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Every summer, monsoon storms travel north from the Gulf of California, predictably arriving at the Grand Canyon from late June to mid-September. August receives the most storms and highest precipitation annually. This is a surprise to many who know Arizona as an arid state. The storms rarely arrive peacefully. Rather, strong bolts of lightning, huge thunderclaps and torrential downpours accompany the strong monsoon cells. There are very few things as exciting as watching a monsoon storm pass over the Grand Canyon. Come with the group this summer as we go out to safely chase scenes like these at North Rim (with an optional free day at the South Rim). We have appropriate options available if a rare clear day should happen during our trip.

Rob Strain is the author of two ebooks on photographing the Grand Canyon and a separate ebook on lightning photography. As a former resident of the Central Highlands of Arizona, he made frequent trip to the North Rim and South Rim. 

Summary: We will be photographing together from both the North Rim of the Grand Canyon plus one or two prime locations east of the Grand Canyon. A major emphasis will be placed on capturing monsoon weather, including huge anvil cloud formations, storms within the canyon and lightning. Of course, this all depends on the weather, but we have selected the most dependable part of the monsoon season. And there are plenty of alternatives for us on days the weather does not fully cooperate.

Here are some things you can expect:

This trip is for intermediate to advanced photographers who have already developed skills and perhaps a style. This makes it possible for each participant to give back to the group. This is a cost sharing photo trip. In other words, group expenses are reimbursed to the organizer and the organizer is not making a profit from the trip. 

We will frequently be on the move to catch the best weather phenomena as it highlights prominent canyon features and creates drama for your images.

We will share each other's image framing preferences, including taking advantage of longer lenses to isolate features under the most amazing light.

My largest contribution is organizing the trip. We will share multiple techniques for capturing lightning and when to use each technique. Prior to this photo trip each participant will receive the three ebooks listed above and will provide feedback on preferred locations for shooting. 

Your time will be well used actually shooting at the best locations and not wasted hunting for the best spots during your time at the North Rim. 

Together, we will work on assuring that your work is gallery level. You will share post processing techniques that will get the most from your images. We will pay particular attention to creating depth to your images that will make viewers want to linger as if they were on the edge of the rim themselves. We will review our favorite captures to make sure our compositions and post processing are exceptional.

This photo trip offers more bang for your buck and likely more fun than for profit workshops that features the Grand Canyon. To discover more about what to expect, be sure to look at some of the images below. 

For those traveling from out of state we will meet at the Flagstaff Pulliam Airport (FLG). There are currently direct flights to Flagstaff from the following cities: 

• Phoenix.
• Portland, OR.
• Indianapolis.
• Orange County.
• Atlanta.
• Dallas.
• Chicago.
• Louisville
• Denver
• Cincinatti
• Richmond, VA

Flights from these cities may not be every day of the week. Please check schedules. A good alternative is to fly to and from Phoenix and take the Groome Transportation shuttle to FLG. This is about a 2.5 hour trip for about $80.

There is also a shuttle from Grand Canyon Airport to FLG if you wish to stay over with your own lodging reservations after our the trip. The Grand Canyon busses do a good job of getting us around to many areas of the park.

This photography experience is limited to just four participants, so you will receive not be a wallflower. Reservations will close once four participants have registered. We will carpool to locations, dependent on the number of you who want to drive. Carpool drivers (up to two) will be reimbursed at mileage allowance of $.65 per mile from our first meeting location until the end of the trip. 

If there is no threat of a flash flood, you will enjoy creating fantastic "hand held" images in Antelope canyon. The images below were all made handheld.

Fitness Level

Most of our photography will involve walks of no more than a couple hundred yards. There could be opportunities to walk further, however. The walk from the parking lot to the rim at Horseshoe Bend is 1.4 miles round trip on a gradual slope. If we are able to get into one of the slot canyon, there can be a number of steep steps that could be difficult on bad knees. If you have physical limitations, please contact me so we can discuss alternative.

Elevation

The South Rim is around 7000' in elevation whereas the North Rim is anywhere from 8000-8800' in elevation. This means the North Rim is usually about 3-5 degrees cooler than the South Rim. Page is at 4100'.

Weather

The average August high daytime temperature is 92° F and nighttime 65° F. Page can get up to 105° at this time of year. Slot canyons remain relatively cool, but we will have plenty of water for you.

General Equipment Recommendations

Waterproof rain jacket (should shed water)
Several possible under layers - long sleeved shirt, sweaters, sweatshirt
Umbrella
Sunscreen
Bug repellent (not much of an issue at GC; flies may be annoying around Page)
Trekking poles if you have physical limitations
Comfortable hiking or walking shoes - sticky soles recommended

Photography Gear

SLR, DSLR or Mirrorless Camera
Tripod (able to extend to 5' or higher recommended)
Wired remote release
Lightning trigger (Lightning Bug+ or Lightning Trigger by Stepping Stones preferred)
Circular Polarizer
ND Filters (3 or 4, 6, 10) if possible 
Batteries and charger
Laptop Computer with  Lightroom & Photoshop, On1 or Capture 1
Cables

 A portion of our costs support the  Grand Canyon Conservancy