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I finally had enough time between projects to escape for a few days. Melissa and I packed up the Man Van with camping, photography and baby gear and headed south to my home state of Arizona. This would be Jackson’s first real camping trip. By that, I mean we would all be sleeping in a tent rather than a motor home. RV’ers call parking their rigs in a campground “camping” but I call it “not in any way camping”. If you have hot running water, your own toilet and a refrigerator you are NOT camping. But I digress.
We arrived safely at the Mather Campground in Grand Canyon National Park and I went about setting up the tent, airing up the mattress and unrolling sleeping bags. I’m OCD about setting up the tent with such a taut pitch that a quarter bounced off the rainfly would become a deadly weapon. After staking and re-staking the tent a few times I finally achieved the correct taut-ness. I then set out to photograph sunset while Melissa stayed behind with the Adventure Baby. The weather report called for wind. Every day, my least favorite thing in the world – wind. I had hoped the meteorologists would be wrong but unfortunately, they were not. Once at the canyon rim the wind blew not up and out of the Canyon but across the plateau and into it, making standing on the edge of a cliff an iffy proposition. Undeterred, I set up my tripod on the edge of a cliff to make a sunset image whose pastel sky and soft light belie the 50 MPH gusts I had to work around when depressing the shutter button. After sunset I headed back to camp for some much needed rest.
Sunset, Grand Canyon
Fortunately our campsite was well positioned and though we could hear the wind tearing through the tall ponderosa pine treetops we felt nary a breeze coming through the tent mesh. I slept through my alarm for sunrise and awoke to the still present wind and a sky full of dull gray clouds. Today we planned to hike the 8 mile section of Rim Trail from Bright Angel Lodge to Hermit’s Rest.
We arrived at the lodge and did some souvenir shopping. As with the previous day the incessant wind was ripping along the canyon rim. We stuffed our packs with hiking necessities only to realize that the only person on Earth who hates the wind more than me is Jackson. The dust was swirling all about and we didn’t want the little dude to end up with a mouth or nose full of the stuff, so we opted for taking a drive to visit some of the viewpoints.
After the drive we returned to camp and I dropped off Melissa and Jackson, then set out for another sunset. I went to Grandview as it was one of the more impressive viewpoints we found on our afternoon drive. I hiked down the trail a bit, found another sketchy rock outcropping and set up on it for a sunset I hoped would materialize out of the gray sky. Fortunately, it did. The wind was still howling, causing the clouds to move quickly through the sky. I watched in awe as beams of sunlight broke through the clouds to illuminate Vishnu Temple to the east. A man with a tripod is apparently some kind of freak show to foreign tourists. I heard someone speaking what sounded like gibberish behind me and turned around to find a Frenchman standing WAY too close with his point & shoot camera aimed over my shoulder. Behind him were several other foreigners who had wandered out onto my perch, apparently unaware that there are a few other spots at Grandview with an equally impressive view and more room.
Vishnu Temple
Soon after the canyon fell into shade the tourists disappeared but I remained. I’ve learned to love the soft illumination of civil twilight and was hopeful the western canyon would showcase this lovely light. It did, and it brought with it one of the most apocalyptic cloud displays I’ve ever photographed. I’m really, really glad I stayed.
Apocalyptic Sky
Back at camp we decided not to cook dinner in the wind. The menu at the restaurant at the Bright Angel Lodge looked appetizing and the thought of sitting inside a real structure, out of the wind, was also pleasant. Melissa’s fajitas were flavorful. My Mexican style chicken dish wasn’t. Actually, it wasn’t even fully cooked. Not wanting to ruin the trip with Salmonella I sent it back. The second attempt didn’t fare any better. I sent it back and shared the small fajita plate my wife was kind enough to split with me.
The next morning I got up for sunrise and the entire sky was gray. So, I did what any good nature photographer worth his salt would do – I went back to bed. When I awoke a few hours later the sky was still flat gray. I’m certain I didn’t miss anything.
We spent the day doing some research for a project I’m working on (can’t escape the projects) and I ended up photographing sunset at Yavapai Point. Around mid-day the clouds started to dissipate and by sunset, they were gone. Entirely gone. Just blank blue sky above the canyon which does not bode well for photography here. Melissa and Jackson braved the cold wind to hang out with me while I made a few images. The only image worth keeping was made in the soft civil twilight looking west with Plateau Point far below and Bright Angel Canyon climbing up the North Rim.
Sunset, Yavapai Point
The following day we packed up and headed to Flagstaff to escape the wind. And we needed showers. We made it out to Wupatki National Monument for sunset one evening. The ruins here are some of the most impressive in the Four Corners region. Three story tall Wukoki Ruin is built atop a sandstone outcrop and lords over the landscape around it. In the distance, the San Francisco Peaks reach high into the Arizona sky, providing an alpine contrast to the red desert.
Sunset, Wukoki Ruin
Reality beckoned and we had to return home the following day. It was a short but productive trip. We didn’t get to do the hike I had hoped to do but we will return. With any luck our next visit will be wind free!
As a new iPhone owner I found myself spending entirely too much time browsing Apple’s App Store. There really is an “app for that”, no matter what “that” is. I started to wonder if there were apps that could make my life as an outdoor photographer easier, better or more organized. After a few weeks of downloading and using apps, some free and some not, I’ve found a few that really are helpful to nature photographers. Some of these even came pre-loaded on the iPhone. Here are my selections:
Compass (Free) - Yes, I have a digital compass on my watch, my GPS and an analog compass in my backpack. So, why is the iPhone Compass so helpful? It’s ridiculously easy to read and it even lists your current GPS location. I like to use it with Sunrise & Sunset Pro as it makes it easy to determine where & when the sun will rise or set without introducing another gadget into the mix.
Sunrise & Sunset Pro ($1.99) - There are free apps available to determine that azimuth and altitude of the sun at any time of the day but none of the ones I tried were as easy to use as this one. When used with the Compass it is amazingly easy to determine whether that peak before you will be frontlit, sidelit or backlit at sunrise or sunset. Use it in conjunction with a topo map to pre-plan your photographic adventure before you even leave home. Awesome!
Park Maps ($0.99) - Every single national park map, on your iPhone. Zoom in, zoom out and scroll all around. Each map is downloaded directly to your iPhone to be accessible even when out of cell service. The maps are small and can be difficult to read for those with aging eyes like mine. Even so, I find the app useful for identifying the location of campgrounds, visitor centers and most importantly, viewpoints and overlooks.
The Weather Channel Max ($3.99) - Current temperature, precipitation, wind speed, weather conditions, humidity and sunrise & sunset times. Hourly, 36 hour and 10 day forecasts. Severe weather alerts. A radar map with past, present and predicted future movement of weather, i.e. rain, snow, clouds. Tide information for coastal areas. You can even save as many locations as you’d like for instant access. I saved several of the areas I visit regularly. It makes finding a weekend escape that much easier.
Google Earth (Free) - The same Google Earth on your computer in your hand. Super cool!
Maps (Free) - Another app that comes pre-loaded on the iPhone. Punch in any address and it uses the built-in GPS to provide directions from your current location. Great when traveling around an unfamiliar city on your photography adventure.
Milog Lite (Free) - I use this handy mileage tracker to record miles driven on every photo excursion. This is an easy and convenient way to keep track of mileage for tax purposes.
Notes (Free) - Yet another app that is pre-loaded on the iPhone. I use it to keep notes of locations I stumble upon that appear to have lots of photographic potential.
Here’s an example of how I used several of these apps on a recent short trip. While out four wheeling a new-to-me trail in the Moab area I discovered several sandstone peaks towering above a creek filled with green cottonwoods. I recognized the potential for fall colors and broke out my iPhone to determine whether it was a sunrise or sunset location using the Compass and Sunrise & Sunset Pro. It’s sunset. I opened my “Locations to Photograph” note in the Notes app and added pertinent information about the location. When I got home I transferred the trip mileage information from Milog Lite to my accounting software. Awesome!
Have you found an App that’s great for nature photographers? Leave a comment about it. I’m sure readers of my blog would love to hear about it. I know I would!
Well folks, we’re finally off to the Grand Canyon. The weather forecast calls for cold temperatures, thunderstorms and a chance of snow. This could be an exciting time to photograph the Big Ditch!
Check back in a few days as I’ll post up a full trip report with some photos from our adventures.
If you haven’t yet begun to use Adobe Lightroom to convert your RAW images and manage your image database now might be a really good time to start. Adobe is offering 15% off the purchase price of Lightroom 2 through December 25, 2009.
Here’s the hitch: You have to receive a referral email that includes the discount code. How do you get the referral email, you might wonder? It is sent through Adobe by someone currently using Lightroom, like myself. So, if you’d like to purchase Lightroom at a 15% discount send me an email at bret@bretedge.com with your email address. I won’t use your email address for any other purpose nor will I share it with anyone else.
If you’re wondering why I would do this the answer is simple. For every two people I refer I receive a $50 gift card. So, it’s a win-win situation.
If you are interested in participating in the program you can find information about it here: http://www.referadobelightroom.com/.