LA, Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon and Las Vegas
Posted: Mon May 01, 2017 2:36 pm
Whenever we can, our wedding anniversary (41 years now!) is celebrated with a trip, long or short depending on available time and funds. This year we tackled the Grand Canyon, which we had wanted to visit for decades.
When we finally decided to go, space in planes was already very scarce. We booked the last two economy seats, in the last row (a.k.a. "Guardians of the Toilet") to Los Angeles and planned the trip.
From LA we drove a rental car to Boulder City, visited Hoover Dam, then went on to the Grand Canyon South Rim. On our way back to LA we hit Las Vegas for a day and a half. I got my lifelong wish of driving a bit of Route 66. About 1300 miles round trip in the rental car.
I am sure that many of you in the forum have been in these places, but for me it was a trip in a lifetime.
Photo equipment: I took the Canon G12, which is my only digital camera. On the film side there was a lot of soul-searching. In other trips I usually take a 35mm SLR with a wide lens for cityscapes. But after reading a lot about the Canyon, I decided that a normal focal distance could be best. In the end I took a Retina IIIc (because of that Xenon lens) and the Minolta Autocord, for medium format. All film was black and white (no C-41 processing or kits are available here).
I only used film in Hoover Dam and In the Canyon. LA and Las Vegas was G12 only because of portability considerations; my bag was 5 pounds, weather was warm, and I was not on assignment but on vacation. As an aside, I had set the wrong white balance in the G12 (for flash) and only got to correct it at the end of the trip.
In the Canyon there was a lot of very serious digital equipment on tripods, besides the typical cellphone tourist. My Autocord got a lot of attention from older fellows and it was a good conversation starter.
Los Angeles surprised me; I had expected a boring place. I could not make Freestyle, which was in the wish list, because of a huge traffic jam. We did not gamble in Las Vegas, but had a good time there. My wife ransacked the stores!
In these trips, I tend to take too many pictures and think less about each one, which does not help on quality. In any case here is a a slideshow with a selection. Some film results below.
Hoover Dam
Grand Canyon
About 1/3 central crop in the Retina IIIc, a condor made a good subject. Beutler gives grain, even on Pan F+.
With hindsight, three cameras is too much. But I do not complain, I'd rather do it again with all the lessons learned!
Thanks for looking.
When we finally decided to go, space in planes was already very scarce. We booked the last two economy seats, in the last row (a.k.a. "Guardians of the Toilet") to Los Angeles and planned the trip.
From LA we drove a rental car to Boulder City, visited Hoover Dam, then went on to the Grand Canyon South Rim. On our way back to LA we hit Las Vegas for a day and a half. I got my lifelong wish of driving a bit of Route 66. About 1300 miles round trip in the rental car.
I am sure that many of you in the forum have been in these places, but for me it was a trip in a lifetime.
Photo equipment: I took the Canon G12, which is my only digital camera. On the film side there was a lot of soul-searching. In other trips I usually take a 35mm SLR with a wide lens for cityscapes. But after reading a lot about the Canyon, I decided that a normal focal distance could be best. In the end I took a Retina IIIc (because of that Xenon lens) and the Minolta Autocord, for medium format. All film was black and white (no C-41 processing or kits are available here).
I only used film in Hoover Dam and In the Canyon. LA and Las Vegas was G12 only because of portability considerations; my bag was 5 pounds, weather was warm, and I was not on assignment but on vacation. As an aside, I had set the wrong white balance in the G12 (for flash) and only got to correct it at the end of the trip.
In the Canyon there was a lot of very serious digital equipment on tripods, besides the typical cellphone tourist. My Autocord got a lot of attention from older fellows and it was a good conversation starter.
Los Angeles surprised me; I had expected a boring place. I could not make Freestyle, which was in the wish list, because of a huge traffic jam. We did not gamble in Las Vegas, but had a good time there. My wife ransacked the stores!
In these trips, I tend to take too many pictures and think less about each one, which does not help on quality. In any case here is a a slideshow with a selection. Some film results below.
Hoover Dam
Grand Canyon
About 1/3 central crop in the Retina IIIc, a condor made a good subject. Beutler gives grain, even on Pan F+.
With hindsight, three cameras is too much. But I do not complain, I'd rather do it again with all the lessons learned!
Thanks for looking.