Gear Choices for Big Bend National Park?

Rob-F

Rob-F

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Sue and I will go to BBNP for several days in mid to late March. We will stay in a hotel nearby. I'm going to follow my usual practice of bringing more gear than I can possibly use in such a short time. Here are my thoughts:

I will bring the Hasselblad 500C/M to shoot Velvia, cropped to a 2:1 aspect ratio for projection on my screen of the same ratio. I have 40mm CFE, 50mm CFE, 60mm CF, 80mm C, 100mm CF, 150mm CF. On account of the cropping to 2:1, the widest lenses will get used the most. Any recommendations for which focal lengths should go (40 and 50 definitely) and which could stay behind for this subject? I was thinking to take the 40, 50, 80, and maybe the 150. So I'm questioning if I should bother with the 60 and 100mm. I will leave the SWC behind, as I need to use reflex viewing to compose in 2:1 ratio (I have it marked on my viewing screen).

I will bring the XPAN, but as I have only the 30mm and 45mm lenses, there is no decision to be made there.

The other decision is whether to bring the Nikon system, with D700 and FM3a; or go lighter with my M9 and MP. For Nikon, I have just about every focal length from 15mm to 300mm. I'd like to leave the 300 behind, in which case the longest would be 180mm. And the 15mm would stay home, in which case the widest would be 18mm, unless someone knows a reason why the 15mm would be needed at Big Bend.

For Leica, I have 15mm through 90mm. I would bring a 21 or 24; a 28mm; 35mm; 50mm; and either 75 or 90. I think I want to go small and lightweight with the Leica outfit, and leave the Nikons at home. Comments?

As a rule, I have found that for outdoor photography, 24mm is wide enough. Is there a need for anything wider at Big Bend? I'll bring wider if there's a reason to.

I want to reduce decision-making and confusion while shooting by pre-selecting the best gear, based on the experience of those who have been there, and leaving the rest home. So thanks for any comments you may have!

Oh, yeah: Where are the good places to shoot? And I have a Toyota 4Runner, and can handle rough roads; but may very well take it easy, just bring the wife's Honda, and skip the mountaineering. I've gotten old. So thanks for any and all advice.
 
That's quite a list! I haven't been to Big Bend NP but have traveled a lot through out the west. If you don't want to spend all of your time digging through bags and changing gear, keep it simple. A good tripod and the SWC would be at the top of my list. The Biogon is made for capturing vistas. I can understand being reticent to use a reflex finder but the results should outweigh the inconvenience. In addition, the 500 C/M with the 50,100,150 and some extension tubes if you have them for closeup work. Take the X-Pan and plenty of film. Load a back for the Hasselblad with some T-Max 100 or another slow B&W emulsion, leave everything else home and enjoy your trip.
 
It's the wide open west. Bring gear appropriate for hiking.

And forget the Honda, bring the Toyota! The best spots are off the main roads, you'll need a high clearance vehicle for the primitive roads such as Old Ore Road which leads to Ernst Tinaja, which is an amazing place with lots of photo possibilities.

You can't miss the Window, and Lost Mine Trail, Santa Elena Canyon, Boquillas Canyon, Pine Canyon Trail.

If you like to shoot the night skies, bring some gear for that. Big Bend has the darkest skies in the continental US.

And don't forget to take a dip in the hot springs!

https://www.nps.gov/bibe/index.htm

Also, bear in mind, there isn't really a hotel that is technically 'nearby.' Big Bend is a big place, so you'll need to account for travel time.
 
Word of advice from a Texan. Read up on safety issues at the park before going to isolated places.
 
madNbad said:
If you don't want to spend all of your time digging through bags and changing gear, keep it simple. A good tripod and the SWC would be at the top of my list. The Biogon is made for capturing vistas. In addition, the 500 C/M with the 50,100,150 . . . leave everything else home and enjoy your trip.
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Yep, I want to keep it simple, but without wishing I hadn't left some piece of gear behind! Guess I really should bring the Biogon. I'm not leaving the 40 behind, though.

splitimageview said:
It's the wide open west. Bring gear appropriate for hiking.

And forget the Honda, bring the Toyota! The best spots are off the main roads, you'll need a high clearance vehicle for the primitive roads such as Old Ore Road which leads to Ernst Tinaja, which is an amazing place with lots of photo possibilities.

You can't miss the Window, and Lost Mine Trail, Santa Elena Canyon, Boquillas Canyon, Pine Canyon Trail.

If you like to shoot the night skies, bring some gear for that. Big Bend has the darkest skies in the continental US.

https://www.nps.gov/bibe/index.htm

Also, bear in mind, there isn't really a hotel that is technically 'nearby.' Big Bend is a big place, so you'll need to account for travel time.
Click to expand...

OK, we will bring the 4Runner! I/we have done a lot of rough jeeping in Colorado, especially in the San Juans. Imogene, Engineer Pass, Cinnamon. But I didn't know what to expect at Big Bend. Sue made reservations at El Dorado hotel in Terlingua, the closest she could get to the park. She keeps warning me it's not fancy.

Thud said:
Word of advice from a Texan. Read up on safety issues at the park before going to isolated places.
Click to expand...

Is this about bears and mountain lions? My barber talked about that. Scares me. :eek:
 
I'm a minimalist when it comes to the tools I take when photographing.

When I had my business, at a wedding I would use my Canon full frame digital camera with the 24-70 f2.8 lens for 95% of the photographs I made. I had plenty of backup stuff but never had to use it. I always had an associate photographer who would sometimes change lenses.

My wife and I spent sbout a week in Glacier park with a few photographers and I used one of my old Rolleiflex cameras. That was all I used!

At any rate, my 2 cents.
 
Nothing to worry about with regards to bears and lions. Lost Mine Trail was closed due to bear sightings when I was there last Nov but it's open now. This is more for the bears well being than park visitors. :)

Terlingua has photo ops too.

The primitive roads are bumpy so that means slow going.

If you do bring a lot of gear the view to the Window is just a short walk from the Chisos parking area. This would be a good location for a big tele for example. The hike down to the Window itself is much longer, travel light for that. And take a wide, get close, but don't slip!

I like to travel light so I'd probably opt just for Xpan on the trails.
 
madNbad said:
In addition, the 500 C/M with the 50,100,150 and some extension tubes if you have them for closeup work.
Click to expand...

Fifty to 100 is a pretty big jump for me, with nothing in the middle. I'm thinking of maybe 40-50-80-150, or else 40-50-60-100-150.

As to the extension tubes: What will I find at Big Bend that calls for close distance photography? Flowers? Are there any in March? Or geological formations? I've been looking for a reason to add a 120mm Makro-Planar, so if you know of anything there that would justify the 120, let me know! Maybe I would bring it instead of the 150, and go with 40-50-80-120.
 
The cactus will not be blooming in March. There are some very interesting geo subjects on the Ernst Tinaja trail...
 
When I travel on holiday to places like Big Bend, I like to carry a minimum of photographic equipment because I am on vacation and not getting paid for my shots. Therefore, my choice of equipment would be:

medium format film body
telephoto lens
normal lens
wide-angle lens

small format digital body (used for backup, light meter, and test shots)
zoom lens that covers wide-angle, normal, and telephoto focal lengths

tripod
remote shutter release
handheld light meter
polarizing filter
graduated neutral density filter
 
Rob-F said:
Fifty to 100 is a pretty big jump for me, with nothing in the middle. I'm thinking of maybe 40-50-80-150, or else 40-50-60-100-150.

As to the extension tubes: What will I find at Big Bend that calls for close distance photography? Flowers? Are there any in March? Or geological formations? I've been looking for a reason to add a 120mm Makro-Planar, so if you know of anything there that would justify the 120, let me know! Maybe I would bring it instead of the 150, and go with 40-50-80-120.
Click to expand...
2016 & 2017 have been relatively wet in the big bend region. The desert will bloom. Probably when you are there. Small reptiles too.
Please visit the Big Bend Chat Forum. It is like an illustrated WIKIpedia for the region.
http://www.chisosmountainslodge.com
Wayne
 
Let's tackle this part of it. Would you rather photograph there with a compact Leica rangefinder outfit, M9 and a Film body plus 5 or 6 lenses; or with a more versatile but heavier and bulkier Nikon outfit, with D700, FM3a (or N90s) plus probably 6 or 7 primes plus a zoom or two? Speed and convenience, ultrawide to short telephoto, vs. ability to handle anything from macro to ultrawide to long telephoto, but probably four times the weight and bulk. I will have five days.
 
With that variety of gear you could pick a different set each day :)

Although with the walks/hikes I prefer to travel light. I'd never bring 6 primes on a hike.
 
splitimageview said:
With that variety of gear you could pick a different set each day :)

Although with the walks/hikes I prefer to travel light. I'd never bring 6 primes on a hike.
Click to expand...

No, six primes will not go on a hike, especially if they are Nikkors! At age 76 my hikes are likely to be of short duration, though. Actually I agree with Edward Weston when he said that nothing more than 50 yards from the car is worth photographing! But I can handle two M bodies, a 21mm, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 90/2.8 for 50 yards, maybe even 100 yards! Might even leave the 90 in the car and bring along the XPAN!

Best, Rob
 
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