South West USA Travelogue - May 2000

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SW USA Travelogue - The Arches: Part 1 Posted Sunday, July 23, 2000 by f32
Looking at the red sandstone as we drove into the first parking area it was a race between us as to who could get their camera kit and tripods out of the car first. In an almost fevered rush we moved off from the car towards the first sandstone pillars. Oblivious to the tourists who were milling around I set up the Koni-Omega 6x7 camera, attached the cable release and composed for the shot. Then a steady flow of people wandered across the frame in ones and twos.......

This was the first time during the trip that we had experienced the "problem" of people in shot. Having a person in shot is not normally a problem and indeed quite welcome to demonstrate scale, however these were typical tourists with cameras around necks and with questionable fashion statements :-) After waiting in the hot sun for about 15 minutes before being able to grab a shot which gave some sense of the magic without fitness challenged people standing in front of the camera staring at the lens - it was time to move on.

The idea was to come back later in the day when the area had become a little less populated. In reality there were only about 20 people wandering around, however this felt like a huge crowd after the empty vistas we had been used to earlier in the trip. We returned to the car overheated and a little bemused.

Driving off we discovered that this first stop had attracted most of the people travelling through the National Park and that as we progressed through the winding road there were fewer and fewer people around. We started to relax and made our next stop by the side of the road where there were some interesting pillar formations that were almost hoodoos, and of course a few potential arches.

A point of reference - Hoodoos are similar to some optical illusions in that they look at first glance to be impossible. Limestone and sandstone rocks that have been eroded by the weather over time to form pillars with the harder rock sitting on top of pillars which can be hundreds of feet high. The rocks sitting on top of the pillars can be a lot larger in width than the pillars they sit on, seemingly balanced precariously and as though they have been placed there by some giant hand....

Right, back to the plot. The Arches NP contains over 90 natural rock arches created by wind and rain in Entrada sandstone, originally coastal sand dunes over 150 million years ago. The Arches is divided into six sections: Courthouse Towers; Windows; Delicate Arch; Fiery Furnace; Klondike Bluffs; and Devil's Garden. Fortunately for us with the heavy camera kit, most of the trails to the various arches are fairly short and have interesting viewpoints as you approach the arches.

Our second stop by the side of the road was not on one of the arch trails and we were undisturbed. There were a number of potentially great photos in this area and we both wandered off and set up the cameras. We were running out of time as the shadows shortened towards the middle of the day, also it was becoming very hot. Becoming acclimatised to the heat took a day or so after the experiences we had in Zion with the rain.....

Having shot a few trannies and black&white with the 4x5 we moved on again further up the winding road to discover Balanced Rock. This is an amazing rock formation with a huge rock impossibly balanced on a sandstone pedestal which is about 80 feet high. There was some road construction work being carried out which restricted the viewpoints we could use. Initially it seemed as though it would be impossible to photograph Balanced Rock without construction vehicles and some striped tape in shot.

Gary was very upbeat though and we parked up further down the road, took a CB each and started to explore the possibilities. Gary ended up on top of a small mesa (fossilised sand dune) and called me up to say that he had a good spot. It took about ten minutes to climb up to his position and I found him sitting next to his camera with a big grin on his face.

He had found the only spot where a photo could be taken which minimised the views of construction in the shot. I set up the 4x5 fairly quickly and decided to use the old Kodak Ektar 203mm lens which compressed perspective a little and allowed in camera cropping of the distractions still visible in the scene.

A quick aside on the Ektar 203mm - this lens was made in the late 1940s and is a real cracker. The lenses are relatively inexpensive and using a loupe I cannot tell the difference in performance between a modern and much larger multicoated lens and the trusty old Ektar which is now 53 years old! Mine is in its original shutter so the shutter speeds do not follow modern conventions - a little bit of maths and a test with a shutter speed tester before the trip made it an invaluable addition to the kit. The lens was probably used as much as the standard 150mm Sironar N which cost an arm an a leg.....

OK, back to the Balanced Rock photos. After shooting B&W, trannies and some infrared we sat on the mesa for a while having a chat before deciding to move off whilst there was still some modelling from the sun which was rapidly approaching its peak with shortening shadows.

The next stop was in a car park by The Windows. Here, Gary decided to head up to the Double Arch on his own after trying to persuade me to join him. I was fairly tired after all the driving and now simply wanted to soak up some sun and simply look at the arches whilst leaning on an old wooden fence. We had looked earlier at a photo produced by another photographer for the National Parks guide which was a stunning shot of the Double Arch. I was fairly sure that we were too close to midday for a good photo and that the photographer had used some very wide angle lens or digital manipulation to achieve the shot.

Gary walked off at a fast pace with his tripod over his shouder and I carried on with the leaning and basking, contemplating visits to the gym for a work out on return to the UK :-) After about half an hour of lizard activity and regeneration, I looked up to see Gary returning - he looked more than a little warm and was grinning. He had managed to get a few good shots, but discovered that as we had suspected, the photo in the guide leaflet was taken with an extreme wide angle lens. As it happened, I did of course have a lens that could have done the trick but hey, it had already been done and the feeling of being an explorer had been somewhat dampened by the people around us and perhaps not being too comfortable with the notion of following well trodden paths....

This slightly jaded attitude towards the Arches was a direct consequence of being a bit tired after driving hundreds of miles that morning with an early start. Many times during the remainder of the trip and since returning to the UK I have kicked myself for not spending longer in the Arches..... A good excuse for returning next year though :-)

The next installment of the travelogue will complete the Arches story and move on to the wonderful Dead Horse Point.

Later, Clive Warren.

SW USA Travelogue - Goblin Valley and Arches Posted Saturday, June 17, 2000 by f32
We were both fairly tired by now and it was past midnight. Had become rather too used to the early nights, hitting the hay when the sun went down and up again early for the sunrise.

Goblin Valley was pencilled in as a place to stop if we hit it during daylight hours so being there in the middle of the night was a bit of a surprise. All 21 campsites were taken and there seemed to be a lot more than 21 vehicles parked up.

An aside on Goblin Valley - this National Park seems to have become very popular as it is within easy reach of Interstate 70 which cuts East-West across the middle of Utah. Goblin Valley is desribed as "Utah's skull in the sky, parade of elephants, and dance of the dolls" - whatever that means :-) The rock formations carved out by wind and water resemble goblins and the place has a somewhat mischievous air. Although called a valley, the altitude is still around 5000 feet so the desert evenings can be cool.

Back to the plot. We decided to follow the friendly advice of the people we met and motored out of the Park and into the Bureau of Land Management land (BLM) where it is OK to free camp. Rounding the limits of one mountain we found a dirt track leading into the desert which looked promising. A few miles down the road there were a couple of tracks leading off towards the mountains. Gary got out of the car at this point and walked in front as I trickled the car carefully along on the soft sand, gary testing constantly to see if it would take the weight. It would have been a bit of a disaster to get the car stuck in loose desert sand miles away from any potential help.

Moving slowly forwards, the track ended up in almost virgin desert so I stopped the car and got out to see if camping was a practical idea. Of course it was and there was a superb starlit sky which in the still desert air seemed to pull you into the pool of stars. After nearly falling over decided that this was the place to stay the night and we put up the Hilton and my small tent fairly quickly. Both tents were still wet from the Zion soaking but soon dried out. Had this strange idea that in the morning the moisture from the tents would result in us waking up to a tropical growth of opportunist dormant plants just waiting for us to turn up.

Looking up through the large circular vent in the roof of my tent I was tired but happy to watch the stars and soon fell asleep....

In the morning we could see where we had pitched in relation to the surrounding mountains and desert. We were about ten miles from one ridge and 5 miles from the ridge surrounding Goblin Valley. The sand under our feet was untouched until we arrived with faint signs of use to the track which had taken us to the middle of the desert. Snapped off a few 35mm shots with the Olympus, had a bite of breakfast, packed the tents and retraced our route back towards the road and highway 24.

The numbers of people at the Valley put both of us off the idea of hanging around for any serious photography so it was a push North to join Intersate 70 through the San Rafael Desert and the junction for route 191 which would take us down to the Arches National Park, and later Moab.

This part of the trip was unremarkable, Green City was not too green on the way and surrounding the road everywhere were mountains of fossilised volcanic ash making for a grey and dreary landscape. Must have been a pretty unpleasant place to be when the volcanoes were doing their thing.... Crescent Junction was a welcome break when we arrived and immediately took route 191 South towards the Arches putting distance as quickly as possible between us and the greyness.

By mid morning we arrived through increasingly dramatic scenery of the familiar Utah red sandstone rock at the Arches National Park and the temperature started to climb. Decided to go straight into the Arches and finally start burning some of the 4x5 film sitting in the cooler.

We had been making good time on the trip to the Arches hoping that the campsite would have a few places left. This was not to be. Apparently the last place had gone at 8am and we were just too late again. The other option for that night was Dead Horse Point State Park so the plan was to shoot at the Arches and then head over to Dead Horse point hoping to find a space at the campsite.

As we sat in the queue of cars waiting to pay for entry to the arches, a large semi (articulated lorry) had driven up to the ubiquitous sentry box and the driver was involved in a discussion with the attendant. Looking at the winding road snaking up the side of the canyon it seemed crazy that the driver should be trying to visit a National Park with his semi and heavy load. Gary told me that it was not uncommon for drivers on long hauls across the country to do something like this to break up the monotonous trip. We watched as the semi driver skillfully reversed his rig in the impossibly narrow road to a parking area by the information centre building, unhitched the trailer and then went bombing off up the winding canyon trail towards the arches. Although you couldn't hear it, I could imagine the driver yelling "yee hah!" as he put pedal to metal and momentarily escaped the heavy weight of his daily working load and headed into some of the most dramatic scenery we had seen so far on the trip.

We wound slowly up the canyon road and finally topped out to be surrounded by glowing red rock formations and mesas. At last, a place worthy of some serious large format photography and temperatures which I had been expecting in Zion. It was becoming very warm with the temperature rising throughout the morning. We pulled over at the first parking point and started to drag the photographic kit out of the car. The heat was an oven blast and now there was a sense of purpose - catch the light before midday and try to do some justice to the rock formations surrounding us. However many times I see the red rock formations of Utah they always fill me with awe. It is hard to capture the sense of scale and varieties of shapes - all seeming to have some ancient meaning. It's almost as if you stand close enough and open your mind then you will receive some ancient wisdom - the secret to being at one with your planet. Forget tree hugging - place your hands on that ancient stone.......


The next installment will take us through the Arches and onto Dead Horse Point....

Later, Clive Warren

SW USA Travelogue - Capitol Reef and Fruita Posted Friday, June 16, 2000 by f32
Well, after taking our sunset shots we packed up our kit and started back on the route towards Capitol Reef on highway 12. It soon became clear that we were going to miss some wonderful scenery as the sun went down and the mountains started to loom around us.

The plan was to skip through Capitol Reef during the afternoon. Plans on an adventure and exploration trip are really only guidelines so we were not too surprised that night had crept up on us quite so quickly. Before we moved off the nightly ritual of calling out on channels 19 and 32 on the CB radio was made just in case there were other adventurers out there who hoped to meet up with the f32 team. Plenty of static but after ten or fifteen minutes it seemed as though we were again on our own.

We headed towards Fruita on highway 24 where there are some petroglyphs and an old schoolhouse. Gary told me that it would be worth staying around the area for a night to photograph the petroglyphs and that Fruita would be a great place to stop.

As we approached Capitol Reef it soon became clear that we were descending into a tree lined canyon with plenty of evidence of water. Even at night the place seemd quite magical. There were large numbers of trees and with the car windows open it felt like evening in a tropical rain forest with dramatic cliffs of sheer rock rising all around us. The effect of such lush green country had an uplifting effect and I was soon looking for places to set up camp.

Here a quick aside on free camping may be interesting and certainly relates to much of the remainder of the trip. The National Parks have to a great extent tamed the easier to access hard wild country of Utah. Camp grounds have water (usually), a designated spot to place your tent, and more often than not a bench to sit on. These seemed to me to be the minimum luxuries that you should have when under canvas for a couple of weeks at a time. Later in the trip I was to change my mind about this and preferred to set up the tent in the wild and untamed land, much as the Native Americans and those early explorers must have done in the 1800s. There is something very spiritual about being at peace on your own in a wild place which has not been tamed - more about this later.

We started looking for the campsite at Fruita and I stared to feel more and more that this would be a good place to stay for the night. We soon came across the turning for the campsite down a short dirt road and found ourselves in what seemed to be a lush meadow with designated spaces for RVs and tents.

We parked up in a vacant slot even though the signs on the gate said the site was full. Walking around the site was a real pleasure - people laughing softly around camp fires and then a fiddle player started playing music from the hills - a few people gathered around and the music blended in with the crickets chirping. Smells of food cooking on the camp fires and an almost overpowering feeling of happiness and peace - talk about good vibes.......

I was determined that we should stay at the site that night so approached the rv which had the usual "camp host" sign next to it. Gary spoke to the host who was a man of few words - he told us what we really knew already - the site was full and the empty slots were reserved for late arrivals.

We were both disappointed but had to get back on the road. With a last look back at the idyllic scene we drove off into the night, back onto highway 24 and headed North. Both of us were scanning the road to find a place to pitch the tent but the canyon walls were sheer around us and really no space to pitch a tent by the side of the road. Guess we would have been moved off anyway at some point....

The beauty of the area lasted until the small town of Caineville and we then headed towards Hanksville. The idea of staying in these places and returning to Fruita was a possibility but as the surrounding countryside started to look more drab, flat and grey I thought it better to continue on towards Moab.

Time was getting on and it was approaching midnight when we came across the small road leading to Goblin Valley. This was a place I had marked out to visit if there was time. The next 100 miles or so were going to be fairly tedious so I decided to head towards Goblin Valley and hopefully find somewhere to sleep. Gary had not been there before - he pointed out that the road from now on was fairly straight and in boring country - a place to make up time on a trip rather than stop.

When we turned onto the road it became clear that it had recently been completely relaid and was in fact better than the highway we had been travelling. This was a little surreal as we were now in the middle of the desert. We drove down the road for 5 or 6 miles and eventually came across the usual "sentry box" of the National Parks Service. At this time of night the box was unmanned so we popped in and read all their leaflets :-) There was another of the "camp site full" signs, but we there was little to lose so we went into the park area and checked out the campsite. It was probably the fullest camp site I have seen in Utah! There wasn't even a space to park, let alone camp... A couple of people wandered past whilst we had a chat in the car. They stopped and suggested we go out of the National Park and around the other side of the mountain and free camp in the desert.

This was the start of the free camping experience and one which opened my eyes to the real Utah....

The next update is about the desert, freedom and the road to Moab.

Later, Clive Warren

SW USA Travelogue - Escalante Staircase Posted Saturday, June 3, 2000 by f32
We were now intent on making up for lost time and travelled fairly rapidly North East. This was a road which I hadn't travelled on before so was looking forward to seeing a bit of the Escalante area on the route up towards Moab. The geology of the area meant that we would have to take the road North East passing to the West of the Canyonland and Arches National Parks until hitting the Interstate. At this point it was a brisk drive directly East for around 80 miles before dropping down towards Arches and Canyonland. We knew that it would take too long to make the trip in one bite, so were keeping an open mind as to where we would end up for the night.

Gary told me that the road we were taking up towards the Interstate was one of his favourite drives and that we were in for a treat or two. Well that was fine by me - I was totally unprepared for the breathtaking views though as we travelled further into Escalante and started climbing thousands of feet.

On the way to Escalante we stopped in at a small town, well it was just a few houses in the middle of nowhere with of all things an art gallery of sorts and a roadhouse. Having ordered coffee in the roadhouse in an attempt to stay alert, 20 minutes later there was still no sign of it although the coffee was bubbling away in a percolator. Eventually we asked if we could help ourselves and in a very laid back way the lady proprietor smiled broadly and mumbled something about staff problems telling us to go ahead. There were five people in the roadhouse including the proprietor :-)

Made a mental note never to get so laid back that there was a danger of falling off my hips and we bade farewell to our host, keen to get back on the road.

The relationship between car and driver/passengers is all important out in the West, if you have a car then it is possible to live in some really remote places - no car means no water and no lifeline to other people. The summer months must seem to really drag by with temperatures well in to the high 90s day after day. It is really only comfortable to move around outside in the early morning and late afternoon/evening. Luckily this is of course the ideal time to take photographs - maybe there is some divine wisdom in placing some of the most photegenic parts of the world in places where they look their best at these times.

If you want to live in such places then land is relatively cheap but the costs of drilling a well is not. If you can afford to buy the land and drill a well then it is possible to have some amazing scenery around you, better make sure that you can sell your photos though :-)

Back to the plot. As we travelled closer towards Escalante, constantly twisting and climbing, we came around a bend and were presented with an amazing view out across a mountainous landscape with a valley floor thousands of feet below us. It was truly stunning and a great temptation to stop and take a few photos. Well time was getting on and we had to consider where we were going to stay that night. In Vegas Gary had lent me a compact Olympus 35mm camera which although a little temperamental came into its own for quick snap shots which would otherwise have been difficult for any other camera - whether due to time constraints or aesthetic considerations. The small Olympus came out of the pocket for a quick snap before heading out and down further into Escalante.

We travelled for a while with stunning vistas laid out before us, until at one bend the temptation to stop was just too great. Out came the cameras and we spent a good hour taking various shots of the valley floor and one particular canyon. It was probably a good idea to have done this as I am sure we would both have been fairly frustrated as the evening crept up on us without taking any shots of Escalante. Made a mental note to allow a bit more time through this area on the next trip and we headed further North East, descending all the time with the light gradually changing as the sun became lower and lower in the sky.

We were heading towards a particularly interesting canyon and were still several miles away from where we had intended to be following the earlier stop. It soon became clear that we would miss an incredible sunset if we could not find some foreground interest (a common problem for landscape photographers) to make a good sunset composition. We rounded yet another bend to find a small red rock hill on the right side of the road and a fairly interesting ridge on the West side which could be used in the sunset shots we both had in mind.

As soon as I stopped the car, Gary jumped out and started running with his medium format gear and a heavy tripod. He ran towards the hill and then ran up it in rapidly failing light. I was so amazed at his apparent agility and fitness that I watched him perform this feat of athletic prowess with some admiration, forgetting entirely that I was supposed to be doing something similar with the large format gear.

Having hoisted a couple of bags one on each shoulder and picked up the tripod, it soon became clear that the hill was not an option if I wanted to stay in this world so let Gary have the hill to himself. I shuffled slowly over the rock strewn red earth towards the nearest small mound and a small tree devoid of leaves which I guessed may look rather interesting when backlit by the sunset.

Set up the camera on the tripod, attached an ancient 203mm Kodak Ektar lens and did some focussing with the traditional cloth over camera and head before placing a film holder in the camera and closing the shutter in preparation for the sunset. To be fair to Gary, his scramble up the rocky hill was probably a good bet as the cloud looked wonderful and it promised to be an interesting sunset. However, the hoped for golden red and magenta sunset reflected in the clouds failed to materialise and I decided to make the best of the situation with the backlit tree. This turned out to be one of my favourite shots on the trip. As soon as it is scanned it will be posted here on www.f32.net.

Back to Gary, I'm sure he won't mind if I tell you that when he came back down the hill it was clear that he had been exerting himself. He had recovered completely by the next day though ;-)

OK, time for a break - the next installment will deal with the nightime trip through the canyon, fiddle players (yee hah!) and the desert.

Later, Clive Warren.

SW USA Travelogue - Bryce, Hats and Ruby's Inn Posted Saturday, June 3, 2000 by f32
Well, after the soaking we had in Zion we travelled fairly quickly towards Bryce with the clouds looking ominously black and foreboding. The route plan was to take us within a few miles of Bryce Canyon purely to revisit a family run native American clothes shop on one of the roads leading towards Bryce. The shop has an amazing range of superbly made cowboy hats.

Perhaps at this point I should explain that there is not so much of the thick bushy hair on the top of my head as there once was.... something to do with hormones, can't be age ;-) Anyway I have a serious hat habit which started when I used to travel exclusively using various old British motorcycles concocted out of parts laying around in the garage. Isambard Kindom Brunel (he of engineering and shipbuilding fame) used to say, "if you want to get ahead, wear a hat" sound advice..... OK, back to the story.

A hat for a photographer is a splendid tool - lens hood, shutter, camera cover and can even be used on your head to keep the sun off. Needless to say, the shop had a rather fine black cowboy hat with my name on it so a deal was struck and I left the shop a happy chap.

The next stop was Ruby's Inn close to Bryce Canyon - this is a great place for a bite to eat with a wholesome buffet and pleasant surroundings. The temperature was now down to the low 50s, the wind was picking up and light rain was falling. Ruby's Inn is at an altitude of around 6000 feet or so is generally fairly cool but it was positively cold with the wind chill factor.

After a good feed it was time to buy a couple of books from the excellent range in the provisions shop which is part of Ruby's Inn, top up on postcards and take a last look at the petrified trees in the corridors surrounding the shop. There are some unusual books in Ruby's on back packing and hiking through Utah - many of these illustrated with some excellent B&W photos. Both Gary and I bought books with the idea of doing a little back country walking at some point in the future.

Had a quick blast on the computer in the reception area of Ruby's to attempt an update on f32 but the connection fell over so often I had to give up. The final purchase was another tin opener as we had a metal fatigue problem with the old one in Zion. No photographs in Bryce or the surrounding area - the road was calling so we got into the car quickly and headed out North East towards Escalante. The plan at this stage was to stay the night somewhere along the route towards Moab.

As we started motoring away from Bryce and gradually descended to a more reasonable altitude, the temperature beacame a little more bearable and the clouds broke up. At last we were leaving behind the foul weather and heading into the heat and low humidity of the arid South West that I had been looking forward to since leaving England. We had about two or three hundred miles to cover and time was moving fast.

Both of us became happier with each mile we put between us and the mountains behind us where the rain was still falling. There were going to be some great vistas along the route and it was about time the cameras were taken out for an airing.

Later, Clive Warren

SW USA Travelogue - Zion and British Weather Posted Friday, June 2, 2000 by f32
Well there were not too many cybercafes in the desert on the trip so the f32 travelogue is being written up from home back here in Bristol, England. It is supposed to be summer here now but is fairly cold and wet. Writing about the searing heat of the desert is bringing back fond memories of the South West USA climate. Hope to be spending more time over there on the next trip.

Anyway, back to the story :-)

Picked up various provisions at Walmart on Tropicana including a large cooler for the film and loads of ice. At the last minute the old friend in Vegas, Gary, asked whether there was a spare seat in the car. Of course I was delighted to have Gary along for the trip and we set out towards Zion, North East on the Interstate 15 after an hour or so of packing his additional kit in the car.

The temperature in Vegas was around 90F when we left and getting hotter. The weather peops predicted temperatures reaching the high 90s for the remainder of the week. The idea of being in Zion again drove us on to a cracking pace on the Interstate and we arrived in Zion by the early afternoon after a couple of stops for refreshments.

The clouds were building up a bit on the way up to Zion and the weather forecasts had been for a 20% chance of showers. We had a couple of CBs which had weather channels so were monitoring the forecasts every hour or so. Zion National Park is centred around a canyon and we were considering a small amount of hiking around the canyon but the potential for sudden flash floods or rises in the Virgin River flowing through the canyon kept us to the higher ground.

The campsite was as I remembered it, but there were a whole new fleet of buses sitting in the camping area ready for the new Zion "shuttle policy".

Essentially there has been a tremendous rise in the numbers of tourists visiting Zion over the last couple of years and the buses are intended to limit the number of cars travelling into the canyon. This is a policy which has worked well in Death Valley, California. Can't say that either of us looked forward to the time when travelling by bus with a load of tourists will be the only way into Zion Canyon. Large format cameras do not mix well with buses and tourists.... Guess that it would be a small price to pay if that is the only way to see the canyon in the future.....

On the way into Zion we noticed a dirt track leading into the hills on one side of Zion which seemed to provide an excellent vantage point for a shot or two of the mountains surrounding the canyon. We motored up the dirt track carefully and found a couple of excellent viewing points. I dutifully set up the large format gear whilst Gary happily shot a few trannies on his medium format gear. The clouds were starting to build up and just as I was ready to take a shot the mountains were in deep shadow. This was the start of a two hour wait for the light to change which was a little frustrating but the view was stunning so it had to be done.

As it turned out, the shadow never did lift completely, however the light did perk up a bit for a while so I took a couple of shots before packing up and driving back down haf a mile or so to find Gary waiting patiently by the side of the track.

We then took another dirt road to find the ghost town of Grafton. This consists of a restored school house and another fairly large building which is in a poor state of repair. There were a couple of other buildings which I found infinitely more photogenic, however these were on private land and I definitely observe no trespassing signs in the Wild West :-)

Having both taken a few shots which seemed to be worthwhile, we meandered back towards the camp site through Springdale - a sleepy little place which seems to sell mainly rocks to tourists. There were an amazing selection of fossils and semi-precious stones on sale that would make any New Age crystal shop here in the UK seem rather boring. We decided that a meal would be a good idea and had a mexican snack before heading back to the campsite.

Gary had a tent which we called "The Hilton" - it was big enough to have a study, darkroom, and a full blown party going on simultaneously without disturbing the neighbours. The only thing it didn't have was a flysheet :-) Yep, it started raining in the early hours - I left the flysheet off my much smaller tent to make Gary feel better but had to rush out at about 3am to lash the flysheet onto the little tent as my face was getting too wet :-) The monster tent seemed to be dealing with the rain better than mine even without a flysheet so let Gary sleep.

In the morning the weather looked to be a little better although the weather radio warned of a 50% chance of showers. We decided to stay for another night as it seemed as though it may clear up. In the morning we went up the side of the canyon and through the 1 mile tunnel cut into the rock to photograph the fossilised sand dunes. From the last visit I knew there were some amazing rock formations that would be wonderful photographed with a large format camera. The weather started to play up after we had been taking photos for an hour or so. By the time we had been into a few of the smaller canyons and taken some shots of the mesas it was pouring with rain.

We popped into Springdale to find a poncho for gary's tent after the long trip back down the side of the winding mountain roads through the tunnel. By the time we arrived back at the tents the rain had turned into a thunderstorm - hmmm great.... Both tents shipped a bit of water - the poncho roof seemed to keep out the worst of the rain. In the morning we packed up both tents as rapidly as possible - with me muttering about leaving Zion at a rate of knots.

Having thrown the dripping tents into the back of the car we headed out on the tunnel road, 14, towards Long Valley Junction before turning North on Highway 89 towards Bryce Canyon.

Having visted Bryce a couple of years ago I knew that it would take up too much time to stop there on this trip - the weather also made it fairly essential to move further North East. More about the next leg of trip in the next post.

Later, Clive Warren

SW USA Travelogue - Vegas and Heading out Posted Tuesday, May 16, 2000 by f32
Well, arrived here safely after an interesting flight and am now fully fed and watered in the Excalibur Hotel. The Excalibur is one of the many themed hotels in Vegas - you guessed it, King Arthur and the times of legends and dragons. Merlin fights a fire breathing dragon on the hour in an area just outaside the front of the hotel..... when you've seen one fire breathing dragon etc etc....

Anyway, back to the trip. Picked up the hire car from the airport on arrival and left it until about 5pm yesterday to collect the 4x5 film from Allens pro. labs. All was ready and waiting - the chaps there are very efficient and friendly.

Met up with an old friend here in Vegas and we went out with medium format cameras to take a few shots of an amazing new government building constructed from red sandstone. An architects' delight and plenty of photo opportunities. Adjacent to the building is a small pyramid constructed from the same materials and there are many different types of cacti which are normally found deeper South in Arizona. Used infrared film and the trusty old Koni Rapid Omega camera. Looking forward to printing those negs on return to the UK.

After a great meal last night in the Mandalay Hotel went back to the hotel bedroom and spent a couple of hours cleaning out film holders and loading the film. Spent a while packing and then hit the hay at about 3am. Am in the Mandalay now using their Internet facilities - it took a while to track them down!

As far as the route plan goes it still looks much the same - will be leaving Vegas in about half an hour. If you are going to be in any of the areas on the route then the CB will definitely be on at 7pm and probably later listening out for anyone who wants to meet up.

Well, have to get on and have a quick bite to eat before heading out.

The weather is looking good except for a bit of wind and am looking forward to hitting the road after the bright lights of Vegas.

Later, Clive Warren

SW USA Travelogue - Sleep before Heathrow? Posted Friday, May 12, 2000 by f32
Well now have everything ready to go and it's about 2 hours before driving to Heathrow for the flight out to LA and then the connection to Vegas.

A few last minute things to do but generally on track. Looks as though I will be sleeping on the plane so that should help a bit with any jet lag when arriving in the US to a 8 hour time difference.

There are now three bags with camera kit, one for film and the usual extra with a few clothes. Just about to give the old army boots a bit of polish and then start thinking about some shut eye for an hour or two.

The next post will probably be from Vegas so catch you all later :-)

Clive Warren

SW USA Travelogue - Buying Film in Vegas Posted Thursday, May 11, 2000 by f32
Last time I was in Vegas it proved quite difficult to find a good supplier of Velvia in quantity through asking at camera shops - until a quick look through the telephone directory did the trick.

Allen Photographics on Industrial Road are the best pro. labs and film stockist that I found in Vegas - friendly, efficient, competitively priced and high quality. Thank you, yes I'll have the discount now :-) Seriously, they are excellent. Just called them from the UK and they were kind enough to call me back with a price. The film is now waiting to be picked up on Monday.

Allen Photographic - tel. (702) 735-2222

They usually keep good stocks of 4x5 Fuji and have a 4 hour or 2 hour E6 processing service. The lab. is closed on Saturday except for pick ups, so will be up fairly early on Friday 26th to drive the 200 odd miles to Vegas from Sedona for the E6 processing to be done before returning to England.

Have now packed the camera gear and ended up with three bags rather than two. Just had to take two cameras - there is now a medium format Koni Omega Rapid with a standard 90mm lens nestling in the third bag which will be used almost exclusively for infrared.

The Konis are truly excellent cameras - if you want to know more about them then take a look at the Koni Omega mailing list archive on the CoCam website.

Have had a few invitations to meet people along the route so am looking forward to putting a few faces to names. Probably something which many of us do rarely for people we meet internationally on mailing lists.

One thing which I didn't mention earlier is that the CB "handle" we will be using on the trip is "f32" just in case you are in any of the areas on the route and want to give us a shout on channel 19 or 32.

Just tried out a focussing cloth (bit of material with some velcro you put over you head and the large format camera so that you can see to focus) that has been sitting around here for a while. I normally use a black jacket as this is England, land of fog and rain ;-) The cloth was made in Texas so it will be going close to home for a while.

Right - back to the packing. Clive Warren

SW USA Travelogue - The Route - first version Posted Wednesday, May 10, 2000 by f32
So here is the first version of the route plan. These always change around a fair bit depending on what happens along the way. Usually you come across a place that is just so magical that you find it hard to leave :-)

Looking at the plan, it may be the case that Zion will only get one day rather than the two suggested, though it is a great place to start a trip with good temperatures day and night.

Sat May 13 - Arrive Vegas:
Sun May 14 - Vegas: shoot architecture
Mon May 15 - Vegas: buy film and provisions for trip
Tue May 16 - Zion
Wed May 17 - Zion
Thu May 18 - Cedar Breaks, Capitol Reef
Fri May 19 - Moab
Sat May 20 - Arches
Sun May 21 - Canyonlands
Mon May 22 - Valley of the Gods
Tue May 23 - Canyon de Chelly
Wed May 24 - Canyon de Chelly
Thu May 25 - Sedona
Fri May 26 - Vegas
Sat May 27 - Leave

Can see already that there is not enough time to do everything. Was planning to visit some slot canyons off the beaten path - the recent rain has put me off that idea. Flash floods can cause water to rush down the canyons as it drains off the mountain feeds. The last place you would want to be is at the bottom of a 100 feet slot canyon......

Anyway, that's all for now. Off to find the sleeping bag and tent and fill out a few labels for the flight.

Clive Warren

SW USA Travelogue - Preparing the Kit Posted Wednesday, May 10, 2000 by f32
Well, having selected what to take, the next job was to clean up all the film holders, check the shutter speeds on the lenses (they're kept pretty clean) and try and fit everything into the bags.

Have now cleaned and tested the Grafmatic film holders - there's a great manual by the way at the Graflex.org site. One of them required some superglue maintenance and one had only five rather than the full complement of six septums - they're all now ready willing and able :-)

Inevitably the bags are not quite big enough to take everything so will have a look around tomorrow for another larger bag.

There may have to be a bit more downsizing of film holder numbers - better to have too many than try to fiddle around in a changing bag when there's a lot of dust around and temperatures in the 100s.

Time is flying and still have the final details of the route to sort out. The next post will have a rough plan of the route so that anyone who wants to try and contact us using a CB can do so if they are in the area. We will be monitoring channels 19 and 32 at 7pm each night. The CBs will probably be with is during the day also. Communication with the outside world whilst taking photos and contemplating is not planned.

Have been checking the weather and there are great clouds in a big sky - can't wait :-)

Later,

Clive Warren

SW USA Travelogue - The Kit Posted Monday, May 8, 2000 by f32
One of the interesting decisions to be taken on any trip is what to leave behind :-)

The great thing about a technical large format camera is that it is a very flexible gizmo, allowing a variety of film formats and lenses to be fitted fairly easily.

This of course means that there are lots of bits and pieces that you could take along but they add to the weight you have to carry around. Guess you could look at the carrying of heavy gear as good exercise, but that gets a bit old when the temperature is over 100F and it's a mile or so back to the head of the trail. Call me lightweight if you like but that's what I like to carry :-) Have now looked at the pile of glass and film holders and rationalised to 4 lenses and a number of different types of film holder allowing medium format roll film and 4x5.

These lenses are a 65mm Grandagon, 90mm Super Angulon, 150mm Sironar N, and a 203mm Ektar. This gives a great range from wide through standard to long for medium format and large format.

The heaviest lens is the Grandagon, but probably worth taking along for the serious 4x5 wide angle landscape shots.....

All of this kit fits in a couple of ordinary camera bags. Both bags can be put into a back pack for the longer hikes which may be necessary to reach various canyons.

A medium size tripod finishes off the heavy metal. As far as camera kit is concerned, this leaves the usual desert boots and the trusty old black cowboy hat bought in Nevada to act as a lens hood, focussing cloth and finally to keep the sun off the camera or my head, whichever is the hotter :-)

South West USA Travelogue Posted Sunday, May 7, 2000 by f32
This is the first of hopefully many postings to the f32 website describing progress through the South West USA carrying an old MPP 4x5 Large Format camera and plenty of film.

Please check back to see how the trip is progressing.

Arrive Nevada - May 13th 2000
End of trip - May 27th

Currently preparing the kit, testing film holders, painting lens boards and planning the route.

For more information please contact f32

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Last Updated: Wednesday, September 6, 2000