Aravaipa Canyon hiker/photographers, front: Dick Kroese, Ron Taylor, Doug Armstrong, Bob Shea, Kent Banta, Richard Spitzer and Byron Cotter; back Dan Garand, Bill Todd and Connie Sparbel; photo by Bob Shea
Bob Shea and Bill Brennan
Several times each year DIGS, SaddleBrooke’s Photography Club, schedules photo field trips. December’s destination was the Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness area located north on Highway 77 past Mammoth. Eleven members of DIGS participated in the day long adventure that was organized and led by Bob Shea who knows the canyon well from numerous hikes.
To preserve the pristine natural environment in the canyon, the Bureau of Land Management limits the number of hikers entering the west entrance to 30 per day and requires each hiker to acquire a permit in advance.
Entry is on foot as vehicles are not permitted. This required that the choice of camera gear had to consider not only the challenging lighting in the canyon but also the weight of the equipment.
Aravaipa Canyon is eleven miles long and has nine major side canyons. Its water filled creek is lined with cottonwood, sycamore, ash and willow trees that were at their peak fall colors. Saguaro studded cliffs that tower hundreds of feet above the creek add to the majestic scenic beauty.
What a great day! Five hours of hiking and photography in one of the most scenic areas in Arizona.
Dan Garand, DIGS’ leader for field trip programs, has two black and white photo shoots scheduled: Street Photography in January and Shadows in February. The Tucson Rodeo, Mescal Movie Studio and Pima Air Museum are planned for February, April and May respectively.
To learn more about DIGS, visit the website, www.digssouth.org or come to a meeting on the second Saturday of the month (September to June) at 8:30 a.m. in the Coyote Room at the HOA 1 Clubhouse.