Muench Workshops guest Pat Dublinski wrote up this trip report for us. Thanks, Pat!
Monument Valley brings so much to mind—grand, beautiful, wide-open vistas, endless skies, Navajo lands, John Wayne, John Ford, and even Forest Gump! I’m a big John Wayne fan. I grew up watching his movies and loved the Westerns and the area they were made in.
Days were filled with morning and evening shoots, taking advantage of the light and watching shadows move throughout the day over the formations.
It was a great group—photographing together and sharing stories, tips, and techniques. Greg Vaughn was always ready and responsive to help us set up our images or in the processing. His consistency in setup was a great help in getting into a routine for wonderful images. The time spent during the reviews was an asset in getting more ideas on processing from Greg and others in the workshop.
Comparing sunrise to sunset, seeing the change of colors at the Totem Pole and Yei Bi Chei formations was beautiful.
Our Navajo guides, who took us throughout the park, were amazing. They shared their history and traditions with us, even allowing us to photograph Candace in her Northern Traditional Buckskin dance regalia. This beautiful buckskin took about a year to make, and detail is in everything, even in the moccasins they wear for ceremonies.
We traveled out of the park and photographed a few nearby sites: Valley of the Gods, Gooseneck State Parks, and Mexican Hat.
I learned about the historical connection that Josef Muench (Marc’s grandfather) has with Monument Valley, and there’s even a room dedicated to him at the Goulding Museum. Josef’s photographs were the catalyst that brought John Ford and John Wayne here to make movies. Oh…and Forest Gump, too!
This was my first experience with Muench workshops, and they certainly didn’t disappoint.