Fifty Foot Falls | Havasupai
While prepping for this trip, photography insight for Havasupai seemed hard to come by. Hopefully this helps someone for a future trip. Backpacking in, there are only so many pounds of camera gear you want to add to the bag. I ended up at about 8 pounds for Havasupai and I always seem to be between 7 to 8 pounds for backpacking, including battery backups for my phone and camera. Total backpack weight with 2 liters of water (need to carry your water for the 8 miles to Supai) was 35 pounds. For me, this was comfortable for the hike in and thankfully did not have to hike out. $100 for a helicopter flight was money well spent, especially with a 7 hour drive home once out of the canyon. Camera gear I decided on taking was the incredible Sony A7R V with three batteries; lightweight Sony 16-35 f4 G PZ, Loxia 50 2.8, and Sigma 90 2.8 lenses; Benro Carbon Fiber travel tripod; two ND filters and circular polarizer; and finally, not enough lens wipes.
I hiked in with the Sony A7R V and Loxia 50 mounted on the Peak Design Clip with the Peak Design Shell Cover - the cover was a must have for our rainy second day of the trip. I was really happy with the decision to hike with the 50mm and it wasn't until we reached Havasu Falls that I wanted anything wider. However, I don't think I used the Loxia again for the rest of the trip, so next time I may consider taking only the 16-35 and 90, using the 16-35 for the hike in. The hike is beautiful, especially as you get into the wash and the canyon walls grow taller around you. Tip for Havasu Falls at least around the second half of September... the sun only hits the pool for a couple hours in the middle of the day, already in shade by 3pm. So if you want to swim or photograph with sun on the turquoise pool, that's your window.
Havasu Falls At Dusk
26mm | f/8 | ISO 400 | 4 sec
As relatively crowded Havasu Falls is during the day, closer to dusk everyone disappears. Same goes for sunrise, where you have the waterfall to yourself. This was such a nice surprise. What wasn't a great surprise was how fast I would burn through lens wipes, the spray from the waterfalls in certain spots will cover your gear within a few seconds. Add some fine sand to your wet gear and things can get messy fast.
Havasu Falls At Sunrise In Heavy Spray
16mm | f/8 | ISO 50 | 1/5 sec
To contrast the ease of accessing Havasu Falls, Mooney Falls is quite the experience. I'm not the greatest with heights, but I thought the descent and ascent to Mooney was amazing and I totally look forward to doing it again. The only bummer for our day at Mooney and hike to Beaver Falls was the weather. Morning was a constant light rain, but once at Beaver it turned into a downpour and we were forced to climb down ladders conveniently placed under mud waterfalls falling from the cliffs into the canyon all around us. An experience I'll never forget, but unfortunately don't have many photos of the area as all camera gear needed to be packed up. Just another reason to visit again. At least we were able to get some good time in at Mooney without heavy rain.
Cascades Below Mooney Falls
16mm | f/11 | ISO 50 | 1/4 sec
Closeup Of Mooney Falls
90mm | f/8 | ISO 800 | 1/250 sec
Desert Bighorn Sheep
90mm | f/4 | ISO 800 | 1/500 sec
Going into the trip, I wasn't planning to bring anything longer than the Loxia 50. Many longer lenses are too heavy and it was hard to judge how much zoom would be needed for the canyon. Then I stumbled upon the tiny, lightweight Sigma 90 f2.8 and am so glad I did. This is such a great little lens for trips like this. I do recommend having a lens with some reach for this trip. Also, as someone that loves to shoot wide, I really didn't find I wanted to go wider than 16mm.
Navajo and Fifty Foot Falls are more impressive in person than I was expecting. Going in, we all see the striking Havasu, Mooney, and Beaver Falls. But Navajo in particular was so different and beautiful with water trickling down everywhere, it was probably my favorite waterfall in person. Though, more difficult to capture.
Navajo Falls
30mm | f/16 | ISO 50 | 1/6 sec
So, what will I change for the next trip to Havasupai? Not too much. I'll seriously debate the Loxia 50. Many, many more lens wipes. Maybe if I skip the Loxia, I'd consider a GoPro for some of the hiking, and there's a lot of hiking. I had so much focus on the 10 mile hike in, I think I overlooked the hike to Beaver Falls, which while isn't horribly far, does take a considerable amount of time between climbing up and down Mooney, the water crossings, and inevitable wrong turns. Even more so for us that like to stop for photos. Next time, if weather looks good, I think I will plan to go straight to Beaver before the crowd, as it was crowded even on our rainy day, then take our time on the way back. The area between Mooney and Beaver is absolutely gorgeous and I can't wait to get a clear day on a future trip to really explore the area.