The Wave part II

[GB1]

Here's another couple shots of The Wave out in northern Arizona, the Paria Canyon / Coyote Buttes area.

This place is a chore to get to, but worth the preperation and planning. If anyone's considering it, it requires a permit to visit the area and they limit it to 20 visitorss a day, and you must reserve 6+ months in advance.

These were shot on Kodak Ektachrome VS 100.

GB

[stuntboy]

AMAZING images GB1, great shots..love them all. looks like very awesome place.
thanks for sharing

todd

[MTBsSd]

that last one is my favorite... really amazing shot. I'd print that puppy out if I were you

[jar_e]

GB,

Just amazing. Love your first one from the new batch. Just beautiful! Great shooting,

Jared

[DownByFive]

The place looks like it was made specifically for the purpose of being photographed, and you nailed it...I'm guessing they don't let you out around sunrise or sunset, because that would be amazing...

[mdmc]

Wow! Those pics certainly seem to be worth the trouble to get them.
Great shots!
Mark.

[PlantedTao]

Sweet shots.
Looks like you could burn roll after roll at this location. I will have to put this on my list of must visit places. Can you camp out there or is it hike in and out?

The second and forth photos need to be printed for sure. Nice compositions and color. The second photo may be my favorite because the two wave lines meet up and it provides a very nice element to a great photo. On both photos I may up the contrast a bit to make the rock stand out against the sky. Beautiful shots, great location.

Cheers.

[GB1]

Thanks everyone... The great thing about shooting in places like this is that you can be a very average photographer like me and still get great shots

MTBsSd - I haven't decided which one(s) to print yet. I'm still expecting another few rolls back, will see what I have... Some I took on 645 film so I know they'll enlarge well.

DownByFive and PlantedTao - Actually, they do let you in anytime you'd like, as long as you have a permit for that day. I made the mistake of believing some advice that said it was best to shoot in mid-day sun, but it's also possible that early morning/sunset would introduce a lot of harsh shadows? I don't know, but I had too little water to hang on till sunset that day.

As for permits, it's very tightly controlled as to how many people can visit -- only 20 a day, 10 of those which can be reserved via Internet 7 months in advance (they're available the first of the month on the BLM web site, and they 'sell out' within 10-15 minutes). The rest are awarded via lottery the day before at a ranger station. For that Sunday they I heard they had 23 people show up at the station for 10 tickets. So the moral of the story is, don't count on it unless you have tickets in advance (esp if you're taking a long drive to get there!). And yes, you can camp out there in the parking lot area near the trailhead. You then hike 3.5 miles to The Wave through pretty rough country. Not so bad if you are just walking, but carrying food water and camera gear... it's work.

This place was supposedly discovered by the Arizona Highway magazine photo gurus, who also named it The Wave. It's a 'must photo' location for all serious landscape photogs.

If anyone decides they want to make the expidition some time, feel free to contact me and ask for directions/hints for finding it... believe me that it is NOT easy to find! I went before and never found it, and also got somewhat lost: good thing I had a compass with me and knew the general direction I needed to go to get back to the trailhead, or I might have never made it out (not kidding..). They send you a map witht the permits, but it's not totally clear and doesn't show you the best way. Also, you're competing with a lot of other photogs/hikers from Europe for permits, who seem to have heard about it via an IMAX film.

GB

[bobbythebandit]

Awesome !!! Proof that nature can out-art humans anytime.
Bobby

[OldSchool]

GB,
I've seen many images of the wave. You've done an excellent job capturing it. Further, my hat's off to you for that last shot. I haven not yet seen a version like this one. It's just spectacular! Thanks for posting it.

Tim