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Thread: Extended Camping Photography Trip

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Socorro, NM
    Posts
    187

    Extended Camping Photography Trip

    In late March, I will be fulfilling a decade long dream of photographing with large format gear on the Colorado Plateau for 3 months. I am interested in hearing from others who have taken extended photographic camping trips. I am minimally familiar with Natural Bridges, Capitol Reef, Escalante-Grand Staircase and Canyonlands, and not at all with the San Rafael Swell or places outside of the Monuments. I will be primarily tent and camper-shell housed, and have a small 4-wheel drive pickup. I will probably make 2 or 3 trips back to my Tucson home over the course of the three months to make sure that I am still married, resupply and check the images. (Actually, my wife is very supportive, although she does wish I was taking the three dogs with me.) Although I certainly want to hear about some of your favorite places, I am also also very interested in suggestions and tips about managing such a prolonged shoot; all those little things that you wish you had known before you set out that you would put in your book if you were to write one. While I realize this posting is not about large format per se, some of your tips may address issues I need to consider for my 4x5 transparency work. One question I am looking for some feedback on is, is a GPS a helpful photographic/safety aid? I am also looking for a very reasonably priced house/dwelling/palace that I might hang out in and use for a base for a month or so in April or May, preferably in the Capital Reef, Torrey, or Escalante areas. Many thanks in advance.

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Mar 1998
    Location
    Anchorage, AK
    Posts
    286

    Extended Camping Photography Trip

    Don,

    I would work with Readyloads/Quickloads (your choice) and make notes on the paper film containers if you're the sort who keeps notes. My notes include the date, loacation, subject, lens, H or V for horizontal vs vertical, and number of exposures for this composition (ex. 2 of 3). I would also suggest sending some of the film to your favorite processing lab periodically to help you keep an eye on your mechanics (no pinholes in the bellows or problems with the exposure meter for instance).

    Dust will accumulate fast than you might image. Take a soft bristle brush and clean your camera and film holder periodically. Use your favorite technique to clean your lenses and filters, too.

    I tend to rely on maps and my own ability to read the topography instead of a GPS when it comes to location and safety. You can carry a personal emergency transponder if you're thinking of telling someone that you need help. I would not rely on a cell phone to maintain contact with the outside world as coverage is still pretty spotty in these areas once you leave the main road corridors. Hence the reason that the GPS may not be as useful for saftey as it mighgt be. Keep to a schedule of contact times with your wife. Let her know your plans for the next few days. Then, if something happens and you don't call her, she'll know that she has to call in the Mounties. It may seem silly, but this could save you from having to amputate your own limb as one guy did last year.

    Stay hydrated. Wear a hat and use sun screen. That's from your mother.

    I sure wish that I had the time to do this kind of trip. Best of luck!

    Bruce

  3. #3
    Founder QT Luong's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 1997
    Location
    San Jose, CA
    Posts
    2,337

    Extended Camping Photography Trip

    I have found my GPS useful for: (a) determining with precision the time of sunrise/sunset (especially while travelling across confusing time zones), (b) marking locations to return to, (c) occasionally finding my way back to the car in the dark, (d) marking each of my actual exposures so that the data is there, should I want to use it in the future. I like the Garmin etrek series. The additional price of the models with a better screen a joystick is worth it. If you're really concerned about your safety, what would be very helpful is a satellite phone.

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    Chapel Hill NC
    Posts
    321

    Extended Camping Photography Trip

    Don,

    You should have no trouble doing what you want to do in that area. The chief limitation in how long you camp will be water. In the Grand Staircase you can access much of the area from Escalante, but you may have to plan to purchase some food and bring it to Escalante as the store there was not overly stocked. Figure 1 gallon of water per day for cooking and hydration. Also be very cognizant of the weather, as a little bit of water can turn the road into a mess. Check with the BKM. When you hike trails sign-in at the trail heads. The Staircase is grand, but remote.

    If you did take your dogs you have to be careful. Besides things like stickers, there are snakes, and if they chase a rabbit there is the potential they could run off a cliff!

    Bruce Barnbaum is offering a workshop from Boulder, so you may want to check out his web site. It sounds like a lot of fun. I will be in the Bluff/Capitol Reef/San Rafael Ridge area in late April early May.

    You can e-mail me for some more details on that area.

    Regards,

    Mike

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    San Joaquin Valley, California
    Posts
    9,599

    Extended Camping Photography Trip

    Try the trout at the Road Creek Inn in Loa!---Cheers!
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  6. #6
    Steve Sherman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    Central Connecticut
    Posts
    795

    Extended Camping Photography Trip

    Don, I am not fortunate enough to live west of the Mason Dixon but I have been to the Colorado Plateau scores of times (last November), best Large Format location on the planet. I can honestly say within that area is home to four of the most bizzare areas of erosion and desolation I have seen in 20 years with backpack and sheet film. E mailed me off line and I can try to summarize various places I have been.


    Real photographs are born wet !

    www.PowerOfProcessTips.com

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Posts
    538

    Extended Camping Photography Trip

    A really ugly, durable, UV-proof hat will come in handy.

    http://tilley.com/

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Jan 2001
    Location
    Brazil
    Posts
    185

    Extended Camping Photography Trip

    Don,

    Last year I made a much shorter trip on quite a different environment (Fernando de Noronha Island, mid-Atlantic), but was enough to find out that indexing exposed film can easily become a major issue, deserving some good thinking long before leaving home. A lot has already been discussed and written about it and suggest you to dig into this matter, unless you've already found a good way to keep your records apt to your needs. As a tip, I'd suggest taking to field a plastic bag, tied to some kind of string, that could be used two-fold: to fast cover camera against inclement weather and to be used filled with rocks or alike as center-weight on windy days. It save me a bunch of times and also kept my cameras free from tons of sprayed salt water.

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Dec 1998
    Posts
    405

    Extended Camping Photography Trip

    Bring compressed air to blow out your film holders. Someone recommended this to me when I made the trip to the area, and the advice was invaluable.

    Prepare yourself for wind and cold.

  10. #10

    Join Date
    Jul 1998
    Posts
    18

    Extended Camping Photography Trip

    Don,

    QT is right on with his points about the value of a GPS unit. It's worth emphasiszing again, though, that they can be very valuable for finding your way back after dark. Especially if, like me, you tend to stay out until the last bit of light has faded and get too preoccupied with compostion and exposure to pay good attention to where you are at. One thing you will also want for finding your way back is a good light source. I highly recommend a good, lightweight L.E.D. headlamp. These things weigh very little and run for an amazing amount of time using just a few small batteries. You can walk all night in the dark and not run the batteries out. I always carry one in my LF gear pack just in case. If you don't know what I'm referring to check out www.princetontec.com. The little "Pulsar" lights they sell are also very useful in your gear bag. They put out an amazing amount of light for such a tiny unit.

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