Photographing Standley Chasm

About Standley Chasm

Standley Chasm is in the West McDonnell ranges. It is a high, but not very wide canyon through a rock hill. It is, around 40 Km due west of Alice Springs. The chasm is on private land owned by the Arrernte community. The chasm is known as Angkerle Atwatye to the Arrente, and is an important Women's dreaming site.

Useful Links

www.standleychasm.com.au

Viewpoints

There are several view points here:

From entrance - looking through the gap, with the sides towering above you.
From inside - looking up or upwards, showing the sheer walls and hieght. The chasm has brilliant reddish brown rock, and the sky is usually blue out here. Contrasting the two makes for interesting photos.
From the nearby hills.
Ignoring the Chasm. This might sound strange, but the chasm is in the West McDonnel Ranges. Here there are lots of sand, lots or red rock walls, lots of trees with white trunks, and a fair few cycads and palms. There are lots of opportunites for nice photos that dont include the chasm itself.

How I photographed the Chasm

What I took - what was in my kit

Firstly, I have not been there yet on this trip. I did take my children 20 odd years ago, and we enjoyed the outting, however my photos from then are long gone.

I will take my LowePro Backpack loaded with Linhof Technorama with Velvia 50 film for the panorama, and Canon 5DSR body, Canon 24 mm TS, Canon 16-35mm and 50mm Sigma Art Lenses, Manfrotto 190 Tripod, and of course a range of lens wipes, spare batteries, sunscreen and bug repellant.

I think the perspective correction and selective focussing of the Tilt - Shift lens will work particularly well in this case.

This is also one of the few places that I will take the GX680. Again, for the tilt-shift aspect of that camera.

As with any of the West McDonell areas, I love the reds and blues that can come from these ranges. There are wildlife around - mostly small wallabies - but they are hard to get close to and even harder to photograph in as part of the scene. The scenery is awe inspiring in its size and scale, and of course a small kangaroo is neither of those. It becomes lost in any scene.

Techniques

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Other things to look out for

Location

(-23.71534 133.47355)

Techniques used

Kit used

How to get there

The only way to get there is via car, and mostly from, or on the way to Alice Springs. The road is sealed and fine year round. From Alice Springs, you need to drive about 40k west along the Larapinta Drive to 23.786832 -133.515267 where you turn north on the Standey Chasm road. The site is about 10km north.

If you are coming from Glen Helen Gorge, or Ormiston, simply head back east towards Alice Springs and take the same turn of as above

Best time to visit

While this is the 'outback' it is not the northan outback where you need to worry about wet and dry seasons. It is fine to visit year round. The summer can be hot during the day, but this is a nice place to swim anyhow. Winter provides more slanting light and longer twilight, so is slightly better from that point of view.

Accessability

Not known yet.

Where to stay

This site is only a short drive from Alice Springs or from Glen Helen Gorge, however, if you wish to stay at the site, there is a nice camp ground there that does not cost much. They have all the facilities that you would expect: toilets, showers, washing machines, BBQ's, powered and unpowered sites, etc. This is Aboriginal owned land though, so alcohol is not permitted and is prohibited by federal law. The gates are also locked out of hours (see the website for the latest hours) .

There is hotel accomodation in Alice Springs, and after all, this location is only 1.5 hours out of Alice. However there is a Discovery Park at Glen Helen Gorge. (-23.68575 132.67296) This has cabins and of course allows caravans, RV's, camper trailers and tents. The park also has a camp kitchen, resturant, retail shop, laundry and swimming pool.