Grand Canyon in April

windoze

My wife needs to be in Las Vegas in early April - I have no desire to return to Las Vegas but she says we can have one side trip to Grand Canyon. So Im kinda excited about going ( never been there ). Any suggestions where i want to "stay" - South Rim? I'll have enough time to be there for a sunset and a sunrise. Someone suggested "National Geographic Sunrise / Sunset Photography tours"?
I'm bringing my 40D w/ 17-55 IS, 10-22 and 100-400. Is this enough? What about filters / polarizers? Suggestions please!

Troy

Shootin1st

We were there in December and I can't imagine that spending a penny on a tour would be worth it in April...unless they are taking you somewhere other than the generally accessable vantage points.

It's an easy drive and the vantage points are wide open.

kdog

Hi Troy,

First the easy part. The lens kit is perfect. A tripod might be nice if you're doing any night shots or HDRs. A polarizer is a must. A GND might be nice, I dunno, I don't have one yet.

Lodging, not sure. You probably want to stay in the park at the south rim, I would imagine. Book now though. Go here, and there are numbers to call for lodging.

That being said, I think there are more interesting places that are less of a drive from Vegas. You could do both Zion and Bryce for example. Goblin Valley is great. Go to Page, AZ and take in Lower and or Upper Antelope Canyon, and hit Horseshoe Bend. The grand canyon gets boring very quickly. I don't think I've ever posted a shot from there. I always feel like Chevy Chase in Vacation. "There it is! Ok, let's go".

Cheers,
-joel

anwmn1

kdog wrote:

Hi Troy,

First the easy part. The lens kit is perfect. A tripod might be nice if you're doing any night shots or HDRs. A polarizer is a must. A GND might be nice, I dunno, I don't have one yet.

Lodging, not sure. You probably want to stay in the park at the south rim, I would imagine. Book now though. Go here, and there are numbers to call for lodging.

That being said, I think there are more interesting places that are less of a drive from Vegas. You could do both Zion and Bryce for example. Goblin Valley is great. Go to Page, AZ and take in Lower and or Upper Antelope Canyon, and hit Horseshoe Bend. The grand canyon gets boring very quickly. I don't think I've ever posted a shot from there. I always feel like Chevy Chase in Vacation. "There it is! Ok, let's go".

Cheers,
-joel

:thwak


Grand Canyon is one of those places where you either marvel at it or you are like kdog. I have to admit it can be very tough to photograph though. It is one of those places that is very difficult to capture with a camera and unless you are blessed with some dramatic clouds it is often victim of the Southwest haze and gets washed out.

If you go don't stay in the village unless you can get a great deal. There are hotels in Tusayan which is about 10 minutes outside of the park.

If you have time for a 3 day trip I would recommend making a loop of the South Rim, Page AZ, Bryce, and Zion- then back to Vegas.