Somethings to think about if you are planning a trip to Page, Arizona to photograph Antelope Canyon.
1. Check on the weather.
2. If you are traveling a long distance it would be worthwhile to pay the extra money and take photo tour.
3. Camera Equipment Checklist:
- Rain Cover – To protect your camera from dust if not weather sealed.
- Fast Tripod – You'll need a small footprint in these close quarters.
- Dust Blower to keep your lens clean.
- Wide Angle Lens.
- Zoom Lens.
- 2nd Camera for hand held.
4. Camera Settings:
Set the camera in manual mode, shoot RAW. f11 to f18 is the sweet spot for aperture and open the shutter anywhere between 2 and 6 seconds depending on the variation in light to get the best shots. Frequently check your histogram to see how you are doing.
5. Look Up:
There will be times when you have to wait for a group of people to move before you can take a picture. So try to use that time to come up with different compositions. Look up and try to compose shots. "That could be one of your best shots" it was one of mine.
6. High Contrast:
Look for frames with the most contrast to make it all that more interesting. You can find so many frames with high contrast between the darkest and brightest regions because of the shafts of light that penetrate from above make the center areas of the canyons brighter and the sides darker. I set my camera to take 7 Shots each bracket to get all the light and dark areas of the canyon.
