george_katunich

<p>Thank you for taking the time to respond. However, I am on a cruise ship and have only the limited time I mentioned in my original post. That is why I am looking for a guide to get around the city as quickly as possible. I will use your info to select additional shooting opportunities, time permitting.</p>

<p>I am going to be in Valencia in late September on a cruise with a stop in Valencia. Only a limited amount of time with the ship in port from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. I like to shoot architecture and the City of Arts and Science looks like an absolute must. Because of the limited time (no time for sunrise or twilight shooting) I am thinking of hiring either a photo guide or a general guide to get me to the best shooting locations quickly. Is this an efficient approach? Any idea of how to find a guide and what I might expect to pay? Also looking for suggestions on another "must see" venue in the city. </p>

<p>In late September I will be traveling to Europe to do a Danube river cruise. I have blocked out two extra days at the end of the trip and I can spend them either in the areas around London or Budapest. The photo opprotunities will determine the location where we will spend the extra time.<br>

Background info: I visited central London in 1995 and shot at most of the most frequently visited sites. My thoughts are that I might want to get out to the countryside. Leeds, Bath, Windsor, etc. In Budapest, I will have two days on a Tauck tour in the city plus the additional two days. Since I don't know the city and surrounding area I don't know if this is just more time than I need.<br>

I like to shoot landscape and buildings. Not a people person. I shoot a Canon 5D II and use a 24-105 as my walk around lens. I also recently picked up a 16-35 2.8 for hand held in low light.<br>

Any suggestions on specific locations to shoot would also be very helpful.</p>

<p>I grew up in Gary in the 50s and last visited in 2009. I think you will find that most of the industrial buildings are gone. The biggest company is US Steel. They own almost 7 miles of frontage on Lake Michigan. However, if you check out Google Earth you will note that many of the buildings at the plant have been removed. In the 50s there were 25,000 employees. Now only about 4,000. I am guessing that security will not allow you on their property.<br>

As for safety, be careful. The city is very blighted. I drove around my old neighborhood but I had an armed former police officer with me. Perhaps a little over the top but I sure felt a lot more secure. I looked all over for interesting photographs but was very disappointed. I had many fond memories of Memorial Auditorium in downtown. Most of the building had been torn down, I think as a result of a fire. Overgrown with weeds and surrounded with a chain link fence. I don't think you can get into the Palace Theater although I have seen recent interior shots that were exactly what you would want for an example of urban decay. Good luck.</p>

<p>In the fall of 2011 I will be taking a trip to central Europe and expect to do a lot of low light interior shooting in churches and public buildings. I have a Canon 5D II and my walk around lens is the Canon 24-105 4.0. I am expecting low light and large spaces. As I will have to do "hand held" I am thinking I may need a faster and wider lens. I am now focused on the Canon 16-35 2.8 L but if I am going to put out $1,500 I want to make sure I haven't overlooked a better option. I also don't know if I should be concerned about the lack of IS or contrast issues for exposure.<br>

I typically shoot buildings, public sculpture and landscape so I will make good use of the lens in my day to day shooting.<br>

George K. </p>