Canyon de Chelly & Navajoland 2013, Day 05

Into the Canyon

After some pretty wet weather, Lady Luck was with us. It was a beautiful morning, and we met our guides early.

As we bumped and jounced along, we could see that the tracks had improved. Repeated traffic yesterday had packed down many of the iffy areas, and we had no problems.

Yes, our drivers still had to take care and pick their way, but we had no bogging down.

As we came around one bend in the river, the early light and river patterns made a great place to stop. As with yesterday, at first, some of our participants didn’t get out of their cars, but quickly, everyone was out, seeking his and her own shots.

It really was a great way to start our photographic day.

Because of the floods and damaged tracks, we could only get as far as First Ruin, but it was glorious in that first light. With the reflections on the river, and the ruins high above Chinle Wash (the river), it made for great shots.

We had talked to our group about how to use one’s lenses effectively, and I found a lone plant, thriving in a patch of fragile, biological soil, to illustrate our point. Some of our group were afraid of lens flare from the sun, but

Canyon de Chelly & Navajoland 2013, Day 04

Into the Canyon

We got an early start and met outside in the parking lot. No one was there! That is unusual for our guides, as they are not only there, but there early.

I called, and they were on their way. With slim cell service in and around Canyon de Chelly, it is difficult to communicate.

“They closed the Canyon,” one of our guides reported.

“When will it reopen?”

“We’re not sure, but we are checking.”

Finally, news came in that the National Park Service has reopened the Canyon, and we piled into the 4WDs and took off.

It was muddy, no question. These drivers know the canyon and where the quicksand is.

We bumped and jounced along until finally, and with no surprise, we got stuck. We got carefully out of the car and picked our way to dryer ground. No one wanted to lose a shoe in the mud while the three drivers worked to free our guide’s 4WD. In the photo above, our driver is assessing the situation.

It didn’t take that long. After all, this isn’t the first time a car has gotten stuck in the canyon. We made it to our first location, First Ruins, and for the Navajo, “Last Ruins” when you are on your way out of the canyon.

Because of our late start, the light was too hot, but since we were there, we showed out group how to turn day into night.

We talked to the guides, and we agreed that it made much more sense to turn around and wait until things had dried out during the day. We would return late in the afternoon when the light would be good again. Our group all agreed, and we returned to Sacred Canyon Lodge to do our imaging and critiquing.

The light was, indeed, much better in the afternoon, and everyone practiced capturing the light. I worked with some to do some interesting images of mud.

The light shining off the wet surfaces was

Canyon de Chelly & Navajoland 2013, Day 03

Changes in Plans

Photographers need to adapt. Mother Nature, as we often say, has a mind of her own. We can be frustrated by her, or we can adapt.

As noted in previous blogs in this series, we saw a lot of rain in Canyon de Chelly that caused a lot of flooding. The “road” into the canyon was a mud mire in many places, and we were the first ones to go in, so no tracks had been packed down.

Our jeep got stuck, and the other two worked as a team to get it out. It made sense to turn around and reschedule for the next day, as clearly, there was a lot of drying out that needed to happen before anyone could get it. In fact, the park service closed the canyon for just that reason.

One of our guides took us to a special place near where he lives.

Everyone loved it. There were patterns galore, and so many ways to photograph those patterns or seek details instead.

Arnie and I handed out challenges, and showed our participants different ways of approaching the location.

We wandered across the area, being careful to avoid adding footprints and spoiling the scenes for others. The sky was dramatic, and if ever there were big skies, these were good examples.

There is a very old trading post, often described as the oldest, continually operating one in the country. For us, it can be a photographic feast.

There is a barn that is full of neat things. This time, I pointed out how the light played off the elements in an old