First Time in Utah

[nray]

Hi.

My wife and I are celebrating our 30th anniversary this September 23rd by taking Amtrak out to Salt Lake City and then renting a car. I have never been out west, my wife has. I am a novice LF shooter. (4x5)

I have been reading the current threads about shooting in Utah and after researching a little, feel overwhelmed at all that is available in that beautiful area. I was going to drive southeast toward Moab then Monument Valley and ending up at the Grand Canyon. We will be staying in hotels. Like I said, I feel overwhelmed and need a plan to shoot what I can in the course of around 7 days. It feels like it's going to be an overload of beauty to capture. I know I need to pick some spots. But, which ones? We also just want to enjoy the sights together. We will probably end up in Las Vegas to fly back home. So, I need a plan so I can feel relaxed and comfortable during the trip.

Would appreciate any advice.

Thanks guys.
Norm Ray

[PBrooks]

I'm not sure going from Salt Lake to Moab and then down and around to LV in 5 days is going to be relaxing. But if you are taking that route before you get to MV take a drive through the valley of the Gods. I would get the travel books, can't remember who by but I'm sure someone will suggest these books also. Have fun no matter what, you couldn't have picked a more beautiful scenic drive. My wife and I set out on what we thought was going to be a 2 week honeymoon in area, well we didn't make it home for a month and a half.
Good luck!

[John Jarosz]

Is there a reason you want to go to Salt Lake City?. The train is scheduled to get in at 11 PM and it will probably be late. You'd have to get a hotel in the middle of the night, and still not get much rest.

If you want to go to Moab, I would get off Amtrak at Grand Junction Colorado (at 4 in the afternoon). Plenty of rental cars and the drive to Moab is quite short. You could also get off at Green River, but that is the middle of nowhere and you may have difficulty finding a car.

From there you could pick up advice on destinations as I did in my recent thread:
Southeast Utah

John

[rdenney]

Five days is too short to try to see all of what there is. I would recommend seeing well what you can see in five days, and leaving the rest for a return trip. I've been to the Colorado Plateau at least a dozen times, and still haven't been everywhere by any means. Don't underestimate the scale of the place.

Moab provides many opportunities that minimize driving time from the nearest hotel. From Moab, you can easily visit Arches National Park, and the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park. If you include Dead Horse Point State Park and a drive through the La Sal Mountains, you've done five days easily and still not been lazy about it. Moab is close enough to Arches to follow my preferred plan, which is to go into the park at first light, spend several hours, come out and poke around town during the middle of the day, take a nap to get through the hottest part of the day, and then go back into the park for the late afternoon and sunset. The light is more photogenic early and late, and you'll avoid being parched in the middle of the day. Like all the parks in the area, there are no services once you get past the visitor center. Arches is relatively small by Utah standards, and it still takes an hour to drive from the gate to the far end of the park road.

And alternative is to spend the five days at Zion and Bryce, or at Bryce, Escalante, and Capitol Reef. Save the Grand Canyon for another trip--it's a long drive from Salt Lake City and that area deserves its own trip. Don't underestimate the distances out there. When I lived in Texas, the first (VERY LONG) day was driving from Austin, Dallas, or San Antonio to Albuquerque, which is already on the eastern edge of the Colorado Plateau. The second nearly as long day was driving from Albuquerque to Moab, with maybe a quick stop in Monument Valley or Canyon de Chelly. A trip from Moab to Capitol Reef is a half day of driving--the roads are not straight. Getting from Capitol Reef to Cedar Breaks on the western edge of the plateau takes another day.

My next recommendation is likely to be scorned by present company, but I'm going to say it anyway and then you decide for yourself: Don't take the large-format camera on the first trip, especially a trip of only five days. I have several reasons for recommending that. The first is that good photos from that area require advancing beyond mere awe and being able to really see what's there with time to sort out your response to it. Otherwise, it's just the same stuff you can buy in the gift shop postcard rack, except that those photos will have been made advantage of ideal light by locals who know when to be where. A visit to the Tom Till Gallery in Moab will reveal just how hard it is to break new ground in that area. Buy one of his prints.

My second reason is that on the first trip, you are becoming acquainted, and the pictures should be of the snapshot-at-a-family-reunion variety. I believe that using the large-format camera requires a deeper understanding. How frustrating would it be to spend a precious half a day on one subject, only to discover that the real photo was just around the next corner? If you compile a list of photos recommended by people on the Internet, you'll be seeing with their eyes rather than your own.

So, do the first trip with small or medium format, and use those pictures as a learning experience for the next trip. Your wife will appreciate it, too.

One thing I'm sure about: You will want to go back.

Rick "who hasn't been back in six years and that's TOO LONG" Denney

[John Kasaian]

Try the trout at the Road Creek Inn in Loa!

Aside from that, don't try to shoot every thing in Utah in a week---it is overwhealming and you'll be doomed from the outset.

My advice: plan to shoot one or two areas, shoot to your heart's content and then pack your 4x5 away and just enjoy scouting the rest of your trip (unless the serendipity factor kicks in!)

Q: Which areas? A: What is your fancy? Utah has landscapes ranging from the pastoral to natural phenomenon, plus archeological and historic sites. Even the lesser known attractions are fertile subjects that can yield great photographs if you do your part.

Have fun!

[nray]

Thanks for your responses.

John, great advice. I'm looking into maybe stopping in Green River. (The Grand Junction stop said I'd have to take a bus there for some reason??)

Rick, you also gave some great advice. That is exactly what I am feeling. I want it to be a relaxed trip with my wife, but worrying about getting great shots won't help that. I think what I will do is bring my camera along and take some shots but mostly shoot 35mm. That way we can absorb the beauty together and still plan to come back someday.

[nray]

Try the trout at the Road Creek Inn in Loa!

Aside from that, don't try to shoot every thing in Utah in a week---it is overwhealming and you'll be doomed from the outset.

My advice: plan to shoot one or two areas, shoot to your heart's content and then pack your 4x5 away and just enjoy scouting the rest of your trip (unless the serendipity factor kicks in!)

Q: Which areas? A: What is your fancy? Utah has landscapes ranging from the pastoral to natural phenomenon, plus archeological and historic sites. Even the lesser known attractions are fertile subjects that can yield great photographs if you do your part.

Have fun!

Yes....that sounds like a good plan. That's what I'm going to do. Thanks.

[John Jarosz]

(The Grand Junction stop said I'd have to take a bus there for some reason??)

Grand Junction is listed as a regular train stop. Maybe you were thinking of Glenwood Springs or Colorado Springs.

I haven't actually taken this route, but that's what the schedule says.

john

[nray]

Grand Junction is listed as a regular train stop. Maybe you were thinking of Glenwood Springs or Colorado Springs.

I haven't actually taken this route, but that's what the schedule says.

john

For some reason it won't stop on the date we want to go. It will stop there a few days later though. I thought that was kind of odd. I figured they made stops at all the stations along the way. Actually, I had all ready had made reservations a few days ago. Hoping now we can get off early.

[John Jarosz]

Norm:
At this point, I'd call Amtrak and talk to someone directly.
john