Monument Valley/Canyon de Chelly or near Moab

[Peter McLennan]

I am trying to decide whether to focus on Monument Valley/Canyon de Chelly area or go to Arches/Canyonlands area.  

Arches/Canyonlands offers more choices and variety  Substantial elevation differences allow you to choose what temperature you want at what time of day.  You could spend weeks here and not scratch the surface.  MV, less so.  C de C is nice, but both are much smaller and offer less choices than the Moab area.  

Then there are the must-have guide issues at MV and Canyon de Chelly.  I prefer to work alone.


  Is one of these areas likely to be too hot or windy at this time of year?

Winds can arrive any time of the year.  Hot?  Not yet, but soon.  Should be wonderfully green in Canyonlands about now.

Don't forget Dead Horse Point State Park, a half hour north of Moab.  Sunset or sunrise.  Better than the Grand Canyon, IMHO.

Good shooting!  

Peter

[Tim Gray]

Momument Valley is right on the way - the public drive early in the am or late in the afternoon is worthi it.  I highly recommend half a day with Tom Phillips (google Phillips and Monument Valley) - he's used to working with photographers and won't get in the way - but can get you to some worthwhile locations.

[John Hollenberg]

Just got back from the trip.  Had a fabulous time!  Favorite locations were:

Burr Trail with drive to Strike Valley Overlook and through Capitol Reef NP on dirt road

Canyonlands - absolutely breathtaking

Dead Horse Point State Park - phenomenal scenery, light not too good at sunset, but earlier caught both ends of a rainbow right after a thunderstorm

Monument Valley - got there 7:00 AM, first ones on the scenic drive.  In spite of light not great, got some pretty good shots.  The crowds started arriving around 8:00 or 9:00, when we were finishing up.

Thanks to all who made suggestions.

--John

Glad you had fun John! Sounds like a nice trip!

[SWI]

Don't forget to add Valley of the Gods on your next trip.  In between MV and Moab.

[John Hollenberg]

Don't forget to add Valley of the Gods on your next trip.  In between MV and Moab.

Actually, we did go through Valley of the Gods.  The shot in the album "The Long and Winding Road" is from the Valley of the Gods in mid-afternoon.  We were directed to this location by another photographer who rescued us when we got stuck in the mud in Capitol Reef.  Didn't have 4 wheel drive, got a bit over-confident on the dirt roads and suddenly ran into the muddy goo.  That was an expensive lesson, getting car winched out for $200 by a tow truck driver 20 miles from Torrey!

--John

[John Hollenberg]

I will be taking an 8 day photo trip to the Southwest starting April 29.  Plan to go through Zion to Page, Arizona.  Since I spent time in Zion and Page last year, would like to visit locations I haven't been to yet.

I am trying to decide whether to focus on Monument Valley/Canyon de Chelly area or go to Arches/Canyonlands area.  Figure I won't have time to do both.  Is one of these areas likely to be too hot or windy at this time of year, or are they both good choices for a photo trip?  Which would you choose for early May?

Thanks.

--John

[John Hollenberg]

Peter,

Thanks for the info.  I forgot about the guide thing.  Prefer to explore/hike/shoot on my own also.  I think this about makes up my mind.

--John

[wolfnowl]

Momument Valley is right on the way - the public drive early in the am or late in the afternoon is worthi it.  I highly recommend half a day with Tom Phillips (google Phillips and Monument Valley) - he's used to working with photographers and won't get in the way - but can get you to some worthwhile locations.

Try this one:
http://www.indiancountrytourism.com/Monumen....0TOURS:

Mike.

[Peter McLennan]

Glad you had fun.  There's good reason why we love that part of the world so much, eh?

Peter

[FGARVIN]

I have not yet been to Arches and Canyonlands/Deadhorse state park, they are high on my list, have  been to Monument Valley and Antelope Canyon. Tom Phillips is great , all you need is good weather, can you post a few shots?

[John Hollenberg]

A few shots slapped together in a photo album (locations not labelled):

http://www.bigweasel.com/album/index.html

The two sunrise shots were in Canyonlands.  The rainbows were in Dead Horse Point State Park.  Morning and evening light generally wasn't that good on this trip, some photos taken during the day under less than optimal light.

--John

[FGARVIN]

Thanks for posting, very nice shots. I plan to visit Arches and Deadhorse next year.