Heading to Zion this week!

wildbill · Oct 31, 2005

I've driven by it many times but this will be the first visit. I'll be making the drive up with my girlfriend this week. Anyone have any suggestions for day hikes and/or not so photographed scenery?

Aggie · Nov 1, 2005

PM me, I live 20 miles from the park and know it very well. I worked at the lodge back in the early 70's, and have hiked all trails, and others the public doesn't know about. I can easily show you around.

vet173 · Nov 1, 2005

I have fond memories of the four days I spent there on a photo safarie. Aggie tell him he has to go to the subway.

Aggie · Nov 1, 2005

Hop Valley right now is better, the colors have changed and the Aspen with that meadow and Zion as a back drop can't be beat. I have been out exploring some new roads that have been plowed out. One even scared the sh*t out of me. It goes up a mountainside, and is only one lane wide. No guardrails and you wonder if that dirt road will hold onto the mountain. Once I got up it, I had to come back down it.

Earl Dunbar · Nov 1, 2005

Wildbill: I'll be interested in your impressions and your photographic results. Weeping Rock is a classic/cliché, but it's de rigeur for some photos, IMO.

Aggie: Zion is the favourite US national park I have visited. One at least one occasion I went to Zion, intending to only stay a day or so and then hit Bryce, Arches, or others in the area. But I couldn't leave. Somehow, it's magical/mystical for me. When I make it back, I'll contact you for suggestions on locations.

Earl

Aggie · Nov 2, 2005

It took me 25 years to move back to the area. I orginally worked at the lodge at Zion, back in the early 70's I too fell in love with it. As a result it took a man I fell in love with to pry me away from here. Now I'm lucky that he can work from home and live where ever.....so...... I"M BACK!

Earl Dunbar · Nov 2, 2005

Aggie: Very cool story, I can relate! It's like that with me and Lake Superior. I've not lived there, but when I make trips to the north shore, it's like going home. Some day I'll make the permanent move there. Superior and Zion, while vastly different in georgraphy, are spiritually very much alike.

Earl

wildbill · Nov 7, 2005

We got back Saturday night. I've never seen so many fauxtographers in one place. Zion was covered in Canon digital gitzo carbon fiber clad middle aged white men. Every way i turned there was another one but never carrying those $600 tripods more than a hundred yards from the parking lot. I've never seen so much blatant disregard for safety. On at least 6 occasions i had to swerve around fauxtographers and their suv's parked in the road. They'd just stop and get the tripod out as if they were invincible. I guess this is why they only allow bus traffic most of the year. I did see my first Hasselblad and my first 6x17 as well as one fellow 4x5'er.
Luckily the park opened up to vehicular traffic so you could drive anywhere w/o a hassle. The leaves were outstanding in many areas. The wind picked up the second day and blew many off in the unprotected areas. If anyone is planning a trip for this month, you oughta go now.
This is the tenth national park i've visited and it's definitely up there with Glacier National Park. We didn't want to leave. Very few people until Saturday and really nice conditions for hiking. I strongly recommend the Hidden Canyon hike.
Also ended up at Cedar Breaks National Monument. I've never seen so few people. Maybe due to 30deg temps and a few inches of snow.
Aggie, i hope we'll meet at the zion workshop this winter. I left a message but didn't have service in most of the park. Thanks for your suggestions.

Aggie · Nov 7, 2005

Glad you had a great time. I wish I had met up with you. My cell phone was out of charge and I didn't know it. I should have given you the home phone number. Tells you how much I use a cell phone. I was up there on Saturday. I met one person of interest, Art Wolfe. I also had to stop and chat with all the non digital photographers. I saw a beautiful ebony, and definately let him know about apug. I was amazed at the number of photographers, but then there were 5 different workshops going on last weekend, one being by Michael Fatalli. When you come up this winter, stop by, I will have a warm bowl of homemade stew or chili waiting. I can also get you to some spots the tourists don't go to. Just close your eyes while I drive over some of those roads. When we get to the end of the road, you can look. I think I have driven over them enough lately they don't scare me as bad. Who says a Benz can't do what a jeep can?

wildbill · Nov 7, 2005

I wish if Arte Wolf could have seem me carrying my ugly blue SunDog Art Wolf backpack loaded with 45lbs of gear. I would have asked him to sign it and talked a little about color choice. Fatalli has some very nice Cibachromes on display in town.

Aggie · Nov 7, 2005

Fatalli does a lot of his stuff digital. His pictures, he takes about 3/4 with film. Then he processes the negative via photoshop and out putting to a digital neg. From there half the prints are done using a printer. Those are the things that are not told to you, but the locals who work for him doing the prints know. So much for his great hype about being a strict analog photographer. No truth in advertising with him. Of course he was the one who set the Delicate Arch on fire.

roteague · Nov 7, 2005

Aggie said:
I met one person of interest, Art Wolfe.

From what I hear, he is drinking the digital kool-aid these days.

graymatterimages · Nov 7, 2005

I agree with Wildbill, I just returned from Zion and it looked like an "International Tripod Convention" was in town. The amazing thing is that so many were using very expensive tripods with digital cameras equipped with short focal length lenses in well lit conditions. And what the majority of them were aiming at ??? I guess I'm just missing something.

The ironic thing is my wife and I had just thru hiked Paria Canyon From White House to Lees Ferry. I brought along my usual backcountry kit. A Leica M6 with 28, 50 and 90mm lenses. Since Paria has some 12 miles of narrow slot I decided I needed to bring along a tripod.

I used it once!

For 5 days and 39 miles I carried this thing and really didn't need it. Every time we drove by a cluster of fauxtographers at Zion I couldn't help but laughing then shaking my head and saying to myself...I must be missing something....

PS.... the hot tub at the Desert Pearl was nice and hot.

Aggie · Nov 7, 2005

I was up there as well with my Mamiya. I didn't see a single picture being taken by the digi crowd. I ducked by the fully extended tripods that were being swung wildly. Today earlier was fine, hardly a tripod in sight.

Kimberly Anderson · Nov 7, 2005

graymatterimages said:
...Every time we drove by a cluster of fauxtographers at Zion I couldn't help but laughing....QUOTE]

If you haven't trademarked that word 'fauxtographer', you ought to.

I'm going to start using it if you don't mind. Very clever, and very descriptive.

Hehe!

Heading to Zion this week!

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