4x5 in Las Vegas Strip?

[kwy290]

I'm traveling to the WPPI show in Las Vegas next week for work and after much debate I decided that I'm going to bring my 4x5. I always try to bring it with me when work is paying for my travel expenses.

I have never been to Las Vegas and I was hesitant at first just because the masses of people and the difficultly that comes with shooting large format around people. I did rent a car for one night too, but I don't really know how much that will help me out with getting around the strip, but I was hoping to find somethings off the strip.

Anyway, I plan to shoot towards my on going series American Consumerism www.keithyahrling.com (http://www.keithyahrling.com) Does anyone have any suggestions on photographing there in general and maybe specifically towards my series?

Also, other experiences people have had would be helpful too.

Thanks!

[Richard M. Coda]

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=35379&id=100000711616732&l=f69beac1a3

I was there Thanksgiving week. Took the 4x5, 8x10 and 11x14 with me, and my lowly Fuji S2 (because my daughter took my D300 to Germany :mad: ). Didn't take the 8x10 or 11x14 out of the case... too cold and too windy. But did manage to dust off the 4x5 a few times. Last 7 images in the above link are 4x5. Didn't rent a car... the Strip is very walkable if you are in decent shape.

[lenser]

You might contact Charles Farmer at Charles Farmer Photography. He's done several workshops in Vegas and may have some insights to offer.

[jp]

You don't really need a car for the strip, but you might want to use it to venture out of the city if you have time. I was there about a decade ago and found the visitors there to be a polite and pleasant group, and things were really clean everywhere and seemed to be safe.

[Bob Kerner]

I was there last April and shot a bunch of HD video. Not as conspicuous as a LF camera, but not exactly a point and shoot either. I had no problems. Most people didn't seem to care what was going on around them.

I'd give careful thought about wandering too far off the strip. It gets relatively desolate pretty quickly and cab drivers advised me to stick to the busy areas where people were less likely to take an inappropriate interest in my gear. My wife and I walked to the Atom Bomb museum about 1.5 miles from the strip and encountered a couple of dubious characters.

FYI: picture taking inside a casino (near the gaming area) is mightily frowned upon! I met a couple of pleasant guards within seconds of taking the camera out of my bag.

[kwy290]

Thanks everyone, after doing a lot of research on google maps, I think that there is enough for me to photograph on the strip by just walking. And there is a sky train that can take me to different parts of the strip very quickly. Hopefully it all works out..

[Richard Raymond]

Keith,
On getting around: Use the bus system that runs up and down the strip. The monorail system runs to the east of the strip and is not always close to the strip, especially at the north end. Taxi's are easy to get at any hotel. In Las Vegas it is not allowed to get a taxi "on the street". For your photo series there is an open air mall on the east side of the strip just south of the Paris Hotel that has shops, etc. Also, the New York New York casino has an area that can be photographed from the outside that has bars and shops that could prove interesting. As has been mentioned previously it is very difficult to do any kind of setup inside a casino gaming area. Many of the larger places have gardens, etc where one can photograph. The big mall on the strip is a possibility but check with security first for anything other than quick digital shooting. There is also the shopping area by the Stratosphere that may fit your vision.
Ric

[Jack Dahlgren]

I'm traveling to the WPPI show in Las Vegas next week for work and after much debate I decided that I'm going to bring my 4x5. I always try to bring it with me when work is paying for my travel expenses.

I have never been to Las Vegas and I was hesitant at first just because the masses of people and the difficultly that comes with shooting large format around people. I did rent a car for one night too, but I don't really know how much that will help me out with getting around the strip, but I was hoping to find somethings off the strip.

Anyway, I plan to shoot towards my on going series American Consumerism www.keithyahrling.com (http://www.keithyahrling.com) Does anyone have any suggestions on photographing there in general and maybe specifically towards my series?

Also, other experiences people have had would be helpful too.

Thanks!

I don't have experience with LF in Las Vegas, but I did take a bunch of night photographs with a DSLR and was not inhibited by guards at any point. I work quickly without a tripod though.

As regards to your series:

I don't know that Las Vegas fits with your consumerism series except superficially in terms of bright colors. I looked at your portfolio and I'm starting to wonder if I am reading it correctly. Are we supposed to be shocked that stores are actually trying to sell stuff? I find myself looking at that wall of drinks and thinking, WOW, look at all that color. Shops have always endeavored to attract attention and this is not something unique or new with big box stores. Street carts and shop fronts throughout the world all try to do the same thing. In fact, some of the shots make the big box stores look practically anemic compared to shopping districts in places like Hong Kong, Tokyo, Istanbul, etc. But despite the loving attention you give to these displays, and the enthusiasm which went into constructing them, your words seem to repudiate them.

So, when you talk about extending your series to Las Vegas I wonder what the message will be. Certainly the techniques of salesmanship are on vivid display in Las Vegas so if you are a documentarian there will be something to see there. Mostly people are what people do. I find Las Vegas to be a rather sad place because a number of sad things happen there. But there are many who find it a place of celebration. I'm trained as an Architect, so I find the way it is designed (and not designed) to be interesting in its own right, but I don't think most people are all that interested in that. I guess my only suggestion is that Las Vegas is more about people than things and if you can capture that, you will have done well.

[kwy290]

In terms of how Las Vegas fits into my series, it is a mecca for over consumption and consumerism, there aren't many places that are so saturated with it so the message would be exactly the same. How it fits visually, beyond color, is the scale of the architecture, the repetition, and the products. My style of shooting and how I photograph will be a strong link between the older images and what I plan to shoot.

Also, the M&M and coke stores seem to be a good place to start to find what I'm looking for, I mean do we really need stores dedicated to the selling of different colored chocolate candies and high fructose corn syrup drinks??

[Gem Singer]

The answer to your question is "hell yes we do"!

In Los Vegas (and elsewhere), judging from the present state of the economy, anything to make a legal buck is okay.

That's what the capitalistic system in the USA is about.

If you don't like capitalism, move to China, Cuba, or North Korea.

Your photographs aren't going to change the system.

[ignatiusjk]

What type of 4x5 do you have? If you have a field camera you should be alright but if you have a monorail it might get you into some trouble.Hotels are very security driven and don't like any intrusions.Go to a hotel called "The Cosmopolitan" you can get a decent arial shot from there fifth flooor balcony.

[patrickjames]

Vegas is about entertainment, not about consumption. The consumption that goes on there, well, you will have a difficult time taking photographs of it especially with a view camera. Vegas is also just like every other city on earth once you get two blocks away from the strip. I think you have bought into the myth of Vegas. The reality isn't quite the same as the advertisements.

I have to echo Jack's comments above as well. I looked at your images and I am kind of scratching my head. I understand when Gursky attacked consumerism with his 99¢ images et al., but your images don't seem to have a direction to me. I am not seeing the consumption.

[Frank Petronio]

I actually found Keith's work coherent and interesting as a book or online slide show. Imagine if we had such a detailed document of consumerism circa 1900 or 1800?

It's also commendable that he got access to these big box stores with a large format camera if I assume all his shots are 4x5.... I think Walmart and the other stores, at the PR level, is self-aware of the gaudiness and grossness of how their stores could be portrayed if an objective photographer were allowed free rein.

I think his only questionable choice is to start with "Dump" when what he should do is hold that one back until the end. It's not that compelling a photo visually and it reveals his cards at the beginning, so you already know his opinion of it all. I prefer to manipulate the viewer into arriving at this opinion more subtly, so they think they came up with it themselves ;-)

Most socially conscious work falls into the "preaching common sense" category whether it is showing animal cruelty or consumerism or battered women or drug abuse... It's hard to make an impact when there is so much work out there showing us our sins, so perhaps the next step is to find a new way to break through? Perhaps show the impact and aftermath of our ways, or better yet, offer an alternative to compare.

See you ought be going to North Korea to shoot their stores ;-)

But sure, just go to Vegas. The guards are polite because they deal with so many crazies so all they will do is ask you leave. I'd just work real fast and be a guerrilla, maybe pretend you're a foreigner lacking English skills haha.

[Colin Corneau]

I'm pretty sure if you can walk around with (a lot of) liquor, on the street, anywhere you want anytime you want...you can find a way to make this work.

Interestingly, I didn't have a problem taking photos in casinos when I was there for NYE 2011. I was quick, used small gear but still...in any event, you'll have plenty to see and portray outside. Or, even inside facilities but outside the actual gambling areas.

I'd agree with the suggestion of a field camera (or even a Speed/Crown Graphic) to work quicker.

Very best of luck to you.