Best places to shoot 4x5 at Vegas/Grand Canyon

[michael_kuszek1]

Very excited just booked a trip and just bought a Wista 4x5

rangefinder model.Currently I just have a 125mm and a 210mm but I am

considering getting a 90mmm especially for this trip.I am just

bringing a fuji readyloader and would appreciate some suggestions

on what color tranparency films to buy?I was thinking Velvia and

Provia III.I was going to buy my film in Vegas to eleminate the

possibility of x ray damage happening to my film at the

airports .Will they (Delta) let me fly with my 4x5 camera stuff?

Anyway I am starting off in Vegas /Flamingo hotel for 3 days then

driving to Sedona and then South rim at Grand canyon,and then

back.Where are the best places? Where should I not go? Only got a

week there so I want to make my time count and come back with some

great photography.

All suggestions appreciated and THANKS in advance,Mike

[steve_levine]

Michael you are biting off way too much distance and rushing through this.This trip would need 2-3 weeks to see & shoot with LF.(IMHO)Also Sedonia is for the pseudo mystical idle rich,Id avoid this place at all cost if I were you.Try taking your time and planning a shorter more "backroadish" trip through this part of the country.You will see more,and you can stop and shoot.Stopping on an Interstate doesnt work.You might peruse a book store for some of Natl.Geographics travel books.These show back road routes and take you off the beaten trail.

[david_goldfarb]

<img src="http://www.echonyc.com/~goldfarb/photo/rrc.jpg"><p>

 

There are lots of places in Nevada to explore. Fairly close to Vegas, I like Red Rock Canyon (the Nevada one) and the Spring Mountains (Mt. Charleston) areas. If it unbearably hot in Vegas, Mt. Charleston will be quite pleasant. Red Rock is a day trip. The Spring Mountains can be as many days as you like. As suggested above, I would cut back the travel plans and try to spend more time in fewer locations.<p>

 

Most recently (a couple of months ago, when I took this picture), I flew Jet Blue NYC to Las Vegas with my Linhof kit and had no problems carrying it on. I always expect a hand search in addition to X-ray when carrying LF equipment, though occasionally I've passed through without.<p>

 

I don't know about film availability there, since I carried mine with me, but if you to a search on "film Las Vegas," you should find a few places you can call. I did stop by one pro shop that sold 4x5" equipment, so I suspect they carry film. With Velvia or Provia, I wouldn't really worry about X-rays.<p>

[peter_witkop]

Just a warning about x-ray dammage in that area. Since 9/11 there has been x-ray equiptment installed in the Hoover dam area, and at hoover dam itself. A friend of mine had a good amount of 4x5 tri-x fogged not realising the equiptment was there. I beleive he said there had been one at a parking garage he used as well as at the dam. I'm not sure if the garage was in vegas, or near the dam though. Moral of the story, I'd invest in a good lead bag and ask about x-ram equiptment at potentially sensative places.

 

Peter

[michael_kuszek1]

Just got a week.Have to go back to work after the trip.

Will they let you travel with a 4x5 on the plane after 9/11?

I do have a lead bag. Now I will bring it.Thanks for the suggestions.

[david_goldfarb]

As long as you don't have any sharp objects in your kit and it fits under the seat, you can take your 4x5" on a plane. I've done it more than once. I recommend checking your tripod, though. I use a Tenba TTP case for my tripod.

[john_kasaian1]

Since you'll be spending so much time behind the wheel, you might want to check out Walnut Canyon for Anasazi ruins. Its right off the highway just East of Flagstaff, just up the hill from the meteor crater, but a brutal hike from the park entrance even without LF gear. Just the thing to stretch your legs! Fortunately there are some structures high up in the canyon that can be probably be reached without risking a coronary. Take water!

[brian_ellis3]

If you use a back pack and it will fit in the overhead compartment (or I guess under the seat but I've never been able to fit mine under the seat) you can carry it on. Most 4x5 backpacks will fit in the overhead compartment unless they're overstuffed with gear. My LowePro just barely fits. I put the tripod in a hard suitcase and wrap clothes around it. My suitcase is always hand inspected and I suspect the tripod is the reason. I put as many boxes of 4x5 film as I can in my pants and jacket pockets and walk them through the metal detector. Just make sure you have nothing metal on you or else you'll have to empty your pockets and they'll spot the film. The metal buttons on a jacket were my downfall once but otherwise I've gotten the film through that way without being x rayed. Any that I can't fit in my pockets I get hand checked.

[john_kasaian1]

Michael, BTW, Have a great trip!

[gary_meader]

I agree that this sounds like a whirlwind trip. I've done this many

times and have been disappointed more than a few times. The

problem with this area is that if you're not in position by early light

or late, the light is so unforgiving and mean, it's really tough. But

that depends on what you like to shoot. Some good ideas have

been already said for landscape-type work, but I'd suggest

another spot. At the south end of town, Young Electric Signs

(Yesco) has a graveyard for all the huge neon signs they retire.

It's so visually stimulating, and with LF Velvia.... mmmm. I

agree, too, that staying to the older state hiways that run parallel

to the freeways offer better chances for photos. Be safe. Have a

great trip.

[michael_kuszek1]

Wow that sounds interesting.I have seen this sign place in some movies.When you say (At the south end of town, Young Electric Signs )cna you specify what town and maybe how to get there? I will have to go there.I also found out there is a photo retreat going to these places around Sedona. Anyone know about these places? Bell Rock/Cathedral Rock/Airport Messa/Boynton Canyon?

[jim_chow]

At LAX, they make you remove your jacket and shoes and run

them through the machine. I have two 800 iso lead bags and put

one inside the other. It doesn't stop the X-rays, but it'll at least

weaken them. If you want something more X-ray proof, get a

metal clipboard or something and place that over the film when it

goes through the machine. I suppose you could always wrap

the film in a lot of heavy-duty tin foil...any metal, the denser, the

better.

[scott_killian1]

Have been all over this area many times and agree that you would be making a big

mistake to attempt the drive to Sedona & Grand Canyon S. Rim from Vegas in only 4

days unless you want to spend most of your time in the car. Getting to the south rim

from there is a LONG drive (and Sedona is even further out of your way). South Rim is

a very short flight as the crow flies and looks close on

a map, but it's a 5 hour drive each way - much further than it looks. I've learned the

hard way that it's easy to over extend yourself in that part of the country and you

end up driving forever instead of making photographs. Grand Canyon is amazing,

but I've never taken a good photograph there and have seen very few good ones

from any photographer considering how amazing it is to see in person.

 

If I only had a week in that part of the country, I would skip going that direction all

together and would drive from Vegas to Death Valley. Much closer and there is much

great stuff to shoot there from 20 Mule Team Canyon, badwater and the Mesquite

Dunes - it's got a ton of things to shoot in a realitively small area. Depending on how

ambitious you are, Lone Pine isn't far and there you have the Alabama Hills which is

fantasy land for anybody interested in landscapes. These are much closer overall than

trying to work the Grand Canyon and Sedona, they give you great vareity and you

could cover them in a week without killing yourself. Something to think about.

 

Have flown many times since 911 with large format gear, just returned from a trip out

west last week and the key if you travel with your film is to carry it on or even better,

ship it to your hotel in advance of your arrival so it's there waiting for you and then

ship it home to yourself when you leave. However, I've also carried FP4 on numerous

times and had no problems with fogging. Lead bag is basically a waste of time as far

as the x-ray machine is concerned because they can't see through it and it almost

always invites a hand check and the big possibility that they want to open the box

and ruin your film. In Albq. NM last year, they insisted on opening my exposed boxes

of film and it took me almost an hour to first attempt to explain this to them and then

to set up my changing tent and open a box for them so they could swab the inside.

AAuuugggh.

 

Good luck.

[gary_reese2]

Last I looked at 4x5 stock, Casey's Camera had Provia 100F and Sahara Camera has Velvia 100F, both in 10 sheet boxes. Better call to determine availability of Readyloads, or better yet, have an order waiting. No one stop shopping here! Two camera store stops will eat up 1/4 your daylight. For processing before you fly back, you have one choice: Color Reflections.

 

Non-resident photographers come here with too high of expectations. Even when I guide them, it's a weather crap shoot. Exhaustion is the rule and it hardly seems like its a relaxing vacation for them.

[jerry2]

Mike, lots of good suggestions above... I live here and can tell you my read on this.... I agree with the poster who wrote that he never took a good pix of the Grand Canyon, it's one of those places that is great to experience, but in 2d photography, its OK, but not great, specially considering you will only hit the tourist trap spots. I do have some great MF stereo images of the Grand Canyon.... but that is a different topic!

 

Anyway, here is my suggestion... first, film and processing can be had at Nevada Merchandising, (lab is next door) it's on Industrial road, directly behind I 15, near your hotel.... they stock everything. Less wasted time vs. running to Caseys...

 

Next, here is my suggestions on where to shoot. The only two fascinating shots on the strip is the Treasure Island Boat in the front, before activity begins, so you can set up...and mid day shot of the Bellagio water show... you need to shoot mid day, and preferably higher speed film, try 200 or 400, or just push Provia F 100 a full stop.

 

As for landscapes....

 

Grand Canyon - too far and too much distance between shots.

 

Sedona AZ - There is a few good shots, but you have to go in the back country to find them. The red rocks themselves are not fascinating. I have a ton I tossed, sort of like the Grand Canyon. Distance is too great, about 5 hrs each way. Nothing along the way to shoot.

 

Red Rock Canyon near Vegas - Lame, you won't be happy.

Mt. Charleston north of Vegas - nice weather, but lame, nothing great.

 

West - not a bad option... Death Valley, Bristlecone pines and if you really work fast, you can try to hit Sequoa National Park.... all 3 are fabulous for LF... I would stick with the first two, Sequoa is will eat up too much time..

 

East - From vegas, in 3 hrs you can be Zion National park... you can spend all your time there...but if not, an additional 1.5 hrs will have you at Bryce Canyon...two of the most spectacular LF spots to hit. If you want to see some great Zion LF photography, stop in the Fatali gallery right near the entrance of the park, near the Noodles restaurant. For the time you have alloted, this makes the most sense and you will surely get the best images. At Bryce, even the tourist stops offer spectacular views. At Zion, you have to travel by shuttle bus everywhere. I would get a book on Zion, pick the shots you want, then work smart. Hope this helps...

[peter_white2]

'Twas written:

 

If you want to see some great Zion LF photography, stop in the Fatali gallery right near the entrance of the park, near the Noodles restaurant.

 

While Mr Fatali is a fine composer of images, don't think for one instant that you will see anything in Arizona that even remotely resembles anything you see on the walls of his gallery.

 

The colors in his prints are extremely oversaturated. They look more like Warner Bros cartoon colors than anything found in nature.

 

But Bryce and Zion are wonderful locations. You'll find lots of subjects.

 

At the south rim of the Grand Canyon, there are two trails leading down to Phantom Ranch, which is just a few hundred yards from the Colorado. If you hike down the eastern trail, you're on a ridge with wide vistas all around. It's spectacular but pretty much the same as what you see from the top, unless you hike down for several hours. The western trail follows a stream and is an entirely different environment, very lush with vegetation and waterfalls. On the western trail, you can get water at a campground about half way down. The eastern trail is bone dry. While the two trails are only a mile or so apart, you would think you're in two different worlds.

 

PJW