Utah and Arizona s Canyon Country:

Transcription

1 Utah and Arizona s Canyon Country: Desert Landscapes and Astrophotography Naturetrek Photography Tour Outline itinerary Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Fly from London to Las Vegas Red Canyon Slot and Coral Pink Sand Dunes Grand Canyon North Rim Rimrocks Hoodoos Day 5/6 Colorado River, Antelope Canyon and Lake Powell Day 7 Monument Valley Day 8-10 Arches and Canyonlands National Parks Day 11 Day 12 Capitol Reef National Park Devil s Garden and Bryce Canyon Day13/14 Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks Day15/16 Drive Las Vegas; fly London Departs November Focus Desert landscape photography and astrophotography Grading B. Easy to moderate walks. Dates and Prices See (tour code USA13) From top: Delicate arch after sunset, Bryce Canyon by moonlight, Horseshoe Bend of the Colorado River before sunrise. All Robert Harvey Naturetrek Mingledown Barn Wolf s Lane Chawton Alton Hampshire GU34 3HJ UK T: +44 (0) E: info@naturetrek.co.uk W:

2 Introduction The desert landscapes of Utah and Arizona are packed with iconic photographic opportunities. Amongst them are mesas, hoodoos, arches, slot canyons, sand dunes, balanced rocks and the aweinspiring Grand Canyon itself. All these features result from geological uplift of the Colorado Plateau over millions of years and the resulting patterns of erosion. Photographing these natural wonders requires an The Watchman, Zion National Park at sunset understanding of light in desert environments and local knowledge to be in the right place when light is at its best. This tour will take you to many classic sites such as Arches, Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. We will also explore little-known wilder areas using our high clearance SUVs, which we use to maximize access to the best photographic locations. A particular feature of this tour will be astrophotography, making use of the desert landscapes and exceptionally dark skies to capture images of the night sky with striking foregrounds. Full advice will be given on astrophotography techniques. Our leaders are professional photographers with a thorough knowledge of the area who will guide you to take your landscape and astrophotography to the next level, as well as enhancing your understanding of these remarkable desert landscapes. The Mittens, Monument Valley Highlights Photograph six spectacular National Parks and two iconic Navajo Tribal Parks Maximum group size of just six clients, accompanied by two expert leaders Includes many lesser-known locations off the beaten track Sunset visits to Coral Pink Sand Dunes, Grand Canyon, Rimrocks Hoodoos, Alstrom Bay, Monument Valley, Delicate Arch, Balanced Rock, Pectol s Pyramid and The Watchman to make the best use of light for photography Sunrise at Horseshoe Bend, Monument Valley, Mesa Arch, North Window, Devil s Garden, Bryce Canyon, Checkerboard Mesa and Towers of the Virgin Experience the wonderful potential of reflected light in Antelope Canyon Photograph the stars and Milky Way in the dark skies and striking foregrounds of Monument Valley and Arches National Park Capture image of the night sky over moonlit landscapes of Bryce Canyon and Zion Plateau Naturetrek March 18 2

3 Led by expert landscape photographer Robert Harvey and a local expert wildlife and photography guide. Wildlife Although the primary focus of this tour will be the stunning landscape and the photography opportunities they present, there should also be some wildlife present at this time of year which we will also enjoy as we travel. Bighorn Sheep traverse the rocky terrain while Mule Deer prefer the riparian forests and meadows, and Coyotes can be seen and heard throughout the region. Black Bears, though not present in the canyons for most of the year, can be found seeking food along the rivers and streams during October and November. Mountain Lions (Cougars) feed on the large mammals and, though usually well hidden, could be hunting through the rocky canyons. More commonly seen are the smaller Bobcats as they hunt mice and lizards. Sightings of the highly endangered California Condor are possible around the Grand Canyon where an ongoing reintroduction programme has had some success, and other raptors that we should keep a look out for include Bald Eagle, Rough-legged Hawk, Cooper s Hawk and Prairie Falcon. Itinerary Please note that the itinerary below offers our planned programme of excursions. However, adverse weather & other local considerations can necessitate some re-ordering of the programme during the course of the tour, though this will always be done to maximise best use of the time and weather conditions available. Day 1 Las Vegas We depart London s Heathrow Airport this morning on a scheduled British Airways flight, direct to Las Vegas. On arrival we will be met by our local guide and transferred to a comfortable hotel for one night. Day 2 Red Canyon Slot and Coral Pink Sand Dunes After breakfast we transfer to Kanab in Utah, which will be our base for the next two nights. Reaching our hotel in the late morning, we will have lunch and then explore two of the lesser known gems of south-west Utah. In the afternoon we will visit our first slot canyon; Red Canyon Slot consists of two short but beautiful sections of twisted narrows, with fantastic photographic potential. We will then transfer to Coral Pink Sand Dunes in time for sunset. We will ensure we are position in good time, as for just a few dramatic minutes as the sun sets, we will be treated to an unbelievably pink glow across the fine-grained sands that make up these dunes. After a busy first day, we will return to our hotel for a good night s sleep. Day 3 Grand Canyon Today, we will visit the North Rim of the awe-inspiring Grand Canyon. The North Rim is higher, colder and much less visited than the South Rim, providing a wilder and more secluded experience. Naturetrek March 18 3

4 After breakfast, we will drive approximately 1.5 hours to reach the rim where we will have the whole day to visit several of the most spectacular north rim viewpoints. The Grand Canyon Venturing about 1km down into the canyon to Coconino Overlook will give us a different perspective on this masterwork of nature. We intend to make full use of the day and will stay at the canyon rim for sunset to photograph the best colours and subtle interplay of light and shadow on the canyon walls, before returning to Kanab for dinner. Day 4 Rimrocks Hoodoos Departing Kanab after breakfast, we drive approximately one hour to the Rimrocks Hoodoos, an area of extraordinary mushroom-shaped rocks, sandstone spires and rock towers within the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. We will have time to explore a number of trails leading into this remote area, giving plenty of time to select our favourite compositions to photograph in the warm light of late afternoon and sunset. A further hour s drive brings us to the town of Page, which will be out base for the next three nights. Day 5 Colorado River, Antelope Canyon and Alstrom Bay The frontier town of Page is surrounded by spectacular photographic highlights and today we will visit three of them. We intend to have an early start today, and dawn will see us at the Horseshoe Bend of the Colorado River, a deeply incised meander which photographs best under reflected light before sunrise. After returning to our hotel for breakfast, we will then spend the morning touring Antelope Canyon, perhaps the best known and most photographically rewarding of all the Utah slot canyons. Although only 37m deep, no direct light reaches the canyon floor in the autumn and winter. We will be working entirely with reflected light, which takes on wonderful properties within the narrow canyon. Incredible natural mineral sculptures of swirling Navajo sandstone provide endless opportunities for creative photography. Antelope Canyon Naturetrek March 18 4

5 After lunch we will visit Nipple Bench rock formations, an area of badlands and boulders in soft pastel hues. From there we will spend the golden hour at Alstrom Point, overlooking Lake Powell. This location commands a fantastic panorama of Padre Bay with several buttes illuminated by the warm light just before sunset and the possibility of a gorgeous sky after the sun has gone. Day 6 Lake Powell and Rainbow Bridge Today we take a full day, private boat tour of Lake Powell, to appreciate the extraordinary desert setting of this man-made lake, 299km in length. Travelling by private boat permits us maximize flexibility and allows us to capitalise on light levels and photographic opportunities, though the highlight of the tour will surely be reaching Rainbow Bridge, with a span of 71m and a height of 88m. Carved by running water, this is one of the largest natural bridges in the world. Set on the shore of the lake, it is virtually inaccessible other than by boat. We return to Page for dinner and overnight. Day 7 Monument Valley Monument Valley is instantly familiar from countless films and photographs, though none of these can fully prepare us for the experience of actually being there. Leaving Page well before dawn, we will drive to Monument Valley in time for sunrise viewed over The Mittens and Merrick Butte. Dawn shoot over, we will be able to drop our luggage at our hotel in Monument Valley and enjoy a leisurely breakfast. The rest of the day will be devoted to a tour of Monument Valley, including the scenic drive and a number of areas that can only be visited with a Navajo guide. In addition to spectacular rock formations, we will gain insights in to the lives of Navajo people who have lived in the valley for thousands of years. The tour will end at the Totem Pole and Yei-bi-chei rock formations for sunset. After dinner we will try our hand at desert astrophotography in the exceptionally dark skies of Monument Valley, using silhouettes of the Mittens as foreground. Monument Valley at sunrise Naturetrek March 18 5

6 Day 8 Arches National Park Departing from our hotel once again before dawn, we will photograph the classic view of Monument Valley from the east as the rising sun strikes its mesas and buttes. We will take breakfast at the quirkily named town of Mexican Hat and then continue to Moab, which will be our base for the next three nights. After lunch we will spend the afternoon at the Windows Section of Arches National Park, which features four remarkable natural arches in close proximity. At sunset we will photograph Balanced Rock, another extraordinary icon of this National Park, and the Pillars of the Earth with La Sal mountains in the distance. After dinner we will return to Balanced Rock for astrophotography. Weather permitting, the dark skies of Utah will enable us to photograph winter constellations, star trails and the Milky Way, whilst illuminating Balanced Rock by torchlight. Day 9 Canyonlands and Arches National Parks Another early start will be needed to reach Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park before dawn, in order to witness one of the most sublime natural spectacles of the American west. As the sun rises over Green River Canyon behind the arch, its light is reflected from red sandstone cliffs onto the underside of the arch which lights up as if on fire. The effect lasts for 15 minutes or so, giving us enough time to make photographs, after which we will return to Moab for breakfast and the spend the rest of the morning at leisure after a trio of early starts. In the afternoon we will return to Arches National Park and hike around 2.2 km to Delicate Arch. Clinging to a high plateau, this graceful freestanding arch is an extraordinary product of natural erosion. We will photograph it around sunset and then settle down to wait for the sky to become fully dark. Delicate Arch will then provide a stunning foreground to our image of the night sky, including the Milky Way. Torches will be needed for our descent to the parking lot, after which we will return to Moab for a late evening meal. Day 10 Mesa Arch at sunrise Canyonlands and Arches National Parks After breakfast today we will take an easy hike through the Devil s Garden of Arches National Park to reach Landscape Arch, whose span of 88m makes it the longest in the Park and the fifth longest in the world. Other features of this area that we are sure to enjoy include rock fins and spires. Naturetrek March 18 6

7 Lunch will be in Moab, after which we make another for ay into Canyonlands, to visit False Kiva. This hauntingly beautiful location is an ancient cliff dwelling, hidden under a natural alcove overlooking a vast canyon. This site is well away from main tourist routes and the walk to get there is slightly strenuous and partly over loose scree. Afternoon light is best at this location and the photographic opportunities well repay the effort of reaching it. After dinner in Moab we will try our hand at some more astrophotography, this time at the Windows Section. North Window provides an excellent frame for the night sky, especially when combined with a silhouetted human figure for scale. Balanced Rock Day 11 Arches and Capitol Reef National Parks Before breakfast, the aim of our final visit to Arches National Park will be to capture a classic view of turret arch framed by North Window at the moment of sunrise, as warm, soft light catches both arches. This image can only be captured from one rocky ledge. We will then drive to Fruita in Capitol Reef National Park, where the middle part of the day will be spent at leisure in a lush oasis of orchards surrounding an old Mormon homestead. In the Turret Arch viewed through North Window at sunrise afternoon we will walk to Hickman s Bridge, for a golden hour view of Pectol s Pyramid with black lava boulders as foreground. Departing Capitol Reef just after sunset, we will continue our journey to Escalante for dinner and overnight. Day 12 Devil s Garden and Bryce Canyon Our dawn excursion today will be to Escalante Devil s Garden, to photograph whimsical rock formations, reminiscent of Easter Island statues, in the warm light of early morning. Naturetrek March 18 7

8 Escalante Devil s Garden After breakfast we drive to Bryce Canyon, perhaps the most bizarre and instantly recognisable landscapes to be found anywhere on the North American continent. Bryce is, however, not a canyon but an eroded plateau weathered by freeze-thaw action into countless rock pillars and spires known as hoodoos. The first European settler in the area, Ebeneezer Bryce, described it as a helluva place to lose a cow! After dropping luggage at our hotel, we will take a leisurely paced hike through the hoodoos of the Queen s Garden to reach Wall Street, where fully grown Douglas Firs reach for the sky between sheer sandstone cliffs. The walk back up to the plateau rim is slightly more strenuous and will bring us to Sunset Point in time for sunset. After dinner there will be the opportunity to try some more astrophotography, using hoodoos illuminated by the first quarter moon as foregrounds to the night sky. Day 13 Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks Sunrise is the best time to photograph Bryce Canyon and we will locate ourselves just below the rim overlooking Queen s Garden. As the first rays of sunlight are reflected from the wall of the plateau, the hoodoos appear to glow as if lit from within. The effect is even more other-worldly if the hoodoos are partly snow-covered, which may be the case at the time of our visit. After breakfast we will walk along the rim of the plateau from Sunrise Point to Inspiration Point, taking in some views of more spectacular rock formations. Bryce Canyon at sunrise In the afternoon we drive to Springdale, at the entrance to Zion National Park, our base for the final two nights of the tour. Our sunset location will be on the bridge over the Virgin River, from where the last rays of sun catch the flank of The Watchman, one of the most distinctive mountains in this Park. Naturetrek March 18 8

9 Day 14 Zion National Park An early start will take us across the high plateau of Zion to Checkerboard Mesa, a striking formation of horizontal bedding planes juxtaposed with vertical fissures. The most photographically interesting north face of the Mesa is best captured at dawn, before the sun creates contrasty backlighting. Following breakfast at Springdale, we will make a full day tour of Zion Canyon by Park Service shuttlebus (the canyon is closed to private vehicles until the end of Checkerboard Mesa at sunrise November). This will bring us to several stopping points, many of them with fanciful names such as The Great White Throne, the Temple of Sinawava and the Court of the Patriarchs. There will be plenty of time to explore these photographically and make short hikes on foot to gain the best vantage points. Our sunset location will be in the outer part of Zion Canyon, where the last rays of sunlight catch the red sandstone of the canyon s east wall. After dinner will be our final opportunity for astrophotography Zion Plateau by moonlight with the stars of the winter sky above. Day 15 Zion National Park/Las Vegas Our last day in Utah will begin with sunrise catching the Towers of the Virgin, another of Zion Canyon s impressive rock formations. These 1,000m high cliffs are turned to gold by early morning sun and especially impressive when framed by shadows on the lower parts of the canyon. Towers of the Virgin After breakfast we drive to Las Vegas to board an early afternoon flight direct to London. Day 16 London We will arrive back in London early this morning. Naturetrek March 18 9

10 Tour grading Grade B Easy to moderate day walks. Most locations are within easy reach of the vehicles but a number of shots (notably on days 3, 9, 10 and 12) require walks of up to 5 km, parts of which are on relatively rugged terrain. Full participation in and enjoyment of this tour, therefore, demands a reasonable level of fitness and an enjoyment of walking (or, the unfit should be prepared to feel tired at times!). Some participants may also notice the effects of altitude, in particular at Bryce Canyon National Park. All walks will be taken at a leisurely pace, and a built-in flexibility will take into account of the overall abilities of the group. Please also note that to maximize photographic opportunities throughout the tour, dawn starts and some late finishes will be the norm. Focus This is a specialist photography holiday, aimed at the keen amateur photographer, focusing on remarkable desert landscapes and night skies of the American South-West. Our itinerary has been carefully designed in order to make the most of the light conditions at dawn and sunset and offer the very best photographic opportunities throughout. Meal times will be fitted around the best photographic opportunities, and our days which will often involve early starts and the occasional late finish. We will be traveling by privately rented SUVs throughout (except in Zion canyon) and private boat on Lake Powell, affording plenty of space and allowing us to quickly jump out of the vehicle whenever impromptu photo opportunities present themselves. Our leaders are professional photographers, who will provide detailed guidance on shooting positions and image capture based on many years experience of these destinations, including astrophotography, working with reflected light and high dynamic range. The itinerary will also include digital presentations on landscape photography on the Colorado plateau, together with opportunities to review and process the group s images taken during the tour. This comprehensive programme will ensure the best possible opportunities for participants to improve their photographic skills and return home with outstanding images of these exceptional landscapes, by both day and night. Tour leaders This tour will be escorted from the UK by Robert Harvey, a Cambridge graduate in Natural Sciences and professional photographer. In 2010 he was awarded the Associateship of the Royal Photographic Society for his work on coastal landscapes. In 2015 he gained the Excellence award of the Fédération Internationale de l'art Photographique for his portfolio of 115 wildlife and landscape images that have been accepted in international exhibitions around the world. Robert joined Naturetrek in 2016 to share his passion for the natural world with aspiring photographers. He plans trips carefully, in order to optimise lighting, time of day, seasons, tides and the positions of the sun and moon. All his tours provide opportunities to learn new photographic techniques, for example making share images of birds in flight, capturing mammalian behaviour, stitching panoramas, high dynamic range, focus stacking and post-processing. Robert s scientific background and past professional career will also allow him to enhance our group s understanding of how the landscapes themselves are formed. The group will also be accompanied by an experienced local wildlife and photography guide, who will meet the group on arrival in Las Vegas. Naturetrek March 18 10

11 Equipment to bring Digital single lens reflex camera capable of photographing at ISO 3200 or ISO 6400 for astrophotography Standard, wide angle and short telephoto zoom lenses for desert landscapes. Ideally covering the range 16mm to 300mm on a full-frame digital SLR camera (equivalent to a range of 10 mm to 200mm on a cropped sensor SLR camera). Ideally a fast lens for astrophotography, enabling images at F/2 (F/2.8 adequate) Tripod (essential) Lockable cable release Neutral density and polarising filters (optional) Hiking boots Cold weather clothing Warm hat and gloves Head torch and hand torch, with spare batteries and bulbs Walking poles (optional) Food & accommodation included in the price We use good quality lodges and inns for this tour, selected for their proximity to our photography locations. Rooms are all en-suite. Weather and Clothing At this time of year, the weather can range from moderately warm days to sub-zero temperatures at night and at sunrise. Astrophotography in particular can be cold. Snow is a possibility at high elevations such as Bryce Canyon. You should therefore bring a mixture of clothing including warm fleeces, thermal jacket, hat and gloves, and plenty of layers. Walking boots (or robust walking shoes) are advisable for some of the excursions over rough terrain. How to book your place In order to book your place on this holiday, please give us a call on with a credit or debit card, book online at or alternatively complete and post the booking form at the back of our main Naturetrek brochure, together with a deposit of 20% of the holiday cost plus any room supplements if required. If you do not have a copy of the brochure, please call us on or request one via our website. Please stipulate any special requirements, for example extension requests, at the time of booking. Receive our e-newsletter Join the Naturetrek ing list and be the first to hear about new tours, additional departures and new dates, tour reports and special offers. Visit to sign up. All photographs Robert Harvey Naturetrek March 18 11