The Mittens, Monument Valley

Last March, along with a group of photographer friends, I journeyed to Monument Valley.  This collection of massive sandstone buttes is located in northeastern Arizona, straddling the border with Utah.

The valley is on Navajo Tribal Land.  To visit the valley you must first buy a permit from the Navajo Nation Parks & Recreation.  While you can do a self-guided tour, the best way to visit is to hire a Navajo tour guide.  There are quite a number of tour operators to choose from.  For a photographer, it is well worth the additional cost to do a photography tour.  We used Phillips Photography Tours and found them to be excellent.  If you have the time, I would recommend, in addition to one or more of their other tours, the Hunt’s Mesa Overnight Tour.  The jeep ride up to the Mesa alone is worth the price of admission!  Arriving at the Mesa in time for sundown, you are treated to an incredible vista.  While you are shooting, the guides are setting up camp and starting supper.  Once it got too dark to shoot we enjoyed an incredible feast featuring steak cooked on an open fire.  The next morning we were up early to catch sunrise before starting the journey back down.

Following are some of my favourite shots from Monument Valley.

Next up, Canyon de Chelly.