Antelope canyon question

[ben4633]

I am heading to Page AZ next week and have been doing some reading on the canyon, both in this website and others. Is it possible to see the canyone without a tour? If you need a tour, are some better than others? What should I pay for a tour? And other than Horseshoe Bend, is there anything I shouldnt miss while in the area? Oh, and is 24mm wide enough to shoot Horseshoe Bend? Thanks all for your tips.

[argyle]

Lower Antelope Canyon is accessible without needing a tour guide. Upper Antelope Canyon requires a tour guide. The average rate for a photo tour is somewhere in the neighborhood of $45-$60 per person. Be sure to specify that you want the photo tour, not the standard tour...the photo tour is longer time-wise. As far as guides go, Chief Tsosie is pretty good...Chief Tsosie (http://www.antelopeslotcanyon.com)

24mm is nowhere near wide enough to shoot Horseshoe Bend, especially if you're using a crop camera...even 17mm on a full frame comes up a bit short. If your widest lens is 24mm, you have two options: (1) buy, rent, or borrow something in the 10-xx range or (2) shoot multiple images and merge them afterwards. To shoot in the canyon, a tripod will be mandatory, as will a cable release for the shutter.

Besides Antelope and Horseshoe, the Glen Canyon Dam is 5 minutes outside of Page. Just up the road a bit (about 30 miles) is the Wave formation, Wahweap Hoodoos, as well as other areas of interest. There's also Canyon X (tour guide required...there's only one in Page that's authorized to go to Canyon X). Lots to see, do, and shoot. Google is your friend.

[Hangbot]

sorry to barge in - but heading to Antelope Canyon this summer and was wondering if I should bring a tripod, monopod, or both?

[FlyingPhotog]

Be sure to book a tour between 10am and 2pm to get optimal light shafts...

Take a Rocket Blower down in with you becuase you will get dusty .. guraneteed! Especially if your guide is tossing sand in the air to accentuate the light shafts.

Pay very, very close attention to the Weather forecasts if you're going to be in Lower Antelope on your own. The guides should be on top of it if you go to Upper Antelope or Canyon X.

Flash floods are a real possibility and result in disasterous results if you get caught by heavy monsoon rains:
http://www.pbase.com/flyingphotog/image/86041851/original.jpg

Drink plenty of water. If you start to get thirsty, you've already started to dehydrate. Temps can be upwards of 110 in the middle of a very hot day in Page.

The walk back out from Horseshoe Bend will feel three times longer than the walk in. Watch your footing at the rim. There is no guardrail and it's a long freakin' way down.

Take the Dam tour, it's cool. Consider the Dam to Lee's Ferry flatwater raft ride. I wish I'd done when I was up there in '07. AFAIK, you don't need special waterproofing for that trip but a couple of large garbage bags can't hurt.

I have images from Page, HSB and Lower Antelope on my Zen at:
http://JCBeckman.zenfolio.com/p489518377

[argyle]

To give you an idea of the lens coverage at Horseshoe Bend, here are two taken on successive visits, first with a 17-40L on a 5D, and second with the 15 fisheye on the 5D. As you can see, 17mm wasn't quite enough to get full coverage across the rim:

http://northlake.smugmug.com/photos/217166085_2Rf2G-L.jpg

http://northlake.smugmug.com/photos/262381224_YBito-L.jpg

[Laramie]

Just to add to what Argyle said, 24mm on a crop will be no where NEAR wide enough. Look at your 10-20 or 10-22 options or possible an 8mm fish.

You'll have to walk around a bit and look through viewfinder to get a shot that doesn't show the rim at your feet. Careful, no guardrail, you might have to get on your belly and be right at the edge or else there will be rim in the bottom of your shot.

[FlyingPhotog]

20D + 10-22mm Blended Exposures:
http://jcbeckman.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p26018174-4.jpg

[5Dmaniac]

Other things to do in the Page area:

Wirepass to Buckskin gluch - a beautiful hike into the heart of a sandstone canyon
Waterhole Canyon
Hike the Paria river starting at White House trailhead
Visit the Rimrocks
Try to get a permit for either the wave or the Coyote Butes South - the wave permit wil be difficult to get, but the Coyote Butes South are equally impressive.
Visit the BLM office halfway on the way between Page and Kanaab - they can give you plenty of recommendations

There is so much to do in the Page area that it would take too much time to list them all! While you are there you might also visit Lee's Ferry and hije Cathedral Wash down to the Colorado river!

[FlyingPhotog]

You can also go "stand by" day of at The Wave.

It's also not that far (and a great drive) to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Much less developed and therefore much less over run by people.

[irishman]

You can get the whole bend with 17mm on a crop, just not the rims, which,in my opinion is unnecessary anyway. You have to be able to get to the very edge on sandy slickrock which some can't do---as others have said there are no guard rails and it's a thousand foot fall.
Also, the reason to take a photo tour is that the guide will regulate traffic to give you some shots without people and throw some dust in the air to get some light beam shots. Expect hordes of tourist elbowing you out of the way to get some cell phone shots. It's a damned shame the circus that place has turned into.