National Park Photography

The Challenges of Photographing in National Parks

Capturing the grandness of the canyon from Grandview Point. ©Kit Frost

These images were all taken in our National Parks.  As a frequent visitor to our Parks, I see an increase in visitation, especially this past year.  If you went to a National Park during the summer months of May, June, July and August, you could expect crowds.  But this year I retired, so I could travel whenever I pleased.  I choose May for Crater Lake, June for Acadia, September for the Grand Canyon, October for Capitol Reef, and November for Zion.

I don’t know whether it’s because the #FindYourPark campaign is driving more folks to our parks, or the economy is truly in recovery (Average entrance fee: $30.) but I do know this: unless you get away  from the rim, away from the favorite hiking trails, or find an off the beaten path location in the parks, there are crowds, big crowds. Add to that the tripod I carry and before you know it, I’ve got a crowd setting up their selfie sticks and cameras nearby (sometimes kicking my tripod). In Zion this year, it’s estimated that there were over 1 million more visitors in 2015 than 2014.

2014 Visitors
Great Smoky Mountains     10,099,276
Grand Canyon                          4,756,771
Yosemite                                    3,882,642
Yellowstone                              3,513,484
Zion National Park                 3,189,696

I’m not suggesting that we lock the park door behind us, but I am saying that as someone who enjoys our National Parks, a good hike, some photography, and backpacking and camping in our Parks I’m concerned.

I made this “sketch” with my iPhone.

Crater Lake is a stunner in the winter. As the resident artist in May, I had the opportunity to explore the park during all kinds of weather. Very few crowds along the rim trail. The Lodge was closed for the season, so there were no accommodations.

What I do to mitigate the crowds

Number One, I remember that the parks are for all of us.  In order to have my experience and to honor others, I find the quieter, less crowded times of the day to explore.; that means I can enjoy pre-dawn photography, and get to an off beat location for sunrise.  Oftentimes the shuttle driver is the person suggesting where to photograph sunrise and sunset (I scout my preferred location away from those suggestions). The other joy: I stay at camp later and explore the park later in the day, when the tour buses are less likely to be dumping visitors at the most popular trails.  Here are some ideas:

• Explore the parks during “off season”.
• Get out and stay out, exploring the park while others are having breakfast/dinner
• Scout locations before setting up for new images
• Steep hikes and long trails (get going early, stay late)
• Tripod: bring it along, but avoid setting it up in an exposed area.  It’s like a magnet
• Go off the beaten path (Angels Landing, Emerald Pools, Bright Angel Trail are filled with hikers)
• Take advantage of storms (great photo ops, rarely crowded locations). But be safe.
• I like to go find a tree to sit under, have a snack, and get away from the trail and the noise.  It’s never wise to go too far off-trail, but as long as I feel safe and know my way back, I’m golden.

Soundscapes

The Parks Service is introducing a series of programs aimed at showing visitors the importance of listening. I prefer long, quiet hikes and  look forward to the “soundscapes” focus in the next few years. 

Sound Level

Sound levels in national parks can vary greatly, ranging from among the quietest ever monitored, to extremely loud. While, for example, the din of a typical suburban area fluctuates between 50 and 60 dBA, the crater of Haleakala National Park is intensely quiet, with levels hovering around 10 dBA. Along some remote trails in Grand Canyon National Park, sound levels, at 20 dBA, are softer than a whisper ( Bell, Mace, & Benfield, 2009). The noise levels standing near a snowcoach in Yellowstone National Park, however, can be compared to standing three feet from a churning garbage disposal (California Department of Transportation, 1982).

Our world is getting noisier. With dramatic increases in traffic, the explosion of digital gadgets (think of your buddy’s constantly chirping Smartphone) and our increasing capacity to reach once-remote areas, quiet solitude is a diminishing commodity. Not surprisingly then, the American public comes to parks with natural quiet in mind. They come for the soothing effect of a gurgling stream, a delicate bird song, or the rustle of leaves on a fall day. From the awe-inspiring thunder of a waterfall to the gentle rustle of leaves in the breeze, natural sounds have a subtle but profound impact on visitors. In fact, 72% of Americans say one of the most important reasons for preserving national parks is to provide opportunities to experience natural peace and the sounds of nature (Haas & Wakefield, 1998).

However, natural quiet in parks is increasingly at risk. To study the effects of human-caused noise on visitors, volunteers at Muir Woods National Monument cataloged all sounds they heard, day and night, for a year. What they found was surprising. It was rarely quiet (Monroe, Newman, Pilcher, Manning, & Stack, 2007). Parks are experiencing an on-going acoustic assault by everything from air tours to maintenance equipment. Such noise affects visitors’ perceptions of solitude and tranquility. In a related study at Muir Woods, visitors found increasing levels of human-caused sounds to be unacceptable and even annoying (Monroe et al., 2007). Noisy visitors, loud talking, and other related sounds were found to substantially detract from the quality of the visitor experience. In other studies, noise has been shown to be more disturbing to visitors if it is loud, occurs in bursts, is unpredictable, or if it interferes with quiet activities such as bird watching.

Isolated areas are not exempt. In Grand Canyon, no single location is totally free of aircraft noise, and in some areas it can be heard up to 43 times in a 20-minute period. Backcountry hikers, after September 11, 2001, reported knowing that something was very wrong because there were no sounds from commercial aircraft (Bell, Mace, & Benfield, 2009). Tranquility, it turns out, even in the most remote areas of our national parks, is at stake.

Natural and cultural sounds awaken the sense of awe that connects us to the splendor of national parks and have a powerful effect on our emotions, attitudes, and memories. The National Park Service regards these sounds as part of a web of natural and cultural resources that must be protected.

You can make a difference.

Click this link to the National Parks, Natural Sounds site.

• Speak softly when having conversations, especially on hiking trails and at campsites.
• Be aware that the noise you make could affect other visitors, and encourage friends and family to do the same.
• Be considerate of campground quiet hours.
• Look for mute options on electronic equipment such as cell phones, watches, or cameras.
• Turn off cell phones / avoid using speakerphones.
• Consider leaving iPods and or personal radios in the car or at home.
• Avoid using external speakers that others can hear.
• Participate in non-motorized recreational activites (i.e., hiking, birdwatching, snowshoeing, canoeing)

The great thing about soundscapes is that with just one small change, you can make a dramatic difference. Imagine just talking a little quieter the next time you visit a national park. That alone can help to greatly improve a soundscape.

Along the Rim Trail of the Grand Canyon is the most crowded of all the places I visited.

I anticipate that we will see some changes in the parks over the next few years.  The parking lots are packed, sometimes with no place to park by 11am, and with or without the shuttle bus, the lines are long.  At the Grand Canyon, privately owned buses are allowed to “dump” groups of tourists at each of the overlooks, so for about 1/2 hour the noise level is high and the locations crowded.

I would not want to return to the days of cars in the parks, because the lack of parking and the unsafe conditions are really awful.  I think the shuttle service in the Grand Canyon and Zion, Yosemite, are a MUST do.  Not only does the driver tell stories, but the convenience is amazing; lines and all.  I’ve never waited longer than 10 minutes for a shuttle ride, and after a sweet, long hike, it’s kinda nice to sit and let the driver take me to my next location.

How wonderful to be at the Court of the Patriarchs during a somewhat clearing storm.  ©Kit Frost

What’s your experience?  When did you visit one of our National Parks? Did you experience crowds?  Did you love it anyway?

Photography locations in the Southwest USA

This year I retired from my day job.  Don’t get me wrong, I work, it’s just no longer for “da man”.  Instead I continue to be the Director of Chase the Light Photography in Durango. I teach private and group photography lessons in my studio as well as on location. In the studio I teach digital camera instruction as well as Adobe Lightroom post production and digital video.  In the field, we have been out to photograph Fall Colors, Grand and Intimate Landscapes, Zion National Park.  I have made some personal excursions to Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, New Mexico and to the Valley of the Gods, Utah.

Inspiration is everywhere. Locations in the Southwest USA

Every fall I get the internal tug to “get out and stay out”.  During September you can find me teaching Aspen Photography lessons in the Mountains of Colorado. Here are a few examples of location photography near Ouray and Ridgway.

We stayed at Silver Jack Reservoir long enough for the storm to clear. As the sun began to get lower in the sky it revealed moments of fall loved across the lake. ©Kit Frost

Telluride. We all photographed while lunch was being prepared on our Fall Photography Workshop. This image was taken while protecting the camera gear from the drizzle. ©Kit Frost

It rained so hard during the night that waterfalls I’ve never seen were flowing in Ouray. Slow Shutter speeds and an umbrella make these images possible. ©Kit Frost

In this lesson, students practiced looking through the warm aspen leaves into the cool landscape of the distant ridge. ©Kit Frost

The assignment here is to experiment with including the forest floor for texture and color. ©Kit Frost

 

Location: Ghost Ranch

Abiquiu, New Mexico is home to amazing landscape, and known as the location for many of Georgia O’keeffe paintings and her home at Ghost Ranch.  While at

Ghost Ranch I felt like I was in an O’Keeffe painting.  I was gifted with a week of oil painting lessons, and while I explored the genre of painting, I also hiked, biked, and photographed.  Inspired by the land, seduced by the color and light, I can see why artists flock to New Mexico.

I was obsessed with making an image of these trees high up on the base of this sandstone cliff. ©Kit Frost

Pedernal dominates the background while cottonwoods reflect in a pond. ©Kit Frost

Juicy Cottonwood in Bloom along the Box Canyon Trail. ©Kit Frost

Another version of my passion for this light, subject and composition. Along the Box Canyon Trail, Ghost Ranch. ©Kit Frost

Location: Zion National Park

From October 26 through November 8, I was in Zion National Park.  I love Zion.  Artistically as muse for me, the park is accessible, stunning and grand.  There are opportunities for easy, moderate and strenuous hikes.  The shuttle system is wonderful and as a tourist as well as artist, being able to hop off and on at will is great.  My only complaint is that during my visit I had to change campsites three times.  Their online reservation system is used by lots of folks and it takes time and effort to move that many times in one visit.  I will try to book my fall Zion travel early and get a single campground (there’s a 6 month reservation window).

As I was headed back to camp on the shuttle, I spied this clearing storm over the Patriarchs. I jumped off the shuttle and made a bunch of images. I underexposed dramatically to hold cloud detail and opened up the shadows in Lightroom ©Kit Frost

Some of my favorite locations were challenging to photograph this year.  I prefer stormy skies to boring bluebird skies.  Changeable light is my favorite as is the intimacy of hiking and biking along the trails, stopping for image making.

How wonderful to be at the Court of the Patriarchs during a somewhat clearing storm. ©Kit Frost

While hiking off the beaten path at Zion, we walked along a creek that had some “stuck” tree trunks. Wow, what big storms must have brought those through this wash. ©Kit Frost

I like to work with quiet subjects like fall trees and leaves against sandstone. While many of the trees in Zion did not display peak fall colors, a few had finished dropping their leaves. ©Kit Frost

Here’s a video sequence of some of my photos from Zion National Park, 2014.

Monument Valley Photo Workshop, April 2017

Carol Lewin – Workshop participant, Mittens view at Monument Valley

Claret Cactus, Workshop Participant photo

Looking South from the Moqui Dugway, near Valley of the Gods – Workshop Participant photo

Monument Valley Buttes and Mesas, from John Ford’s point. Workshop Participant photo.

Our Spring 2017 Monument Valley Workshop is just around the corner.  And we still have openings for a few more photographers.

Early April, 2017.  Participants can expect to explore and photograph at the following locations:

1. Lower and Upper Butler Wash, outside of Bluff, Utah
2. Twin Rocks, Bluff, Utah
3. Valley of the Gods
4. Monument Valley
5. Mexican Hat
6. San Juan River views
7. Comb Ridge

We have some favorite locations to share with you. The desert wildflowers are in bloom by the end of April, so we’ll scout some compositions to teach you how to best capture the Claret Cactus, Yucca flowers and other wilds of the canyons of Southeast Utah.

Here’s a sampling of the subjects we’ll incorporate to teach you how to use your digital camera.  Most workshop participants find that they are very comfortable with their camera, and know all it’s features by the end of a Chase the Light Adventure.

1. Grand Scenics
2. Intimate moments in the landscape
3. Working with clouds
4. “No sky, NO sky.
5. Night Photography
6. Moonrise in Monument Valley
7. Star trails in Monument Valley

Skills and Techniques

• Aperture Priority
• Shutter Priority
• Composition
• Balance
• Focus priority
• Depth of field
• Graduated Neutral Density Filters (in the camera, and post-production)
• Capturing density for post-production

Related articles

• Utah Canyons – Monument Valley Photography Workshop – April, 2013 (photokitfrost.wordpress.com)
• Monuments, Towers and Castles of Stone (ericephoto.wordpress.com)
• An Unforgettable Backcountry Tour Of Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park (gadling.com)

Slideshow: Backpacking British Columbia and Alberta

I received a link to this video from Tom Fulton, from British Columbia.  I enjoy Tom’s use of people for scale and grandeur.  I am personally seduced by these grand, Canadian, scenes and high altitude tarns, waterfalls, and storms.  And the music is as grand as the imagery.

It is a slideshow, composed of a series of photos from a number of my backpacking trips in the past few years. My style of photography is more of a spontaneous thing. I am the “designated photographer” of our group of 8 hiking friends. My photos have been to simply record our trips. I have never really planned & taken time to set up a shoot! Just been in the right places, sometimes at the right time and I try to think about framing, light etc.   Tom Fulton

Tom recently registered for our Monument Valley Photo Workshop.  I look forward to working in the field with him, and seeing his backcountry adventures in the future.

Late Winter Photography in Utah

Colorful Skies, Canyons and Viewpoints

I spent the long Presidents’ Day weekend based in Bluff, Utah.  I camped at Cadillac Ranch RV Park.  I love the desert southwest at any time of year, especially winter, as Bluff and the surrounding canyons are in a bit of a warm, banana belt.  I experienced 70 degree days and warm 30 degree nights.

The drive from Durango to Bluff hugs the San Juan River. I found a location to photograph the sky reflected in the river. ©Kit Frost

While camping in Bluff, the access to locations nearby is wonderful.  A short bike ride or drive from the campground leads to Comb Ridge and the big views of the Cedar Mesa Canyons.

No 4wd is necessary to get to the trails along the comb, which are unmarked.  When you see the huge “snakelike” formation rising just west of Bluff, that’s Comb Ridge. Trailheads are all along Butler Wash Road, as well as by pulling over off Highway 163, and walking uphill to the summit.

Exploring the comb ridge is a lifetime mission.  75 miles long, the “comb” was home to Ancient Puebloan people, and they left behind ruins, evidence of their homes, and their lives.

Take only photographs, Leave only footprints.

I am always on the lookout for sweet afternoon light adding warmth to Comb Ridge. Those are the Abajo Mountains in the background. ©Kit Frost

The wind was blowing, spring-like conditions, at the summit ridge.  I made a few images and got back from the edge quickly.  My mission was to spend a few hours hiking the ridge, but didn’t feel comfortable being blown off.

A drive up the awesome Moqui Dugway leads to fabulous overlooks, that’s Monument Valley in the distance.Valley of the Gods , and  Muley Point are favorite viewpoints for photography.

And no visit to Bluff, and Southern Utah is complete without a drive up the Moqui Dugway, stopping along the way for spectacular views.  Bring along your polarizer to absorb some of the distant haze.

Contest Winners 2014

I see a lot of contests online, and submit images when I feel my work is appropriate.  I received a link to these winners from Photography Network and the Women’s Photography group on Linked In.

What do you think about the winning images?  Would you agree with the judges?

TBM Photography Network, contest winners.