Las Vegas and Grand Canyon

[catseye]

Hi,

This end March, planning a biz meeting trip to Las Vegas followed by possibly one and half days in Grand Canyon.

Most likely bringing my KM5D, kit lens and beer can along with my S2 for the videos.

Any suggestions on landmarks, sceneries which I should not miss out on this trip?

Thanks for reading and your comments.

:cheers:

 

[Balabong]

There one part of the grand canyon where u can go down abit. the view there is the best compared to the rest. O and the railing there is an eyesore. try standing on the rocks to take shots. Cheers! O Must Visit Hoover Dam. Its super nice. dun take from the top down thou.Go to the bottom of the Dam and take. Super nice pics

 

[agape01]

If your purpose is for a photography trip, then you might want to spend more time at the Grand Canyon.

Basically, 3 days at the Grand Canyon is good enough. The reason is that you've got so much more opportunity to capture the canyon at different times of the day as well as different height levels as well as different locations and at different times of the day.

Thus, the shooting conditions can be that varied.

In addition, you might want to pay more for a helicopter ride through the canyon. Do bring a wide enough WA lens.

Those are the things that I would recommend to you doing.

 

[Balabong]

If your purpose is for a photography trip, then you might want to spend more time at the Grand Canyon.

Basically, 3 days at the Grand Canyon is good enough. The reason is that you've got so much more opportunity to capture the canyon at different times of the day as well as different height levels as well as different locations and at different times of the day.

Thus, the shooting conditions can be that varied.

In addition, you might want to pay more for a helicopter ride through the canyon. Do bring a wide enough WA lens.

Those are the things that I would recommend to you doing.

Helicopter ride = very expensive

 

[elap]

If you're going to the Grand Canyon, consider also seeing Flagstaff and Sedona.

Cheers!
Elmer

 

[catseye]

Wow ... thanks guys for all the tips.

This is just a side trip at the tail end of a business trip, so will try to savour as much as possible.

:cheers:

 

[hondasleeper]

I think you can do the Canyon in a day. Depending if you are going to the North or South Rim, Flagstaff and Sedona might be quite a drive. But if you are up for it, Sedona would definitely be worth going. Slide Rock, Oak Creek Canyon.....etc.

Nothing much in Flagstaff except downtown alot of old buildings and pubs. It is pretty much like a college town. The observatory might be worth a visit. At night you can see alot fo stars, I mean alot. Totally amazing!!!!

 

[fWord]

It's been ages since I've been to both places, and I was only a kid then, with no idea how to appreciate the beauty of such things. Not much I can say as such, but you'd probably want to try night photography and long-exposure in Las Vegas...capture the traffic, the blur of the crowds and the general lights of a beautiful city.

As I recall, MGM Grand was a very comfortable hotel with good views from the window, but it's probably pretty costly too.

 

[Big Kahuna]

Don't forget a tripod....night scene along the strip and Fremont street is what Las Vegas all about :thumbsup:

 

[catseye]

There one part of the grand canyon where u can go down abit. the view there is the best compared to the rest. O and the railing there is an eyesore. try standing on the rocks to take shots. Cheers! O Must Visit Hoover Dam. Its super nice. dun take from the top down thou.Go to the bottom of the Dam and take. Super nice pics

Hi Balabong, whereabouts is this part of the Canyon? View must be awesome.

Yup, looks like Hoover Dam should be along the way of our drive to or on the way back from the canyon.

Thanks.

 

[catseye]

If your purpose is for a photography trip, then you might want to spend more time at the Grand Canyon.

Basically, 3 days at the Grand Canyon is good enough. The reason is that you've got so much more opportunity to capture the canyon at different times of the day as well as different height levels as well as different locations and at different times of the day.

Thus, the shooting conditions can be that varied.

In addition, you might want to pay more for a helicopter ride through the canyon. Do bring a wide enough WA lens.

Those are the things that I would recommend to you doing.

Helicopter ride = very expensive

May try the helicopter ride. Know there are two choices, can get the ride from LV itself or at the Canyon. Off course the first choice is much more expensive, but saves the driving time.

Thanks guys.

 

[catseye]

I think you can do the Canyon in a day. Depending if you are going to the North or South Rim, Flagstaff and Sedona might be quite a drive. But if you are up for it, Sedona would definitely be worth going. Slide Rock, Oak Creek Canyon.....etc.

Nothing much in Flagstaff except downtown alot of old buildings and pubs. It is pretty much like a college town. The observatory might be worth a visit. At night you can see alot fo stars, I mean alot. Totally amazing!!!!

For the Canyon portion, we only have a day.
We will leave one Thursday morning for the drive to Grand Canyon. Might do the helicopter ride suggested by agape01. Soak in the sunset, and stay the night in or near the canyon. Got the next day in the area until the drive back on Friday afternoon.

Thanks for the Sedona tip.

 

[catseye]

It's been ages since I've been to both places, and I was only a kid then, with no idea how to appreciate the beauty of such things. Not much I can say as such, but you'd probably want to try night photography and long-exposure in Las Vegas...capture the traffic, the blur of the crowds and the general lights of a beautiful city.

As I recall, MGM Grand was a very comfortable hotel with good views from the window, but it's probably pretty costly too.

Don't forget a tripod....night scene along the strip and Fremont street is what Las Vegas all about :thumbsup:

Current plan is to be in LV for a few days for the meeting, so should have many opportunities
for street and night scenes... so looks like the tripod is a must then.

Thanks guys.

 

[fWord]

In a worst-case scenario when your baggage is overweight and you can't afford to bring a tripod, try to take along a bean bag instead. Plenty of tourists turn up to Singapore River and Merlion Park without a tripod and shoot by resting their cameras on rails, ledges, and I used dustbins too at one point of time. But a bean bag would stabilize things so much better. A folded up T Shirt or jacket might achieve the same idea.

 

[catseye]

In a worst-case scenario when your baggage is overweight and you can't afford to bring a tripod, try to take along a bean bag instead. Plenty of tourists turn up to Singapore River and Merlion Park without a tripod and shoot by resting their cameras on rails, ledges, and I used dustbins too at one point of time. But a bean bag would stabilize things so much better. A folded up T Shirt or jacket might achieve the same idea.

Thanks for the bean bag tip .... yup, I dare say I have tried my fair share as well, resting on railings, tables, etc.

:cheers:

 

[haagen_dazs]

On route to Canyon
You HAVE to drive through the Hover dam. Worth your while to park and pay the entrance fee to have a look. spend about a few hours and that would be enough

Canyon
my recommendation is 1 day 1 night
Arrive at around afternoon time. check the place and scenary out.
Await for the sunset to come.

Rest a quick night at the hotel there. i think there are only 2 hotels/motels near the entrance to the canyon. near would mean about 10-15 drive still since the canyon park designated area is very large.

wake up VERY early to catch the sunrise
If the sunrise prediction is lets say at 6am.. dont get there at 545am or even 530am
because the canyon is so HUGE, the light starts to break very early and you dont want to miss it. I would say get there about 1.5- 2hours before actual to play safe. at the most, you can always sit in the car and wait. if you are particular, you might want to stake out a position to catch the sunrise

after the sun rises, do abit more sightseeing and you can head back to vegas for some action.

really there is no point staying more than 1 day 1 night because there is NOTHING to do in the neighbouring town areas of the canyon. (unless you want to spend serious time hiking.. that is another story)

hope it helps.

 

[haagen_dazs]

for vegas.
enjoy the cheap buffets. its everywhere. seriously
need a tripod for night shoots.
catch some shows ( i dont mean the porn kind)
stand up commedies are really good :thumbsup: if you can understand american jokes.

(i wached the V show and it was really good. - http://www.lasvegas-nv.com/v-the-ultimate-variety-show.htm )

 

[hondasleeper]

In Vegas, the best buffet I found was at Harrah's, best value for the money. I have always been satisfied with the buffet there. Not too sure about the others though.

I am assuming you are going to the North Rim, since it is nearer to Vegas. Not too sure of the good spots, I have always gone to the South Rim, makes more sense when you are coming up fro the South. I would ask around to see where the best spots for photography, or just check out the post cards in the gift shops, that would pretty much give you a good idea of stuff to see and shoot.

 

[justyn]

Hi
A couple of points... In Vegas you should definitely catch the Bellagio fountain show. You can get good pictures, but you will need to stake out a place between shows, before the crowd shows up.
I would also highly reccommend "O" by Cirque Du Soleil, but no pics, of course.

As far as the Grand Canyon is concerned: You can also take a plane ride through the canyon, it's cheaper than the helicopter, and well worth it. The only thing is that you really won't get nice pics since you will be shooting through the window. On the North rim there are hotels very close to the edge - I think some rooms even look out over the edge in one of them, but the one we stayed at was only 5 mins walk from the edge... Sunset is definitely worth seeing and I would suggest a walk along the rim. If you have time you might want to spend the day trekking down the bottom on a donkey, but it is a hell of a trip down and back.
Justyn

 

[catseye]

haagen_daz, hondasleeper, justyn,

Thanks again for the many tips.

Las Vegas:
American comedy should be fun, whilst the buffets .... oh my! Guess I may have no choice but to lug a tripod.

Grand Canyon:
Starting out early, we should be at the Canyon in the afternoon, in time to catch the sunset. haagen_daz, thanks for the tip on the sunrise. Definitely stopping by Sedona, Falgstaff?, Hoover Dam (maybe on the way back).

:cheers: