Lake Powell, Arizona
Photography Hot Spot

Lake Powell Arizona – Photography Hot Spot Location

Lake Powell Photography Hot Spot Location – Lake Powell is a reservoir on the Colorado River, straddling Utah and Arizona. We travel to the Arizona side of the lake. It is a major vacation spot that around 2 million people visit every year, so if you go in peak season, be prepared for some people to get in the way as you create your images. Lake Powell is a good location; you can plan to spend two days here photographing it and the surrounding area. See our other pages that are coming soon – Lee’s Ferry, Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend. They are all close to Lake Powell and should be combined to do in a two-day trip, maybe 3. Extra Eyes Photo Tours do a tour here. Visit their website at www.ExtraEyesPhotoTours.com. They connect Lake, Powell, and Lee’s Ferry area with Sedona, Arizona and Oak Creek Canyon.

Lake Powell is filled with sparkling, clear, blue water laps against towering, sheer, red-rock canyon walls and sandy beaches. Powerboats and wave runners zip about while houseboats are slowly winding their way deep into side canyons. Lake Powell is 186 miles long. There are 96 major canyons to explore, but you need a watercraft to visit most of them since access is limited due to very few roads. That’s the way to go if you can afford it. You will have the opportunity to create some images as no one else has ever done if you rent a boat and travel through these pristine, reflecting deep blue waters.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, established by Congress in 1972, is the home of Lake Powell. The area comprises 1.25 million acres, with the lake occupying only 13%, or 161,390 acres, of the total space, which leaves a lot to be explored by four-wheel drive or on foot.

See the Gallery right below. Lake Powell is quickly running out of water, so you better go now.

Lake Powell Photography Information:

Lake Powell is a photography hot spot location that could be A location to create award-winning photography. It is also a good spot as a base for Horseshoe Bend, Antelope Canyon, and Lee’s Ferry. Plan on at least two full photography days here at a minimum to explore the area.

Lens: This is primarily a wide-angle lens location.

Gear: Bring your tripod and your circular polarizing filters. Don’t forget your neutral density filter to do long exposure shots of the moving water.

Gear List at a glance: Circular polarizing filter, neutral density filter, tripod, shutter release.

And it is a milky way photography hot spot!

How to Shoot Milky Way and Night Sky Photography

What you will need:

Light pollution map – light pollution map

Camera – You will need a camera that you can manually control your ISO, shutter speed, and aperture.

Lens – A fast wide-angle lens of 1.4 – 2.8 is ideal. If you use a 3.5 or higher (slower lens), you will have to increase the ISO. The higher the ISO, the more grain or digital noise or grain that will appear in your photos.

Tripod – A good sturdy tripod is essential for night photography. If it gets windy, you will need a sturdy one. Remember, when you buy one, it should be sturdy enough to withstand the wind but small enough to fit in your suitcase.

Sky Map – Sky Guide is available through the iTunes Store for $1.99. It has a 5 out of 5-star rating on both the current (3.2) version (1200+ ratings) and all previous versions (8600+ ratings).

Flashlight – Our choice is Coast brand for flashlights. The ideal flashlight will have high lumens, and you can zoom in and out on the amount of light emitting from the flashlight. Get the HP7, PX45, or the G50. Ideally, go with the HP7.

Moon Phaze Map – The best time to go is during a new moon, and you want to be in the darkest area possible. The week before the new moon, when the moon has not risen, is a perfect time to go, so be sure to check the moonrise chart to see when the moon will be up.

Remote Shutter Release – When painting with light and you want to go over a 30-second exposure, you must have a shutter release to use your bulb mode. When exposing your pictures in general, you can use the remote release, or you can use your camera’s built-in two-second timer.

Use a Tripod – First of all; you must be on a tripod. A good sturdy tripod is necessary if it is windy. If the tripod moves, your picture will blur.

Focus – Use live view. To focus in the dark, use your camera’s live view, hit the zoom button, and focus on a bright star. You can also use the infinity setting on your lens but do several test shots to see if it is accurate. It can be off a little on some lenses. You can also light it up with a flashlight, focus, then gently, without touching the focus ring, put the camera in manual focus so it will not search for the focus. You must do this each time you move your camera to take your next angel.

Camera Settings

ISO – Start with ISO 1600 – 3200. This is a common starting point, and you will adjust from here.

Shutter Speed – Remember, the earth is rotating. If you leave the shutter open for too long, you will see star trails that will not make for a crisp image. We want crisp non-star trail images. Here is the formula to avoid star trails. The 500 rule – Divide 500 by the focal length of your lens. So, if you have a 24mm lens on a full-frame camera, you will set your shutter speed to 20 sec. (500/24 = 20.83). If you are using a crop sensor camera, first do the math of the crop sensor to find the focal length. Cannon is 1.6, and Nikon is 1.5. Convert to full-frame focal length, then use the formula. Nikon 18mm x 1.5= 27mm – 500/27 = 18.51 seconds.

Aperture – Depth of field isn’t critical in these shots, but letting the light into the camera is; therefore, you should shoot wide open. If the depth of field is essential to you, try not to go too high. (wide open =the lowest aperture your camera will allow). You will have to increase the ISO, which will give you digital noise.

Some white balance suggests; when in live view mode, you can change your white balance settings and see what it will look like. You can shoot in shade or cloud mode as a standard setting and adjust things later.

When to view the Milky way

The best images are usually of the dense part of the Milky Way. We can see this part of the milk way in the southern sky. During March, April, and May, the milky way rises above the horizon in the pre-dawn hours. In June, at about 10:00 p.m., you will see the milky way. From July until October, you can see the milky way as soon as the sunsets, and it becomes dark enough to see about an hour after sunset. In November, the milky way no longer comes above the horizon. You will have to wait until March if you want to stay away really late or get up early to see her again.

See our Night Photography Information.

The Private Jet Photography Tour Has a Stop Here

HOTELS

Where to Stay While Photographing

Advertise Here

Do you want us to send our photography and ghost-hunting friends to your hotel for their photography or ghost-hunting trip? Put your hotel information here. We will put pictures of your hotel, the website link, the phone number, and your information on your hotel.

Would you like to be a featured hotel like this article or this one? Please send us an email. You will be surprised at how affordable our prices can be.

Hotel Information:

You can stay at Lee’s Ferry as your base location for this trip. See the Lee’s Ferry Page for detailed information including great images.

AREA

INFO

Local Information

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Entrance Fee: Weekly Passes, Annual Permits and Boating fees.

1-7 Day Vehicle Pass – $15

Admits one single, private, non-commercial vehicle and all its passengers.

1-7 Day Individual Permit – $7 per person

Admits one individual when entering on foot or bicycle. Not to exceed the $15 vehicle fee. Individuals 15 years of age and younger are admitted free.

Individual Permit (organized non-profit groups) – $7 per person

ONLY applies to organized non-profit groups (service organizations, scouts, religious groups, college/school groups not qualifying for a fee waiver). Individuals under the age of 16 are admitted free.

Glen Canyon NRA Annual Pass – $30

Allows unlimited entry to Glen Canyon for 12 months from the date of purchase.

CAMPING

Where to camp while doing photography or ghost hunting

Put your campground here!

Do you want us to send our photography and ghost-hunting friends to your campground to stay during their ghost-hunting trip? Put your campground information here. We will put a picture of your establishment, the website link, the phone number and your information on your campground to make it easy for our photographers and ghost hunters to find you. They are good at getting there in the dark.

Would you like to be featured in an article as a place to stay while doing photography or ghost hunting? If so, please send us an email. You will be surprised at how affordable our prices can be.

Camping and House Boat Rentals:

Camping:

Lees Ferry Campground

· $12 per night / per site

· 55 developed sites – no hookups

Wahweap RV Park & Campground – 928-645-2433
Bullfrog RV Park & Campground – 435-684-3000
Halls Crossing RV Park & Campground – 435-684-7000
Hite RV Park & Campground – 435-684-3103

Backcountry use in the Orange Cliffs Unit of Glen Canyon requires a backcountry permit from Canyonlands National Park.

House Boat Rentals:

Houseboat Lodgings – The first thing you’ll want to decide is what size houseboat you’ll need and what amenities will make your vacation all it can be. Find everything you need to know about each houseboat they offer and its features. You will find Luxury, Deluxe and Economy classes; there’s a boat to fit every budget and lifestyle.

Houseboat Rental Companies

Antelope Point Marina – Lake Powell                          Lake Powell Vacations
537 Marina Parkway N-22-B MP 4                                  550 Haul Road
Page, AZ                                                                               Page, AZ
(928) 645-5900                                                                   (928)-608-0800

FOOD & DINING

Where to Eat

Add your Restaurant here!

Do you want us to send oRestaurantaphy and ghost-hunting friends to your Restaurant after their ghost-hunting or photography trip? Could you put your restaurant information here? We will put a picture of your establishment, the website, phone number and your information on your Restaurant to make it easy for our photographers and ghost hunters to find you.

Restaurants:

Rivers End Café – 130 6th Ave – Page, AZ 86040 – Phone (928) 645-9175
At Rivers End you can eat healthy and vegan. I suggest you try their: Veggi Hummus Sandwich, Veggi Wrap, or selected healthy salads.

Blue Buddha Sushi Lounge – 644 N Navajo Dr – Page, AZ 86040 – Phone (928) 645-0007
The Blue Buddha Lounge is home to a delicious healthy way of eating; a variety of mouth-watering raw fish, select vegetables, rice and mystical seaweed. The Blue Buddha offers an oriental cuisine that will not be soon forgotten.

WEATHER?

Weather Information

For this location Read here.

Don’t forget that you can use a rain sleeve on your camera if it is raining. If it is bright and sunny, you want to use a low ISO, such as 50 or 100.

If you photograph cloudy days, you can do running water or waterfall photography to help avoid the glaring sun. You can also use an ND filter to get long exposure for dramatic effects, even in the sunshine. If you ghost hunt indoors in abandoned places, be careful!