spooky and other slot canyons

[dave4242]

hi all,

just curious, do the slot canyons other than antelope and canyon X, really lend themselves to LF? i.e. is there a place to setup your tripod? or are these handheld MF places due to narrow walls and people saying you're in the way?

was thinking of a trip down hold in the wall road and some other slot canyons like little wildhorse canyon on my next SW trip

thanks!

[Alan9940]

I would say that neither of the Antelope slots would be suitable for LF work due to crowds of people. If you could get in there with only a few folks--perhaps, a workshop--then, IMO, Lower Antelope would be the only real possibility for LF; Upper Antelope is much too narrow. Back in the day, Bruce Barnbaum probably managed 4x5 in both of these slots, but... I've never been to any other significant slots, but, based on some pics and videos I've seen, many offer plenty of room to setup a LF rig.

[dave4242]

@Alan, thanks years back I did lower antelope with my 4x5 but today they no longer offer the photographers tour where they leave you alone for 2.5 hours so I probably wouldn't consider either antelopes at this point but others.... :)

[Mark Sampson]

I took my 4x5 to Antelope Canyon (upper?) back in March 1995... paid a fee to the woman sitting in a pickup at the entrance and had the place to myself for several hours. That was the year before several visitors were killed in a flash flood. Obviously things have changed a lot since then.

[Leszek Vogt]

There are many interesting ones without dealing with Antelope....and all those people. Personally prefer the lesser known ones like the one in Valley of Fire or Escalante, or near Kanab....and no issues using LF.

Les

[Drew Wiley]

There are websites dedicated to telling you where slot canyons can be found. Most of them you'll probably have all to yourself, but other than Antelope and Zion Narrows, most are more difficult to get to. You have to be very conscious of the seasonality of storms way way upstream from slots. All of them are death traps in flash floods. Quite a few people have been instantly buried under mud in Antelope due to carelessness in this respect. Some slots require ropes to get around, as well as wading pools of very cold water. Large format cameras are great wherever the logistics themselves aren't extreme. A wide angle lens and bag bellows is often necessary. Lighting ratios can also be extreme. Flashfloods in the SW are generally monsoonal and tend to subside in November. Zion NP posts hazard levels for the Narrows, but wading is still required if you go too far. Don't worry, even a short hike can yield wonderful pictures. It's a pity that Antelope has become a cliche, but a local guide could take you into the northern part instead. I could mention a few more that are walk-in, but require 4WD even for dry weather approach. I rarely photograph them, even though I've done a fair amount of SW canyon exploring. There's so much magic in that part of the world that one never really needs to repeat the cliches.

[mmerig]

Hole in the Rock road (I assume that is what you mean) gives reasonable access to the Spooky and Peek-a-boo slot canyons. There is enough room for a tripod in most places, but there is some climbing to get into them and through them, and it may be worth bringing a short rope (like 10 feet) to pull up or lower your pack around pour-overs and rock jams. Nothing technical or very difficult, but awkward with a tripod and LF gear.

Brimstone is nearby, and this one is quite narrow -- too narrow to walk along the bottom after a while, so you have to bridge or stem along several feet above the floor of the slot.

Another one is Buckskin gulch, a very long, mostly narrow slot that goes from the House Rock Valley road to the Pariah River. No need to go very far -- an hour or two below Wire Pass provides much of the variety. There are some drops over chockstones to get in there, but a little easier than Spooky or peekaboo. There can be longs stretches of thick, sticky mud after wet weather.

Little Wild Horse is also wide enough in spots, and I don't remember anything very tricky there. Bell Canyon allows for an interesting loop. There is one exposed traverse on a narrow ledge around 2/3 of the way down.

With all of these, the main problem could be other people traveling through, and some places are too narrow for people to get by each other easily.

[dave4242]

@mmerig thanks!

[Doremus Scudder]

I used to photograph the slot canyons often, but don't go there much anymore due to the numbers of people. I won't even go close to either of the Antelope canyons anymore. I remember times when I was simply let into Lower Antelope, the open padlock hanging on the gate, with the instructions to lock up after I had finished photographing. I'd spend hours by myself there. It was a surreal and spiritual experience. I can't imagine getting the same photographs now with 45 people charging through every hour taking their selfies for Instagram... I was in Page just this last fall and hardly recognized the place. I'll likely not visit again.

Even Peek-a-boo and Spooky are pretty much overrun by tourists during the high seasons as is Wire Pass/Buckskin Gulch, although I did work well there when I visited there last year. Unfortunately, there were graffiti and "fake" petroglyphs scratched into some of the canyon walls in several places.

Social media and the selfie culture have ruined many of my favorite places... sigh... I'm going to spend my time looking for places off the beaten track from now on.

Best,

Doremus

[goamules]

I think a good photographer can always find a nice LF shot in the desert SW, if you stay away from famous high traffic canyons. There are many slot canyons all around, you just have to find them. Your lens only needs a few feet to work in. Sometimes an open arroyo will close down for a hundred yards, then open back up. I think the attraction of the famous ones is they are longer, and you can enjoy the experience. But any one shot will just be a short distance, because of the twists and turns.

[Drew Wiley]

That's my opinion too. It's easy to find some little place of your own with nobody else's footprints even in it. But I've also walked a major spectacular canyon for over a week without encountering anyone else. Won't say where.

[Tin Can]

I was warned to stay out of slot canyons as they can fill with rain runoff from nearby mountains on a dry clear day.

Also don't camp in low spots.

Don't get stuck in washes ever.

We just opened a major road that was flooded for 4 months. Now it's full of trees.

I always camp high. In the early 70's I motorcycle camped on sand beach, Eastern Lake Michigan. Surrounded by big tents and motor homes.

Huge storm that night. My tiny backpack tent was dry, but by sunrise everybody else had gone. Had that happen often here in Fly Over country,

Yesterday we had tennis ball size hail 50 miles away.

[germansaram]

@Tin Can good tips to really consider. Weather gets crazier and crazier....

[Gadfly_1971]

Once monsoon season is over the danger for flash flooding diminishes considerably. Right now we're in the peak of monsoon season and storms pop up quickly, dump a bunch of rain quickly and then disappear. I never do slot canyons this time of year, and I wouldn't ever go without knowing that there's somebody watching the weather, just in case. One of the biggest reasons that all tours are guided now (to varying degrees) is for safety reasons. Several years ago a group of 7 to 10 tourists were swept away and perished in a flash flood in Antelope. They never knew it was coming.

That being said, I had a good experience in Canyon X with a 4x5. The pricing was reasonable and they tend to take a hands-off approach and allow you to wander at your own pace. They were pretty liberal with their time keeping as well.

[DavidFisk]

To add a bit of shrapnel to the hand grenade, the local Navajo group who administer Antelope have forbidden tripods and even monopods inside the slots. Got this as a warning from a workshop leader. I may finally get to see if handheld LF is truly possible.

[Gary Beasley]

Davidfisk sounds like you need to find a nice Crown Graphic with a working rangefinder for that option. Ive shot one of those handheld many times, you just will be limited to higher speed films for the most part.

[Willie]

Noted Utah LF photographer Bill Ratcliffe did some fine work in Antelope and other slot canyons in the 1950's and into the 1970's. A friend on the Big Rez would go with him and they brought ropes and an old wood ladder. All the time needed as few visited the locations then. His old Ektachromes sure did look nice.

The crowds today make it nearly impossible for tripod work in the tour group locations.

[DavidFisk]

Davidfisk sounds like you need to find a nice Crown Graphic with a working rangefinder for that option. Ive shot one of those handheld many times, you just will be limited to higher speed films for the most part.

I actually thought about the CG but came up with a better idea. I convinced my nephew, who's 11, to go along on the trip. Seems Paul is into performance art in a big way. So last night I put this big bean bag on his head, rested my Technikardan on it and said, "Paul, now do your imitation of the Statue of Liberty for the next minute." It gave me time to set the focus, load the film and click the shutter. Worked like a charm. The raised arm gave the setup extra stability. I'm thinking of renting him out to other LFers.

[Drew Wiley]

Makes more sense just to go to some other slot canyon that isn't billed as a Disney theme park with a waiting line. I can't imagine getting a quality LF or even MF shot in a slot without a tripod.

[DavidFisk]

Makes more sense just to go to some other slot canyon that isn't billed as a Disney theme park with a waiting line. I can't imagine getting a quality LF or even MF shot in a slot without a tripod.

Oh, ye of little faith.

[Vaughn]

I was in Antelope Canyon with a 4x5 in 1985. Wish I knew then what I know now..I would not have compressed the tonal range of those negatives! It was an odd transition from photographing in the redwoods to the desert around Page where the LF workshop was being given (by Bruce B.).

It would be fun to work in that sort of place again, but so little time, so many redwoods, and so much light.

[Drew Wiley]

Try working with color chrome film in an 8x10. I find most slot imagery to have become just too commonplace a cliche to my eye; but I have done it. And even if some of us don't particularly admire the marketing methods of Fatali, he did a LOT of it exclusively with 8x10 and chrome film. But Vaughn, so many redwoods? The tallest ones on earth were once right atop the hill behind me; now there's not even a stump left. Where is your Bigfoot species going to hide in the mere 2% of old growth redwood still extant?
Presumably in plain sight, just like the Bigfoot individuals the History Channel claims reside in Lundy Canyon, and around June and Mono Lakes. Nobody ever sees them because in daytime, they hang out in the June Lake ski resort bar!

[goamules]

The West is a big place. There are many interesting formations and landscapes. I know a couple hidden places in Arches I'll shoot if I ever go back there.

[Vaughn]

Well Drew, there are more redwoods than I will live to see up close and personal, there are whole watersheds I will never set foot in. I am happy at this point to visit many old friends...sometimes individual trees, sometimes small pocket groves of giants.

But there will be less going forward, I'm afraid. I only have about 50 years experience up here...and the stories of those who grew up here. In those 50 years I have seen a slow decrease in summer fog, which is tough on the redwoods. Yearly rainfall is one thing, but fog-drip is important summer water. But some of these trees are genetically many thousands of years old...they probably have seen worse. Their main enemy is still man. Unless we are willing to spend a couple billion to tunnel thru a mountain, we'll lose some eventually to a Hwy 101 bypass south of Crescent City where 101 is about to topple into the ocean far below. So it goes.

The light in those narrow canyons would be interesting to work with in carbon printing. But as gomules said, the West is a big place and the light is wonderful.

Many Pools Canyon, Zion NP; 8x10 carbon print (Zone VI 8x10, Fuji W 250/6.7, Kodak Copy Film)

[Eric Woodbury]

https://petapixel.com/2019/12/11/antelope-canyon-is-shutting-down-its-photography-tours-due-to-crowding-and-negative-reviews/

[Drew Wiley]

More of that Peter Lik print sale nonsense on that link that nobody has ever verified except his own website. First it was a million bucks, now it's six and a half million? At least tall tales are still alive and well in the West.