slot canyon support

[dave4242]

hi all,
with the "no tripod" policy for slot canyons is there a monopod that works well when doing long exposures for medium format or "hand held" LF cameras?
thanks!

[f9likethekey]

Last year I spent some time around northern AZ and southern UT with my 4x5 and ended up skipping all the slot canyons that had a no tripod policy. These tours typically are overpriced and rushed through (hence the no tripods). If you're in that area I would recommend some BLM land areas in southern UT vs any "tour" through a slot canyon.

[Jim Noel]

There used to be a monopod with a small tripod base. These might have worked,although Idoubt it because ofwind in the canyons. other than that, i don't think a monopod will be of much help for some of the very long exposures.
Now I'm even more happy I Went Before there were guided tours.

[Drew Wiley]

Find another slot canyon that isn't a big tourist attraction with cluttered formal tours. There are quite a few. Just be aware of safety issues in slots. There are several websites dedicated to the subject, giving locations, skill level required, etc. But all kinds of little ones exist which are off the radar completely, which can be every bit as interesting photographically. I don't know why everyone thinks they have to take pictures of the same thing, the same way.

[dave4242]

hi all,
I'm actually thinking of the slots in escalante but I thought using antelope would be easier for people to think of solutions. im interested in zebra mostly, i love the shots that people have taken but I keep reading about tight quarters and no place to setup my Canham so looking for alternatives. its been fun figuring out a lightweight handheld 4x5 but for long exposures wondering how to brace it so trying the hive mind :)
agree before when there was "photo" tours antelope was fun and an experience now every time I pass by there are so many buses and people I don't even consider turning off the highway.

[Drew Wiley]

Those slots can be pretty darn dark. If you want handheld, take a MF rangefinder; but even then, you'll be sorry if you don't have a tripod and sufficient depth of field at smaller stops. Do you really want to have people swarming around you with laptops and cellphones wildly taking snapshots? One direct answer - albeit an expensive one - would be a camera gyro. My older brother often did handheld Linhof Technika shots aboard helicopters (called choppers for a reason - vibration is bad), as well as on factory floors with severe mechanical vibrations rendering tripods useless. The gyro handled these conditions superbly. There is just so much more to see in that part of the world than Antelope Canyon. And down around Zion NP, I wandered into secluded little slots just a few hundred yards from the road without anyone else's footprints around. In Escalante, always ask at the Ranger Station first for the weather forecast before entering the appropriately named Death Hollow area upriver on the trail. There are quite a variety of slots south of the highway, but always plan for a hike with extra water and so forth. Again, there are websites describing these. And if trail access involves dirt roads, remember that slickrock clay can resemble a paved surface when dry, but become terribly slippery soap and sinking gluey muck when wet, making even 4WD travel nearly impossible. But your biggest regret might simply be not having enough filmholders. Gosh that is some amazing country.

[Doremus Scudder]

I was in Page, AZ about a year ago after a hiatus of some nine years. I didn't recognize the place and was really dismayed by the crowds and the commercialization. I didn't even bother to try to get to slots. I'll just have to settle for my great past experiences there (sometimes alone with my tripod for hours. I'd leave the camera working on a 20-30 minute exposure and scout for the next shot... Impossible now).

I'll likely not go back again. There are other places less-traveled; I'll seek those out. I think you should too.

Doremus

[Drew Wiley]

I've hiked in spectacular SW canyons for over a week without running into anyone else. I've also done the same thing in recent years in Sequoia and Kings Canyon Natl Parks, and even within Yosemite NP. Did it last year in Wyoming. Even dayhiking in the GGNRA and Pt Reyes Natl Seashore nearby I know how to find near total solitude for the day. The fact is, 98% of people all crowd into only about 2% of our spaces. I can only repeat the same advice I've given over and over again - study all those postcards, picture books, and Flickr snaps, learn where all those "must see" locations are, and then go the opposite direction!

[Two23]

I've hiked in spectacular SW canyons for over a week without running into anyone else. I've also done the same thing in recent years in Sequoia and Kings Canyon Natl Parks, and even within Yosemite NP. Did it last year in Wyoming. Even dayhiking in the GGNRA and Pt Reyes Natl Seashore nearby I know how to find near total solitude for the day. The fact is, 98% of people all crowd into only about 2% of our spaces. I can only repeat the same advice I've given over and over again - study all those postcards, picture books, and Flickr snaps, learn where all those "must see" locations are, and then go the opposite direction!


It's amazing what you can find when you go exploring on your own with fresh eyes.


Kent in SD

[dave4242]

Thanks everyone

[Willie]

A now deceased family friend photographed Antelope Canyon and others in the 1950's, 60's an d 70's. Always with friends who lived there for guides. Early trips they took hand made wooden ladders and ropes for the hikes. His work was with 4x5 chromes through the decades. He is Bill Ratcliffe, from Orem, Utah. For decades he traveled and photographed with his Burke & James view camera using a 10 inch Commercial Ektar lens. That was the only lens he had and he used it well. A number of covers for Audubon magazine, many photo layouts in the magazine and a number of book to his credit.

Might also look at both Josef and David Muench. Father and son - Large Format photographers who visited those canyons for decades as well. Both excellent photographers.

A number of fine photographers have worked in the canyons through the decades with some fine images as the result.

[mmerig]

I've hiked in spectacular SW canyons for over a week without running into anyone else. I've also done the same thing in recent years in Sequoia and Kings Canyon Natl Parks, and even within Yosemite NP. Did it last year in Wyoming. Even dayhiking in the GGNRA and Pt Reyes Natl Seashore nearby I know how to find near total solitude for the day. The fact is, 98% of people all crowd into only about 2% of our spaces. I can only repeat the same advice I've given over and over again - study all those postcards, picture books, and Flickr snaps, learn where all those "must see" locations are, and then go the opposite direction!

+1

[John Layton]

Same experience here...having first visited Antelope canyon with students back in the early '90's - having the place more or less to ourselves for a couple of hours. Slightly busier visit there with my kids in 1998. Most recent visit in 2014...an absolute madhouse but did manage to get some photos by basically placing three tripod legs together and plastering myself and camera to the walls, and then only able to photograph looking straight upwards - with lots of blurred photos due to folks constantly brushing up against myself and my camera as I tried to shoot - aaarrrgghhh!

Was not aware of the "no tripod" rule - sad but makes sense in a way I guess. Next trip out I'll do my best to find and explore some of the more "obscure," off the beaten path slots, and will hopefully be able to set my tripod down properly, thank you!

[John Layton]

ps...trying to be more helpful to the OP - you could try either a monopod leaning up on a wall, or maybe better yet - a sturdy mini pod - like an old Leitz/Leica table top with either short or longs ball heads...these work great when placed on a wall surface - best with MF...but I've done this also with a lightweight 4x5 (Gowland) - set up and frame/focus/adjust swings-tilts/set aperture/cock shutter first, have film holder reachable with one hand so camera can remain held in place while holder is inserted. Try to note mini pod leg positions as camera will likely move a bit while inserting holder. Works with some practice!

[C. D. Keth]

I've hiked in spectacular SW canyons for over a week without running into anyone else. I've also done the same thing in recent years in Sequoia and Kings Canyon Natl Parks, and even within Yosemite NP. Did it last year in Wyoming. Even dayhiking in the GGNRA and Pt Reyes Natl Seashore nearby I know how to find near total solitude for the day. The fact is, 98% of people all crowd into only about 2% of our spaces. I can only repeat the same advice I've given over and over again - study all those postcards, picture books, and Flickr snaps, learn where all those "must see" locations are, and then go the opposite direction!

Even most of the popular places thin out by 99% once you walk a single mile from pavement.

[Drew Wiley]

Ha! Not even that far on the trail when you see a tour bus pulling up, with the gals stepping out in high heels and the dudes in suits and shined shoes. I would have been long gone except for an interesting shot possibility from a nearby promontory. At least a few of the tourists got far enough to take cell phone pictures of the strange local with a black cloth pulled over his head. They didn't seem to notice the actual view I was aimed at.

[GG12]

Maybe a 2x3 might be a bit easier. Gitzo made a monopod with three legs - I used it with MF camera in some Ecuadorian jungles, and keeping it low (<3'), was able to get up to 8" sharp exposures.

[Drew Wiley]

I think they ban monopods too on those canyon tours. But monopods wouldn't help much either. They even limit the size of your camera bag, making LF almost impossible unless paying a premium for a private tour on the less used section of Antelope Can. So much of that place has become predictable by now. I don't recall the Muench clan ever doing slot can photog per se,
at least until after Eliot Porter published his famous Glen Canyon project. My older brother sometimes traveled with the elder Muench, who was quite a character and could be cantankerous and jealous of anyone else beating him to "the" shot. Barnbaum popularized slots in black and white. Now with GPS coordinates and websites, the more accessible places are overrun and a downright cliche. The only slot images I have were coincidental finds out on hikes, some of them a bit tricky or hazardous with a huge Sinar-laden pack; but I was a lot younger then. The advantage I had was the ability to replicate those exotic iridescent desert varnish colors on Cibachrome, itself nearly iridescent at times. But I've also been in slots that are fairly well known and easy to walk in, and had all to myself, but were somewhat distant from well-traveled roads. They even exist in parts of Nevada and So.Calif.

[gijsbert]

Don't know if you're referring to Lower Antelope but no monopods allowed either, not even a backpack at all actually when I was there late 2018, only what you can carry or hang around your neck.
I'd still recommend going if you're in the area though, and if you're not too familiar with slot canyons, it's a spectacular place! I've shot some 1600 iso b&w film in a 6x7 rangefinder with some good results. Sure with a tripod, and no people, the results would be much better but I'm still happy with my prints. Next time I'm going to try 6400 iso!
I was there early Nov, that's off season I think, and had a cool tour guide that took it slow so some good photo opportunities even with all the restrictions.

[Drew Wiley]

November is when flashfloods begin to subside. The weather doesn't care what's optimal season for tourism or not. Even late Oct I've hopped across little trickles in canyons that were a hundred yards wide just a few days before. Once you get further up into a narrow, a mistake in timing can be fatal. That has of course happened in Antelope Can itself, with mass casualties. One more reason they want things guided and official.