A Photography Alternative to Antelope Canyon: Canyon X
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- Опубліковано 14 січ 2018
- Antelope Canyon is popular, so we found an alternative Antelope Canyon called Canyon X; which is perfect for photographers.
Check out my photography on IG at @brendanvanson.
Photography tours are no longer being offered in lower Antelope Canyon. I guess it's just too busy there. So, we looked for an alternative Antelope Canyon tour that allowed you to use tripods. We ended up coming across Canyon X. And, honestly, we had no idea what to expect. In the end, though, it was an amazing tour, and the photography opportunities in there were fantastic.
Canyon X is just outside of Page, Arizona, and is an awesome spot for photographers as you not only are allowed to use tripods, but you usually have it all to yourselves. On our tour, there was just one other lady and the guide. The other time we drove by Canyon X there was no one there. Comparatively, when we drove by both Upper and Lower Antelope Canyon there were swarms of tourists.
So, if you're looking to do photography at Antelope Canyon, maybe check out an alternative. Actually, if you're hoping to use a tripod, as of January 2018 you need to use one of these alternative tours. The good news, however, is you're still able to find some amazing photos and compositions out here as well. I'm actually really pleased with the tour, and think I enjoyed it more than when I did Lower Antelope Canyon a couple years ago.
After spending time shooting photography at Canyon X, we headed to another photography hot-spot - Horseshoe Bend - for sunset.
Tomorrow on the photography channel, we're headed to Monument Valley!
![The Best of Page, Arizona [+ 3 Hidden Gems]](/img/n.gif)
That canyon looked stunning and wow!! What a sky!!! Epic!
Thank you so much, appreciate the tips and review, will be heading there for photo tour on the 17th of this month myself
looks amazing.. never heard of Canyon X but i will be checking it out this year! Thanks for sharing!!!
Great video, so many good photography tips for shooting in the slot canyons and wrangling in that huge vista at Horseshoe Bend. Cool to see a new canyon and to be able to take your tripod and actually spend some time would be amazing.
Thanks for sharing! AMAZING!
Using live view,what a great tip. You've said the camera sees differently. The shadows and textures in that canyon, crazy. dynamic range tip, I'll remember that. Thanks another great job.
Love the lines and shapes.
Brandon...thanks...I've got to get back to southern Utah soon.
Those last photos from Horseshoe Bend were epic Brendan!!! What a place!
Oh, and the music is awesome lately ;)
Nice video. I plan to go there. I visited AZ a few years ago and I want to go back. Keep up the great work.
oh great tip ! I was gonna try get the permit for the wave but these are great alternatives too
beautiful video! many many thanks for the tip Brendan!
As for the trip, may I know what tour company did you engage? We are planning to go here in May this year. Thanks ~
Spectacular bro!
You couldn’t ask for a better tour guide either. How cool and awesome was that!!
Epic Canyon X.
Very helpful, thank you! And I feel with you: Very often I focused on the Non-Hotspots! 🙈 so I very like your bush shots... 💪🏼😂
that was awesome, I think one of your best videos.peace
Sweet vid Brendan. Looks like a 2 camera shoot going there for you. One at the canyon and sunset and the other shooting what's going on behind you.
Epic Brendan! For sure soon enough this Canyon X will be swarm by tourist just like the Antelope Canyon!
Awesome Brendan
As you probably know... off season is the best time to shoot in that area (specially at Arches NP). In the few times when I have shot in the canyons with overcast skies, I will use exposure bracketing to add a higher dynamic range. BTW... there is a slot canyon called Hidden Canyon (similar to X Canyon except Hidden Canyon is longer and has a slope that allows you to shoot with sky backgrounds at the openings on each end). If my memory is correct, I believe Hidden Canyon is more difficult to access and is only available through a private tour.
Hey Brendan!! Just did Upper Antelope through Adventurous Antelope tours photo tour and it was amazing. The tour guides blocked off people for 2 minutes at a time and we got plenty of good stuff. Maybe it depends on the tour guides. He even took us to a second canyon (not sure which one) after which was empty!! I used my 11-24mm canon lens which was almost too wide!! For me, the polarizer helped bring out some of the colors at 10am. I’ll be sure to take your advice if I come again and check out canyon x. Not disappointed though and had an awesome outing!!
Nice shot of Horse Shoe Bend...solid work
As always it is a awesome video I love it. By the way, do you use auto white balance or cloudy?
Great tips! Will be there next week. So what’s better shooting horseshoe bend at sunrise? Or at sunset?
Epic sun star at Horseshoe man! I don’t think people realize how far down that drop is. There’s a reason why people come from all over the world to see it. Epic! Great video brotha!!
Thank you for telling us the camera settings
thanks for posting !!! was wondering what tour company you used?
It was a good day! back 2 back..
Awesome vlog! I'm planning a trip and you answered so many questions I had! Also...is that a Grizzlies cap?!!!?
Brendon, i recently discovered your Vlogs and you have become my favorite subscription.
Thanks, John. I'm glad you're enjoying them.
You published the video on my birthday. Yay.
Thanks for this post. Great information. I've been to Antelope Valley two times now and have a plan tripped for my brothers the last week of September I was fortunate to have been able to do a photography tour of Upper Antelope Valley before it was discontinued. I'm wondering should I book a tour to the popular touristy Antelope Valley tours or should I have them experience a tour where they will be able to take in the scenery a bit more even though it may not be as majestic as the more popular location. Thoughts?
Canyon X is a very nice place, I don’t think it was as well known when I visited back in 2010 and 2012. We experienced the same that you did - on the first visit we very only 3, the guide and me and a friend - the second time it was two guide and me and my family, so only 6 people in all. Our guide on the second tour, a Native American, had a flute and played for us in the canyon. A funny little anecdote is that both times we experienced a light dusting of snow as we came out of the canyon and that was in late March/early April.
Brenden,
Thank you for posting this. Super informative! What time of day would you recommend starting a tour at Antelope X? I'd like the ability to photograph a slot canyon - this was so useful for travel planning. Thanks.
I liked this episode a lot. How you walked to the camera and how straight forwardly everything went. That quitar guy looked nice in the photo and sounded good in the canyon.
Love that you tell to look behind when sunset is happening.
I'm glad you liked it Tiina!
Shame about Lower Antelope. Been to Horseshoe Bend, and during my time there is was insanely windy, so I decided to lay down on my stomach, dangle a bit over the edge, and shoot with a fisheye while my wife was sitting on my legs...got a great shot that wasn't the cliche view of HB, as well as the passing storm. Thanks for the video.
You are doing a similar route to one I did back in 2015. It's good seeing all these places again from your point of view. Vegas, valley of fire, zion (where my brand new 70D went pop in flash flood on day 2 of a 20 day trip) bryce canyon, Lake Powell, marble canyon, horseshoe bend, I didn't do antelope canyon as I was grumpy about my camera, Monument Valley, Moab, Arches, mesa Verde, Durango, train to Silverton, Gallup, petrified forest, flagstaff, grand canyon, montezuma Castle, turigot (?), Jerome, Scottsdale, sedona, flagstaff, hoover Dam, and back to Vegas. What a trip.
I visited most of those places as you did to Phil in 2014, drove through Sedona day after the forest fire, I was gutted as we didn't see horseshoe bend due the south end road been closed so we had to back track other wise we would of ended in Las Vegas would of been awesome but at the time running on a tight schedule.This is where I started to have an interest in photography, With my Canon 7D which I still use today.We are planning on redoing that trip sometime this year, with better glass and knowing now what to see and not too, especially those Indian roadside markets, Cool BUT same stuff across the country nothing was unique very little was made by the native American Indians, I seen the same pottery and jewelry at even market which was alittle disappointing.But very cool experience
What a fantastic location! Even though it’s been shot a million times it’s still on my photography bucket list.
+dinham it should be. Even though it's been shot a million times there are still unique images to be made.
I went fall of 2017 for this canyon X. I asked the tour guides about their canyon. They said, years ago, they "only" did "private" tours. It was only about 18 months earlier that they opened to the public. They said their 1st year there were not that many people, but started to pick up in the last 6 months.
I will tell you this. I did the photo tour, and it took me almost 3 hours, all by myself. they let you "free" reign to the place. you can take as long as you like. The tour guide just let me go off on my own, take as long as you like.
If you are a photographer, and want to bring your tripod, and most importantly "to take your time", this place is a definite must before it gets too busy.
I love the human element in your pictures.
Very nice! I'm coming to AZ the 27th of this month, I have a Ricoh GR1 35mm film camera, should I shoot slide or negative film and what iso? The lens is 28mm!
Thank you for sharing your experience here... The harsh light entering the canyon slots is clearly illustrated here on both the video & photographs taken. The compositions were fine, but the light was dreadful imho... This is a place I would just love to spend a few days at in order to catch the absolute best light, i.e., sunrise/sunset with a nice mix of clouds if lucky... The Horseshoe Bend in particular would be a great spot to get to before the crowds show up, before sunrise if possible!
I have read of late about the tripod restrictions at Zion National Park in particular & no doubt at most the parks moving forward, however, if one gets OFF the beaten path, there are NO tripod restrictions!
Thank you,
Bill Farr... :>)
William Farr I just got back from upper Antelope. I know what you mean about harsh light. Easy fix for me was to do a 3-4 shot composite. The sky is blue that way. Sometimes the contrast is good and sometimes not.
Nice video as always...
(Jody is aware that her pullover reads "small" , right? ("good" placement too ;) )
I shot there last week. Great place. However, if doing anything of a commercial nature make sure to get the proper permits from the Navajo Nation.
nice !!!
America ❤❤ UNIQUE
Nice very nice video and images. Thank! Brendan.
+friendship yujin friendship, yujin thank you!
You put your hat on the right way, :) great place to photograph.
Hahaha, the right way is the wrong way!
ISO increases or decreases the brightness of a photograph by changing the sensitivity of the sensor. Low ISO settings will have the least amount of noise and the highest dynamic range. As ISO increases, noise levels increase and dynamic range typically decreases.
Very Nice! I asked in the previous video about what color profile you are using and if it was custom to please share, but If you are shooting RAW then I guess it really doesn't matter about color profile when you get it into lightroom. The jpeg preview reflects the color profile settings in camera, but after importing a RAW file into Lightroom it reveals it's real color with a lot more dynamic range and does not look like the jpeg preview in camera. I guess you can use the in camera previews to get close to what it may look like when you color correct? I guess the question is what is your workflow form in camera RAW to lightroom, and do you go for the preview on camera or do you have other ideas or maybe both, I guess it depends on what you want your final image to look like. I use this for video at times. I will change color profile to see what it would look like after color correcting and then get ideas for color grading as well, then before I shoot it I switch back over to the flat profile and record so then I have an idea of what I will look like in post. You may have already made a video on this. not sure. Thanks again Brendan. Have fun.
I use vivid for video. But, I shoot RAW, so for the JPEGs it doesn't make any difference.
what is the tour group you used for this photo shot? i really like the video that you shot.
What time did you go at? What time of the day would you recommend going at to get the best lighting?
Hi, this is very helpful! Could you recommend the tour you've used?
There is only one company that tours Antelope Canyon X, Taadadidiin Tours, www.antelopecanyon-x.com/
Will visit page for the first time. Would you recommend us to visit canyon x instead of the upper canyon? (With small kids)
Oh man, having that dude play guitar while photographing those slot canyons would be surreal!
how can I get info on the guide?
Remember to always tip your tour guides! I have seen so many people forget to do that, and/or are not aware that is what they are supposed to do.
Do you know why they won't allow them in the lower canyon? I see that navajotours still offer a photography tour though. I'm heading out here in March! Had to change travel plans from Yosemite to this due to snow :/ still super pumped though!!
Just way too many people and the tripods get in the way of them churning more people through and making more money.
Thanks for sharing. Is this the photography tour or the hiking tour?
The photography tour.
Hi Branden I was following you on your Philippines travel but I saw you in your canyon travel. What's the best time of the year to go there? I kind of just look outside for a day without going inside the canyon.
I think the winter is best. And, maybe avoid Chinese New year when it gets really busy. But, if you go in January or March you can often have it all to yourself.
WHat time will be the best time to visit antelope canyon-x in January?
You did and awesome job with this video! You might want to change the title to something like "A Photography Alternative to Antelope Canyon: Canyon X (BONUS: Horseshoe Bend)" That will get you more traffic to this video when people are searching for videos on Horseshoe Bend. The last part of your video on Horseshoe Bend is excellent!
How I found this tour guide.? Do you have the name of the Tour service?
Nice!
From Brazil🇧🇷
Obrigado!
😊
Really nice Canyon ! I looked online and it seems that there is multiple tours possible, with different prices. Which one did you take ?
I will be there this summer and hope to get there too :D
+Sacha Chillier hmmm. It was just called the photography tour, I think.
Thank's ! I will try to find it :D
With a day off and terrible weather, can't beat a bit of BVS
Can't beat the 5 points you get for first comment either :D
Which tour did you take? Are there several companies for the x tour?
Nice landcape and nice images. I can see Jodie has alson a 5D. It is also an Xmas gift ;) ?
+Jean-Luc Coulon nope she's been on the 5d mark iii for a long time. We'll before I met get, even!
IS there a destination mark to get there? or have to pay a fee to get it? and what hotel would you stay at that's close? thankyou
What tour company did you use?
When is the best time to go to Canyon X and how do I book a tour?
Brendan I note you use a range of filters and was wondering do you carry them all or do you decide which ones to take out when you head for the day like you done on this episode?
I always take all of them everywhere I go.
I just bought into the Lee system Brendan, started with a 3stop soft grad ND and will be getting the 105 polarisor soon, what others do you recommend remembering the cost means i will probably only get 2 more after that
Hi, can ypu go there without booking? The other canyon looks complicated as places, for October, are already gone
Hey Brandon what website/app do you use to check the weather so precisely?
+seeya555 weather underground is my go to.
Not sure if you are aware of this... but, about half way between Page and Moab there is what I put on the same scale as the Grand Canyon in terms of view. It's called Hunt's Mesa. It requires an overnight stay on the top of the Mesa to get Morning and Sunset shots (Note: It will be very cold in the winter Elev. 6300 ft). Here is an example of the view (although the pic is only 50% of the view facing S.E. their is equally scenic view facing the N.E. Guide only and not sure they do guided trip in the winter. facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10204457320008625&set=a.4598042744678.1073741826.1100528353&type=3&theater
Looks epic!
Do you remember what aspect ratio you were shooting in?
Is there a web site for the tour operator for canyon x
Here's a like!
**puts like in his pocket** Thanks!
do you protect your gear from the sand? I'm asking since I want to bring my beginner dslr to joshua tree but not sure if I should prepare for environment wise... If I dont have to I dont want to bother
moonlightstripes you will be fine. Just use a blower and DONT wipe with a cloth ever. Don’t change lenses at all either and clean it off when you get back to the hotel. Just a rag to get all the dust off.
Dear can you advice photo agency or photo package for antelope and Great Canyon. I will be there on 28 May till 3 June 2018. thanks
What filter,are you using Brendan?
Lee!
I'm early for once :D
i thought tripod, selfie stick and backpacks are not allowed in the canyon.
best time of the day to visit?
What!?!?!? No photography tours at Antelope?! Are you sure it’s not just a seasonal limit? Funny “the suns going to set over there on the horizon”. Not to unusual
Hahaha, great commentary on the sunset.
Yeah, apparently they just want to churn money through there now. Tripods take too much time and space.
Photography tours reduce the number of people they can fit in the canyon. They prefer to just herd people through as fast as possible to increase numbers. They already changed it last year so photography tours can't have tag along partners, which probably limited the demand for them anyway. I wasn't keen to do it while my wife did a regular tour.
I presume you upload your videos over mobile network, how big are they and how long do they take to upload!? If you are having to do this most days it must take ages and run up quite the bill!
Not usually, I usually use wifi at a coffee shop or something.
Brendon, what month did you guys go?
This would have been January or Feb.
Little confused as to why ISO400 would handle more dynamic range than ISO100, is this perhaps specific for the 5D mark IV?
It is not the dynamic of the camera itself: the dynamic of the camera itself is better at lower ISO. But it is - I guesse - the dynamic of the final picture after processing. It is better to raise a bit the ISO sensitivity instead of pushing the things in post-processing.
Yeah, wondering about this myself.
Dynamic range is still best at ISO 100. But yes, the 5D4 has made a great improvement in being "ISO invariant", which makes a properly exposed ISO 400 just as good as an under-exposed ISO 100.
Exactly.
Sure you have the properly exposed shadows but if there is highlights that are close to being blown out you wont have the dynamic range to bring down the highlights. Not a big issue if you are bracketing but at that point you are better off just shooting at iso 100.
Great pics! However, I wish people wouldn't talk about alternatives to Antelope. We don't want the tourist buses to show up here as well. All it takes is one 'viral' instagram pic and everyone would want to take the same pic.
Ah man I live in page I could have given you a really cool spot there is another slot canyon
Yeah, I tried to get to the other one, but chose to shoot Powell instead. Next time!
So do you need to be on a Photo tour to use a tripod? or is it just open to public?
For Canyon X, I think you need to choose the photography tour option to have a tripod. You get more time in the canyon this way too.
From page
Did you use any ND filters?
Nope. Very dark in there as is.
where is the place at 9:32? thanks. google map pin or name pls , thanks!
Plss share the name of the company that you got for touring you around the canyon 🙏🏻
It's Canyon X
Was just here. I used to work in Page. My old coworker is a tour guide in Canyon X/Cardiac Canyon. Cardiac is wayyy bigger than Canyon X or either Antelope. Got a free all day tour, it was a blast.
Few pics imgur.com/a/L2eKKMX
Which tour did you do at Canyon X
Going into a slot canyon on a rainy day? You do know what formed them, right?
I hope this canyon is not occupied with tribes for 66$ at the moment.
Do you need a Tour guide to get here? Might you be able to suggest a Photo guide for here? Going there next week. Thanks!
You do. Search Canyon X on google. You'll find them!
Hey it's raining in the desert. Let's go hike some slot canyons. What's wrong with these two sentences? That's how 12 people died in a flash flood in 1997.