(You can find the links to all 19 posts at the bottom of this post if you want to read more about the trip and missed the original posts.)
First, since this is primarily a photography blog, let me say how pleased I am that I chose to take my OM System gear. I honestly don’t think my photos would have been any better if I’d taken my 46MP Nikon Z8 or my 40MP Fujifilm X-T5. Since I previously had custom 24” X 30’ prints made from an earlier model m4/3 camera, if I wanted to make big prints from my image files, it wouldn’t be an issue. Twenty megapixels, combined with the incredibly sharp Olympus/OM PRO lenses, gives me all the edge to edge sharpness, detail and resolution I need. The system was light, compact, and efficient—and it performed flawlessly. I’d make the same choice again without hesitation.
I also took a Fujifilm X100VI. More about that later.
First, since this is primarily a photography blog, let me say how pleased I am that I chose to take my OM System gear. I honestly don’t think my photos would have been any better if I’d taken my 46MP Nikon Z8 or my 40MP Fujifilm X-T5. Since I previously had custom 24” X 30’ prints made from an earlier model m4/3 camera, if I wanted to make big prints from my image files, it wouldn’t be an issue. Twenty megapixels, combined with the incredibly sharp Olympus/OM PRO lenses, gives me all the edge to edge sharpness, detail and resolution I need. The system was light, compact, and efficient—and it performed flawlessly. I’d make the same choice again without hesitation.
I also took a Fujifilm X100VI. More about that later.
That out of the way, this trip fundamentally wasn’t about photography—it was more about experience. My wife and I set out to enjoy ourselves, explore new places, meet and talk with people from other areas in the country and make memories. We are ‘road trip’ people and have driven all over the U.S. and eastern Canada in the past. We love the spontaneity and freedom road trips provide. They also provide us with opportunities to me a lot of really nice people across this country.
I also brought along my new Fujifilm X100VI. My wife gifted it to me for my birthday in January and it arrived not too long before the trip. I must add that I’m really enjoying it. I packed a spare battery, spare memory card, polarizer, lens cloths, and used the same cable I brought for the OM. I found myself reaching for the X100VI for nearly everything except landscapes—though I did use it for some quick intimate landscape scenes near parking areas. The OM was for landscapes, the X100VI for everything else.
Considering Fujifilm’s history with autofocus issues (which I’ve written about many times before), I fully expected to find some of my images made with the X100VI to be slightly out of focus. (Frankly, no one should be expecting anything like that in today’s digital photography age!) But no—every one of the exposures I made was tack-sharp. I was surprised. (I think it is unconscionable to be surprised that your camera focused every exposure perfectly!) What I did differently with this camera was shoot in single-shot mode using back-button focus and AF-S, instead of AF-C and short bursts. As far as the optics are concerned, that 23mm f/2 lens is impressively sharp and fully resolves all the 40mp sensor can capture. I really like this camera.
With the OM system, I shot most of the landscapes using manual focus with yellow focus peaking. Yellow because everything out west is red rock. The yellow provided a perfect contrast. When using manual focus I could more easily judge depth of field, which to me is important in landscape photography. In the depths of Upper Antelope Canyon, I also stuck with manual focus and yellow focus peaking, though I tried AF once and, surprisingly, it locked on quickly—despite the canyon being extremely dark. Of all the images I made with the OM, only one set of the dozens of five bracketed exposures taken deep inside the canyon came out slightly soft. All others were sharp. That one soft set would be my fault as I was using manual focus. It was very dark at that particular spot. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! lol.
For landscapes, I kept a polarizing filter on the lens most of the time. On the OM, I programmed the red Record button to toggle between 20mp and 50mp handheld high-res modes. That worked great—I’d make a couple of 20mp raw exposures, press the red button, shoot a couple 50mp raw exposures then switch back. This was more or less an experiment to determine if using this feature would be worthwhile in the future. I haven’t yet analyzed those 50mp images versus upsizing the 20mp exposures but I’ll most likely post my findings in the future. Not once did I use—or even think about using—my tripod.
I only used the 8–25mm PRO lens in Upper Antelope Canyon and at Horseshoe Bend. It was stellar. Everything else was shot with the 12-100mm f/4 PRO lens. It, too, is an amazing and versatile piece of glass.
I don’t normally recommend using two different camera systems on a single trip. It’s too easy to get tripped up with different menus, buttons, and muscle memory, especially if you need to invoke a feature or change settings in a fast unfolding situation. But I’ve shot Olympus/OM since 2012 and Fujifilm since 2014, and I have practiced switching between the two. That familiarity made it work for me on this trip.
Briefly, my photography goal was simple: to capture one or two good, representative images of each place we visited. I didn’t plan to photograph at golden hour, blue hour or hike to exotic viewpoints to make photographs unless we happened to be somewhere at that time and I saw a composition that deserved capture. I wanted meaningful memories more than portfolio pieces. In the end, I made more and better images than I expected. A nice bonus.
We drove 5,574.4 miles (8,971 km) over 20 days and visited 13 U.S. states. It turned out to be one of our best trips ever. My wife and I both agree on that. We were determined to just enjoy the journey and enjoy our time together. Other than the places we visited and people we met, the two things that stood out were that hotels and food have gotten very expensive—especially the food. I’m not much of a ‘fast food’ eater but even that has gotten expensive. But I suspect you already know that.
We drove 5,574.4 miles (8,971 km) over 20 days and visited 13 U.S. states. It turned out to be one of our best trips ever. My wife and I both agree on that. We were determined to just enjoy the journey and enjoy our time together. Other than the places we visited and people we met, the two things that stood out were that hotels and food have gotten very expensive—especially the food. I’m not much of a ‘fast food’ eater but even that has gotten expensive. But I suspect you already know that.
W do what I call "No Stress" traveling. I typically don't have any schedule nor daily place we need to be. There is none of "We need to drive another 200 miles to get to our hotel" sort of thing. Each day is completely flexible unless I've made reservations because the place we are going is in high demand and reservations are necessary. We really don’t know where we’ll be spending each night. When it gets to be late in the afternoon, I’ll check Trip Advisor for hotels where I think we’ll be, look at the ratings and comments, then call the chosen hotel's front desk directly, bypassing the corporate toll-free number. I always ask if the type of room we want is available, the 'rack rate' and what discounts are available. I then book with one of the discounted rates. They never ask me for some sort of proof that I actually qualify for the discount. Just a little tip about something to try. All they can say is no. But nothing ventured, nothing gained. I’ve saved a lot of money using that technique over the years.
A general travel tip: There are many places in the American Midwest and West where there is no mobile phone coverage. Even along the Interstate highways. Luckily, we are getting to the era where our cell phone can pick up satellites and transmit emergency information if necessary. But not all phones can do that. Also, remember, no cell phone coverage means no GPS on your mobile phone unless you pre-download maps before you go. I carry an old fashioned Garmin GPS unit in the car, just in case.
Another general travel tip: As a general travel recommendation, when traveling in the American West, keep your fuel tank full. There are many places where there are absolutely no services—fuel, food, water, bathroom, etc., for a hundred miles (160km) or more. I've seen that in several states--even along the Interstate highways.
Of all the places we visited, Upper Antelope Canyon was my favorite, with Monument Valley a close second. Zion was way too crowded. I was disappointed. I won't go back. If you want to go, I suggest you go in the winter when the crowds are low and the main road is open to drive and you don't have to take the shuttle bus.
If you’re planning to visit national parks, do your research in advance. Several parks now require day passes, and without one, you won’t be allowed in. I’d also suggest visiting during shoulder seasons and arriving early in the day. Most of the parks have become very crowded. For example, in Arches National Park we had to reserve a ‘day pass’ to get in. Once in, there were times parking in the parking lots (car parks) was not available—they were full. The upshot is, if you can’t park, you can’t get out and see what you came to see. Go as early in the day as possible.
We traveled across multiple time zones—Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific, and Navajo Time. Yes, Navajo Time. (They don’t follow Arizona or Utah’s compliance or non-compliance with Daylight Savings Time. I found it interesting as we moved between Arizona or Utah and through Navajo Tribal land, our Apple watches would switch back and forth! lol.) Being a bit obsessive about accuracy, I tried hard to keep the clocks on both of the cameras I used in sync as we moved through the zones. I mostly succeeded (for those times I had forgotten to adjust the time, I corrected the metadata in Lightroom Classic). I do this so that when sorting images later, especially when using two different cameras, the photos stay in chronological order. Before the trip, I also checked and reset my camera's clocks—camera clocks is notoriously unreliable.
We traveled across multiple time zones—Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific, and Navajo Time. Yes, Navajo Time. (They don’t follow Arizona or Utah’s compliance or non-compliance with Daylight Savings Time. I found it interesting as we moved between Arizona or Utah and through Navajo Tribal land, our Apple watches would switch back and forth! lol.) Being a bit obsessive about accuracy, I tried hard to keep the clocks on both of the cameras I used in sync as we moved through the zones. I mostly succeeded (for those times I had forgotten to adjust the time, I corrected the metadata in Lightroom Classic). I do this so that when sorting images later, especially when using two different cameras, the photos stay in chronological order. Before the trip, I also checked and reset my camera's clocks—camera clocks is notoriously unreliable.
The rest of this post is all about photography! I know, it's about time I got to the good stuff!
As for gear, here’s what I brought: the OM-1 Mark II with an 8–25mm f/4 PRO lens and a 12–100mm f/4 PRO lens. I didn’t anticipate the need for a fast, semi-wide angle prime as I normally carry when out photographing. For backup, I carried an OM-3, but it stayed in the suitcase the entire time. It just didn't make sense to make this kind of trip and not have a backup camera that could use the OM lenses. Again, just in case.
I also took two spare SDXC cards, a spare battery, a charging cable, lens cloths, a polarizer (both lenses are 72mm), and a bulb blower. That setup was 98% perfect. The only time I wished for more focal length was one instance where a 400mm lens would have come in handy (see the image at the top of this post).
I also brought along my new Fujifilm X100VI. My wife gifted it to me for my birthday in January and it arrived not too long before the trip. I must add that I’m really enjoying it. I packed a spare battery, spare memory card, polarizer, lens cloths, and used the same cable I brought for the OM. I found myself reaching for the X100VI for nearly everything except landscapes—though I did use it for some quick intimate landscape scenes near parking areas. The OM was for landscapes, the X100VI for everything else.
Considering Fujifilm’s history with autofocus issues (which I’ve written about many times before), I fully expected to find some of my images made with the X100VI to be slightly out of focus. (Frankly, no one should be expecting anything like that in today’s digital photography age!) But no—every one of the exposures I made was tack-sharp. I was surprised. (I think it is unconscionable to be surprised that your camera focused every exposure perfectly!) What I did differently with this camera was shoot in single-shot mode using back-button focus and AF-S, instead of AF-C and short bursts. As far as the optics are concerned, that 23mm f/2 lens is impressively sharp and fully resolves all the 40mp sensor can capture. I really like this camera.
With the OM system, I shot most of the landscapes using manual focus with yellow focus peaking. Yellow because everything out west is red rock. The yellow provided a perfect contrast. When using manual focus I could more easily judge depth of field, which to me is important in landscape photography. In the depths of Upper Antelope Canyon, I also stuck with manual focus and yellow focus peaking, though I tried AF once and, surprisingly, it locked on quickly—despite the canyon being extremely dark. Of all the images I made with the OM, only one set of the dozens of five bracketed exposures taken deep inside the canyon came out slightly soft. All others were sharp. That one soft set would be my fault as I was using manual focus. It was very dark at that particular spot. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! lol.
For landscapes, I kept a polarizing filter on the lens most of the time. On the OM, I programmed the red Record button to toggle between 20mp and 50mp handheld high-res modes. That worked great—I’d make a couple of 20mp raw exposures, press the red button, shoot a couple 50mp raw exposures then switch back. This was more or less an experiment to determine if using this feature would be worthwhile in the future. I haven’t yet analyzed those 50mp images versus upsizing the 20mp exposures but I’ll most likely post my findings in the future. Not once did I use—or even think about using—my tripod.
I only used the 8–25mm PRO lens in Upper Antelope Canyon and at Horseshoe Bend. It was stellar. Everything else was shot with the 12-100mm f/4 PRO lens. It, too, is an amazing and versatile piece of glass.
I made just over 2000 total exposures, about 260 of those duplicate JPEGs using the X100VI. Two thousand may seem like a lot but many, many of those 2000 exposures were 5-shot bracketed bursts inside Upper Antelope slot canyon. In the slot canyon I had planned to make several bracketed bursts at each location and did just that. I was playing the odds (hedging my bet, so to speak) that at least one set of bracketed exposures in that very dark setting would be in sharp focus with no camera movement. I needn’t have worried. The camera (along with my technique, of course 😉) worked extraordinarily well.
For the entire trip, the OM was set for shooting in raw but the X100VI was set for raw + JPEG. I specifically had configured that camera to add JPEG files as I felt this would be a good test for the future. My future plan for using the X100VI, as I have previously written, is for more of a casual, carefree type of photography and using the JPEGs with little or no editing. That is the goal. We’ll see how that works out. (Hint: it is working well so far!)
If you ever visit a slot canyon, do not change lenses while you’re inside. The air is filled with ultra-fine dust that just hangs there—like it’s defying gravity. It settles on everything. Just don’t do it. Don't even think about it. The micro sand settles everywhere. It literally pours down from above—from the desert surface far above you.
Most of the images I posted from the X100VI were pretty much straight-out-of-camera JPEGs. Maybe a little tweaking of the brightness, either up or down. Nothing more than that. That was an experiment, and it worked out well. The only RAW file I posted was one where in Albuquerque's Old Town historic district I overexposed and blew the highlights. My fault. The JPEGs from this camera are excellent—assuming your technique is solid and you don’t need to make extreme edits.
I did a lot of research before the trip, especially for shooting in the slot canyon. I had never been there and didn't want to miss this fabulous opportunity by bringing the wrong lens and not having my camera settings set to perfectly capture the interior. To avoid fumbling with settings once inside, I saved a carefully thought out group of settings to a custom configuration (C4) on the OM. With one click, the camera was ready to go with the exact setup I needed. It worked perfectly. It turned out there would have been no time to experiment and fumble with settings as the guide moved our group along pretty quickly. The one setting that worked in my favor was programming that red Record button to instantly turn bracketing on and off.
Also—wear a hat and long sleeves inside the slot canyons. I covered my camera with a cheap plastic hotel shower cap to protect it from falling sand and brought along a small bulb blower for cleaning the lens and camera body during and after the tour. I also bought a battery-powered air blower for dealing with the desert dust in general. That also worked great. I’ll write about that later as well.
I did a lot of research before the trip, especially for shooting in the slot canyon. I had never been there and didn't want to miss this fabulous opportunity by bringing the wrong lens and not having my camera settings set to perfectly capture the interior. To avoid fumbling with settings once inside, I saved a carefully thought out group of settings to a custom configuration (C4) on the OM. With one click, the camera was ready to go with the exact setup I needed. It worked perfectly. It turned out there would have been no time to experiment and fumble with settings as the guide moved our group along pretty quickly. The one setting that worked in my favor was programming that red Record button to instantly turn bracketing on and off.
Also—wear a hat and long sleeves inside the slot canyons. I covered my camera with a cheap plastic hotel shower cap to protect it from falling sand and brought along a small bulb blower for cleaning the lens and camera body during and after the tour. I also bought a battery-powered air blower for dealing with the desert dust in general. That also worked great. I’ll write about that later as well.
One more tip about shooting inside the slot canyon and dealing with that ever present sand dust. if you are using a zoom lens and the barrel extends, don’t retract it until you’ve cleaned the dust off the lens. There is a good possibility that retracting that lens barrel will move any dust that is present back into the lens. Not good.
If you’re going to Monument Valley, don’t just drive the 17-mile loop and risk ripping out the suspension of your vehicle, book a tour with a Navajo guide. It was worth it to me. It’s the only way to access certain parts of the valley, including Navajo sacred sites and areas with Native American artisans were demonstrating their cultural talents. I booked a ‘sunset tour’ and that was perfect. It was past the heat of the day and we had some spectacular evening light for photography. The tour was well worth the cost. My wife concurs!
Don’t overthink the gear you take. Keep in mind the hassle of bulk and weight. Too much discomfort tends to have us not wanting to take it and leave it in the hotel or car. Most of us take too much, thinking we’ll need it. We rarely do. But it’s hard to break that mindset of “What if?” I’m still mostly guilty of that mindset.
If you’re going to Monument Valley, don’t just drive the 17-mile loop and risk ripping out the suspension of your vehicle, book a tour with a Navajo guide. It was worth it to me. It’s the only way to access certain parts of the valley, including Navajo sacred sites and areas with Native American artisans were demonstrating their cultural talents. I booked a ‘sunset tour’ and that was perfect. It was past the heat of the day and we had some spectacular evening light for photography. The tour was well worth the cost. My wife concurs!
Don’t overthink the gear you take. Keep in mind the hassle of bulk and weight. Too much discomfort tends to have us not wanting to take it and leave it in the hotel or car. Most of us take too much, thinking we’ll need it. We rarely do. But it’s hard to break that mindset of “What if?” I’m still mostly guilty of that mindset.
As I mentioned I kept a polarizer on the OM for nearly all landscape work—it helped with reflections, atmospheric haze (both heat haze and humidity haze over those vast western landscape distances), and color. I normally shoot with the “Muted” picture profile on the OM, but after importing the images into Lightroom Classic, I switched to the Fujifilm Provia profile. It better complimented the red rock of the American west.
About now you are wondering how did I use a Fujifilm simulation on an OM camera? I use film simulations from by a company called Cobalt Imaging. A good friend who is also a photographer turned me on to that company. Cobalt supplies camera profiles and film simulations that will work on other than OEM brands. I’ll write more about them in the future. Just as an aside, since returning I’ve since changed my OM’s default profile from Muted to Natural. Just a change in preference.
One regret: At some places—especially Upper Antelope Canyon—I got so wrapped up in making photos (I can't help myself ) that I didn’t fully take in the experience. I was there, but not fully present if you know what I mean. I wish I would have put the camera down for part of the tour and just soaked it all in. Don’t let that happen to you. I know we all do it at times, but I’ve committed to sometimes just being in the moment and if I don’t get the best photo, so be it. I'll have the memory.
I don’t normally recommend using two different camera systems on a single trip. It’s too easy to get tripped up with different menus, buttons, and muscle memory, especially if you need to invoke a feature or change settings in a fast unfolding situation. But I’ve shot Olympus/OM since 2012 and Fujifilm since 2014, and I have practiced switching between the two. That familiarity made it work for me on this trip.
Finally, if you’re road-tripping across the U.S., stay off the interstates and major highways as much as possible. Take the secondary roads. Go through small towns. Eat only at local, non-chain restaurants. Talk to people. Ask questions. You’ll be amazed by the kindness and friendliness you’ll encounter. The reality is that the people across this country are nothing like what you see on the news. If you only see the news you would think everyone hates everyone else. That couldn't be farther from the truth. The vast majority of Americans are good people, helpful and kind. But if you fly over the country to go places, you never get to meet all those good people.
If you can, don’t plan more than a day at a time. Be open to changing direction and discovering things along the way. As I mentioned above, I call this “No Stress” travel. We might drive 50 miles one day or 400 miles the next. We may discover something while looking at the Internet in the hotel room in the evening and then totally change directions. It is freeing not to 'have' to be somewhere at a certain time. I’ve never had a problem traveling this way.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment or question. If you want additional information or explanation about anything I’ve written here, you can find my email address on my website. I'll be glad to answer your questions to help you have a great experience as we did.
Take a road trip. Don’t fly over this wonderful country of ours. You will find it an eye opening and very worthwhile experience.
Here are the links to all of the 2025 road trip posts:
Join me over at my website, https://www.dennismook.com.
Thanks for looking. Enjoy!
Dennis A. Mook
All content on this blog is © 2013-2025 Dennis A. Mook. All Rights Reserved. Feel free to point to this blog from your website with full attribution. Permission may be granted for commercial use. Please contact Mr. Mook to discuss permission to reproduce the blog posts and/or images.
I loved following along! Glad you had a good time.
ReplyDeleteThanks Phil. I enjoy sharing. ~Dennis
DeleteWonderful series, and this summary is fantastic. I've lived and traveled in the West for almost 60 years, your advice and comments are spot on. Sadly, I gave up on National Parks years ago after a long history of visiting them. Thanks for taking us along for the ride!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I enjoy sharing and being helpful to others. ~Dennis
DeleteThank you for these series on your road trips. I've read every one. It's like traveling along with you. And, very helpful tips and advice. Great photos too. Mahalo!
ReplyDeleteMahalo! Thank you for your kind words. I’ve been to Hawaii ten times for work before I retired. I’ve photographed on all the major islands. Gorgeous in every direction! ~Dennis
Delete