MONUMENT VALLEY Landscape Photography USA, Utah, Arizona

Few landscapes in the world are as iconic and famous as Monument Valley, and it's an obvious location for landscape photography. Considering how famous and iconic Monument Valley is, it's rather curious that you don't see as many pictures from this location on the social media. I mean, of course they're there, but not in the amount one would expect. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Monument Valley is located far out into the American Southwest, on the border between Utah and Arizona, around 400 miles from Las Vegas and more than 600 miles from Los Angeles. In European standards, that's approximately equal to the distance between the northern and southern border of Germany. Monument Valley is located in the Navajo Territory, controlled by the Navajo Nation, and to enter the valley, there's a small fee of $10 for three days. There's one main gravel road you can drive around the valley, which is open from around sunrise to sunset during winter and a bit longer during summer. There's a lot more information to get about the valley on the official homepage when it comes to all the practical stuff. During the summer period, there's a campground open inside the valley too. If you want to get away from the main route, you will have to book special tours with guides. The area do feel fairly commercialized, but not more than the rest of the US. This land is the Navajo Nation, and it's very sacred to them, so it should go without saying that you of course respect the laws and the landscapes. All along the valley drive, there's a lot of monuments to adore and photograph. Some of my favorites are John Ford's Point, which is the classic shot of the Navajo cowboy on the horse scouting the valley, the Three Sisters, Spearhead Mesa and North Window. But there's of course a lot of other smaller and bigger locations to photograph too. Sadly visiting in December, the campground within the valley wasn't open, so I couldn't do any night photography in there among the buds. But that would definitely be something to aim for. Instead, I started experimenting a bit with my polarizing filter on some locations, and it really does bring out those deep blue colors of the sky and rich reds of the rocks. Remember that the polarized part of the sky runs in a straight belt across the sky, 90 degrees from the sun. If you shoot wide, which I often do, there is a huge risk of just getting a dark blue band across your photo. To counter this, you can turn your filter slightly, the effect will be smaller, but the sky will be more even. Located at the Vista Center, the main vantage point of Monument Valley, called John Wayne's Point, gives a fantastic view over the Three Buds. There's plenty of opportunity for different foregrounds all along the ridge, from the Vista Center and down to the campground. John Wayne's Point is also accessible all year round at all time. This location has been photographed in all sorts of weather, on all times of day, in the entire winter and summer season. The road beneath the ridge has been incorporated with and without light trails. I have even seen a fantastic conceptual photograph, where sunset and sunrise were combined into one. If you want sunlight on all three buds during sunset, you should stick to the summer period, Making anything original here is next to nearly impossible, unless you use Photoshop and a bit of fantasy. While in Monument Valley, I got this conceptual idea of trying to mix in some northern lights. The idea is actually not that far-fetched, since when I came home, I read an article about how the magnetic poles of the Earth could change. This could cause the auroras to hit the equator, so take the picture as it is, a conceptual piece of art. Outside the valley coming from the north, along road 163, you will find the classic view of the road driving in a straight line towards Monument Valley. This location was made famous in the movie Forrest Gump from 1994. Along the hill, there's three parking lots and a few side roads where you can park. You will of course have to enter the road to take your picture, so be very careful. There's a lot of huge trucks driving on this road, and along with trains on train tracks, they can be very hard to hear before they are only a few meters from you. My suggestion is that you are at least two who photographs. Like, one who photographs and one who scouts for traffic. In regards to the lens, you will need something that can zoom. A 24-70mm will be just perfect, since a wide angle can be a bit too wide. Thanks so much for watching, I hope you enjoyed this episode. I would greatly appreciate a like and a comment, and if you read the description below, I have a lot of links to 500pixels and Instagram and Facebook and so forth, if you want to follow along there too. In the next episode, we are going to a place called Natural Bridges National Monument.