© Joel Zolondek

© Joel Zolondek

© Joel Zolondek

© Joel Zolondek

Monument Valley Journal

By Beth Vershure

This is the third location shoot for this project. Even though I know that the hours will be grueling and the weather miserable, I am excited and anxious, anticipating the rare opportunity we have to explore Monument Valley with one of the world's greatest landscape photographers, David Muench.

Day 1: Getting Started

Jillian Robinson and I, the web production duo, caught up to the workshop photographers at Lomaki Ruin just north of Flagstaff in the afternoon. It was cold and overcast. Most of the photogs were in the (warmly heated) bus and ready to be taken to their motel. They'd left Phoenix early and had already toured the Museum of Northern Arizona and photographed Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Monuments.

The TV crew — videographer Travis Johnson, producer Michael Tobias, and audio guy Ben Avechuco were still shooting with David and, as TV crews on outdoor shoots are wont to do, trying to get as much as they possibly could the first day out.

We wrapped the shoot and sent the bus on its way to the Cameron Trading Post for dinner and accommodations. The Trading Post is a most interesting stop. In addition to the availability of gas and food, the gift shop is huge and features everything from scorpions under glass to fine rugs and jewelry.

Day 2: You Say Potato, I Say Betatakin

We left Cameron at the crack of dawn and headed north through Tuba City arriving mid-morning at the Navajo National Monument Visitor Center, our point of departure for a hike down to the Betatakin Ruin.

Rick Best, or "Ranger Rick" as we affectionately came to call him, briefed us on the hike and said he would accompany the group to the ruin (you cannot go in alone). After describing the steep, 2-1/2 mile descent into Tsegi Canyon in cold, heavily overcast conditions, a few of the photogs decided to hang out at the top. Rick told us much of the history of the canyon and the ruin while making sure we all stayed on the trail.

Out came both winter and rain gear as well as the still and video camera. We looked like Pillsbury Dough people and I was really glad to have our little miniDV (mini Digital Video camera) as I watched Travis load that enormous (and heavy) betacam into his jury-rigged backpack.

The hike down Tsegi Canyon was beautiful. Although the TV crew was disappointed to have missed peak Fall colors, it was a magical place. Once down at the bottom, we rounded a corner and there, nestled under a gigantic overhang was the most amazing Betatakin Ruin. It was breathtaking! The photogs went nuts at the shooting possibilities and, since you couldn't leave the trail, there was much jockeying for position. David spent quite a bit of time working with the photogs and giving them tips on light, composition and filters.

As lovely as the hike down was, the hike up was "a grunt". At long last we reached the top and, on our ride back to the highway, the skies opened up and a rainbow straddled the canyon. Tho' the photogs kept going, we and the TV crew pulled off to the side of the road, geared up and attempted to capture this most elusive sight.

As we weren't sure if there were more shooting stops before arriving in Kayenta, we raced to catch up to the photogs' bus, passing by many late afternoon shooting possibilities. This would prove to be a theme on this trip. You see, this trip, unlike the other two, was covering a lot of ground in a variety of vehicles. The caravan was comprised of the photogs' bus, the TV crew in a Tahoe, and Jillian and me in a minivan. We would find ourselves then stopping more frequently than the bus to shoot "beauty shots" and then play catch-up with the photog bus.

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