Navajo guide suggestions for Slot/Antelope Canyon (Arizona)

I'll be traveling through Page, Arizona in late October. I would

like to find a Navajo guide who knows the area and has worked

extensively with photographers. If you have had experience with any

individuals, I would very much appreciate hearing about how to

contact them.

 

Many thanks for your help. Jay

If you're doing either upper or lower Antelope, don't bother with a guide. It's not worth the trouble. You have to get some sort of tour operator to get you to upper, but it's totally not necessary for lower (a lot less crowded and potentially as good pictures.

 

Call the Page Chamber of Commerce to find out about guides to Waterholes or some of the lesser-known slots, much more fun.

Right, you don't need any guide. The canyons are not that big and you can easily explore it yourself. The land is privately own and they'll charge you a fee to visit. It is not cheap; I went two years ago and it was like $45 for the two of us for two hours. They charge by hour; the longer you stay, the more expensive it will be.

Jay-As you drive up and down Lake Powell Blvd. in Page, there are about 5 guides with signs out on the road within a mile...you really don't need them...simply stop by FotoQuick in Page Plaza (next to Safeway) and pick up a copy of "Your Photographers Guide to Page Arizona" (free). This should keep you busy for a couple of days-Paria, Alstrom Point, Horseshoe Bend, Antelope Canyon and Monument Valley are all covered (with maps)--I prefer Lower Antelope Canyon simply because they will leave you alone (no time limit), and it is a good deal less crowded than the upper canyon. Be prepared for some DUSTY conditions inside! The folks at Foto-Quick are VERY knowledgeable about color balance and exposures needed for the desert and canyon environment and are a great resource....Enjoy!

Jay,

 

I was in Page last Wednesday (Oct 8). I just stopped at the ticket office, paid my $6 for a parking pass. I then visited both the lower & upper antelope canyons.

 

The only issue I see is lighting. According to the Navahos, wintertime you get no sunbeams into the upper canyon (starting in November, if I remember correctly). In June, you can get 14 in a single day there. I was able to catch one in both the upper and lower canyons.

 

Some guides advertise a "canyon X". I didn't go to it, so I have nothing to offer on that. Hopefully someone else who has gone there will chime in.

 

Good luck!

One more thing. I paid $12.50 to visit the lower canyon (unlimited time - I spent 2 hours). I paid $20 to spend 2 hours in the upper canyon.

Kosta,

 

Is that you, the guy I met at sunrise at Bryce on his way to Calf Creek and the Wave? If so, I did the Wave a few days after you.

 

Anyway, I met a professional photographer who also told me of another canyon where he said the professionals go to for their pictures and just say it is from Antelope since Antelope is so crowded. He told me he was able to pay extra and convince the guide to give him a private tour, but I didn't get the name of the place.

 

Also, there a are a number of private tour operators in Page. Don't waste your money on them and just go there yourself. The private ones just charge more money and say "Here's a nice shot", "and here's a place for a picture". Stuff you can figure out on your own.

Hi, I own Foto Quick and appreciate the nice comments. We like to think that we are particularly well suited to the needs of asvanced amateur and professinal photographers in Canyon Country with both color print and E6 services. Our guide is probably the best thing we ever did as far providing simple answers to questions about photography in and around Page. It is avalible in the store or it can be viewed online by clicking on <a href="http://www.canyonphoto.com">"The Guide" </a>

 

-John