Monument Valley, Arizona with Gary Collyer

The trip of a lifetime for X-T1 user Gary Collyer delivers some truly memorable images

A photographic enthusiast for many years, Gary Collyer got more serious six years ago and started going on ‘urban safaris’ to shoot candid and street images. His switch to Fujifilm came two years ago when he bought an X-E1 and XF35mm lens, and he’s since sold all his DSLRs and moved to using two X-T1s, an X-Pro1 and various lenses. “Using Fujifilm cameras takes me back to what felt to me, as a very natural form of photography,” he told us. “Their ease of use coupled with a very high-quality output leaves me to concentrate on the content and story of the image.” Recently, Gary’s storytelling quest saw him visit Monument Valley, which is where these shots were taken. “It had been on my list of places to visit for a while,” he said. “For me, it presented a unique opportunity to capture images that I had seen not only in the movies, but throughout photographic history.”

The Totem Pole and Yei Bi Chei Mesa (Holy People)

“We had been out for about an hour watching and photographing the sunrise, on a beautiful clear morning. The sun had risen just enough to start bringing out the colours in the sand, whilst still being low enough to give definition to the ripples. The low-light capability of the X-T1 coupled with Fujifilm’s excellent stabilisation system allowed this to be taken handheld at a relatively slow shutter speed.”

Sun’s Eye Arch

“These eroded holes in the sandstone pepper the landscape, with some being more spectacular than others. This one stood out with me because of the water patterns in the rocks matched by the direction of the thin strips of cloud in the sky. The capability of the X-T1 to cope with difficult lighting conditions meant that I could shoot with confidence, knowing that the dynamic range would cope with the shade of the cavern against the bright sky.”

Old shack, backcountry area

“It’s difficult to explain the sheer scale and beauty of these lands. Much of it is sacred to the Navajo people, and it is a privilege to be invited onto it, and to capture images of it. “By this time of the day, the sun had brightened considerably, causing deep shadows on this side of the shack, and this for me was the most interesting side to shoot from. That meant really testing the Fujifilm X-T1’s ability to get a balanced shot that delivered details in both light and shade. For this I relied heavily on the manual exposure preview, to get just the right balance.”

Juniper tree, Mystery Valley near the Square House Ruin

“I had been fascinated by the fallen and broken juniper trees from the start of the tour of Monument Valley and the adjacent Mystery Valley. All day I had been lining up shots, and taken a few, but they just didn’t feel right. Then we came across this tree, and I was really happy with the shots.”

Mitchell Mesa at sunrise

“This image was taken from the public balcony area of the View Hotel. I had been out an hour, capturing silhouettes of the nearby rock formations, when the sun came up over the horizon, revealing the cloud formations and lighting the Mitchell Mesa. For the sunrise I had two X-T1s set up. The first was on a tripod, taking longer exposures, the second that took this was handheld.”

West Mitten from the WildCat Trail

“The Wildcat Trail is the only unaccompanied walking trail available to visitors. At 3.2 miles long, in high temperatures, it can prove to be fairly challenging, particularly at the end, walking steeply uphill on shifting loose sand. So everything was stripped down… one camera, one lens, one spare battery, one spare card, sunblock, hat and plenty of water. Not knowing what to expect, I also needed maximum versatility from the lens, hence the choice of the 18-135mm. It allowed me to take this image of West Mitten (and believe me it’s only when you get close up on foot, that you realise the scale of these rock formations), and later fallen trees and stone piles. The dust and weather sealing proved invaluable with the occasional swirling wind.”