We have finished the last of our 2009 regularly-scheduled workshops, and I have been working like the fabled banshee doing all the student galleries. They are done except for the photographs from our “student winners” and those who did private workshops with us. As I sit at the computer, day after day, hour by hour, I reflect on the wonderful trips we have experienced and all the amazing people we have both met and welcomed back to Barefoot Contessa Photo Adventures. We feel privileged. The work that they have produced should be inspiring to those who look at the galleries.

As I have written in the past, one of the good and bad things in running workshops is keeping up with the blog. It’s good, because it means we have been devoting all our energies to our students. It is bad, because I can’t keep up with the blog when we are so intensely involved in the workshops.

And for those who have kept track of our computer woes, all three computers are home and up and running.  Whew!  Fortunately, I am a bulldog when it comes to backing up.  This is fair warning to others.  Even Macs can die, and if you don’t have your work backed up, especially your images, well, I don’t need to tell you just how you-know-what you’ll feel if you lose it all.

We are home for what looks like three months. Wow! Amazing! We are really lucky, as we have had a house and MooseCat sitter who has been terrific. Hannah made instant friends with our Maine Moose Cat. When he got sick during our 11-week road trip, she took him to the vet and nursed him back to health.  Thank you, Hannah! Actually, MooseCat is actually a Maine Coon Cat, but if you met him, you’d see why we named as we did.  Petit, he ain’t!

Exhibit

For those of you who live in North Carolina, or who pass by on I-85 or I-40, we have an exhibit of some of our photographs at Cup A Joe on West King Street in Hillsborough, less than five minutes north of the highways on Old 86. The exhibit will run through the end of this month. We have been getting some really good comments, so we are quite pleased.

Canyon de Chelly & Navajoland

Because so many people have wanted to see our images from the various workshops, I’ll start with a few from Canyon de Chelly. For those who don’t already know, it is pronounced “Canyon d’SHAY,” from the Spanish mangling of the Navajo word for canyon, Tséyi, that literally means “inside the rock.” It is second in size only to the Grand Canyon and is unique among National Park Service (NPS) units, because it is comprised entirely of Navajo Tribal Trust Land that remains home to the canyon community. NPS does not “own” the park, rather works in partnership with the Navajo Nation to manage it.

For me, Canyon de Chelly is one of those magical, mystical places that speaks to my soul. I don’t mean cartoony magical, rather magically special. I always feel “at home” here, and I am not even Navajo. I love the sense of history, the grandeur, the awesomeness yet intimacy of the canyon. There is increasing evidence that people have inhabited this land for well over 2,000 years, perhaps even longer. The Navajo who grew up within the canyon walls revere it, as do many of their cousins who grew up nearby. In the Navajo tradition, everyone is related, everyone is a cousin.

In fact, as we were scouting and doing our own photography before the workshop, Arnie got to chatting with a gentleman up on one of the canyon rims while I was out on a cliff edge photographing. It turned out that Ben had a son who was one of the accredited guides for the National Park Service in Canyon de Chelly. Ben called him on his cell and made the introductions. We made arrangements to meet, and when we did, it was clear that he would be perfect. No “cattle-car” tours for us!

In order to go into the canyon, visitors must have a Navajo guide. Not just any Navajo, but someone directly connected to the canyon. Even Navajo neighbors are considered visitors and need a guide unless they, too, have a direct connection to those who live within the canyon walls.

Canyon de Chelly is just plain magnificent.  With canyon walls that tower above Chinle Wash, one feels like a small speck.The light is ever changing, from deep shadows that make fascinating patterns on the canyon walls to backlit morning scenes that are misty and somewhat ethereal.

We were lucky to get some pretty amazing skies while we were in Arizona. As part of our scouting, we headed out to the badlands, an eerily desolate section of land that looks more like a moonscape than something of this earth.

There were dark stormy skies alternating with patches of bright sky that added life to the subtle plant life and patterns in the land, and we couldn’t wait to bring our group here.It really was quite funny when we did bring them back. As they got out of the cars, their faces went blank. A glazed look came over them, and instead of grabbing their camera gear, their arms hung limply at their sides.

“What the @&%#,” we could hear them thinking. They looked around and figured Arnie and I must be off our rockers. Then they started really seeing and scattered across the ashen hills.

Clouds gathered, and we could not drag them away! Thunder rumbled ominously closely, and we could not drag them away! A dangerous thunderstorm was galloping toward us, and instead of seeking safety in their cars, they turned their attention to the dramatic skies, hoping to catch a bolt of lightening in their frames. And we still could not drag them away!

It really wasn’t until I reminded them more strongly that we were the tallest things out there, that they started to pay attention. Just one more shot! Lightening was prone to zapping the earth, as it did when I clicked the shutter for this frame. This wasn’t the only bolt that struck earth. Finally, they heeded our warning and quickly sought the safety of their cars. We headed back to the lodge to grab a bite before the restaurants shut down for the evening.

This wasn’t the only great sky we saw. In September, we celebrated some of those skies in the blog called Glorious Skies. Many of you wrote to say how awesome they were. That same week, after I wrote that blog, we had rainbows dipping down to the canyon floor and promising gold. We even had double and treble rainbows, but this was the shot I liked with just a hint of the second arc.

You cannot come to Canyon de Chelly and not go into the canyons themselves. As least I can’t. They host a gold mine of Anasazi ruins, petroglyphs, pictographs, and magnificent scenery.

Some of the ruins are high up on the cliffs. Our guides reminded us that erosion lowered the canyon floor a 100 feet. Rivers will do that. Think of the Grand Canyon.

So, while the Anasazi built up on the cliff walls, they had to put water dams in front of the doors so that the water would not enter the abodes when the river was in flood. That would not have been necessary if they had built way high up.

Because of the varied terrain, however, some of the communities were built on higher ground where there was no flooding. Those are still pretty close to the ground. We visited quite a few and were fascinated by the sophistication of these early architects.

Our guides shared many stories of their ancestors and of their gransparents who had taught them many of these stories. We were enthralled and felt so lucky to have this experience. I think our hosts were equally pleased. What better than a captive and interested audience?

On our way up one of the canyons, a scene caught my eye. We were trying to meet someone, so I didn’t even bother to say, “STOP,” but I kept in in my mind for later. After many stops and numerous filled flash cards, we headed back out.

As we approached the area, I asked our host if he would mind stopping for a short bit on the way out. He was amenable, so I warned the others to be ready to grab their cameras and tripods, as the light was fading, and we would not have much time.

I bolted out of the car and raced barefoot across the sand to the place I had targeted for my shot. I did just two shots, one horizontal, one vertical, and by the time the first of our group joined me, I was through, stepped aside, and helped them compose their photographs. It was a great way to end the day, and while it wasn’t our last day at Canyon de Chelly, it’s a good image on which to end this blog.

Workshop Updates

We already have a lot of sign-ups for our 2010 workshops. People & Culture of Belize and Savannah & Her Lowcountry are our two first workshops of 2010, but we already have people signed up for our last two next fall. As we always urge, if you are even contemplating joining us for one of our workshops, make your room reservations now. One of the B&Bs that hosts some of our New England Fall Foliage participants is already full … of our people! You can always cancel later if necessary and not pay any penalty! If “our” inn or hotel is full, or if you prefer to stay elsewhere, we always have links to other choices.

Remember, too, that spouses and SOs are always welcome to join us. The 2009 season saw a number of them. We go to some great locations that they enjoy, even though they aren’t photographers themselves.

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