Vegas as viewed by a Canadian

Hi everyone,

I'm in the midst of planning my vacation time in Las Vegas. My plan is to do a street-photography type project while I'm there but am looking for some suggestions as to places to go and see both on and off the strip. I'm not sure if I will be able to do Hoover Dam or the Grand Canyon this time so will be more focused on the city limits.

Originally I was hoping to make PhotoPlus but looks like they moved it to New York. I am going to Las Vegas mid-October. Any other photo conventions I could take part in while there?

Thanks!

-dugrant153-

LV Downtown.

The Strip and even N. Las Vegas are filled with teens and twenty-somethings, often rather freakish, all looking to find a good time! Good for street photography, endless targets of opportunity.

Sad.

If you'd like to vary things a bit to complement your LV street work, Valley of Fire State Park is just an hour northeast of downtown, and has some very distinctive landscape and geology. I was there last month, and found it to be a pretty compelling place, if you appreciate landscape. There's even a slot canyon you can walk though...

Dale

Dont bother. The place is full of drug addicts and mentally unstable homeless people. The rest are drunks, hustlers, hookers, and gamblers. The streets of The Strip and Downtown are dirty, congested, and can be rather scary. I go to LV annually but it is for the swimming pools and restaurants, not photography. I leave my cameras at home.

What's with all the pretentious sounding thread titles these days (almost all of canadian origin too)

Why not just should I go photograph in las vegas............?

calebarchie said:

What's with all the pretentious sounding thread titles these days (almost all of canadian origin too)

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???

I live in Las Vegas... Instead of criticizing your intentions or the city, I'll give some suggestions... Las Vegas is congested. A monopod might be okay, tripods for the most part are not. No photography in the casinos (gambling areas) at all. Fremont has the fun freaky stuff mentioned as well as the drunks.

Unlike Brian I think Las Vegas is relatively clean, as a tourist city, it has to be that way.

I'm unsure why Hoover dam is out, it's relatively close. 1 hr away at most. The suggested valley of Fire is gorgeous to visit as well. Red rock Canyon is nice too!l, and the buffet at red rock casino (which is on your way to or from the canyon) is one of my favorites as it's not overpriced and the food is good.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

I lived in Vegas for the past year, moving back to Cali in Feb. Vegas is a cool town, and I have never even gambled there. It has some grit in the old downtown area, and I have
never felt unsafe...just like any city, you keep a sense of your surroundings. I've shot a lot of street people there...if you want grit, check out the East end of Fremont St...that's where
all of the old run-down motels are and lots of vagrants...kinda sketch, but great photos. If you rent a car, I highly recommend going about 15 min West of the city and check out
Red Rock Canyon...there is a 30 min. loop that gives you some nice views and chances to hike....it's about $8 per car...go early and you may get lucky with killer cloud formations and fog.
Head east of the city on the 215 and it becomes Lake Meade Parkway
and it's a wonderful drive...about $10 to get in the park....you can head out to the Bowl of Fire (45 min's from Vegas)...beautiful Red Rock formations. Further on is the Valley of Fire,
about 55 miles from Vegas and totally awesome...go there in the afternoon and catch the sunset at the Fire Wave in the park.

One thing you might wanna consider is a helicopter ride...there is a sunset strip tour, also a tour that goes at sunset to the Hoover Dam, Lake Meade and then back to Vegas and down the Strip.
I'd suggest only flying with Maverick Helicopters...I used to fly for them, and they have a 100% safety record...A flight to the Canyon takes 3 hours from take off to return...a good one is the "Sunset
Wind Dancer Tour"...don't bother buying the crap video though...you'll get better with your cell phone.

A cool place to shoot the city is from the parking garage at the airport from the top floor...bring a longer lens too.

A great photo store in town is BC Camera on Sahara...it's a pro level store, rents Nikon and Canon gear and sells film, and Leicas! (Call ahead and reserve film, as sometimes they run out).

If you like Indian Food...go to "Mint Bistro" on East Flamingo...it is awesome and authentic.

Hit me up if you have any questions. BTW...a great Hotel is the "M", it's just south of Vegas on the 15...great pool and away from the hectic scene of Vegas, unless thats your thing...the m has great food too.

MattKing said:

???

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i HATE rabbits!

calebarchie said:

What's with all the pretentious sounding thread titles these days (almost all of canadian origin too)

Why not just should I go photograph in las vegas............?

Click to expand...

EDIT
Response deleted...

Toffle said:

EDIT
Response deleted...

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i SAW that.....! Naughty boy....

calebarchie said:

i HATE rabbits!

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I have never seen a rabbit in Nevada. Oh, wait...