Advice need for a trip to St. John's V.I. US

JayMurphy

May 26th I will be going to St. John's Virgin Island US and I have a few questions:
1) Does anyone have and suggestions on locations on the island that would be a good photos opertunities?

2) What gear could someone suggest?
I have Canon 30D with the battery grip
17-85mm IS (kit lense - I may leave home)
24-70mm 2.8L
70-200mm 2.8 EX Macro (Sigma)
APO Tele Converters 1.4 & 2.0 (Sigma)
580EX w/Stofen
Vari-ND Filter (Singh-Ray)
Manfotto 680 mono pod w/329 head, 055MF4 Tripod
w/322RC2 head
LowPro AW200

JayMurphy

Advice need for a trip to St. John's V.I. US
I will be going on vacation to St. John's Virgin Islands US on May 25 and am I looking forward to all the potential photo I will be taking, but I have a few questions:

1) Can anyone suggestion a few locations that would be really good? Nature, historic, scenic (sunsets, sunrise), people...

2) Do I need to bring an AC adapter for charging my batteries?

Last but not least I am looking for a comfortable "sling" type camera bag or anything with quick and easy access that can hold the following gear:

Canon 30D w/battery grip
17-85mm IS (may leave rarely use)
24-70mm 2.8L (Lens hood included)
70-200mm 2.8 EX Macro (Sigma - W/len hood and Tripod collar)
APO Teleconverter 1.4 & 2.0 EX DG
Vari-ND Filter (77mm)
Polarized Filter (77mm)
580EX Speedlite w/Stofen diffusor
Manfotto 680 monopod w/329 tilt head
Manfrotto 055MF4 tripod w/322RC2 head
Spare Batteries for falsh and camera, Lens cleaners (wipes, brush, blower)
Memory Cards (CF)

As far as bags I currently have the LowPro AW200 and the Tamerac Velocity 7.
I can get my flash my 24-70mm w/hood (reversed), but there is not enough room for the battery grip (bag not wide enough) in the Tamerac and in a padded lens case (Tamerac) I can hang my 70-200mm on the side of the bag if needed. The additional accessories fit in the pockets.
I like the bag it is comfortable for me and is good for when I don't feel I have then to carry so much. So I got the LowPro and I have taken with me on 3 & 6 hour treks (nothing major - Phoenix Botanical Garden and Butterfly Exhibit) but I had to had carry my tripod.
I am still trying the get the "best" adjsutment for the strap, through out the day I found my self constantly moving the strap off of my neck and when it was all over my should hurt like h_ll! And you can only wear it on one side.

Anyway I have ranted on long enough any suggestions, advice, tip would be appreciated.

Thanks Jay
www.photosbyjonathan.phanfare.com

Kory Lidstrom

I spend every winter in St. Croix, so I've been to St. John quite a bit. Trust me, you won't have any trouble finding great locations to shoot at. Just ask around, it's a small, fairly tight-knit community.

The island is fairly small, so you'll be able to cover the whole thing without too much trouble. And, beautiful spots abound everywhere. A national park blankets three quarters of the whole island, so it's as pristine as you can get in many parts.

Out of the three USVI, St. John is by far the most pristine and pictureesque. Not the other isles aren't awesome, they are, but for natural beauty St. John is clearly the winner.

The downside of St, John is that it's also the most expensive of the three, and it's also smallest and has not much going on in the way of nightlife. But, it's still worth it, IMO.

If you are looking for the more authentic, third-world, streetscape type of shots, the other isles are better.

For lenses, bring what suits the style of shooting you'll be doing, but regardless of which lenses you bring make SURE you have polarizers for all of them. In the bright, sunny Carribean, polarizers are crucial.

Hope that helps.

JayMurphy

Thank you for you relpy

NugBlazer wrote:

I spend every winter in St. Croix, so I've been to St. John quite a bit. Trust me, you won't have any trouble finding great locations to shoot at. Just ask around, it's a small, fairly tight-knit community.

The island is fairly small, so you'll be able to cover the whole thing without too much trouble. And, beautiful spots abound everywhere. A national park blankets three quarters of the whole island, so it's as pristine as you can get in many parts.

Out of the three USVI, St. John is by far the most pristine and pictureesque. Not the other isles aren't awesome, they are, but for natural beauty St. John is clearly the winner.

The downside of St, John is that it's also the most expensive of the three, and it's also smallest and has not much going on in the way of nightlife. But, it's still worth it, IMO.

If you are looking for the more authentic, third-world, streetscape type of shots, the other isles are better.

For lenses, bring what suits the style of shooting you'll be doing, but regardless of which lenses you bring make SURE you have polarizers for all of them. In the bright, sunny Carribean, polarizers are crucial.

Hope that helps.

Nugblazer,

Thank you for your time and advice it is really appreciated .

Me and my family will be there for a week. I am really thinking about sticking with 24-70mm and 70-200mm I haven't decided on if I am taking the flash (580EX) and I am looking for a "travelers tripod" any suggestions?

Thanks Again.

ChatKat

Paradise Point on St Thomas
I am sure that you can take a ferry over to St Thomas - there is a lot to see at St Johns - but time to go to St Thomas as well. There is a rainforst and a lot of diving and snorkel opportunity. Sunsets are brilliant in the Carribbean. Take a zip lock bag big enough to put your camera in - cut a hole for your lens so you have rain protection - it does that a lot (Rainforest!).


It took this with the 70-200 on the 5D in December....Paradise Point
on St. Thomas - looking toward St. Johns and over Charlotte Amalie Harbor's Havensight Dock.

Andy

Don't forget to overexpose on the beach:
http://blogs.smugmug.com/pros/2005/12/04/weather-report/

JayMurphy

Thank you everyone...

Andy wrote:

Don't forget to overexpose on the beach:
http://blogs.smugmug.com/pros/2005/12/04/weather-report/

Thank you everyone. I am really looking forward to this vacation :ivar it is long over due. I did put up another post about what gear (how much) I should be lugging along with me. This is what I have decided:

30D (of course - w/o grip)
24-70mm 2.8L (w/hood of course)
70-200mm 2.8 EX (w/hood & collar)
580EX w/Stofen diffuser
APO Teleconverter 2.0 EX DG
Vari-ND Filter (77mm)
Polarized Filter (77mm)
Manfrotto 055MF4 tripod w/322RC2 head (looking for a "travel tripod" - Any suggestions)
Spare Batteries for flash and camera (x4), Lens cleaners (wipes, brush, blower)
Memory Cards (CF)
All in a Slingshot AW200

Any additional comments and/or suggestions would be appreciated

J.

ChatKat

Sounds pretty good to me
I think you have a pretty good travel kit set up for that part of the world. Only thing you might consider would be something on the wider end but of course that depends on your style. One of my friends said today "Shoot Wide and you can always crop out what you don't want" . If tropical foilage is your thing a macro lens could be good too. There are a lot of flowers etc. as well to shoot with all the humidity - they are breathtaking.

JayMurphy wrote:

Thank you everyone. I am really looking forward to this vacation :ivar it is long over due. I did put up another post about what gear (how much) I should be lugging along with me. This is what I have decided:

30D (of course - w/o grip)
24-70mm 2.8L (w/hood of course)
70-200mm 2.8 EX (w/hood & collar)
580EX w/Stofen diffuser
APO Teleconverter 2.0 EX DG
Vari-ND Filter (77mm)
Polarized Filter (77mm)
Manfrotto 055MF4 tripod w/322RC2 head (looking for a "travel tripod" - Any suggestions)
Spare Batteries for flash and camera (x4), Lens cleaners (wipes, brush, blower)
Memory Cards (CF)
All in a Slingshot AW200

Any additional comments and/or suggestions would be appreciated

J.

JayMurphy

ChatKat wrote:

I think you have a pretty good travel kit set up for that part of the world. Only thing you might consider would be something on the wider end but of course that depends on your style. One of my friends said today "Shoot Wide and you can always crop out what you don't want" . If tropical foilage is your thing a macro lens could be good too. There are a lot of flowers etc. as well to shoot with all the humidity - they are breathtaking.

I am thinking about getting the Cannon 17-55 2.8 IS (Just gotta luv the fast glass) want to trade in the kit lens (17-85mm 4.5-5.6 IS) that came with the camera. I think that should be wide enough for scenic shot, yes? I usually carry the 24-70mm on my camera 90% of the time but I would love to try something wider. I am pretty comfortable with the 24-70mm. Still getting use to the shallow DOF of my 70-200mm especially when shooting macro's. I am really looking forward to it all ...

Any advice on graduated filters for sun sets or sun rise?

ChatKat

I don't ususally use filters other than a CP. The 24-70 is my favorite on my 5D - Yes, I too lke that fast glass, although I bought a 24-105 and have been using that for carrying around a bit. I do like the 24-70 better too and the 70-200 2.8 is terrific too. I use a 50 2.5 macro a lot but not on the 30D - bought the 5D because on the 30 it was too long on my old 20D

JayMurphy wrote:

I am thinking about getting the Cannon 17-55 2.8 IS (Just gotta luv the fast glass) want to trade in the kit lens (17-85mm 4.5-5.6 IS) that came with the camera. I think that should be wide enough for scenic shot, yes? I usually carry the 24-70mm on my camera 90% of the time but I would love to try something wider. I am pretty comfortable with the 24-70mm. Still getting use to the shallow DOF of my 70-200mm especially when shooting macro's. I am really looking forward to it all ...

Any advice on graduated filters for sun sets or sun rise?

Kory Lidstrom

JayMurphy wrote:

Any advice on graduated filters for sun sets or sun rise?

GND filters are are permanent part of my camera bag. They take a little getting used to, but once you have them down, they're a godsend. They are far better than using HDR, IMO, because they let you get it right THE FIRST TIME -- IN CAMERA. Less time editing on a computer means more time for shooting.

Make sure you get good quality GND filters. Singh-Ray is the way to go, IMO. Yes, they're expensive, but worth it.

For starters, I would recommend a 3-stop hard and a 2-stop soft. Those two are the ones you'll use the most. Don't forget to buy a cokin P style holder for them.

Check out these links to learn more:

http://www.singh-ray.com/shawarticle.html

http://www.singh-ray.com/grndgrads.html

This link is a good place to buy stuff:

http://www.2filter.com/index.htm

JayMurphy

Singh-Ray Filters

NugBlazer wrote:

GND filters are are permanent part of my camera bag. They take a little getting used to, but once you have them down, they're a godsend. They are far better than using HDR, IMO, because they let you get it right THE FIRST TIME -- IN CAMERA. Less time editing on a computer means more time for shooting.

Make sure you get good quality GND filters. Singh-Ray is the way to go, IMO. Yes, they're expensive, but worth it.

For starters, I would recommend a 3-stop hard and a 2-stop soft. Those two are the ones you'll use the most. Don't forget to buy a cokin P style holder for them.

Check out these links to learn more:

http://www.singh-ray.com/shawarticle.html

http://www.singh-ray.com/grndgrads.html

This link is a good place to buy stuff:

http://www.2filter.com/index.htm

NugBlazer,

Yes, my Variable-ND filter is a Singh-Ray I have taken a few shots with it and I am looking forward to giving it a good work out.

I have considered getting there polarizing filters (LB - Blue Gold) do you have any or does anybody have experience with either of those? As per your advice I will give the singh-ray graduated ND filters a try .

I have read a lot of good things about Sing-Ray and hopefully with practice I can produce some photos half as good as some of the ones I have seen .

Mr_Mojo

I've was on St. John's last year and am going again in October, we rent a house on St. Francis Bay...a great place.

My suggestion is to take a point and shoot camera, swim trunks, some snorkle gear, sun screen and a Visa for the duty free alcohol.

Just Relax and buy some post cards!

:slurp

Here's my gallery for St. Johns: http://ellaweb.smugmug.com/gallery/2207785

JayMurphy

Got the graduated Filter

JayMurphy wrote:

NugBlazer,

Yes, my Variable-ND filter is a Singh-Ray I have taken a few shots with it and I am looking forward to giving it a good work out.

I have considered getting there polarizing filters (LB - Blue Gold) do you have any or does anybody have experience with either of those? As per your advice I will give the singh-ray graduated ND filters a try .

I have read a lot of good things about Sing-Ray and hopefully with practice I can produce some photos half as good as some of the ones I have seen .

Nugblazer,

I ordered the filters you suggested and they came in the other day (3 days left!! I can't wait, can't wait... ) . Anyway, what would you suggest be the best metering method to use with the filters? Should I use the "spot metering" and get a reading from the sky then land and then insert the appropriate filter (2 stop or 3 stop), or should I use matrix metering?
The current plan is to use either AV priority (so the camera can adjust for any "sudden" changes in light) or manual...

noeltykay

Make sure you take a picture of Trunk Bay...there is a perfect spot to do this on the way from St. John over the hill....if you take a shuttle over they most certainly will stop at the perfect point...I have an image archived somewhere...I used to go to St. John/St. Thomas every year at the end of June through the 10th of July.

If you do get over to St. Thomas...make sure you spend a day on Megan's Bay...perhaps one of the most tranquil beaches in the world! Also, make sure you try conch fritters and a "Pain Killer".

Most of all...SUNSCREEN....and enjoy!