We usually avoid cities in our travels since my husband and I both prefer the wilderness and less crowded spaces. We are always trying to get away from the people!
But on our way between the sand dunes in California and the Valley of Fire in Nevada, we decided to stop in Las Vegas since the RV club we belong to has a resort there.
We didn’t want to get anywhere near downtown with our big truck though so we drove in and parked in the big lot at the Stratosphere and took the bus in from there to photograph some night lights.
Our first stop was the hotel New York New York.
Please click the images to view larger versions.
I really wanted to get an image of the traffic in motion in front of the Statue of Liberty and it looked like there would be a good perspective from the pedestrian overpass.
Unfortunately there was a grid like fence above the railing on the overpass making photography difficult. My tripod was useless because I had to put my lens right up to the fence to shoot between the wires.
It seems to me there was also something else in the way if I took the photo from a standing position. So I tried my best to get my feet solidly on the ground while resting my elbows on my knees and pressing my camera to my face to hand hold the long exposure. It’s not as sharp as I would like, but given the circumstances I think I did ok!
This image is a half second exposure at f/14 ISO 1250. I don’t usually go below 1/100th of a second hand held.
Next time I’ll have to try street level but I liked the idea of the cars moving directly below me.
Next up, Paris…
That’s an impressively sharp image for being handheld for half a second, Anne – well done!
Thank you very much Laurie!
Gorgeous, Anne! The lighting is fantastic! 🙂
Thanks Erin, I appreciate that.
It’s unusual to see an image of Las Vegas by day. But that is a very effective one. The colours and the geometry almost make it look ‘plastic’ which in a kind of way it really is.
Hey Andy, I took that first image during twilight. You’re right, the place does look plastic because it is 🙂 Thanks for your comments!
Great picture of Las Vegas! Can’t wait to see your pictures from Valley of Fire. Love that place. We have been at Echo Bay for two months now so we visited VoF several times.
Hi Joan, Thanks for the compliment! I can’t wait to get to the Valley of Fire images, it was an amazing place. I haven’t been to Echo Bay though, I’ll have to check that out next time.
You are much steadier than I…I use a plastic chain, the decorative kind you get at home depot. I have a 1/4-20 eye bolt screwed into the threaded hole on my camera. I attach the chain to the eye bolt, raise the camera to the level I want and step on the chain…makes a nice sturdy support for panning and some shots of the kind you’re doing here. And it’s light weight.
Wonderful job, thanks for sharing.
Hi Dennis, I have heard of such a technique but I’ve never seen anyone do it. It makes sense though if you pull up on the camera then it cannot move up and down. Then you only have to worry about side to side. Hmmm… I like the lightweight part! Thanks for your visit and comments, always appreciated.
Nice photos and I’m not surprised these are as clear as they are. With the IS in that lens and good technique I’ve seen great results. I have a 2sec waterfall exposure that worked out under these circumstances, though I certainly would rather use a tripod!
2 seconds!!! That’s amazing. I usually only go 1/100th hand held. I did try some longer exposures, but they came out soft. I would rather use a tripod too. I love my tripod 😉 The IS in that lens is excellent. Thanks for your comments Michael.
Forgot to mention…Ethel M Chocolate Factory. Not only do they have chocolates but they have Nevada’s largest Botanical Cactus Garden. It’s free and well worth a visit. The address is 2 Cactus Garden Drive in Henderson.
Wow, chocolate factory AND gardens to photograph? That sounds like a day well spent 🙂
As a local, I am impressed with your photo. You must be very good at holding your breath. That half-second exposure resulted in quite a sharp Statute of Liberty. Thanks for showing me a view of “the Strip” that I had not considered.
Tanya
Hi Tanya, thank you so much, that means a lot to me! It’s hard to come away with good shots when you have a limited amount of time and I know I appreciate it back in Victoria, BC when I can go to the same location again and again. I imagine in a case like this you, being a local, would already know there’s a fence up there making it almost impossible to shoot through so you would probably go for ground level. It was challenging to say the least!
Las Vegas is quite i side show especially after photographing landscapes Anne. Very nice images despite the challenges.
Oh yeah, a side show alright. It was like a circus. I was still a little shocked after the super loud dune buggy thing but at least there was space in the dunes. It certainly takes awhile to get used to being around so many people again. I prefer the wilderness 🙂 Thanks for your visit Len.
Had to come by for a closer look at this great shot. 🙂
Vegas is a wonderful city for photography with all of the architectural styles and colorful lighting.
These really came out nicely, Anne. May have been a challenge for you but you did very well.
Thank you very much Jimi. It really was a challenge for me. Just being around all the people was a challenge let alone the photography! Thanks for dropping by.