Zion National Park

<p>I'm going to Zion National Park over 4th of July weekend. It is only a three-day trip (which I know is not really long enough). Any advice on what to do and see?</p>

<p>I'm also trying to decide whether to bring my tripod or not. It's a Gitzo carbon fiber, so it's not TOO heavy, but again, I know I'll be hiking a lot and even a little too much weight will become bothersome after a while.</p>

<p>We're staying in a hotel, not camping. Also, I don't have the training to deal with slot canyons (especially in the summer, when they are the most dangerous), so I think those are out of the question. But any other suggestions are welcome.</p>

<p>I know this place has been photographed a million times, so I probably won't get anything that hasn't already been done. But I'll have fun doing it, anyway. :)</p>

<p>You can go onto the trails that are established for tourists and lead you to most beautiful places, then possibly wonder from there, but usually that is more than needed. Some trails are very long. The longest I was able to take recently was a 5 miles down the creek, (makes 10 miles both ways), but you can do better.</p>

<p>The park bus that you must take has a dozen stops, and at most stops there are trails to walk.</p>

<p>I see no need for tripod on sunny days if you use a modern DSLR, but if going down in a canyon branch, it can get dark there. There were people with tripods there and seem quite happy doing "better" then average snapshooter. One man with tripod was taking macro photos of flowers on a very steep slope...to amazement and admiration of some faint-hearted women...</p>

<p>If you take only one lens, it will better be a wide angle lens.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I was there in 2001 and will be a week behind you, in July. It's hard to take a bad photo at Zion. I agree about the wide angle lens. Also, be prepared for a broad range of light values. The trails are all good. Many opportunities abound. Carry water! </p>

<p>There is a photo that I tried and failed to get it 100% right - http://www.photo.net/photo/5102844<br>

By any means - take your tripod<br>

Don't worry about "repeating the same shot" you cannot even if you try. Just take photos of anything you like.<br>

Have fun! (I sure had a lot!!)</p>

<p>Hints: carry at least 1 gallon of water...it is very easy to dehydrate in warm weather when you are exerting yourself, as well as some raingear. Flash floods have lead to tragedy in the past...eveything is sunny, but 50-60 miles away there are storms and the water rushes into the nooks and crannies in a few short hours. Take some trail mix and/or hard candies for energy. Last time I was there I was climbing up to Angel's Landing and in spite of the day beginning at 58 degrees, by noon it was 106 degrees up there. A friend taught me an interesting trick to cool down...she carried a small "spritzer" bottle of water and every hour or so would spritz everybodie's legs and ankles to keep them cool and remind us to keep hydrated...boy it felt good!<br>

I agree that a good wide angle lens is the most important piece of equipment you can take. I didn't take a tripod and most of my shots were printed 11x14 with no problems. Wear good comfortable walking or hiking shoes (not sandals or tennies), and the trip will be less tiring, and you should feel more sure footed on some of the points where many of us get acrophobia or vertigo.<br>

Most of all, have a great trip.</p>

<p>Do you have <a href="http://earth.google.com">Google Earth</a> ? In the Layers palette, turn on Panoramio under Geographic Web. Find the park, and you'll find tons of pictures people have taken there. I know it can be disappointing to learn that you're not the first to experience a place but if you can get over that, you may find a bunch of specific places you want to go, and will be able to make the most of your limited time there.</p>

<p>That said, the Emerald Pools hikes are good, as is the Angel's Landing hike. Even if you don't go all the way to Angel's Landing, there are good opportunities along the way.</p>

<p>And another vote for <strong>bring lots of water </strong> and <strong>wear comfortable, supportive shoes</strong> . Nothing ruins a trip like dehydration or blisters.</p>

<p>A few suggestions:</p>

<ul>

<li>It will be <em>very</em> crowded, so plan to get up very early and do some of the popular areas in the canyon before it gets too crowded or too hot.</li>

<li>Reflections from the canyon wall on the surface of the Virgin River are quite beautiful early and late in the day. http://jdemott.smugmug.com/gallery/7417442_9MnoZ/1/477994320_i5gkC </li>

<li>The area between the East Entrance and the tunnel does not have many of the "popular" attractions (i.e., named viewpoints) but it has lots of interesting subjects. Get out and walk around and explore small patterns, etc. </li>

<li>Definitely take the tripod.</li>

<li>Have fun</li>

</ul>

<p>Tripod - absolutely - the advice about canyons being dark is right on.<br>

Summer crowds - they hang mainly in Zion Canyon and don't get up early. So get up early - get the pre-dawn light behind the museum, pre-sunrise is the best time to start up to Angel's Landing. The advice about getting partially up there is also correct - I'm disabled and have never been able to make it all the way up, but there are excellent shots to be had in the range of 1/3 to 2/3 the way up, either early or late in the day. You'll have little company around sunrise.<br>

Toward the middle of the day when the the canyon is most crowded, go up thru the tunnel - far fewer people go up there. Also, Kolob Canyon (separate entrance, up I-15 north of St George) gets almost no one compared to the canyon, and I thinks it's really good late in the day.<br>

The Emerald Pool advice is good, too - keep going past the first pool - there's lots more on that hike.<br>

The advice on hydrating is important - Utah is very dry and can be quite hot, depending on your altitude. But even if it's cool where you are because of the elevation, you'll dry out almost like it's a desert - wait a minute - it IS a desert.<br>

Have a great time - the tram system in the canyon is really good - you never have to wait long to get one, and there are plenty of stops for the size of the canyon. Look for deer out feeding in the hours before sunset (they seem to like the area down near the Visitor Center). And you may see herons in the Virgin River.</p>

<p>Early morning and late evening will be when the deer are out and in the best light. A tripod and telephoto lens will be very useful at these times. A sunset shot from the bridge is usually well worth the effort. For your hikes during the day I suggest mounting a wide angle. The photo opportunities at Zion are great and carrying a tripod is well worth the effort, IMHO.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone for your advice so far! Now I can narrow down some specific gear:</p>

<p>1. Recently got a D700, so I plan to bring that.<br>

2. 20mm f/2.8 for wonderful wideness.<br>

3. Either 180mm or 105mm VR macro for telephoto. I'm a bit more fond of the 180, but the 105 has macro capability...not sure if that would be useful. With the 180, I could also bring a TC for more telephoto...not sure if that is needed, either.<br>

4. Could I possibly want any focal length between 20 and 180? :P I'm not sure. With all the water I'll be carrying, I might want to avoid taking more than one lens at a time, anyway. But a 50 might be nice, too.</p>

<p>Water...I'm trying to decide between a Camelbak 2 liter or 3 liter. My backpack (Lowepro Primus AW) has an external compartment where I can store one. Perhaps I can use the 2 liter with an additional water bottle in the side compartment. Also, I've heard that it can be a good idea to bring a mix of water with electrolyte-rich sports drink? Is this wise?</p>

<p>Tripod...I think I will just have to practice a bit having the thing on my back. I also have a Nodal Ninja panorama thingy, which seems appropriate for the location, but it certainly adds some weight.</p>

<p>Getting out early in the morning...this will be the biggest trick, because I am on California time and usually stay up too late. Also, we'll be arriving close to midnight local time, due to scheduling challenges. But I will see what I can do.</p>

<p>Thank you for all your suggestions of where to hike. I'll have to do more research on those.</p>

<p>Not sure in Zion qualifies as a typical "landscape", since you will be confined more in proximity of mountain walls in canyons. If you also venture to Bryce Canyon or Grand Canyon, then that could better qualify as landscape.<br>

The best lens for landscape is considered a wide angle lens in majority of searches on the web, e.g:<br>

<a href="http://www.digital-slr-guide.com/best-landscape-lens.html">http://www.digital-slr-guide.com/best-landscape-lens.html</a></p>

<p>but you could find use of the 180 mm lens.</p>

<p>Seems that everyone has own opinion on that subject. Recent Nikon forum thread about use of the Nikkor 180 mm lens for lanscape ended up with moderator's advice to use the 200/4 Nikkor. You will not find there other opinions, since those different from the moderator were promptly removed.</p>

 

<p>Do you have a 24mm f/2.8 or equivalent? The 20mm is a nice lens, but the perspective is somewhat extreme. 24mm is the classic 35mm format landscape focal length. You can put people in the frame (not extreme corners, though) and they won't look too distorted. Yes, the 20mm might be better in very tight spaces, but for sweeping panoramas it will render background elements further away than the 24mm would.</p>

<p>No, I don't have a 24mm. I've decided to bring my 20mm, 50mm, and 180mm. With the 50mm I can take several shots and stitch them in PTGui if I want to make nice panoramas. The 20mm is for when extra wideness is wanted.</p>

<p>For the tripod dilemma I picked up an Ultra Pod...dirt cheap, and it holds the camera there, although it vibrates a lot whenever you touch it. So I'm bringing my remote release and using mirror up. That ought to suffice for most of my tripod needs. I'm packing the Gitzo in my suitcase just in case, but I probably won't bring it hiking unless I seriously miss having it after the first day or two.</p>

<p>OK, so I just came back from Utah this morning. Wow! Zion has to be the most absolutely beautiful place I've ever seen! I was floored. Totally wore myself out from hiking and carrying camera gear plus water, though I have to say the Lowepro Primus AW does its job pretty well.</p>

<p>As Brooks points out, the 20mm was definitely too wide much of the time. Other times, it was not wide enough. I came up with a system of using the 20mm going up a hike, and then the 50mm coming back down (or vice versa) most of the time, with some changes in between if I saw something special that couldn't wait (because of course, on the way back the light would be completely different). I also used the 180mm a fair bit, and did get some good landscape photos with it.</p>

<p>I also made myself a pinhole lens using a T mount adapter, aluminum foil, and gaffer's tape...it has a field of view approximating 50mm. I only used it twice, but after seeing the results I wish I had used it more. It produces images with a nice crosshatch pattern, due to the pinhole being a bit rough and square.</p>

<p>The Ultrapod turned out to be quite sufficient for the few times I needed support. I used it to get a nice shot of some falls on the Virgin river, with a 9-stop ND filter to get 2-second exposures in daylight.</p>

<p>I took around 800 frames, with about half of them coming from the first day, when I was least exhausted. Also, on Friday evening we had a light thunderstorm, which made the place look like a fairytale jungle...some of the best photos have the clouds brooding in the sky.</p>

<p>There is much post work to do, panoramas to stitch, etc. I may put a few up on P.net when done.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone for your advice and help!</p>