very tolerant and informative. The native guides can take you backcountry where the tourists can't go.