Havasupai

kdog

Havasupai is the name of an Indian tribe who live on a reservation in a canyon that connects to the Grand Canyon. The word Havasuapi means "people of the blue-green water". Often the entire area is just referred to as Havasupai as well. The Havasu Creek runs through the reservation and over several well-known (and photographed) waterfalls. The water actually originates from underground springs and so is a constant 70F temperature year/round. The distinctive color is from a high concentration of lime.

To visit the reservation these days you need permits which are sold on the internet in 3-day chunks, and are very hard to obtain because of its popularity. Day hikes are not allowed. It's about 10 miles from the trailhead to the campground which is where the two most famous falls are located. You can camp in the campground or potentially score a room in the small lodge. We made the trek and camped there for three chilly nights a couple of weeks ago. Even though this place has been photographed to death, it is a place of incredible beauty and tranquility and still a great place to visit. This has been a bucket-list item of mine for many years, and perhaps yours as well if you haven't already been there.

Here are some shots of two iconic waterfalls there taken at night under an almost-full moon.

Havasu Falls in the moonlight
1

2

3

4

5

6 Havasu Falls during the day (with a 10-stop ND filter to slow the shutter)

7 Mooney Falls under moonlight, with a Moonbow!

8

9 Mooney Falls during the day (no ND filter)

Stumblebum

Superb K-dog! #1, #7 and #9 are best! Nice shooting at night! For #9 I will zap the hikers on top of the fall......kind of drawing eye and not adding anything. JMO.

kdog

@Stumblebum said:
Superb K-dog! #1, #7 and #9 are best! Nice shooting at night! For #9 I will zap the hikers on top of the fall......kind of drawing eye and not adding anything. JMO.

Thanks, Taz!! I always value your input. The hikers are a trade-off for sure, but for me they win because they add scale.

Cornflake

Wonderful shots, Joel. For some reason, the fourth especially sings to me, but all are good.

I'll bet you're sore.

Stumblebum

I think if people are prominent enough to add something then yeah it is cool. Here they are ants. The fall looks mighty big. Trees down below are adding lot of "scale".

torags

All excellent shots well treated...

kdog

@Cornflake said:
Wonderful shots, Joel. For some reason, the fourth especially sings to me, but all are good.

I'll bet you're sore.

Thanks, Don! The 4th one is special to me. A wider comp than one normally sees from that area (13mm FOV on FF) which I think really shows the context of the waterfall.

Not too sore, really. We try to keep in shape for trips like this. It was my wife's first backpacking trip if you can believe that and she loved it. We're going for Whitney passes this year too.

kdog

@torags said:
All excellent shots well treated...

Thanks, Rags! It was a wonderful trip.

kdog

@Stumblebum said:
I think if people are prominent enough to add something then yeah it is cool. Here they are ants. The fall looks mighty big. Trees down below are adding lot of "scale".

Well, we'll just agree to disagree. The fact that the people look like ants is exactly why I like them there. We know how tall people are, not so much with trees.

Juano

Great work! 2 and 4 are my favorites.

Stumblebum

I just saw these on my cell for first time! Enjoying them tremendously! Wonderful night it must have been! And you did not go off the cliff!!!👏

Stumblebum

How long are night exposures? Stars pretty sharp and falls perfectly exposed! Trying to figure it out!

kdog

@Juano said:
Great work! 2 and 4 are my favorites.

Thank you, Cristóbal!! I always find it fascinating when different pictures resonate with different people. It sounds like you favor the wider, "sense of place", feeling shots. Thanks again for your comment.

kdog

@Stumblebum said:
I just saw these on my cell for first time! Enjoying them tremendously! Wonderful night it must have been! And you did not go off the cliff!!!👏

Thanks, man. It actually took three nights to get these. Timing of the moon is critical in the narrow canyon. And yes, it was exquisite being out there at night. I never saw one other photographer out at night! It was cold, and everyone with any brains was tucked into their sleeping bags.

I didn't fall off any cliffs, but I did slam my face on a cliff wall while climbing down to a ledge to get those moonbow shots. Had a nice lump and cut to show for it. Scrambling on rocks in the moonlight can be disorienting.

@Stumblebum said:
How long are night exposures? Stars pretty sharp and falls perfectly exposed! Trying to figure it out!

The first few shots of Havasu Falls at night were all 30s exposures and super-wide FL's between 13 and 18mm. The 90% full moon balanced the foreground light perfectly with the stars. Amazing.

Lab_Tested

Stunning photos. I'm having trouble picking a favorite between #7 and #9, so I won't bother and simply enjoy them both. Love the stars in the nighttime shots.

kdog

@Lab_Tested said:
Stunning photos. I'm having trouble picking a favorite between #7 and #9, so I won't bother and simply enjoy them both. Love the stars in the nighttime shots.

Thank you!

slpollett

These are very beautiful photos. The people in #9 didn't bother me at all. I didn't even notice them until I read the comment and then went back to look. I must live under a rock, because I have never heard of these falls. Now I want to go!

Sherry P.

black mamba

Good work, Joel. It always adds flavor to a body of work when you have an appreciation for the effort involved on the part of the shooter.

El Gato

Kdog....

Late to the party here...been out-of-country for a spell. An excellent set of images. Bravely done at night too. Thanks for posting these. 👍🏼

kurzvorzwoelf

Beautiful set of a beautiful place, kdog. I think the waterfalls with the rainbow is what I like most, but all pics of this set are superb.

shniks

Awesome shots Joel. I haven't been there yet (probably won't go either), so it is nice to see some great shots of that place.

kdog

Sorry for the late replies, folks. I guess this thread got away from me.

@slpollett said:
These are very beautiful photos. The people in #9 didn't bother me at all. I didn't even notice them until I read the comment and then went back to look. I must live under a rock, because I have never heard of these falls. Now I want to go!

Thanks, Sherry! I'm glad you don't mind the people. I love them there as it shows the awesome scale of the waterfall. It's a pain getting permits for Havasupai, but I do think it's well worth it.

@black mamba said:
Good work, Joel. It always adds flavor to a body of work when you have an appreciation for the effort involved on the part of the shooter.

Thanks Tom! Lots of effort in everything from researching the trip, getting permits, practice hikes to get in shape, etc, etc. It's all part of the adventure. I appreciate you checking in.

@El Gato said:
Kdog....

Late to the party here...been out-of-country for a spell. An excellent set of images. Bravely done at night too. Thanks for posting these. 👍🏼

Thank you! Both of those falls are right adjacent to the campground area, so not too scary.

@kurzvorzwoelf said:
Beautiful set of a beautiful place, kdog. I think the waterfalls with the rainbow is what I like most, but all pics of this set are superb.

Thank you!!

@shniks said:
Awesome shots Joel. I haven't been there yet (probably won't go either), so it is nice to see some great shots of that place.

Thanks, Nikhil. Why wouldn't you go there? Yes, it's a bit cliche' these days, but so is the Subway and you go there all the time.

jerryr

Very nice - especially #6 and #8 - great work!

kdog

Thanks, Jerry! I always find it useful and interesting to know which ones people like.

JonaBeth Russell

Wow, Kdog, nice set! You really knocked it outta the park on this one, I'd say. Tack sharp, stars aren't trailing, everything balanced quite beautifully.

Last time I was anywhere near there was when we paddled up from the Colorado, and spent a half a day frolicking in the tail waters near the river intersection. Good times!

kdog

@JonaBeth Russell said:
Wow, Kdog, nice set! You really knocked it outta the park on this one, I'd say. Tack sharp, stars aren't trailing, everything balanced quite beautifully.

Last time I was anywhere near there was when we paddled up from the Colorado, and spent a half a day frolicking in the tail waters near the river intersection. Good times!

Of course you did, Jona. You've been everywhere!! LOL. Thanks for checking in, Bud!

jayegirl

Amazing!

kdog

@jayegirl said:
Amazing!

Thank you, Jaygirl!

dlplumer

These are all excellent, Joel. Great job! Do they still offer helicopter shuttles down and up?

kdog

@dlplumer said:
These are all excellent, Joel. Great job! Do they still offer helicopter shuttles down and up?

Thanks, Dan. They sure do. 3-day packages includes a campsite, although there is a lodge too. Heli flights are extra but reasonable as I recall. Everything is closed indefinitely due to Covid though.