Denali Bus - Use a Tripod or a BeanBag or Both?

[redskeeter]

Going to Denali in Mid Sept. Looked at the other posts and have two

questions I could not find answers to:

 

1. On the bus to Wonder Lake, should I take the tripod or just a

beanbag or should I take both?

2. Would you take a 600mm on the bus or just the 100-400 IS?

 

Any other suggestions and locations within a day's drive would be

mucho appreciated! Thank you all in advance for the advice!

[phyrpowr]

Tripod is doable, and preferred, bus driver doesn't always shut the bus off

 

Of the two lenses, either both or the 600, the animals don't get that close, not to me anyway

[robert_fisher]

Jim, having riden this a number of times, I would suggest that you attempt to enjoy the scenery and buy some postcards. You will see more animals at your local zoo. Expect crappy weather and you won't be disappointed.

 

As I remember the buses quit running mid September.

[ron_niebrugge]

Use your 1-4 and possibly a bean bag for shooting from the bus, but bring your tripod and possibly your 600 for shooting when you get off the bus. You can store your tripod and camera bag on the overhead shelf when you ride. Make sure you make the time to get off the bus or you may be frustrated. With the 1-4 I don't think I would even mess with the bean bag. You will need the 600 for bears and wolves, and at times for moose and caribou. Don't bother with it if you decide to go for sheep.

[mark_chappell]

<I>Tripod is doable, and preferred, bus driver doesn't always shut the bus off</I><P>

 

I did this trip this summer (and in 2004), and the idea of setting up a tripod on a crowded

bus, and then trying to aim through the narrow windows, strikes me as hilarious. If you

have IS lenses, then I would skip the beanbag AND the tripod for use on the bus. Just put

some tape or other padding on the lenses (to avoid scratching; I use thin neoprene) and

rest them on the windowsill. Most drivers

will certainly switch the engine off if there is a photographable animal nearby.<P>

 

DO bring your tripod if you want to use your 600 off the bus. Getting off, and hiking --

even along the road -- can be very rewarding. On <A HREF="http://biology.ucr.edu/

personal/MACphotos/MACphotosAlaska.html">this page</a>, the bears, caribou, and

wolf were photographed from inside a Denali bus. The hares, squirrels, pikas, and ground

squirrels were shot with a tripod-mounted 500 IS lens from off the bus, after hiking a

bit.<P>

 

Good luck, and have fun.

[phyrpowr]

Who ever said anything about using the tripod ON the bus? Ridiculous.

 

The tripod is for OFF the bus.

 

Attached, I hope, is a shot I took of a female brown bear, over 400 yards away (100% PS crop), handheld, 300/4 IS with 1.4 TC handheld, off the bus

[mirek_elsner1]

Expect the bus to be full and expect the little window of the school bus to be crowded by several people wanting to take a picture. This pretty much disqualifies both tripod and the bean bag and IS will be your biggest friend. I would take tripod and use it off the bus, at Wonder Lake, Polychrome Pass or elsewhere, however, the trip to Wonder Lake and back is actually quite long and does not give you too much time to spend off the bus.

 

Animals can get surprisingly close and your 600mm become quickly unusable, so have your 100-400 ready. Since you will be sitting all day, having both should not be a big deal.

 

The weather can be rainy so if you are not shooting digital be prepared to have faster or pushable film.

[yoni_perlmutter]

I don't mean to pour cold water on this 100-400 vs. 600mm lens question

but I don't think the Denali bus is any kind of a shooting platform:

 

it is often crowded, and even if only 1/2 filled, once an animal is spotted

on left or right side of the bus, all the passengers jump into

seats/laps/whatever on the "animal side" to get into a better shooting posture. You likely won't get a chance to use any lens with that length or

bulk because you'll have no room for maneuvre.

 

Bring a P&S for the bus - like most of the rest of the shooters and

a pair of good binocs (7/8 power is sufficient).

 

As I recall, the driver will not let you off the bus onto the road if an

animal (moose/bear) is spotted too near the bus.

 

Use your "serious" camera and lenses for those times you are not on the

bus, either trekking or stationary.

 

The Denali bus is undeniably good transportation into the Park, but that is

about all it is. And yes, you can see animals from time to time, but,

usually fleetingly and under conditions where acquiring a decent image

is very, very unlikely.

 

In my experience, at least. I am a 5 time passenger.

 

Good luck.

[melresnick]

It seems that we've all had a variety of experiences. On a trip to Denali two years ago I was advised not to bother with a tripod. Boy, was I sorry. The bus makes stops for scenic views and wildlife, and if you work quickly you'll have time to set up a tripod and get some good shots with a long lens. There's plenty of room to stow the tripod in the overhead rack, so if you have any doubts, why not just take it along?

[louie]

Well, there are a lot of factors to consider. Are you camping out at Wonder Lake, and therefore taking the Camper Bus? Or, are you on one of the tours or using a regular shuttle bus?

 

The camper buses have the last few rows of seats taken out of the back, and oftentimes there's room there to move about, and even set up a tripod. Also, the camper buses don't fill up all the way with passengers since they know they have to pick people up on the way out and back. The tour buses tend to be filled with people. The other type of bus - the shuttle bus - doesn't have the tour commentary you get from the tour buses, but they're usually better because people get off and on to do dayhiking, so they may not fill up all the way.

 

I would also suggest taking the earliest bus you can - not only is that best for siting wildlife, you'll have fewer people on the bus. Since you're going in mid-September, there should be smaller crowds. I've been in Denali during the first week of September for my last couple of trips, and it wasn't too busy.

 

One thing you might want to do is hang out in your car along the first few miles of park road that is open to private vehicles - the moose rut should be happening when you're there, so there's a good chance you'll be able to do some shooting from your car along this area.

 

I'd take both the tripod and beanbag if you intend to get off the bus during your trip. If you're going to be on the bus the whole time, then I wouldn't bother with the tripod. Though, I would urge you to get out of the bus and do a bit of hiking if you can.

 

With regards to the 600 vs. 100-400 IS, I would opt for the 100-400 if you can only take one. The versatility of the 100-400 makes it great for shooting from a bus - you won't be able to move around a lot and you may find the 600 to be too unwieldy within the confines of the bus.

 

The last time I was in Denali, I came back from camping at Wonder Lake with a half-empty camper bus. Most of the passengers were photographers, including a bunch from Germany. We had a great time and saw lots of wildlife; moreover, we were pretty respectful and courteous in terms of sharing windows and shooting both sides of the bus.

 

The picture below was shot near one of the passes from a bus. The bear was coming down a slope above the bus. I laid down on the floor of the bus down the center aisle and shot up the slope through an open window. I was using a 10D with the 100-400 resting on one of the seats.<div></div>

[redskeeter]

Thanks, everyone. Replies have helped a lot. Will use the 100-400 on bus handheld and 600 off bus with tripod, canning the beanbags. I'm taking the BIG backpack so everything will fit. 8)

 

One quick question: Can you get off the Wonder Lake bus and hop the shuttles or is that different? No info I could find on the official site on this.

 

Thanks again to all!

[ron_niebrugge]

The tour buses don't go to Wonder Lake - so if you are on a bus to Wonder Lake, you are on a shuttle bus and can hop on and off all you want.

[robert_malvin]

It is after the fact, but ...

 

You can use a tripod on a bus! Especially in the afternoon, as there are fewer people on

buses. Wildlife can get very close to buses, sheep, moose, bears, birds, etc. I wish Nikon

made a lens comparible to the 100-400 IS. I took a 12-24, 24-120, 70-200VR, a

200-400 VR and a 1.4 tele converter. A few filters, including split grads abd polarizer.

This trip I did not set up a tripod on the bus but you certainly can ... 2 legs on the floor

and one on a piece of wood 1x6x6 or larger. And by staying in the back seats of some

buses, you can set up a tripod in the back and shoot to either side, depending on bus

configuration. I do not use a bean bag, but do ball up my hat, a Seattle Sobrero and it

always works great. Food for thought for next year<div></div>