Antelope Canyon
Sep 10, 2022 02:59:43 #
I have a question.Has anyone ever been to antelope canyon in Page,AZ? If there is, as you were walking in the canyon taking photos, what types of settings and lens did you use? Did you use a tripod or a flash? Thank you
Sep 10, 2022 04:06:04 #
Orphoto
Loc: Oregon
Sadly they no longer offer photo tours. Tripods are not allowed. No bags or packs. In other words one handheld lense and herded through like cattle.
Best bet is looking through the guide companies for those who offer access to other "private" canyons. With fewer restrictions.
Best bet is looking through the guide companies for those who offer access to other "private" canyons. With fewer restrictions.
Sep 10, 2022 06:40:20 #
Manual f/8, 1/30, auto iso. Turn on image stabilizer (lens, camera or both). Rain (dust) cover. Shoot short burst to improve chances camera shaking has settled. Raw, but tungsten white balance so histogram and blinkies accurate.
Sep 10, 2022 06:56:13 #
There are two different sections to tour at Antelope Canyon, upper and lower. Both are on tribal land and require you to be on a paid group tour. The tours are timed. We were fortunate to have a relatively small group and we’re able to linger a bit more than normal. Our guide was very helpful and knowledgeable. My wife to this day considers this the highlight of our Southwest van tour. Pay attention to the weather, these canyons will close in inclement weather and May be closed for a period of time after heavy rainfalls.
Sep 10, 2022 07:07:16 #
PoppieJ
Loc: North Georgia
i second the tour guides that do different canyons besides Antelope. I have done it and it is beautiful but I also have done one called secret canyon. Don't know if that is the real name or just what the tour company called it. they were the only ones going to it and we took about 12 people out and met the previous tour coming out as we were going in. the tour guide gave us some instructions and left us to just wander in the canyon at our on pace. You could setup a tripod and take the time to make sure that your picture was correctly exposed. good luck with this part of your trip. Don't forget to go out to horseshoe bend which is just south of town
Sep 10, 2022 07:13:37 #
GKR wrote:
I have a question.Has anyone ever been to antelope canyon in Page,AZ? If there is, as you were walking in the canyon taking photos, what types of settings and lens did you use? Did you use a tripod or a flash? Thank you
When I was there, I used a Nikon D750 with 17-35 f/2.8 lens and a tripod. Most of my shots were longer than 30mm (most at 35mm), most were at f/16, ISO 200, 2s or faster.
Shooting handheld with stabilization, I would want a shutter speed of 1/30s or faster with a DSLR, which would give me handheld shots at 1/30s, f/16, ISO 12800 (or lower). Or 1/30s, f/8, ISO 3200 (or lower). It gets pretty tight in the canyon, so a small shutter ensures good DOF.
With a mirrorless camera and good in body image stabilization, the shutter speed and ISO could be dropped significantly. But I would bracket shutter speed when shooting hand held.
Sep 10, 2022 08:10:29 #
I was there two years ago. The guided tour was pretty good but as others said you could not use a tripod and the tour moved pretty fast. Here’s a few I got. Most were shot at 5.6 around 1600 ISO at slow shutter speeds like 15-30 sec with a 16-35 canon L on an R5
Sep 10, 2022 14:03:56 #
Tomfl101 wrote:
I was there two years ago. The guided tour was pretty good but as others said you could not use a tripod and the tour moved pretty fast. Here’s a few I got. Most were shot at 5.6 around 1600 ISO at slow shutter speeds like 15-30 sec with a 16-35 canon L on an R5
Spectacular light and composition 🟠🧡🏆🧡🟠
Sep 11, 2022 06:18:15 #
billnikon
Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont
GKR wrote:
I have a question.Has anyone ever been to antelope canyon in Page,AZ? If there is, as you were walking in the canyon taking photos, what types of settings and lens did you use? Did you use a tripod or a flash? Thank you
Wide angle, no tripod, no flash needed. You need to shoot quick, I liked to be last that way I could shoot behind me with no one there, or, be the first and shoot quickly ahead. A wide zoom would be ideal like a 16-35.
Don't forget the Horseshoe curve on the river, it is very close to Page and makes a great shot also.
Sep 11, 2022 07:21:43 #
Sep 11, 2022 10:26:33 #
I used a D7200 with a 10-20 lens and every shot was 3 image exposure bracket (0, +2, -2).
https://www.francwoods.com/Portfolio/Travel/Antelope-Canyon/
https://www.francwoods.com/Portfolio/Travel/Antelope-Canyon/
Sep 11, 2022 10:33:43 #
I have been to both Lower and Upper Antelope Canyon. They dont do any more dedicated photo tours, but that isn't a problem. You can get great shots on the regular tours. The photo tours were clogging up the canyons as each photog with a tripod had photos set up for them to take. It was limiting the time for other tours. No tripods allowed anymore. You dont need one anyway.
One suggestion, if you do Lower Antelope Canyon use Ken's Tours, they are the original and still the best IMHO. They know all the photo tips and you can also book a smaller group tour, just your immediate party and you get a bit longer in the canyon and have less other folks to get in the way of your shots.
https://www.lowerantelope.com/
Important, Lower Antelope Canyon requires some descending down stairs into the canyon, so if you are physically challenged then I suggest you do Upper Antelope Canyon, where you walk into the canyon at ground level, much easier for anyone physically challenged. Most however dont have real issues descending the stairs unto Lower Antelope Canyon where you do a gradual walk through, up and out.
I will include a shot of some of the stairs down into Lower in my shots I will include here.
Note: the two shots of Environmental Scientist Brooke H. were shot in a small side slot canyon next to Upper Antelope Canyon. Our tour had enough time and our Navajo guide took us there after touring Upper Antelope Canyon. This first of these two shots of Brooke was chosen as a Worldwide Photo of the Week by Sony Alpha Photographers back in 2020.
Bring comfortable walking shoes, take just one full size camera into the canyon preferable with a wide angle or wide angle zoom lens, as you dont want to be changing lenses with all the fine dust in the canyon. Of course if you use a compact camera you could take that along with a better quality fullsize camera. Most of my shots here were made in the 17mm-24mm focal lengths. You cant take flash, but you dont need it. You will likely be shooting at ISO 400 or higher and most cameras have enough dynamic range to handle the changing lighting conditions in the canyons. Remember the canyon walls aren't moving , so you can use slow shutter speeds if you want to keep your ISO down, or want to use a smaller aperture for greater depth of field.
Dont forget to shoot some shots straight upwards for some dramatic compositions, and if you do shoot straight up to include the sky, of course your exposures will change. In that case just try to use an average exposure between the sky and the canyon walls. Your modern cameras have enough dynamic range for you to save both highlights and shadow tones in those shots. I did not need to do any exposure bracketing with my Sony A7RIV and Sony A9 cameras.
Unless your camera does instant exposure bracketing, you wont have time to set up any tripod to do that, and no tripod are allowed anymore anyway.
It is a bucket list place for any photog. Either Upper or Lower is super. If you have the time and money you can do both on the same day. Just be sure to make your tour reservations in advance. Only Navajo tour-guided tours are allowed as this is part of the Navajo sacred lands and tribal park. Try to make your reservation for a time of the day when there is decent overhead sunlight to filter into the canyons .
CLICK ON DOWNLOAD TO SEE BETTER RESOLTUION OF EACH SHOT.
Cheers and best to you.
One suggestion, if you do Lower Antelope Canyon use Ken's Tours, they are the original and still the best IMHO. They know all the photo tips and you can also book a smaller group tour, just your immediate party and you get a bit longer in the canyon and have less other folks to get in the way of your shots.
https://www.lowerantelope.com/
Important, Lower Antelope Canyon requires some descending down stairs into the canyon, so if you are physically challenged then I suggest you do Upper Antelope Canyon, where you walk into the canyon at ground level, much easier for anyone physically challenged. Most however dont have real issues descending the stairs unto Lower Antelope Canyon where you do a gradual walk through, up and out.
I will include a shot of some of the stairs down into Lower in my shots I will include here.
Note: the two shots of Environmental Scientist Brooke H. were shot in a small side slot canyon next to Upper Antelope Canyon. Our tour had enough time and our Navajo guide took us there after touring Upper Antelope Canyon. This first of these two shots of Brooke was chosen as a Worldwide Photo of the Week by Sony Alpha Photographers back in 2020.
Bring comfortable walking shoes, take just one full size camera into the canyon preferable with a wide angle or wide angle zoom lens, as you dont want to be changing lenses with all the fine dust in the canyon. Of course if you use a compact camera you could take that along with a better quality fullsize camera. Most of my shots here were made in the 17mm-24mm focal lengths. You cant take flash, but you dont need it. You will likely be shooting at ISO 400 or higher and most cameras have enough dynamic range to handle the changing lighting conditions in the canyons. Remember the canyon walls aren't moving , so you can use slow shutter speeds if you want to keep your ISO down, or want to use a smaller aperture for greater depth of field.
Dont forget to shoot some shots straight upwards for some dramatic compositions, and if you do shoot straight up to include the sky, of course your exposures will change. In that case just try to use an average exposure between the sky and the canyon walls. Your modern cameras have enough dynamic range for you to save both highlights and shadow tones in those shots. I did not need to do any exposure bracketing with my Sony A7RIV and Sony A9 cameras.
Unless your camera does instant exposure bracketing, you wont have time to set up any tripod to do that, and no tripod are allowed anymore anyway.
It is a bucket list place for any photog. Either Upper or Lower is super. If you have the time and money you can do both on the same day. Just be sure to make your tour reservations in advance. Only Navajo tour-guided tours are allowed as this is part of the Navajo sacred lands and tribal park. Try to make your reservation for a time of the day when there is decent overhead sunlight to filter into the canyons .
CLICK ON DOWNLOAD TO SEE BETTER RESOLTUION OF EACH SHOT.
Cheers and best to you.
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Sep 11, 2022 11:37:10 #
Sep 11, 2022 12:00:32 #
Orphoto wrote:
Sadly they no longer offer photo tours. Tripods are not allowed. No bags or packs. In other words one handheld lense and herded through like cattle.
Best bet is looking through the guide companies for those who offer access to other "private" canyons. With fewer restrictions.
Best bet is looking through the guide companies for those who offer access to other "private" canyons. With fewer restrictions.
Completely agree. Paid for the photo tour in 2019 and while it was standing room only with massive crowds in both canyons the guides gave photo tour people 2 minutes at the good spots with the regular tour people held back for people free shots.
Today…go to one of the other slots…there are many…and consult other tour operators if the sunbeam in the dust photo is mandatory for you since they should know where to go…but most of the other slots are more of a hike than Antelope.
For any of them…tripod if you can or monopod next before handheld. Wide to super wide is the best length overall, and a body with IBIS if you have one. With the wide to super wide you should be able to shoot down to 1/15 second by shooting bursts or multiple frames to get at least one in focus and keeping the ISO low.
The photo tour in Antelope was definitely worth it…but the regular one is herding cattle and not worth even considering.
Sep 11, 2022 12:29:34 #
Here is a better copy of my shot of Environmental Scientist Brooke H. in a small slot canyon adjacent to Upper Antelope Canyon. As I stated we had time with our Navajo guide after touring Upper Antelope Canyon, so she quickly took us to this adjacent smaller slot canyon where I took this photo of Brooke. Sony A9 camera, Sony 24-105mm f4 lens, 24mm.
Yes Brooke tossed sand up into the air for this shot. Our Navajo guide was with us at all times and ok'd this shot.
Many of the shots you may have seen from Upper and Lower Antelope Canyons with dust in the air in a shaft of light, we shots setup on photo tours where the guide would toss some sand in the air into a shaft of light coming down from above for each photographer to take individually. Very time-consuming. One of the reasons the photo tours were clogging up the canyons and ultimately costing the tribes tour money with less tours getting through each day.
Cheers and enjoy it there, well worth the trip and the tour costs.
Yes Brooke tossed sand up into the air for this shot. Our Navajo guide was with us at all times and ok'd this shot.
Many of the shots you may have seen from Upper and Lower Antelope Canyons with dust in the air in a shaft of light, we shots setup on photo tours where the guide would toss some sand in the air into a shaft of light coming down from above for each photographer to take individually. Very time-consuming. One of the reasons the photo tours were clogging up the canyons and ultimately costing the tribes tour money with less tours getting through each day.
Cheers and enjoy it there, well worth the trip and the tour costs.
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