Shooting This Week Out West (and trying out some new gear)
I took a few days off this week to go shooting with my buddies Jeff Revell and Dave Moser, and over the course of these past three days we covered over 1,200 miles, I took over 1,000 shots, we saw some amazing places and just generally had a blast. (I took the shots shown above [except for the one of me, of course, which was taken by Jeff Revell] at “The Wave” outside Page, Arizona [click on them for larger views]—it took a six-mile hike over rough terrain and hills in 112 degree heat to get there and back….but it was worth it!)
I’ll be posting more images tomorrow and on into next week, plus I took some new gear and I’ll be giving you field reports as well on: The Canon 5D (I shot with all Canon gear the entire trip on loan from our friends at Canon), and I took some Sigma Lenses as well, plus I put the Gitzo Traveler Tripod and Really Right Stuff BH-40 Ballhead through “Hell Week” and I’ll have reports on them as well. I made good use of the Hoodman Loupe (you can see it around my neck, as well as some Lee Neutral Density Gradient filters), and I totally abused a LowePro Camera Backpack, an Epson P-5000 Storage Unit, and both Jeff and Dave (who are great sports, great shooters, and good friends).
Besides “The Wave,” we shot at Monument Valley, The Grand Canyon, and The Antelope Canyon Slots. Really an amazing, tiring, hilarious, and often inspiring time without a decent cell phone signal or Internet connection to be found (thanks for all your patience with “No Blog Wednesday.”)
Now, onto some news!!! (Scroll down to the next two posts). 
what a great images scott!! just as always.how about the FF 5D! are you going to leave the D2xs? i’m wating for yours Sigma’s Lens review.
Hi Scott,
Yeah I’m real curious now cos that’s the second time you’ve mentioned Canon lately
) … so, are you looking at switching over from Nikon?
Fabulous photos by the way … the colours are awesome!
Scott,
The ‘ultimate dream job’ can be different for one person to another, but for those of us with a DSLR strapped around our necks, what you are able to do with your time makes a lot of us curl into a ball and quietly weep (not me… ahem… how about those Bears?)!
You have given inspiration and valuable tips/techniques to many of us. Sometimes, you are not even intending to do so…. I hope you are able to do this for many years to come!
P.S. I have seen many good shots you have taken, but the top one here has got to be among the best!
They’re stunning. More and more do I feel that I’m missing something with my photography!
Scott, I’m in awe of your post button pushing talents, but honestly 1000 pictures. I’m not sure I understand the fetish with the massive numbers of captures, especially with someone who can output an exceptional product. It’s like the promo for Aperture with the bride on the beach image and the copy reads, 1200 images now what do you do with them. As efficient as Lightroom is, I think the extra time saved should be spent away from the computer not in front of it. Call me old school but huge archives of mediocrity is just plain wasteful hope we can become better editors and less visual polluters.
Welcome to my world “Canon world”.
Great photos, reminds me when I was in Arizona (photographing antelope canyon, grand canyon, etc.) also reminds me my wife and I were trying for some time and we found out she was pregnant in a beautiful town of Page (my daughter’s name is Sarah Page) you guess it after the town of Page.
Can’t wait for more pics.
Now if you could get Canon to give a NAPP discount
Harold Blouin
Fantastic shots Scott!
Pat
Hey Scott, what’s up with the Canon Subject lately? Nikon or Canon. It’s one or the other….. which are you?
Why can’t it be both, Carlo?
Loyalty.
Cool light!!
Had been there 3 times and never been lucky with clouds…..
Hey Scott,
Great shots of The Wave! Must be a nice place!!
Scott,
Love the photos. What time of day were these taken? The lighting is amazing but appears to be in full daylight.
Thanks again,
Eric
I own a 5D and just love the full frame 35 mm format. Looking forward to your comments on the Sigma lens. However, Canon L series glass is pretty hard to beat.
Love your captures. Don’t know where you find the energy, but glad that you do. Great job and looking forward to more of your great insight and your great humor.
Question – did you do any post processing on these images in Lr or Ps before posting to Blog ? Or are they as shot ?
Hi Everybody:
First, thank you all SO much for your very kind comments about the Wave shots. You guys are the best!
To Scott Ely:
I know you’ll feel better to know that I didn’t shoot 1,000 shots in one day, or on one subject. We shot in three different locations each day, for three days straight, so the amount of photos is for an entire trip (it actually wound up being 931 total, after deleting the accidental shots of my foot, the trunk of our car, horribly blurry shots, etc.). For example, Tuesday we shot in the morning at the Wave, in the afternoon in the Antelope Canyon Slots, and shot sunset at Monument Valley. We were at the Wave (and in route) nearly six hours alone. Now, not that I’m above taking 1,000 shots in a day (after all–the film is free, right), but in this instance, the 1,000 represents many shoots. Hope that clarifies things.
To Peter:
I processed all three primarily in Lightroom, but they’re already so colorful you have to be very careful about what you do. The main adjustment I made in Lightroom was simply to increase the Shadows (dragging the shadow slider to the right), which makes all the difference in the world.
To Eric:
They were taken between 9:30 am and 10:00 am. I was told that was the best time (by an expert on shooting in the Wave), because of the way the Wave is shaped (it’s actually near the top of a small mountain). The dawn light doesn’t do much for it—you really need a bit more of direct light. I was skeptical, but once I got up there, I now see what he means.
To Stan:
Nice try, big guy! (Stan is our buddy, and was kind enough to arrange the special permits needed to shoot in the Wave, as access is very limited so as to protect the area from too much traffic. Thanks again Stan—-we couldn’t have done it without you. Next time, we’re making you take off work and we’re draggin’ your butt up there!).
To Carlo, Sam, Harold, Glyn, and Ali: I’ll have a field report tomorrow (if all goes as planned), with more info on the Canon 5D. The gear is just on loan from Canon, and they were very gracious to let me try it out. So, how did I like it? You’ll have to read my field report tomorrow. Gotcha!
To Richard:
I hate to hear that, because I genuinely want you to take the kind of photos you want to take. I’m going to email you offline and see if there’s anything I can do to help you on your journey.
To Sam:
Thanks for your comments Sam. I feel very blessed to live the life I lead, surrounded by people I care about so much. I really feel it’s an honor to have the job I do, and wonderful comments like yours remind me of why I do it. You really made my day!
First Ken Rockwell starts shooting Canon and now Scott Kelby is shooting Canon. No wonder the stock market is in a tail spin.
I don’t know what to think anymore…
Absolutely stunning. Wow thanks – just simply an amazing place.