Photo Trips
Paria Bingo
B-10
BINGO!
Bright and early yesterday morning I was at the Paria Canyon BLM office along with 30 or so other folks taking part in a bizarre ritual. The half acre or so of wilderness known as “the wave” must be one of the most hotly contested pieces of real estate in the US. Due to the fragile area only 20 visitors are allowed per day, and a lottery system has been established. The BLM volunteers have the daily lottery draw down to a science. You show up at 8:30 and fill out your visitor request, one per group of up to six. Each group is given a number and the numbers are thrown into a bingo hopper. With my lucky number 10 and a little positive attitude I was picked second!
This morning I hit the trail at 7am. With the help of a very detailed map given out by the BLM the two and half mile hike over washes and slickrock was fairly easy. Words really can’t describe this wonderful place. In one sense anyone who has been to Zion National Park will recognized the orange and white rock formations prevalent in this area. It just so happens that this particular set of cliffs is visual perfection. As if the rock was like taffy on a puller, it dips and swirls and doubles back in a lyrical dance. To a photographer the bounty is almost embarrassing, point in any direction and you probably have a keeper.
I explored the area around the wave. One wash in particular has some incredible sandstone boulders that have been eroded in a lace pattern, truly awesome. Unfortunately this season was too dry for there to be any standing water on the plateau.
I was amazed by the scenery, but perhaps more by the sheer popularity of the place. Most of the visitors were from Europe, and traveled thousands of miles to enjoy this place. I was glad to experience the wave, and it was a fitting end to my week of photography in the southwest.
Antelope Canyon
OK I wasn’t going to visit at first, but I caved in. I figure this slot canyon is as beautiful as when I first saw it in 1992, I would just have to ignore what has changed. When I first visited back in the nineties I pulled off onto a small, unmarked dirt road, and eventually found my way into a world of wonder. There were no other visitors, no signs of development except for an occasional bolt or rope sling put in by local canyoneers .
Today you pull into a parking lot, pay $26 at the visitor’s booth and head down a series of metal ladders and platforms. After the death of eleven tourists in 1997 the lower canyon was forever changed. Luckily at the lower canyon you are still allowed to wander without a guide, and I was able to make my 2-4 minute exposures alone in some of the beautiful rooms.
I didn’t visit the upper canyon, but by the looks of it it is even more developed. I do know you must have a guide for that canyon, and the length of stay is limited. One photographer told me it is very difficult to setup a long exposure due to the constant traffic. I remember on my first visit to this area also exploring a nearby slot that is now closed by the Navajo. I wish the Navajo would reopen these wonderful areas by offering some sort of permit system. Antelope Canyon is so easy to get to it has become a tourist trap, but there are so many more amazing slots that could offer that spirit of wild exploration that some of us desire.
Fall in the Southwest
Hooray for fall! Saturday morning I flew to Albuquerque, grabbed a rental SUV, and headed towards Chaco. Didn’t get far until I was total stopped by traffic, on a Saturday! I arrived at Chaco around 5, and had enough time to fire off three exposures at Pueblo Bonito.
Sunday I was up bright and early and hit the ruin loop for Pueblo Bonito and Casa Rinconada. Chaco canyon is, in my mind, almost the perfect national park (actually it is a world heritage site) the campground is nice, but not over developed, the ruins are awesome, although the ropes and “NO” signs are getting a little too prevalent.
After taking advantage of the morning light I headed to the Bisti Badlands. This was the first time I had visited, although I remember many years ago driving along 371 and being intrigued by the name. This is BLM land so very undeveloped, I scouted out the location I wanted to photograph, no sense in wandering with 40lbs of photography equipment. A couple hours before sunset I headed off with my camera to the area they call the “egg factory” 
Truly remarkable what a little water can do to a landscape. After shooting for a couple hours I made the half hour trudge back to the car and drove back to Chaco.
Monday morning sunrise promised much better “photographic weather” as those nice little southwest clouds had made their appearance. I photographed the loop again, and headed back to Bisti. On the way a nice cold front passed through with lightning and rain squalls, simply beautiful. Monday night I got some, hopefully, better photographs at Bisti. I started to feel more “in the groove” so to speak, and I started seeing things a little more clearly. I also was burning through film faster than I normally do. Maybe because I have for the most part stopped taking color photos. 4×5 color film is just too expensive, and I end up scanning color anyways so I have been taking my Nikon D80 along for the ride. However, I find color distracting, I need a very different mindset to make a good color photo than a good B&W. B&W I feel is a little more creative, although I, like most other folks, respond very strong
ly to those bold, saturated images of the Southwest.
Tuesday was a break day, I drove to Page, Arizona and grabbed a hotel. Wednesday morning I headed to the local BLM station to try and get a permit for “the wave” However, the lottery they do every day is done at 9 o’clock Utah time, and I was an hour late! Maybe tomorrow.
I headed to another new destination nearby at the end of a long dirt road, and a half hour hike. Once again geology was on display. It is amazing that these cap rocks would protect the soft underlying soil so well that a hoodoo 40 or 50 feet could be created. The columns seem so precarious, the caprock looks like it might slide off at any moment. I am told that for this location, summer light is better. The hoodos are in a north facing alcove and the late fall light was making it hard for me to get a good angle.
As I mentioned before I was burning film faster than usual. I brought 60 sheets of Kodak Readyload Tmax 100 with me, and it was almost gone. So I made a call to Freestyle Photo Sales who FedEx’d another 60 sheets to my hotel, thank you Freestyle! Kodak in their infinite wisdom are discontinuing Readyload, so it looks like I will need to go back to loading sheet film holders soon. I’m glad I didn’t throw away all those Fidelity holders!
Tonight I grabbed a margarita and enchiladas at Fiesta Mexicana (– for name creativity, ++ for large margaritas) Today I felt like I hit my stride, problems of life were merely ripples on the surface of a larger lake. I was in tune with the land, with my equipment, and looking for more adventures.