Utah

[Mickw]

Im in the very fortunate position of my wife allowing me to blow a larger sum of money on a once in a lifetime trip to take photographs in the USA. Im meeting a guy in Utah for soem animal stuff but ive got 4 days free to head through the state down to the national parks. Anyone have any places i should take a look out to! Im planning the trip like a military operation. Cant believe she said yes!! Guess ill have to buy her something nice for christmas. Oh and anyfrom Salt Lake City who know of a top quaility camera shop that has Canon l lenses.

Mick

[Rocco]

I guess that depends on which part of utah? Southern? Northern? All? You picked a good state. In half a day's drive you can get almost any type of environment you want.

One of my favorites is Antelope Island. Can be found by heading west on Antelope Drive in Layton (in between Ogden and Salt Lake City, North of salt lake)

Also, when are you going? If it's february/march - ish the Farminton Bay Waterfowl Management Areal (Farmington, UT) is the spot to be with a telephoto lens. That's when there are hundreds of bald eagles in that one location alone.

Other suggestion would be Goblin Valley, UT. Bryce Canyon. And of course, Zions National Park. You could google any of these for an idea of what kind of photos await you.

Have fun!

[Mickw]

Thanks. im arriving on April 9th. Maybe a little late for the Eagles? Ive got a 7D and a 1DS3 extenders, basically a lot of gear to cover any eventuality. Im heading toward the southern national parks but can travel anywhere in the state for four days. Its a once in a lifetime road trip. Thats until next year anyway. Thanks for the advice. Any advice on places in very gratefully recieved. My wife thinks ill either be eaten by animals, bitten by snakes or dissappear somewhere in a desert as i have no common sense.lol

Mick

[alex]

Hi Mick,

I've been to Zion Nat'l Park and the Moab area (Arches Nat'l Park and Canyonlands). All three provide excellent opportunities. Mostly landscapes, panoramas, dramatic lighting from sunsets/storms. If memory serves you should have some nice storm clouds in April. There are also plenty of interesting plants and trees to get shots of as well; I find the desert climate makes for very interesting stunted trees.

Haven't been to Bryce, but have heard it's really great too.

Please do wear heavy boots and bring plenty of water!!

Alex

[Rocco]

Thanks. im arriving on April 9th. Maybe a little late for the Eagles? Ive got a 7D and a 1DS3 extenders, basically a lot of gear to cover any eventuality. Im heading toward the southern national parks but can travel anywhere in the state for four days. Its a once in a lifetime road trip. Thats until next year anyway. Thanks for the advice. Any advice on places in very gratefully recieved. My wife thinks ill either be eaten by animals, bitten by snakes or dissappear somewhere in a desert as i have no common sense.lol

Mick

Yeah, unfortunately the eagles are usually gone by mid March.

Something I would suggest would be to stop by a ghost town or two. It will probably be a nice change of pace from the sometimes daunting landscapes you find here. (daunting because of the sheer amount of hiking you might find yourself doing only to find you're not looking at the landscape you'd hoped.) One I've always wanted to visit is Frisco in Beaver County. Here's a good resource for the ghost towns around here, most with sample images that have been uploaded by users.
http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/ut/ut.html

And one to Frisco specifically: http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/ut/frisco.html

[Rocco]

Also, Not sure how into astro-photography you are, but central-southern Utah is a great spot to get photos of the night sky/milky way. One of those places so far removed from light pollution that it's absolutely staggering how many stars there are.

[Busted Knuckles]

In the very S.E. corner is the city of Page (Technically in Arizona) and a whole series of slot canyons - go to google earth and look at some of the pics for "antelope canyon" there are several of these slot canyons other than upper/lower antelope contact a guide on the web. After a Bryce/Zion which are also "Musts" I think the slot canyons are as well. Take at least a monopod on the shoot, there will be lots of slow shutter speeds. Antelope Canyon is on the Indian Reservation and plan to get there well before noon and you want the "tour" closest to noon or the sun zenith to get the best light penetration.

Utah has some of the most impressive landscapes around. Grand Canyon is not far away, but after Bryce it is just another giant hole in the ground - worth it if you have the time, but if pressed for time I would do Bryce/Zion and the slots the greatest variety.

[Rocco]

Hey Mick. Just curious if you planned out your trip yet? Decide where you're heading?

[bigblue1ca]

Bryce/Zion - absolutely beautiful.