stogie1020

No pics yet, have not had time to address them yet (have not even cleaned the gear!)

So, Wifey and I did the Antelope Canyon tour last weekend, along with a stop at horsehoe bend for a sunset.

I have not had a chance to go through any of the digital images yet (me at horeshoe bend, wifey in Antelope Canyon) and only one roll of film (me in Antelope Canyon) has been proceeded but not scanned yet. I have not seen the negatives to know if any even came out... I was basically guessing as my wife stopped effectively operating as my meter after about ten seconds into the slot canyon. Not her fault, more on that later.

Cathedral Wash:
Hiked Cathedral Wash toward the Colorado River. It had rained recently and so the wsh was basically impassable without waist deep mud and we were not prepared. A LOT of light rock climbing skills were employed without ropes. Then, the last thing you want when in a slot wash with vertical walls, a thunderstorm. We RAN out of the canyon as the rain came down, for fear of being trapped in the slot wash. Exciting, but not much fun when the weather said 0% chance of rain....

Horseshoe Bend:
Amazing. Go see it. PRAY for a cloudy sunset or go for early AM if you can. Otherwise, the face of the peninsula and canyon walls will be shaded and the sky will be VERY bright. An ND filter would be awesome and would have helped a ton. I got there three hours before sunset and staked out a tripod spot on the one place everyone tries to get. I felt a little guilty as others were "hawking" the spot, but I stood there for three freakin hours in the heat and sun... And then, sunset was unspectacular. No clouds, no nice light, just light>dark... Oh well. Got some good pre-sunset shots, some panos to be combined, etc.

Antelope Canyon...
Oh boy. I prepared myself for a shit show, but was totally blown away by how bad it was. I mean, the tour operators do a great job of herding cats, but still, it's like letting 400 monkeys loose in a 200 yard long, shoulder wide enclosure and hoping no one flings poo.

In all honesty, I have very little idea what the inside of the slot canyon looks like. It was borderline un-pleasurable. I would need to go again on a non-photo tour just to look around. You and the 8-10 others in your group are shoehorned into tiny areas, told to set up your tripod without fully extending the legs and instructed to get your shots in 2-3 minutes before being moved to a different area. THEN, you are put in a spot where the light beams will appear and left there for 10 minutes while other groups are either (a) held at bay if the selfie stick and non photo group or (b) crammed into your back if a different photo tour on your schedule, while a guide hides and throws sand into the light beam 600 times so people can take 1000 exposures of exactly the same thing over and over... here I am shooting film with a cable release, guessing my exposure times, separated from my wife because she was put in the "low angle" group of our tour by virtue of her focal length (17-55, I had 55mm prime) so I had no meter, except occasional yells from her with a shutter speed... Don't get me started on the amount of dust and dirt on the camera gear... anyone know how to clean the now sandy grease out of a ballhead and reapply?

Honestly, go and see it. But I cannot recommend spending $80+ for a photo tour. Experience it, see it, set your ISO high and leave the tripod at home.

I really hope the Navajo who own the land can come up with a better system for people to be able to experience Upper Antelope Canyon, because this one absolutely sucks.

Next time, I go in winter (no light beams) and may do the Lower Antelope canyon visit which is shorter but less regimented...

I will update with pics if any are worthy.

stogie1020

BTW, I told the wifey I loved the Antelope Canyon tour, as it was kind of a birthday present from her to me...

Stapler

That sounds... fun. In a Disneyland people watching kind of way. I didn't realize your camera didn't have a meter. My old tank of a Minolta just has a rod and a couple of hash marks. It's dead on in all but the most extreme instances. What kind of film were you shooting (please don't say slide film)

As for the ball head. I would clean it like a bearing. disassemble, removed all grease and dirt, re apply grease, and reassemble. The stuff in my manfrotto looks like some sort of high moly grease. The kind that is black, goopey, and sticks to everything it touches.

stogie1020

My film caera does have a meter, but it's a matchstick kind (like your Minolta) and does not fair well in extreme lighting like the slot canyons. Additionally, my Nikkormat FTn shutter speeds only go up to 1 second, then "bulb" so you are pretty much for on your own for any exposure over 1 second if you don't have a separate light meter, which I don't.

I was using Kodak Ektar ASA 100 color negative film. In retrospect, maybe the lower quality Fuji Superia ASA 400 would have been a better choice but I was trying to maintain as much detail as possible without increasing grain.

stogie1020

I finally got around to developing and scanning roll #2 from Antelope Canyon/Page, AZ.

A lot were very similar, so here are a few of my favs.

All on Kodak Ektar100 film.

The entrance to Upper Antelope Canyon:

img268 by Jefford_E, on Flickr

Inside the Canyon

Sand trickling off the rocks:

img284-Edit by Jefford_E, on Flickr

Sunbeam shots

img272-Edit by Jefford_E, on Flickr

img278-Edit by Jefford_E, on Flickr

img283 by Jefford_E, on Flickr

ChodTheWacko

I went to Antelope canyon, on 12/31/2009
I went to the lower canyon, not the more popular upper canyon.

There was hardly anyone there - way off season, I guess, and I paid for a photo pass.
To my surprise I was allowed to go in by myself and stay as long as I wanted.
I walked up and down the canyon several times, mostly alone. It was fantastic.

imho, It would totally suck to be herded through in a large group.
It was, however, quite cold and my hands started to freeze.

youtube video:

stogie1020

^Very cool video, thanks!

I think next time I go, it will be Lower for sure.