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Heading in a month out west..Tips..

HE15MAN

HE15MAN

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 3, 2009
955
14
Florida's Treasure Coast
I am going on vacation with my parents for their 30th anniversary celebration. We are going to be headed to Denver, Salt Lake City, and Yellowstone for sure.

Any thing we need to see for sure?

Any tips?

Best routes to drive?

Also, we will be using my T2i. What lens should we purchase for the trip? I was thinking the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS.

Thanks in advance!
 
Stop by Moab Utah on the way between denver and salt lake. Arches national park and Canyonlands National park surround moab and there's countless photography opportunities. Delicate Arch in arches and Mesa Arch in the island in the sky portion of canyonlands are probably the most photographed in the area.



I shot that last summer at mesa arch at sunset. At sunrise the light is much more appealing, but it should give you a sense of the area.

If you're willing to veer away from that area there's tons of other stuff to do within a 5 or 6 hour drive of moab. Northern arizona is particularly nice.
 
HE15MAN said:
Also, we will be using my T2i. What lens should we purchase for the trip? I was thinking the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS.
Click to expand...

I am thinking probably not. What lenses do you have now? What are you planning on shooting?

That area seems to lend itself to landscapes, so a good tripod and a wide(ish) lens is probably a good place to start. The 100-400 is expensive, heavy, slow and not the sharpest lens in the lineup. It is flexible and has it's purpose, but make sure you have a clearly defined objective for when and what you want to shoot and know whether that lens is a reasonable fit for your situation.
 
I disagree with what others have said about the 100-400. That is a perfect lens to have, as it is all about REACH at Yellowstone and other huge NP's out west.

I know that others will probably recommend the 17-55IS, but i would say to pick up the 24-70L. If money is an issue, the Tamron version is said to be stellar as well, and it is like $350ish. If you need wider, you could always get the 17-40L or the 10-22, although i think the 10-22 is going to be too wide most of the time.
 
HE15MAN said:
Any thing we need to see for sure?

Any tips?

Best routes to drive?
Click to expand...

You haven't mentioned whether you're willing to veer away from the cities you originally mentioned. It's hard to recommend places without knowing how far you're willing to go and how much time you're wiling to spend on side trips. You could occupy an entire summer in the southwest and still not see everything.
 
The Mormon temple in SLC is a good stop. You cant get into the temple itself, but you can get on the grounds and in some of the other buildings. One building, I forget which one, has some fantastic artwork.

Also check out the Beartooth highway. Its just outside of yellowstone.
 
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