 Welcome to Grand Canyon Photography!
This
is one of the most beautiful places in the world
and it is a great pleasure to share some of my
tips with other photographers. When you go on
a Grand Canyon raft, dory, or kayak trip be prepared
to take lots of pictures. And don't leave home
without extra batteries, camera-cleaning supplies
like a camel hairbrush and be sure to shoot a
test roll of film and look at it before you leave.
CAMERAS: Bring the one you're used to shooting with. Sometimes you’ll only have a few minutes or even seconds to get a shot off. If you are buying a new camera for this trip, try shooting a few rolls before the trip so you can learn its idiosyncrasies. A new camera should be trouble free but you want to be familiar with its operation so you aren't trying to read the manual while going through Lava Falls rapid. If you are planning to have your camera serviced or cleaned before the trip be sure to allow enough time to test it with a roll of film after it returns. Change the batteries and bring spares. Any good camera will work well for this trip - electronic or manual.
If your coming mainly to take pictures a second camera body
is a good idea. We always take precautions to protect our
equipment but accidents and mechanical failures do happen.
There is no place to get a spare once you are on the river.
You may also want to use the extra camera with a different
film. Some people have had good luck risking their older camera
while on the boat (rapids) and saving their newer camera for
hikes and in camp. A motor-drive or power winder is handy
for sequences through rapids and quick series as we pass by
scenery, but it is in no way necessary. There are times when
you won't be able to shoot fast enough and times when you
may take a half hour to find your composition.
Waterproof or underwater cameras like the inexpensive models
by Minolta and Nikon are great to have along for snapshots
on the boat of fellow passengers and spraying water. They
are also sealed against dust and sand.
Medium or large format, Polaroid, or video can all provide
interesting and different views of the canyon. Bring whatever
you wish to try. One caution - you will not wish to burden
yourself with too much equipment. You will get better results
if you concentrate on one format. Digital cameras work in
my opinion for shorter trips, but not for longer ones as there
is no place to download your images.
 LENSES: The
ideal set includes a wide angle anywhere from 17mm to 35mm,
a normal 55mm and a zoom in the 80-200 range. Macro or close
focusing is important for details like cactus blooms, lizards,
and the beautiful rock textures. Zoom lenses are great for
composing boats going through rapids when you are shooting
from the shore. Telephotos are used rather infrequently, but
you may wish to pack one along anyway for the chance of a
Desert Bighorn, California Condor or other bird life. A 2X
converter may take the place of a telephoto. You can probably
find a use for any lens you have, so if you have room, bring
it along. The lens you will use most is a wide angle.
FILTERS: You
should definitely have a skylight or UV filter on each lens
and perhaps one spare filter along with you. Sand, silt and
water spray will be constant problems. A polarizing filter
will deepen many of the canyon's colors and cut the "desert
haze" common in the afternoons, and will enhance reflections.
Use it only when needed though for it cuts your exposure 1
to 2 stops. Bring any special effects filters you want to
try, but if you are not sure how to use them, the canyon light
is beautiful enough without them.
FILM: I use
Fuji Velvia (ASA 50) for daytime use Fuji Provia (ASA 100)
for lower light. If you shoot negative film I would bring
mostly a 100 to 200 speed film. You should also bring a few
rolls of higher speed in the 400 to 800 ASA range for night
shoots and the occasional raining day when you might see a
rim fall. Bring plenty of film!!! You can take extra home
but you can't buy any more once you shove off unless someone
loses their camera and sells you their film…By the end
of the trip a spare roll of film can often be traded for a
good campsite or a dry seat on the boat.
The
canyon is a beautiful place for black and white film also. Again,
bring what you are familiar with and will give you the end product
you want, i.e. slides or prints. The colors in the Grand Canyon
are pastel reds, pinks, grays, and tans that wash out easily
in bright light or if the film is overexposed. Medium or slow
speed films capture the colors best.
I shot 75 rolls of 36 exposures on my first 8-day river trip
and now carry about 50 rolls, usually shooting 35 to 40.
CAMERA CASES: You will need to protect your gear from splashes, dust, sand and people. I use a pelican case; it's a waterproof and has a hard shell. Many people use army surplus ammo cans. These are water proof and hard too. You need to bring some kind of pack to hike with your cameras.
BATTERIES: BRING
EXTRAS!!! Put new ones in for the trip and bring a
spare set. One good idea is to bring other electrical items
like a flashlight and motor drive that use the same size (AA)
batteries as your camera so you can rob from one or the other
if necessary.
FLASH: You may
want to bring a flash for shots around camp, trying to capture
night wildlife, or for fill light in some of the darker side
canyons.
Bring a good assortment of cleaning supplies…lens paper
and cleaning solution and lipstick-style camel hair lens brush
and a soft cloth or chamois. Zip-Loc freezer bags are ideal
for storing film and lenses.
Bring the equipment you are most comfortable with. There is
a lot to be said for keeping it simple.
 SHOOTING: If it's going to be your only trip shoot often and all day. In the summer when the sun is straight up save you're shooting for close-ups and side canyons. Do most of your landscapes early in the morning or late in the evening. Around camp look for vantage points you can easily hike up too. Contrast is going to be one of your biggest problems. One side of the canyon will be lit with bright sun and the other side in dark shade. Bracket your exposures. Expose for the midtones and the highlights. If you're used to graduated filters bring them.
At rapids, if you get to get out and shoot passing boats, ask your guide where the most action in that rapid will be and set up there. Use a fast shutter speed to stop the action. Try wide shots where you can see the boat and the whole rapid as well as close-ups where you can see the expressions on the rafter's faces.
Try slow shutter speeds on the waterfalls to get both depth of field and to make the water look silky. Don't be afraid to try artsy techniques. And be sure to bring a notebook and buy a river guide so you can write down how and where you took your pictures, once you get home all those canyons are going to look the same.
Happy
shooting. See some more of my photos at www.cclockwood.com
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