The Southwest

Red Rocks

Arches

Sand Dunes

Slot Canyons

Petroglyphs

Big Bold Skies

Deep dark shadows

Remnants of Ancient Cultures

People Living Close to the Earth

We’ve designed a southwest photographic adventure that weaves together those elements and fill your computer with bold images and stunning compositions.  Here’s what we have planned…

First, we’ll be there for the full moon.  We’ll have opportunities to play with it as it rises and the sun paints nearby rock formations red.  Later, we’ll play with full moon set against rocks washed with early morning light.

Second, we have blocked plenty of time in Monument Valley.  We’ll have opportunities to move around the valley to respond to changing light conditions and we’ll get in there for great light!  We’ll also explore outside the valley where we’ll continue to find iconic scenes that we can literally step into!

Then there is the magic of the slot canyon.  A place where you get to design art using the splashes of color painted when light bounces its way down sandstone walls.  We’ll have plenty of time (okay there’s never ever enough time in slots) to make great images.

We like spending time in the southwest with photographers because the southwest gives us the opportunity to combine simple elements into stunning designs.  We can juxtaposition saturated skies with deep red sandstone and toss in dark shadows to accent the design.  This is dramatic photography at its very best.

Between the boldness of the setting and the learning opportunities inherent in the digital medium, we feel we can guide people to quickly improving their abilities to build quality exposures and design stunning compositions. 

This is also a harsh environment where the Navajo people are living very close to the land.  We’ll have opportunities to get a glimpse into their lives as we travel with Navajo guides into Monument Valley and other restricted areas. 

We’ll have plenty of opportunity to see structures, petroglyphs, and artifacts of the Anasazi, those cliff dwelling people who came long before the Navajo and Hopi.  We’ll talk through what happened to them as we capture dramatic visuals of those signs they left behind.

We’re basing the adventure in Kayenta, Arizona, deep in the heart of the Navajo Nation and the best place to access both Monument Valley and the famous Antelope Slot Canyons.

Early fall will give us manageable days where we can explore from sunup to sundown.  It may also give us nippy weather, or the temperatures could soar into the 80s – or both.  We’ll probably see plenty of clear skies, but we could also see a thunderstorm or even snow flakes.  And sometimes the wind that shapes those exciting dunes blows hard.  Be prepared for it all!

Weather and Climate Information