photo equipment to bring
 

going to zion and bryce last week in april. like to take pictures. for those of you who are photographers out there what do you recommend bringing. have an slr. a wide angle? a telephoto zoom? how far 300, 500. a 100 macro? polarizing filter? any others? tripod necessary? usually use 400 film. trying to keep bring as little as possible, but enough.

any good places around zion or bryce to get film processed?

thanks

I think it depends a great deal on what kind of photography you do and what you use the film for. 400ASA is fine for general photography but it gets a bit grainy for fine reproduction. I usually carry 25ASA, 64ASA, and 200ASA in places like that and then push the exposure if I need to.

You'll have a lot of landscapes so for sure bring lenses for that. If you like to take fine detail of landforms, flowers, etc, then you need macro's. Wildlife most often requires a good long lense or zoom. I always recommend a good quality UV filter to protect your lenses. I also alway carry at least a small tripod and normally a large, high-quality one. I carry a polarizing filter and it works well when photographing relective material such as glass or water. Mine is a rotating filter so I can select the area to be polarized. That works really well when framing the landscape with the non-polarizing side and the sky and clouds with the polarizing portion.

Processing also depends a bit on your goals for your pictures. If you are shooting for personal use and fairly small prints, local processors are fine. If you are shooting for publication, for large sized prints, or with pro or semi-pro slide film, I strongly recommend waiting until you can get it to a professional lab.

I also would remember to bring the basics that many folks forget: extra batteries, lens cleaning paper and solution, a gentle brush with a wind bulb, and something to reliably cover your camera and lens in case of rain. If you can, also carry a small cooler to keep your exposed and unexposed film in. Even in April, Zion could get hot enough to do damage to film left unprotected.

I would certainly take the zoom lens and the polarizing filter. And, if your goal is to "bring as little as possible," then I'd forget about a cumbersome tripod.

My polarizing filter did some great things at these parks. Make sure you are ready when daybreak happens, especially at Bryce. I thought sunup was much superior to sundown for photography purposes.

I disagree about the tripod. It is worth bringing. With the elevaton of Bryce, clean air and views. Night photography is fantastic. You can get some outstanding star shots. There is little to no ground light at the rim, I wanna tell you: It is dark! Bring a flashlight, I like a red or blue lens model for better night vision.

I would expect it will be cold in April, perhaps very cold. I did this in August and was wearing a sweatshirt at night.

I brought my film home for processing. Most of my film photos were taken with 100 or 200ASA film.

While I have not been to the specific locations you mention, they are not that far different from others I have photographed. I would want a wide angle that goes to at least 28mm, but 20-24 would be even better. I would think a zoom that would go to 300 would be fine, but 400 would be great. If you don't have one though, 200 mm isn't that bad unless you want to take wildlife photos. I would definitely take a polarizer. It will give you a nice blue sky and better color in rock formations. Yes, use a tripod. It is generally better to have lots of depth of field in landscape shots, requiring a slow shutter speed to go with the small aperture, especially during the early morning/late evening. A tripod isn't absolutely necessary, but I would probably use one for the majority of my shots there. A photo backback would be a great thing to have if doing any hiking. As for film, I would stay away from 400 for most shots. 100 speed should be fine, especially with a tripod. If you are using a tripod, you could even try some low speed slide film. Fuji Velvia would give you awesome color and sharpness.

thanks for the advice. will probably bring a tripod if room. but leave the 170-500 lens home, heavy for me, takes up a lot of space in carry on. will bring the 28-300, the wide angle and maybe a macro. plus a back up camera in case!

A warming filter would be a good addition. Makes midday colors look a bit better for landscapes. The wide-angle lens is a must. Tripod, even a light one, will keep you from ruining telephoto shots. For travelling light, I'd ditch the 28-300mm (heavy, and less sharp compromise optics) for a single length wide angle 24mm or 28mm, a mirror tele (300mm or 500mm), and a better image quality zoom (range 35-200mm or less). A fast normal lens would be a good addition for low light. Also, 400 speed film will be too fast for daytime sun. At least bring 100 speed for that.