This morning while reviewing my daily blog stats I saw an interesting search term. “Photography Tips for Coyote Buttes.” Most likely the person doing the search is heading to the Wave in the near future, and unfortunately I have nothing to offer there. Yes, I’ve been to the Wave. No, not adding to the endless stream of images from the Wave.
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Don’t get me wrong. The Wave is an amazing sight to behold. But so is the rest of the Coyote Buttes area, White Pocket, and the Vermillion Cliffs overall.
I do have some tips about the Vermillion Cliffs in general and thoughts as well. So we’ll list them out for readers.
Tips on the Vermillion Cliffs
- Go to them and explore. The entire area is amazing.
- Do not confine yourself to only one location. If you can’t go to the Wave it doesn’t mean your trip is ruined.
- Give yourself time in the area. A 1 day shot at The Wave leaves you missing out on some amazing scenery that deserves attention. Plan 3 or 4 days in the area.
- South Coyote Buttes offers some amazing formations on par with the wave. I have visited Cottonwood Cove on many occasions and have barely scratched the surface of photographic opportunities.
- The Paria River canyon, Buckskin Gulch, and Wire Pass are all incredible. You could spend days exploring / hiking / photographing.
- Coyote Buttes North & South Permits are now offered in Kanab, and no longer at the Paria River Station. Plan accordingly.
- Camping at State Line Campground off of House Rock Valley Road is very nice, and keeps you in the Vermillion Cliffs to launch off for early morning shooting.
- North of Route 89 and the Vermillion Cliffs is The Grand Staircase Escalante. There are amazing formations, hikes, and views that equal those in the Vermillion Cliffs.
- Find unique formations that you havent seen documented before. Each summer we have art shows on the square in Prescott and each summer the same 3 photographers have the same exact photo of The Wave. I often wonder if they carpooled and took turns on the same tripod.
- Your trip is not a disaster if you don’t get a permit for The Wave. In fact, you might be better off finding other formations and putting your own amazing twist on them (get the theme yet?).
Northern Arizona, in fact all of Arizona, offers so many amazing things to visit and photograph. It’s funny how one thing will get popularized and other gems are never visited. Have you heard of Burro Creek? How about Fossil Creek. There’s amazing rock hounding opportunities south of Tucson. What I’m getting at is that there are so many places to create your own classic image.
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Oh, and see…… I found my own Wave. I titled it “Crashing Wave,” because the rock on the left looks like a huge wave about to wash up on the rocky shores of Cottonwood Cove.
P.S. The images in posts are now clickable and link to my Zenfolio Gallery where you can see more images from my collections.