American Road Trip #3 - Camping in Monument Valley, Hunts Mesa - astrophotography
Hold on to your hats, guys. This is where the good stuff is. We camped out overnight in Monument Valley, in Hunts Mesa, with a Navajo guide. The views. THE VIEWS! Wow! Honestly one of the best experiences of my life. I even got a little bit of astrophotography done. In the end. Even if it was at 1am when I woke up for a wee.
First off, we were picked up and loaded into a super cool off-road vehicle. I thought, ooo, some dirt roads maybe? A little bit of bouncing? Well, not exactly. We drove literally UP almost vertical cliffs! It was so crazy. Like a roller coaster, except you think you might actually fall off and die at any moment. But in a good way if you can believe it.
We were dropped off at a very exclusive and isolated viewing point for sunset. It was an overcast sort of day but did I care? I did not. Happy as a pig in poop I was! Nothing but my cameras and hours to spare. Heaven. I sat my ass down and got to some timelapses, and shot away.
I rocked a mixture of both my GH5 with Olympus 9-18mm lens, and the Lumix S1.
P.S. these photos are edited with my brand new preset pack, The EVERYTHING Preset. It works with video too. Check it out here!
Before I knew it the sun was gone, and we were getting picked up to be taken to our campsite for some fire-cooked food. I had some baked potatoes, corn, and they even made me a veggie sort of stir fry. We also all tried a Navajo hot drink which is used to heal and relax. Super cool. Our tents were already made. It really was a well-thought out trip.
We watched the fire, listened to stories, and at this point I had hoped for some astrophotography — it would have been GLORIOUS! — but unfortunately it was cloudy. It wasn’t until I let myself out for a wee at about 1am that the stars came out for me! I got up, still in my pjs, and grabbed my camera. It wasn’t as thought-out or as thorough as I would have liked. I had packed my Move-Shoot-Move star tracker and all the trimmings, but I didn’t have time to set it up as we were soon to be up for sunrise photos. Not to mention I didn’t want me relentless clicking (and possibly swearing or whooping) to wake up our companions.
I used the Lumix S1 with the Samyang 14mm f2.8 lens. Not the biggest fan of that lens if I’m honest. I have heard great things about it, but a lot of my results came out quite soft. I wonder if it’s because it’s an EF mount adapted to my S1? or maybe I have a bad copy? either way, my results were serviceable but not quite as good as I had hoped. Still. I’m glad I got something. For the first time in my life I’m very happy to have a tiny bladder.
Hunts Mesa Photography Trip — Sunrise
We got up at 5am, and I’d had about 4 hours’ sleep thanks to the late night stories and the astrophotography. But was I complaining? I JUMPED out of bed! Turns out, our tents were basically on the edge of a huge verge. We got to camp after dark so had no idea. Just a quick walk in the dark to the edge, and we all got set up for sunrise. It was just… wow. I know I keep saying that but it really was.
I left my S1 taking a long timelapse, while I shot away happily with my GH5.
After all that excitement it was time for another terrifying off-road journey downhill. This time we slid down sand dunes. It was actually epic. I know I keep saying it was terrifying — and it was — but the drivers were so talented. I didn’t realllllly think I was going to die. Honest.
The View Hotel Monument Valley for Photography
The second day in Monument valley was much more luxurious. We stayed in The View hotel which definitely deserves its name! I got my favourite photo possibly ever from our balcony.
you ready? Here is is…
200x 20 second images all stacked together to make this lovely creation! It took me ages to edit and killed my computer quite spectacularly. Don’t try to load 200 raw files into photoshop, kids! Do it in 50 photo batches. Learn from Emily’s stupidity! I had to photoshop out more than a few plane trails, but I am really pleased with the final result.
So all in all, my trip to Monument Valley was a memory I’ll keep with me for the rest of my life. If you ever get the chance to go, definitely do it. I’m really happy with the photos and timelapses, which you can see in this video here.
P.S. these photos are edited with my brand new preset pack, The EVERYTHING Preset. It works with video too. Check it out here!