Monument Valley in the middle of the day

[Vinny]

I’m flying into Monument Valley on a one day tour from Las Vegas. Most likely I’ll be there in the middle of the day which is not ideal for photography. Can anybody offer any tips or tricks?

The gear I have is a 400D, 17-85 IS lens with hood and a B&W Kaesemann CPL.

Also, are there any special techniques for photographing through an aircraft window?

Thanks,
Vinny

[Lisa Nikodym]

Shooting through an aircraft window is really tough, because you get ugly reflections unless you're very careful; these reflections always seem to be much more obvious in the photos than you thought they would be at the time of shooting.  A big help is to use a flexible rubber lens hood and press it against the window to keep stray light out (a rigid hood is no good, since it won't seal against the window well and will transmit plane vibrations to the camera).  It also helps to be very selective of the direction you're shooting, with the sun behind you (not just to the side, which isn't good enough).  It would be wise to get a rubber lens hood and practice taking photos through your car window on a sunny day before you go.

Lisa

[alainbriot]

Your best bet is to hope for clouds.  Summer Midday photography in the southwest is murder unless the sky is co-operating. The monsoon season (rainy season) starts in August (or used to - now the weather is changing and the monsoons are less predictable) and brings with it one of the best photographic opportunities all year.  They extend well into September. What happens then is storms build up during the day, "explode" around mid afternoon, then the skies clear, rainbows appear, shafts of light come through and its photography-heaven for a short time before the skies empty again and you have to wait for sunset or for the next day.

What lens and camera you use will have no effect on the monsoons or on whether clouds show up or not ;-)

[Peter McLennan]

Wear black.  Or have a black cloth to drape over yourself and the camera.

[kaelaria]

Bring water.

[alainbriot]

Wear black.  Or have a black cloth to drape over yourself and the camera.
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I met someone who built a black teepee... didn't stay in it very long in the summer.  More like a sweat lodge!

[JeffKohn]

I'm with Alan. Hope for some interesting clouds, otherwise you're going to have a tough time. Also consider shooting for black and white, as you're not going to get any of that sweet golden light that you see at sunrise/sunset. I've found that if there's some directionality to the light and you've got some decent clouds, it's possible to shoot good B/W imagery at times when color would be less successful.