Colorado River Trip

[Don Boyd]

I will be doing a 21 day trip on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon (Lee's Ferry to Diamond Creek) beginning mid-Sept. I would love to hear from others who have done the trip with their view camera. In particular, I am interested in: shouldn't miss locations, focal lengths, packing suggestions, how to keep Quickloads dry, resources - books, articles, etc, and any other advice. I'll be taking my Arca-Swiss 4x5 and using Velvia and (probably) Astia 100 Quickloads.

[Kirk Gittings]

Really sweet! I've never done this. I tried a couple of times but it always fell through. If I remember right, the only thing electronic you use is a spotmeter? Things that don't dry out quickly (or at all)-electronics, film and lenses. Pack these especially well and bring backups if possible.

Dealing with contrast can be challenging down there if the sun is out. I would do some thorough testing with pull processing on my chosen films.

Have a great time.

[Duane Polcou]

To see lovely photographic examples of the places you will be seeing , try to get copies of
"Down the Colorado" by Eliot Porter (4x5 color)
"The Hidden Canyon" by John Blaustein (35mm color)
"Grand Canyon" by Jeff Garton (4x5 color)

[h2oman]

Hey Don,

I did this trip in August of 2007, and it was incredible. We were limited to 16 days, 21 will be awesome. I was not a LF guy at the time (I'm still not, just got the last of what I need in the mail today to expose a sheet of film!) I have written a "photo itinerary" article that may get published sometime in the next few months. I'll e-mail you a copy of it. Some of my shots are at my web page: www.greggwaterman.com I'm slightly embarrased to send you there after seeing your page, but it will give you some idea of what is down there.

I would say do your homework before you go by looking at some books (Blaustein's sounds good, I used "The Grand: The Colorado ..." byt Steve Miller. But the main thing is this: even with 21 days you still won't be able to see and do everything you want. And weather or water condintions may not bee what you expected. But you will still have more photo opportunites than you will be albe to take advantage of!

I went to grad school for 4 years in Cruces, at a period of my life when I was doing no photography. It is unfortuante with all the palces I went when I was there. Did a lot of hiking and rock climbing in the Organs, and we walked our dog at least once every day in the high desert above town. Got to see the Oragns with all kinds of alpenglow, fog pouring down the canyons, etc. Probably best I was not interested in photography at the time, or I might not have finished grad school!

Gregg Waterman

[Raymond L. Fenio]

This a great trip. I went on a 6 boat private 21 day trip pulling out at Lake Mead. I ended up solo in my cataraft and did not want to risk my 4x5 and wanted something simple. I took an old fuji G 6x9 with a couple lenses and my old nikon F a two lenses and a pentax spot. There are some good photos to be had from the boat and I am glad I took these easy to handle cameras. I left the cameras in the padded packs and placed them in metal ammo boxes. They are heavy but bomb proof,water proof, and easy to securely strap to the frame. These are available at most army surplus stores. If you are going on a commercial motorized trip you will have the luxury of a bigger boat that is less wet. It was a fantastic trip and you will find as many photo ops on the trails as you will on the river. You should carry a river guide that describes each rapid, hikes and attractions.

Ray Fenio

[Don Kellogg]

I have done this trip four times. The last time was about five years ago and was led by Gary Ladd. Gary has written about and photgraphed extensively in the Grand Canyon. The trip was sponsored by Arizona Highways and was good because it was geared to photography and we were able to capture the various scenes at more or less the proper time of day for the light. The light can be very harsh with lots of contrast issues. You might contact Gary for tips. He lives in Page, Arizona. I took a fairly large steel ammunition case lined with foam rubber all four times with medium format equipment. Most of the river outfitters supply small ammo cases for cameras but they aren't nearly big enough for large format gear. You can get such an item at army surplus stores. You should have no problem with large format gear if you have the proper way to store it. Everything and everybody will get wet (very) so be prepared. You can use a wet bag that is supplied but it's a hassel to get in and out of and doesn't have stiff sides for protecting your stuff. Make sure everything is well tied down; I have a very nice tripod, alas, now resting at the bottom of Crystal Rapids when our oar boat capsized there 35 years ago! You might take a smaller waterproof camera such as a Nikonos for use in wet situations. Also, a Sun Shower bag is a good idea; the water is very cold and never warms up the entire length of the trip and it's nice to have the opportunity to have a warm shower. I'd like to go again!

[Don Boyd]

Thanks to all for your responses. Kirk, I'm beginning to think about the limits of contrasty but limited dynamic range chrome film and the potential benefits of the greater dynamic range of negative film. I have shot some Kodak Portra 160 (VC I think) but am wondering if there are other suggestions for negative film that comes in 4x5 Quickoads or Readyloads.

I have a Pentax 6x7 but would prefer to take the 4x5 because I like making large prints. For practical purposes I still wouldn't be able to shoot the Pentax from the boat so am just as "grounded" with it as I am using the 4x5. I have a small digital point and shoot that I could bring, and while I'd like to have a high quality DSLR, I don't think I'll have the financial or time budget to get one. (Plus, my eyes start to cross whenever I see all the buttons and decision making requirements of the upscale DSLRs.)

[Don Boyd]

One additional quesiton for those who have been there. What focal lengths did you use and based on your experience now which would you recommend?

[Kirk Gittings]

I like the new Fuji color neg films in readyloads. I use Pro 160S. It definitely has a greater range than even Astia. Who does your scanning? WCI? I find it a bit harder to find someone who knows how to scan color negs.

[Don Boyd]

Kirk, I haven't printed anything large yet from my negatives but am considering trying Danny Burke, who at least from his website, seems to like negative film and recognize the difficulties of getting good scans from it (http://www.dannyburk.com/drum_scanni...ative_film.htm)

In fact, I think I'll send him a note and ask for a recommendation from him.