I am going to the southwest this August. Can anyone recommend guides or companies for MonumentValley and Antelope Canyon. Any additional info that you would be willing to share about your journeys there and photo ops would be greatly appreciated.
Just got back from there with fellow FM ers Tim Oneill and Bob Ross. MonumentValley really but a sour taste in my mouth on how everything is about the almighty dollar anyways best bet is to go to the Kiosk in the parking lot at the hotel and get some names the Original guide we were going to use( not going to say his name and give him advertisement space) in my humble opinion was beyond a first class jerk long story. Anyways we set up the morning tour with Daniel for 5 of us it was $125.00 each we meet in the parking lot at 5:30am we figured we would be going in a Suburban to our surprise we ended up in the open tour trucks with the bench seating completely exposed to the elements. Oh also they wanted there money even before we got on the truck. I was the first too pay and Daniel said that will be $150.00 per person. I said don't think so we were told $125.00.
Anyways we had a driver named Jerome real nice guy went to Totem Poles, and sand dunes, Ear in the wind and couple other areas. We were back by about noon. All in all an ok outing
Slot canyons if you are in Page and want to do Upper Antelope they almost make you go up the Hwy to 302 and use there photo tour cost is $46.00 per person we had about 2.5 hours with guide and in the upper zoo well worth it.
Another fun person to contact out in Page is Jackson Bridges quite a character and I guarantee you he will always hold a conversation.
If you want more specific info you can PM me or Tim ( Tim has Jackson's contact info)
Ditto for Ray's post. The View Hotel in MonumentValley has tried to set up a "professional guide" experience. Be advised, that MV doesn't open to the "unguided tourists" until 7:00 AM, and closes before full sundown. If you want to shoot some of the real icons in sweet light there, you must engage a guide. No need doing anything in advance (unless you can actually get a working phone# for someone). You pay for the experience (in advance this time, no plastic, cash or check), and do the drive. It is worth it, but I'm pretty much done with MV for a big experience. If you think this is the bitter rant of an old man, take a look at Laurent Martres book 2 of Photographing the Southwest. He also prints a bittersweet picture of how things have changed.
Antelope Canyons...do Lower when the parking lot is empty. They now run quickie tours through there on good days, and you can get your shots, if you are persistent. For Upper, do as Ray suggests, and make a tour from Carol Bigthumb. and for the extra money, her guides will do crowd control for you as well as possible. Sorry to be negative, but the three places were a zoo. Off season would be much better. "Don't need no stinkin beams"
I hate those greedy bastards at MV. They rarely keep their word, seriously over-charge, and only if you're lucky you'll get a decent guide. There was one big guy that all the other guides seemed to worship that was a real asshole. I did not hire him, and he was jealous of my vehicle and insulted me all day long even threatening me at times. I did hire the services of an older guide named Daniel Chee (I think), and we were lucky enough to have him assign us a very nice guide over two days (and lot's of $$) who did a lot for us, including singing and storytelling as well as over night camping in our own vehicle back near the totem pole area. Since I doubt I'll be lucky like that again, I'll probably never hire a guide again. Unless I can find Jimmy. Here he is at Big Hogan:
Jeffrey wrote: There was one big guy that all the other guides seemed to worship that was a real asshole.
Yup, and his is the first name that everyone seems to mention when recommending a guide at MV. There is no way that I would use him, particularly after the way he threatened us despite the fact that we were with an approved Navajo guide (the guide allowed us to drive our own 4WD vehicles).
The Navajo Nation has definitely discovered the "green back".
Golly, those are strange replies. MonumentValley is one of the most awesome places on the planet. The guide of choice at MonumentValley is native Navajo Tom Phillips, phone 928 309 7440, [email protected]. Tom is often out in the valley where there is no cellphone reception so leave a message. I hired Tom for a sunrise shoot and one other person (German) came along. We left way before dark in Tom's SUV and were in place at sunrise, after stopping at many spots we came back about 2 hours later and it cost me $65. I then hired Tom's group to visit Hunts Mesa overnight. That was great and cost $225 - transport, tent, and food provided. It was a fun trip with about 5 other photographers along.
I visited Lower Antelope and had no problems - just parked, paid, and stayed in there for 2 hours. Yeah, some people came along but it was never a problem for me. I went there at about 10AM in the morning. Those slots are truly incredible
Keep a good attitude and you will do great, these are some of the most photogenic places on Earth - you will get some awesome shots. The main thing is to just do it, you won't be sorry. Good luck!
peterrowe wrote:
Golly, those are strange replies. MonumentValley is one of the most awesome places on the planet. The guide of choice at MonumentValley is native Navajo Tom Phillips, phone 928 309 7440, [email protected]. Tom is often out in the valley where there is no cellphone reception so leave a message. I hired Tom for a sunrise shoot and one other person (German) came along. We left way before dark in Tom's SUV and were in place at sunrise, after stopping at many spots we came back about 2 hours later and it cost me $65. I then hired Tom's group to visit Hunts Mesa overnight. That was great and cost $225 - transport, tent, and food provided. It was a fun trip with about 5 other photographers along.
I visited Lower Antelope and had no problems - just parked, paid, and stayed in there for 2 hours. Yeah, some people came along but it was never a problem for me. I went there at about 10AM in the morning. Those slots are truly incredible
Keep a good attitude and you will do great, these are some of the most photogenic places on Earth - you will get some awesome shots. The main thing is to just do it, you won't be sorry. Good luck!...Show more →
Well I'm glad you enjoyed Tom wasn't going to mention his name but he was a first class jerk at Ear of the Wind his group just came and walked all into our frames then he was up by the snag playing his so called flute I was down below trying to shoot the snag he turned to me and started waving his fingers at me as not to shoot him, He was the last person I would want to shoot a big assh**e. He then proceeds to tell Tim Oneill oh I see you guys are now going out with second rank guides.
Also we tryed for several hours the day before to try to reach him on phone it was always busy and again he had a smart ass response to it.
Futher more on a Friday night we turned down a paved road right past mile marker 13 no signs as to reservation or private road we pulled off the road not blocking anything minding our own business for a sunset shoot well here comes this Navajo woman in a Toyota 4X4 telling us we are on reservation land and we have to stay on the main Highway. Bet if we paid the money hunger woman $20 she wouldn't have said a word, Like I said I found it to be nothing but a commercial hunger rude people. They do not take care of their land nor their animals poor stray dogs in the hotel parking lot trash all over "Their Land"
Sorry but yea a rant but that is the way I saw it
Ray Still wrote:
Well I'm glad you enjoyed Tom wasn't going to mention his name but he was a first class jerk at Ear of the Wind his group just came and walked all into our frames then he was up by the snag playing his so called flute I was down below trying to shoot the snag he turned to me and started waving his fingers at me as not to shoot him, He was the last person I would want to shoot a big assh**e. He then proceeds to tell Tim Oneill oh I see you guys are now going out with second rank guides.
Also we tryed for several hours the day before to try to reach him on phone it was always busy and again he had a smart ass response to it.
Futher more on a Friday night we turned down a paved road right past mile marker 13 no signs as to reservation or private road we pulled off the road not blocking anything minding our own business for a sunset shoot well here comes this Navajo woman in a Toyota 4X4 telling us we are on reservation land and we have to stay on the main Highway. Bet if we paid the money hunger woman $20 she wouldn't have said a word, Like I said I found it to be nothing but a commercial hunger rude people. They do not take care of their land nor their animals poor stray dogs in the hotel parking lot trash all over "Their Land"
Sorry but yea a rant but that is the way I saw it
Wow...that's the complete opposite of my experience with Tom Phillips. With the exception of one of his drivers arriving a little late too pick us up (party of four), everything went off without a hitch. Got to Hunts Mesa in plenty of time for exploring and shooting the sunset. Arrived back at camp after shooting...tents were set up and the food was cooking. Early sunrise shoot, another hot meal, then back down. Couldn't have gone any smoother. Ditto for shooting Totem Pole/Yei B' Chei at sunrise.
Just curious...why do you think you need a guide? I've been to both sites and was able to photograph both without a guide. I'm sure there are locations (like Hunt's Mesa) that you need a guide to access; but if you do some homework, you can get to most of the locations on your own.
Jack
You cannot photograph Totem pole close up without a guide. Otherwise, you are trespassing. Notice I mentioned close up. First of all, without a guide, you can't get into the Valley, nor stay in the there for the good light. You can shoot Totem Pole from a distance, but not at the preferred angle and distance, nor in the best lighting.
Went to MV twice, without a guide. I know that there is no way one can get to certain locations without a local guide, but the faces of the ones near View hotel did not look trustworthy, so I skipped. If you go to Golding campground, the people at the front desk can find you an alternative guide. There are two other places very close to MV that may be of interest to you - Goosenecks and Valley of the Gods.
As about slot canyons, August is not the best time to visit - because that's a monsoon season in Arizona. Of course you can still go and just pray for the weather to cooperate.
Good points, Alatoo. Regarding the slots, the local Navajo know about the flash flood potential and will evacuate everyone if there is a storm within 15 or so miles. Many here might remember, years ago, the 'white man' tourist guide who instructed his foreign clients to go back into Lower Antelope after the navajo came and got everyone out because there was a storm about ten miles away. Eleven french tourists were churned to death in the canyon, and only a few body parts were recovered downstream. A poor decision, indeed.
gdanmitchell wrote:
With so many wonderful subjects to shoot on the planet, one begins to wonder what the excitement is about re-photographing this place... ;-)
I am currently trying to decide on some of the place mentioned above for a trip I'm making in July. I'm coming from Australia for a conference in Vegas and plan on hiring a car and driving up 15 to Zion, Bryce and then down to Page for the Antelope Canyons.
Reading the mixed reviews on such places, has me a little worried about choosing the right "tour guide" and the amount of people that I'm going to encounter in the middle of summer.
I shoot with a Linhof Technorama, so not really a quick setup when you need to get in and get out of an area before people turn up. Especially with the 2 hour limit in some places.
I'm thinking maybe I should go the other way to Death Valley/ Bad Water, Up to Yosemite.
I'm not really a fan of "needing" a tour guide to find some of the most iconic places. I understand that money makes the world go round and what not, but I think that finding a place is part of the whole journey in capturing a photo.
Is the middle of July going to be a zoo where ever I go in that part of the states?
I would have very mixed feelings about taking that rig into the Antelope Canyons - esp. the upper canyon. All of the "beam" images you see are the result of the guides flinging sand into the air with small shovels to highlight the sun beams with the super fine aeolian silts from the canyon floor. We are not talking about small quantities - the air is quite thick with fine sand almost all the time given the number of groups they are doing this for. The stuff gets everywhere and you can feel it going down your neck while you are shooting. I made a point of having a fully charged battery and a 32GB memory card in my camera before going into the canyon and the cardinal rule is don't even think about opening up any part of your camera until you are prepared to sit down and carefully clean it up again well away from the slots. I have seen a number of photographers who carefully enclose their camera body in a plastic bag which is taped off around the lens to deter the silts from getting inside of the camera body. Changing a roll of film would be a disaster.
Mid July does have the advantage that a lot of people won't be anywhere close to the hotter deserts. Needless to say Death Valley is high on the list of places most folks stay away from that time of year.
woodsy3629 wrote:
I am currently trying to decide on some of the place mentioned above for a trip I'm making in July. I'm coming from Australia for a conference in Vegas and plan on hiring a car and driving up 15 to Zion, Bryce and then down to Page for the Antelope Canyons.
Reading the mixed reviews on such places, has me a little worried about choosing the right "tour guide" and the amount of people that I'm going to encounter in the middle of summer.
I shoot with a Linhof Technorama, so not really a quick setup when you need to get in and get out of an area before people turn up. Especially with the 2 hour limit in some places.
I'm thinking maybe I should go the other way to Death Valley/ Bad Water, Up to Yosemite.
I'm not really a fan of "needing" a tour guide to find some of the most iconic places. I understand that money makes the world go round and what not, but I think that finding a place is part of the whole journey in capturing a photo.
Is the middle of July going to be a zoo where ever I go in that part of the states? ...Show more →
Yes you want ot avoid Death Valley in Mid July, it can easily be 125F there. However, Bishop and the Owens Valley is just West of DV and is quite scenic, and while it may be hot it is not as blazing as DV. Check out the Bristlecone Pines, they are at 11k ft, where it is quite comfortable when hot in the valley.
In the American SW it is really srpead out and you can certainly get away from the crowds, but it may take either a long hike, or a 4 wheel drive high clearance vehicle, or both. Several good guide books and a GPS helps too. Since it is difficult to rent that type of vehicle, that is what the guides are for, to take you to out of the way places. There are many out of the way, striking locales but you are going to have a hard time getting to most of them on your own. Finding out about them, setting lost and getting stuck are common obstacles. In the Page area Jackson Bridges was mentioned, he is a decent resource. http://www.jacksonbridges.com/
Mike K
As I read through Ray's comments, I wondered who had left a bad taste in his mouth. A few more posts, I see it was Tom Phillips. Let me relate my bad experience with his company two years ago.
I got in touch with Tom Phillips after the different positive reviews I read in different forums. I told him I had a whole day to spend with my 15 year old daughter and 10 year old son. I asked him for a suggestion. Told him we wanted to see more of MV. It was our first time out to MV and wanted to make the most of it. He quoted us a price of $125 each for me and my daughter and $50 for my son. The plan was to meet by the gate and shoot sunrise at MV and spend about 3 or so hours at different MV locations. Break for lunch and meet around 2:30 to tour Mystery Valley and back to MV for sunset.
Showed up at 6:00 AM and found the guide assigned by Tom. Thought it was going to be Tom from our conversation but instead we had a older (75) guide who was great. We hopped in his "classic" Suburban. All went well in the morning, he gave us a lot of info and was very patient as we took different photos. Met up with him in the afternoon for the trip to Mystery Valley. When we were in Mystery Valley, he then proceeded to tell us Tom had advised him since we looked like "pros", the fee would be $250 each including my 10 year son! I was shocked. (I was using an older Canon 1Ds, daughter using a Canon 30D and my son had a Panasonic LX1) In our initial conversation, I made it clear to Tom we wanted to see a lot more of MV that most folks do not get to see when you join the regular MV tour. This was not a specific Photo Tour that he advertises on his website. I barely had enough cash to cover the difference. I could tell our older guide was not going to proceed unless we agreed to this. We were inside Mystery Valley and if any of you have been there, it is desolate. We did not see any other car / tour in the 3 hours we were there. I asked our guide to get in touch with Tom as I was going to remind him of our conversation. Our guide said Tom could not be reached since he was with a Professional Photo Tour group. We felt trapped and agreed reluctantly. From that moment on, it was an uncomfortable experience. We couldn't wait for the tour to end and get back to the parking lot. We forked over the cash and left.
Fortunately the rest of our southwest trip was a lot more pleasant. I would not recommend Tom and his company. When I first reported our experience on a different forum after it happened, I was branded as misrepresenting the purpose of our trip.
