william_bean

According to the information I've gotten from a multitude of sources, Orca pods frequent the Inside Passage most of the summer but there are a couple of areas that they are drawn to. Robson Bight is one area because of the smooth stones on the bottom. Apparently they like to scratch their bellies on these smooth stones. Also they feed on salmon so anywhere there is a large salmon run will attract Orca. Do a web search for Canada whale watching and you'll get several companies that have a lot more current and accurate info than anything I could provide.

Pretty good decision to opt out of the Pikes Peak region. You'll miss Garden of the Gods but there are other things you'll see that are equally as spectacular.

 

Now that your route is known I do have a very specific suggestion. First, allow one of the 3 or 4 days in RMNP for this. When passing through Denver continue west on I-70 to Idaho Springs. From there head south to the Mount Evans road. One of the earlier posts talked about Trail Ridge Road being the highest continuous auto road in North America, well, Mt Evans is the highest non-continuous road. Along the way you'll pass through stands of Bristlecone Pines and pass Summit Lake which offers a spectacular reflection of Mt Evans at sunrise. I've been up this road probably 50 times and have seen Mountain Goats almost every time and Bighorn Sheep almost as frequently. If they're around the Bighorns will come right up to your vehicle but PLEASE do not feed them!

 

When you decide to leave the Idaho Springs area you can either backtrack to I-25 and head up that way or take Hwy 72 which goes from Central City through Nederland, Ward, and on to Estes Park which is the gateway to RMNP. Needless to say Hwy 72 is much more scenic and relaxing. Once in the park, early mornings and late afternoons you'll find large groups of elk in Morraine Park and Horseshoe Park and frequently you can see Bighorn sheep near the salt lakes in Horseshoe Park.

 

As per the earlier post drink lots of water and be sure to bring a warm jacket. I've been snowed on in June and July at the top of Trail Ridge Road so be prepared. Also expect to take things a little easier for the first 2 or 3 days at altitude. The air is much thinner than you might imagine and almost without fail the first day or two in Colorado, flatlanders suffer mild altitude sickness. Keep really well hydrated and you should be fine.

 

The main tip I can give is to slow down and enjoy the scenery. Don't fall prey to the "I can only stay here 10 minutes if I'm going to make it to (fill in the blank)" attitude. Hey, YOU'RE ON VACATION! If you run out of time and don't get to see something, what better reason to come back. And I'm pretty sure you'll want to come back.

 

Good luck and travel safely.

Sounds like a great trip though you'll be covering a lot of ground. I live in Colorado and can see Pikes Peak from my office window. Additionally, I've shot extensively in Yellowstone and also the Black Hills. Here are a few of my favorites in the places you mentioned.

 

Pikes Peak region: Definitely Garden of the Gods. Lots of spectacular sandstone formations and there's a shot just across the road from the visitor center of Pikes Peak framed between a couple of sandstone monoliths that's great at sunrise. About 20 miles east of Colorado Springs near the town of Calhan is an area called Paint Mines Open Space. Some really neat colorful hoodoos and stuff like that. Heading north towards Wyoming you might want to take the drive up the Big Thompson Canyon and into Rocky Mountain Natl Park. The views from Trail Ridge road are amazing.

 

Yellowstone-Grand Tetons: The wildlife opportunities here speak for themselves. Lots of elk, bison, and if you're very lucky, some bear and moose thrown in. A very few fortunate souls are also able to photograph the wolves of Yellowstone though that's a rarity. The Tetons from the east shore of Jackson Lake or from Schwabacher's Landing are some of the most photogenic peaks in the US as well as Mt. Moran and the Oxbow bend of the Snake river. If you get the chance, head out the northeast entrance of Yellowstone and take the Bitteroot Highway into Montana. Very spectacular views.

 

Black Hills: For wildlife, Custer State park is pretty nice. There is a free ranging Buffalo herd there as well as a lot of whitetail deer to view. Sometimes on the backside of Mt. Rushmore you can see the resident herd of Mountain Goats. For scenery, Spearfish Canyon in the north region of the Hills is pretty cool. If there's been some rain the 2 main waterfalls in the canyon, Roughlock Falls and Bridal Veil Falls, can be very nice. If you have the opportunity, drive through Badlands National Park southeast of Rapid City for some really dramatic scenics.

 

Your film selections seem okay. I went digital a couple of years ago but prior to that Velvia was my hands down favorite film for scenics. For wildlife you might consider tossing in a few rolls of some 400 speed film or maybe push your Provia. Prime viewing opportunities will usually be just after sunrise or just before sunset for wildlife and the light levels are a lot lower then.

 

Those are some of my favorites and I'm sure you'll get a ton of replies from folks who know other areas and opportunities. Shoot me an e-mail if you have any other questions. bill@wcbeanphoto.com

It's been about 5 years since my last trip to Mesa Arch so forgive me if the memory is faulty. First, the arch itself lies due east of a hill that is considerably higher than the arch so when the light gets that wonderful golden glow it would most likely be in deep shadow. Second, the beauty of images of Mesa Arch is all about the orange glow on the underside of the arch when the sun reflects off the sandstone below it at sunrise. For my money the Green River Overlook or for that matter even Dead Horse Point are far better subjects for sunset. But who knows...I can't recall ever seeing any images of Mesa Arch at sunset. You might start a trend.

As a Nature Photographer living in Colorado, asking for a Top Ten is like asking "How high is up?" But here are some trends I've noticed in my own habits. Obviously it depends on what sort of images you're looking to make but these are the 10 places I find myself going back to again and again. There is no order of importance...I had to start somewhere:

 

1. Garden of the Gods (Colorado Springs)

 

2. Paint Mines Nature Area (Calhan)

 

3. Crested Butte/Kebler Pass (Wildflowers in July, Aspens in Sept)

 

4. Cottonwood Pass (see #3)

 

5. Great Sand Dunes National Monument

 

6. Wheeler Geological Area (Lake City)

 

7. Rocky Mountain National Park (Hands down best place to photograph elk in September)

 

8. Colorado National Monument (Grand Junction)

 

9. Virtually any of the passes that involve 4wd vehicles.

 

10. Mt. Evans (Idaho Springs)

 

Okay, okay....I'll stop at 10. Of the 10 I've listed, Only Wheeler can technically be considered out of the way though I've had some interesting experiences on the 4wd roads over some passes like Rollins, Mosquito, etc. The Paint Mines area is relatively unknown for the moment because until recently it was on private land but it's been acquired as an open space area and is now open to the public.

 

Bottom line, I've lived in Colorado for 35 years and been a photographer for 30 of those years and there is no doubt in my mind that I will not be able to see all the places in Colorado I want to see in my lifetime. I try to assign myself at least once a year to spend a weekend photographing or exploring a place I've never been to and to date I've not run out of fascinating things to shoot.

 

Feel free to e-mail me with any questions on these areas.

I defy any Nature Photographer to visit the Moab area and NOT find more subjects than you could possibly shoot in a year much less a few days. Some that haven't been mentioned are the Slick Rock Jeep area, Fisher Towers, and Castle Valley. Don't miss Bryce Canyon on your trip home.

If you're going to be in Keystone the drive up to Loveland Pass isn't that long and there are many terrific vistas along the route. For critters, head back towards Denver on I-70 but take the Hwy 40 turn to Empire. There is a resident herd of Bighorns that can frequently be seen near the highway about 1/2 mile after you leave I-70 and in the past I've seen as many as 12 big rams at least half of which are full curl. If you're into snowshoeing the Ten Mile Creek trail which goes out of Frisco is quite beautiful with snow on it. All these places are within 30 minutes of Keystone. Good luck and good shooting.

I'm heading to Arizona March 22 to catch a few Spring Training

games. I'll have a day or two in the Tucson area and would love for

someone to clue me in on photo opps in that area, specifically

Saguaro National Monument and other opps between Tucson and Phoenix.

I'll be available to shoot the standard early morning and late

afternoon-sunset. Help!!!

One more I forgot to mention. If you elect to drive down Hwy 83, just south of Franktown is Castlewood Canyon State Park. The canyon is very photogenic particularly if there's snow on. Shoot me an e-mail if you have any questions.

Garden of the Gods and those other things are nice once you arrive in the springs. As a suggestion travelling between Denver and C Springs, I drive from Parker (Southeast Denver) to Colorado Springs everyday down Hwy 83. There are some marvelous views of Pikes Peak along the way as well as a buffalo ranch where the herd is frequently near the road. Failing that, a side trip to Roxborough State Park southwest of the Denver Metro area can offer some interesting views of some of the red rocks formations looking south along the front range.

We may or may not have snow on either of these routes on Dec 15. Most of the time, snow that falls down here on the plains rarely stays more than a couple of days.

 

Good luck and bring lots of tourist dollars to spend. :D

I don't usually reply to personal comments on a message board and will only make a small exception to this. The debate of film vs digital is best conducted in person over icy cold adult beverages. Tim, my e-mail addy is in my post as well as on my profile. The only comment I'll make in this forum is that I think before you tout your images as more extraordinary than mine or anyone else's you might want to check your facts. I've viewed your images...nice work. But before you start deriding mine, check them out.

There are so many questions around this and so many answers for each question. Let me tell you what I experienced on my June cruise and you can apply it to your situation. First, I made the complete switch to digital about 18 months ago. I no longer own a film camera and recently I dragged my wife kicking and screaming into the new century by drowning her film camera on a canoe trip and replacing it with digital. We did not expose even 1 frame of celluloid on our cruise.

 

3 points I will make, each relating to film vs digital. (once again, from my own experience.)

 

Exposure-After my first few weeks with the digital I discovered that for my particular camera, the EOS 10D, I have to expose as if I'm shooting slide film. I can always bring detail out of the shadows but if the highlights are over exposed, I'm dead. So...expose for the highlights. Note that this is the opposite of the theory for negative film.

 

Digital capture format-I've recently been at a seminar where the presenter was banging the drum for RAW vs JPEG capture. It happened that this presenter is a pal of mine so later, over an icy cold adult beverage, he fired up the laptop and showed me why. When compared with JPEG, the RAW files are incredibly versatile. Granted, they take up more space on your memory card and computer hard drive, but a RAW file has at least as much lattitude as a negative if not more.

 

Cost-Okay, I shoot a lot, maybe too much. But here's the bottom line. My wife and I came back from Alaska with 3000 images between us. Figure 36 exposures per roll that's 84 rolls of film which at $5 a roll (pretty conservative) adds up to $420. Figure processing at $7.50 per (still pretty conservative) that's $630 for a film/processing cost of $1050 or roughly half what we paid for the cruise. A 1 gig memory card cost me $60 and since I took the laptop along to download the images every day I could use it over and over and over. Do the math.

 

I know what they say about opinions but this is mine. If you're shooting 35mm and still shooting film, WHY?

 

If you'd like to hear more about the cruise or my opinions of digital vs film, you can drop me a line at: bill@wcbeanphoto.com

 

There is also a photo essay and journal of our cruise at the website. And if you find the stress too much, you can't make up your mind, I'd be delighted to go on the cruise in your place.

I was last in the Canyons in May, 2004, and at that time it was much like what has been posted previously. There may have been some changes since then but for details on what occurred on my trip there is a trip journal in the Notes/Essays area of my website as well as some pics of the canyons on the last 3 pages of the Landscapes portfolio. I spent time in both Upper and Lower Antelope though I much prefer Lower. As for reservations, I just showed up and was able to get in both times though I did arrive at Lower Antelope only about an hour before they closed the gate for the day. Not really enough time in my estimation but they were kind enough to tell me I could come back in the morning for free if I didn't feel I had enough time in the canyon.

 

www.wcbeanphoto.com

The usual suspects: Morraine Park (Elk and Aspens), Horshoe Park (ditto), The Fall River road has aspens along the way and also parallels Chasm Creek for a distance.

I head to the Moab area a couple times each year and have always photographed DHP at sunrise. Lately, though, I've seen a tv commercial with late afternoon light that is very attractive so I may alter my shooting schedule on the next trip. Great news because I'm always torn between Dead Horse Point and Mesa Arch for the definitive sunrise shot. Good luck and good shooting.

Lots of great responses and opinions. And as we all know, opinions are like....well, you know the story. One of the things on the top of my "must visit again" places is the Grand Canyon. I spent exactly 4 hours there in the middle of a very overcast day. And still it was overwhelming!! Trouble is, heading that way from Denver, Antelope Canyon always seens to rear it's head and I don't have the willpower to pass it by. Like everyone has said, Vegas is nice if you like lights and lots of them and if you like to gamble. Personally, I love Vegas but I'm done with it in about 24 hours. As far as Sedona, there are some nice things to shoot there but In My Humble Opinion it pales in comparison to the Canyons, Grand and Antelope.

 

You can see some of my Antelope Canyon shots at

 

www.wcbeanphoto.com

 

There are images in the Landscape portfolio and a nice essay about Antelope Canyon as well as a recent trip diary. No matter what you choose, you'll have lots of subject matter for your lens. Good luck and good shooting.

Wow, that's like asking which car should you buy. Depends on what you intend to use it for. I also shoot the 10D and carry 4 lenses. 20-35, 28-105, 100-400, and 100mm macro. I'd like to pare down the amount of stuff I carry but frankly, I use all the lenses on just about every trip I take. I suppose if I had to choose just one I might look into one of the wide to tele zooms, maybe 28-300mm. If I had to choose from among my 4 lenses, I spend most of the time with the 28-105 hanging off the camera. With the popularity of digital exploding the past couple years there is a proliferation of extreme wide to extreme tele zooms out there. You just need to determine how much you want to spend. Good luck.

So.....how many years do you plan on travelling the west? All of the above answers will more than fill all the rolls and sheets of film or memory cards you can carry. My favorites change from year to year...currently I'm enamored with the area near Moab, UT (Arches and Canyonlands National Parks and Deadhorse Point State Park), the Monument Valley, and Antelope Canyon near Page, AZ. Personally, I can't think of anything more iconic than Monument Valley. If you've seen more than one John Wayne movie chances are you've seen Monument Valley. Also, this summer I'm going to be photographing some of the lesser known landscapes of Colorado specifically Wheeler Geological Site near Creede, and Great Sand Dunes National Park. I've been photographing the Rocky Mountain West for over 30 years now and realize that another 30 years would not allow me to see it all to say nothing of all the places I keep returning to over and over again. Good luck and good shooting.

Do a google search for Cedar Pass Lodge which is lodging right IN Badlands National Park. They have some cabins that are sort of primitive but it's right there. As for other stuff, depending on what time you're there, Spearfish Canyon near the town of Spearfish has a couple of stunning waterfalls if there's been sufficient snow or if it's been a wet spring. Mt Rushmore should be seen just so you can say you were there but the best part is the back side of Rushmore where it's pretty easy to find some mountain goats if you're so inclined. If you are inclined to photograph some wildlife, Custer State Park has one of the largest herds of bison in the country. Good luck and good shooting.<div></div>

Sounds like a great trip. Rocky Mountain National Park is marvelous but frankly, it's out of the way if you're heading southwest out of Denver. Depending on how much time you intend to spend along the road, there are some really nice things to see. The San Juan mountains in southwest Colorado are magnificent though you'll be a bit early for the wildflower bloom. Mesa Verde is one of my favorite places. If heading straight west out of Denver you can head for Moab, Ut which is within an hour's drive of 5 National Parks. Arches and Canyonlands are two of my favorites. From there or from the San Juans around Durango, I'd be sure to head down through the Monument Valley and when I am in that part of the country I ALWAYS make the trip to Page, AZ to photograph Antelope Canyon. Of all the locations I've shot, it's the one that changes most from trip to trip. It's never the same twice. Head south from there to Phoenix and from that point you're on your own. I've never been south or west of Phoenix but I'm sure there are plenty of folks that can steer you to some great sights on the road between there and San Diego. Good luck and good shooting.