Exploring AZ: Grand Falls | Arizona Photography Locations
- Exploretographers
- Mar 1, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 7, 2023
If you happen to find yourself near Flagstaff you'll want to detour a little northeast to find some pretty spectacular waterfalls! The Grand Falls, while not as wide as Niagara Falls, are actually higher as the cascade downward 185 feet. They have been dubbed the Chocolate Falls or the Willy Wonka Falls due to the sand and clay the water encounters as it travels through the high-desert. You have to visit Arizona at just the right time to actually view the falls as they only flow a couple times throughout the year. The spring (March and sometimes into early April) is the best time to see the falls as the snow melts from the top of Mt. Baldy and the White Mountains. Arizona was fortunate for some record breaking snowfall and rain recently, so the falls put on a pretty good show this February. They often flow during monsoon season, a few days after heavy rainfalls. Data shows there is typically only 6-8 flows per year, each flow averaging 6.2 days per flow. You can check the water flow of the Little Colorado river at this link: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/az/nwis/current/?type=flow
If the cubic feet per second at both the Little Colorado River at Winslow, AZ and Cameron, AZ is several hundred then that increases the likelihood that water will be flowing. The falls are located on the Navajo Nation and you will find mixed information online on whether you need a permit to visit the Grand Falls, so I am going to link to this page (which states a permit is not required):
https://leupp.navajochapters.org/
The most important information I want to relay from this page is:
Please be respectful of the beautiful land when visiting. Do not litter. Do not off-road. Do not chase the livestock. Do not speed on the dirt roads. No ATV's allowed. No camping. No alcohol.
Traveling on 1-40 from Flagstaff you will take exit 211 at Winona. You will drive north for 2.3 miles and turn right on Leupp Rd. Continue on Leupp Rd for about 20 miles and you will see a sign that says Grand Falls next entrance. I recommend taking that entrance (Indian Rd 70). My Waze app had me going much further on Leupp, adding almost an hour of a drive that was unnecessary. Fortunately, I chose to follow the sign and my Waze updated immediately knocking that hour off my estimated time. Once you turn off Leupp you will be on an unpaved road, however it seems well maintained. 4wd/high clearance is not necessary. Most cars should be able to make the drive, just drive slow. If I remember correctly I was on that unpaved road for less than 20 minutes before I reached the falls.
Photography Tips for Photographing the Falls: I recommend getting there early for sunrise or staying through sunset to capture the most dramatic lighting. I prefer sunset for these falls, but there are far less people at sunrise (there were no one else there the day I went) which means no one photo-bombing your pictures.
Suggested Equipment:
Camera Body (equipped with charged battery and memory card, of course)
Wide Angle Lens: I used Canon 24-70mm 2.8 and Rokinon 14mm
Tripod
Neutral Density (ND) Filter: (such as this one
Lens Cloth
Unfortunately, waking up at 2 am to make it by sunrise from Phoenix, I was still in a daze and forgot my tripod. I did, however, have a light stand in my car that I made into a make-shift tripod. I was unable to adjust the light stand to some angles I would have liked, but it worked enough until it didn't work anymore. After the first 10 minutes I, inadvertently, tried to angle my camera forward and the light stand broke off flush in my camera's tripod mount. I was now forced into shooting handheld, which was not ideal. My biggest tip for anyone is to plan and prepare your gear the night before any photo adventure. The problem for me is that I am very spontaneous and often choose to take these adventure 5 minutes before I head out the door! I would highly recommend though to learn from my mistakes and shortcoming and plan your outings in advance, when possible. This will ensure you get the most out of your adventure! Another lesson I was reminded of on this trip: when shooting waterfalls you should occasionally check your lens for water spray. In a few of my photographs I noticed water spots that were likely due to water spray from the falls splashing on my lens. I didn't realize or think about it at the time because I was so cold and was fighting with the tripod issue already, so I didn't stop and take my time. This resulted in more time spent in post-processing than I would have liked. So bring a lens cloth and wipe down the lens in between every couple photos.
As far as camera settings I used a low ISO (100), high aperture (22), and longer shutter speed (1-10 seconds) while I was on the "tripod". Once the "tripod" broke I had to lower my aperture and shorten my shutter speed since I was hand-holding the camera. If you plan on photographing the falls midday I highly suggest you bring along a neutral density (ND) filter which allows you to use long shutter speeds in bright daylight without overexposing your image. Without the ND filter you would nee to use shorter shutter speeds (fractions of a second) to get the correct exposure, resulting in less "creamy" water. Instead of capturing the movement of the water you will essentially "freeze" the water. Compare the 2 pictures below. The first one was taken at 1/25 of a second. The second picture was 1.5 seconds. As you can see, keeping the shutter open for 1 second more significantly changes the look of the water movement.
One suggestion for ND filters is listed below (just be sure to purchase one that fits your lens):
Please feel free to watch this short video on my adventure:
If you are interested in purchasing a print please visit: https://heclickssheclicks.smugmug.com/Sheclicks/Travel/Grand-Falls/
*My post may contain affiliate links. If you buy something through one fo those inke, you won't pay a penny more, but we'll get a small commission which helps pay for this site!
Comments