4WD Photographers

This was prompted by Alan Clayton. How many other photographers are

there out there who use 4WD seriously to get to places to take

pictures? I have a 1972 88 inch Land Rover that is great fun in (for

example) Romania, where even the ordinary roads demand 4WD on

occasion. Where do the 4WD photographers go for great pictures? I'm

hoping to drive to Malta aometime -- it's wonderful even with hire

cars, but with 4WD there are even more old roads and tracks to

explore. Where else do you recommend?

 

Cheers,

 

Roger (www.rogerandfrances.com)<div></div>

<a href="http://www.keithlaban.co.uk">Keith Laban Photography</a><p><i>"Where do the 4WD photographers go for great pictures?"</i><p>Kensington High Street.

Hello Roger

 

Nice reminder of Romanian roads, thanks. I did a similar trip in a Renault 6 in '78 .... it looked like an A-road on the map. I ran into Romanian Army maneouvres on the Russian border ... I didn't stop to take photos.

 

Keith - Yup! you get a commanding view from a 4x4 especially in Sloane Square and they really are superb performers in traffic jams and on school runs! But for Roger and me 4x4's are out-of-town work horses, not suburban show ponies. As a part-time geologist/environmental photographer, my '76 Land Rover Discovery has to earn its keep by getting me into terrain that would otherwise be inaccessible.

 

Roger - In c.2002 or thereabouts I 2WD'd around the Montsec district of Spain (Lleida province, Pyreneean piedmont) there were plenty of dirt roads across remote terrain, with many deserted villages and some really grand scenery. Nature photography in the Montsec can be exceedingly good - flora and birds (griffon vulture,etc), but by the end of June the weather is hot and dry and the scenery becomes very brown.

 

Some Montsec roads were too remote and risky for 2WD, with no traffic for weeks on end - no mobile phone coverage, etc. Now with the Disco (fitted with shortwave & vhf 'Ham' radio) I hope to go back before the piste tracks are "improved", resulting in increased (and faster) traffic flow, somewhat to the benefit of the economy but possible detriment of the environment).

 

Montsec example links:

 

www.lleidatur.com/ing/montsec2.html

 

www.geocities.com/josepmbf/montsec1.html

 

I wonder if anyone has been to the Montsec region since 2002?

 

Areas I'm interested in 4x4ing: Slovenian Alps, Picos de Europa (E), Normandy (F), Telluride Trail (Colorado), Hole-in-the-Rock Road & Dry Fork Trail (Utah).

 

Cheers all, Alan

Dear Keith,

 

Fair enough! But not, I think, in old Land Rovers. Surely Range Rovers are de rigeur.

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

17 year old RangeRover - Irish beach - last year<div></div>

The old Range-Rover will take 50 fence posts up the mountain to places that are too steep for the tractor.

Roger, apologies, I was forgetting this was a <b>classic</b> 4WD. I should have suggested the car park of any public house that specialises in <b>real ale</b>.

Iceland this summer.

I plan on at least 20 years use from this Landrover.

The Dormobile conversion has cooker, sink , beds, etc. - basically the same as the original sixties and seventies Dormobile, many of which are still in use.

forgot the caption<div></div>

Keith - good job you added the words 'real ale' otherwise I cudda been offended ;-)

 

Like Roger A the more resourceful 'classic 4x4' drivers carry all the mod-cons, often plus a selection of quality beers. Mine is currently stocked with Westmalle Tripel and Trappistes Rochefort 10. Drove around Utah 2004 on Flat Tire ....

 

Nice Dormo Roger, Leica Titanium finish?

4X4's and photography are a natural combination. For years I've driven 4WD vehicles on

photo trips. I'm not too keen on the process of off roading but rather as a means to get to

specific places. The rewards are worth the effort. My experience is only in the US. My last

vehicle was a Land Rover Discovery and was the best 4WD I ever drove. Sadly it met its end

last December but its sturdiness saved my life in a multiple rollover in town, close to home.

Here it is in Canyonlands, Utah, on one of the most difficult trails there. Email me for

specifics on places to travel.<div></div>

Lara Croft Tombraider Gray ("Bonatti Gray")!

Unanimous choice of the female majority in the family.

 

I prefer something I can respray easily after a scrape - like white.

David,

 

I've done Canyonlands off road in a rental Jeep Wrangler - which went back to the company without it's exhaust - mildly embarrasing at the time.

 

One of my ambitions is to take the Landrover camper back there for a few weeks.

One of my favourite places.

Roger (Hicks)....

Have you had the Landrover converted to Left Hand Drive, or is it still Right Hand Drive? I would be interested in how you find living in France and driving a Right Hand Drive Landrover?

<a href="http://www.keithlaban.co.uk">Keith Laban Photography</a><p>Guys, apologies for jerkin yer chains a little here. The fact is I see far too much damage caused by 4WDs to this green and pleasant land. I've nothing against 4WDs as such apart from the damage they cause to our countryside, getting stuck behind convoys of them ferrying little Jeremy on the school run and being asphyxiated by the gas guzzlers fumes. I appreciate that there are those who use them responsibly and out of necessity but unfortunately they seem to be in the minority.

Keith - I totally endorse what you say. Who needs a 4x4 to ferry kids "safely" to school? Sometimes less than a mile!

 

I'm sure I've seen some of your photos somewhere before: they're superb. It's the sort of thing I should be doing rather than 'scapes. Big envy!

 

Roger A - where did you fly to for the Canyonlands trip? I'm thinking about a 6 week trip in 2007 via Salt Lake City (or Denver) but Phoenix is always cheaper by far - but more driving. Also, how are you ferrying the L/R to Iceland?

 

David L - Sorry to hear you 'terminated' a Disco - they are pretty tough and capable but have a few odd reliability issues at times. I missed doing the North Cove/Paria (The Wave), Capitol Reef and Hole-in-the-Rock Road, so will be planning a 2007 trip after a few European excursions this year. Have you experience of these? I know 4WD isn't essential for all of these, but I'd like to pick up the Telluride Trail and Canyonlands where it is.

 

Thanks, Alan

Here's a shot of a (New York) Jeep, at the Maze Overlook in Utah

<br><br>

This is a long way from anywhere (notice the Jerry can, it's not for show).

<br><br>

...Tom M

Forgot the caption.<div></div>

Alan,

 

I've done it from Salt Lake City and back in a day when I was there for a conference - but I wouldn't recommend it.

 

I've also done it from Phoenix - I would probably choose that route again - the extra miles don't make much difference.

Keith, I agree with you. I replaced it with a Subaru for better economy and less wear and

tear on the planet. I can still go to 99% of the places as before, and if not, I can hike. My

Land Rover also was expensive for fuel and maintenance costs.

 

However Land Rovers have a place in the world. The professional nature photographers

I've met use 4WD vehicles out of necessity. Over the years I learned that conservation

issues become personally important if one becomes intimately attuned to the wild places

that need to be saved. The risk is loving those places to death. Land Rovers generally

have responsible drivers. Sadly there are exceptions, as with any type of 4WD vehicle.

Thomas, I always wanted to go to the Maze Overlook but never did. Been all over Utah

though. Thanks for the photo.

 

My Discovery photo is on the Elephant Hill Trail in the Needles District.

Dear Keith,

 

Your points are all well made and well taken. LR purists (?snobs) such as myself are even more 'down' on the Sloane Rangers and the school run than non-LR drivers.

 

But my LR has been into suburban Paris twice in 4 years (getting a visa for China) and urban London once in the same time (buying a new computer).

 

Otherwise: transporting free wood for heating the house; moving a wine press for a friend; moving stones to cobble the back yard; crossing the Pyrenees in winter... And so forth (including Hungarian forest roads, Romanian main roads, etc).

 

I don't commute in the thing; I suspect that given my annual mileage, the energy cost of building a new (= replacement) vehicle might take 10 years to recoup in fuel/oil costs.

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

Dear Alan,

 

Monsec sounds good. I was in Catalunya in December, around the Pyrenean foothills, and plan to return. I'll find out more about Lleida. Deserted villages sound good -- any further details?

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

Dear Roger A.,

 

Still RHD. I thought about LHD and talked to the people who did the chassui swap but (honestly!) forgot to ask again when I actually took it in... D'oh. But I don't find it a significant problem. After all, how often do you overtake in a 'real' Land Rover?

 

Then again I had an LHD car in the UK too (brought back from California) You should have seen them trying to measure the emissions at the MoT!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

Hello Roger

 

I'll look out some more detailed information on Montsec (map refs & village names, etc). We stayed in a rather nice B&B near TREMP (around 42deg02N, 1deg06E) run by an English couple - organic small-holding - Lou loved cooking Spanish style, Pete did walks into the hills. Plenty of wildlife and spring flowers. There's a super photogenic canyon nearby and the Montsec massif itself is pretty big - looks small on the map!

 

There's a little archaeology, and architecture in the region, but mostly it's just an empty bit of timeless Spain. Aigues Tortes NP is c.40miles north, and well worth hiking into (a Landrover Bus does the hard bit up the first 1000ft or so). White water rafting nearby too!

 

If you have the 'GOOGLE EARTH' download you can zoom/scroll around at various scales - the Landsat images give a good impression of the terrain. Look between TREMP & COLL DE NARGO - some interesting landforms and squiggly roads. The key is picking the time of year - before the end on May seems best.

 

Spain is just SO BIG and generally underpopulated. Plenty of wilderness.

 

I'm waiting to set up a new PC and scanner, then I can start posting my photos. May try to scan some at work in the meantime.

 

Cheers

 

Alan C