North American Loop Vacation in May

[Darkhorse]

My company sort of dangled the carrot of Paris in front of me for a while. I unfortunately couldn't go because I needed to get my visa situation sorted out. I just became an immigrant yesterday, and should get my greencard soon... unfortunately Paris has suddenly become unlikely. That's OK, I've been there before - but I would've liked to have taken my wife.

Plan B. I thought of another vacation plan and I'm pretty excited about it. My wife in I will, in late May, fly into Chicago to see friends and to see the city. I haven't been there since 1997, which is where my love of photography might've been born as I had a half decent Canon and felt free to take some casual shots which, looking back, are the kind of shots you want from your teenaged years.

From Chicago we'll take a road trip to my home town of London, Ontario. My family has long since left the place, and me going there is a rare occurrence. I've always wanted to show my wife my home town. Once I do, I may never go back there in all honesty. I'm not planing to spend a full 24 hours there.

From there we'll go to Toronto. I haven't decided if I want to see anything there... maybe not. Just straight to the airport where we'll fly to...

Calgary. I have cousins in Airdrie, which isn't far so there's another place to stay. Then a nice road trip and tour into the Rockies. I'm not sure how much time we'll spend up there, but seeing the nature up there and maybe hiking some trails would be wonderful and the highlight of the trip.

From the Rockie's we'll probably end up in Kelowna, where my brother and his family live. And from there we'll go to Vancouver where my sister lives. Then from YVR we'll head back to Orange County.

Photography wise, the Rockies are an ideal place. But on vacation I feel less and less inclined to take a lot of equipment. I used to love packing a backpack but in a way it gets in the way of having a relaxing time. I was thinking of taking my s90 along with the filter attachment, and maybe my new Olympus Stylus Epic. Maybe I'll upgrade to the s95? I'd love to shoot some HD video.

What would you do? What would you recommend seeing?

 

[Disaster_Area]

If you're in the Rockies don't pass up the chance to hit Johnstons Canyon. Amazing place and it's not one you have to hike miles and miles to see.

 

[KenR]

Nothing beats Banff and Lake Louise!

 

[bolohead]

I'm heading on an RV trip in March. I'm only going to bring my Canon S95 w/ filters and possibly a Olympus XA loaded with Tri-X. I'm with you on gear while traveling. Less is more.

The HD video from the S95 is fantastic. If you are technically inclined, the CHDK beta for the S95 allows for autofocus when shooting video. Why Canon didn't include this in the firmware is beyond me.

 

[venchka]

3 trips to the Canadian Rockies. My wife & I carried two cameras. I had a Canon EF body & Sigma 24-70 lens. She had a Nikon P&S with a 38-105 lens. That was all we needed. More might have been better in some cases. Overall, we did fine. Oh, both full frame. 35mm film.

Go all the way to Jasper if you have time.

 

[Warren T.]

There is lots to see in the Banff area. We were there at the end of May many years ago. Lake Louise and nearby Moraine Lake were almost done thawing out which made for some interesting pictures. It's a good time to be there. Take a drive along the Icefields Parkway in Jasper National Park to see the spectacular glaciers and falls. If you want to travel light (gear-wise), bring both your S90 and Stylus, and shoot both film and digital. Personally, i would bring a digital with a larger sensor (for the IQ), but if you're bringing a film camera, then you'll be covered (sort of).

Have fun!

--Warren

 

[Warren T.]

Here's a picture of Lake Louise from that trip, taken with Nikon F4s & Nikkor 24mm f2.0:

--Warren

 

[Darkhorse]

Thanks for the comments so far. I was in the Rockies when I was 16 and 19. We didn't do any hiking, really. We just pulled off the road at typical stops. Louise, Morraine, Peyto etc. It'll be good to experience nature outside of the concrete and sunshine of Southern California.

Last year we had our honeymoon in Kauai, and I packed the s90 with filters and an OM1 with some film. I barely used the film camera and it just took up too much space in my bag. The s90 produced great, great images in the mountains, on the beach, in lush Hawaiian vegetation, and under the water. The Stylus Epic being so small, I think I'd be more inclined to use it along with its 35mm focal length (as opposed to the 50mm on the OM1 I packed last vacation).

Video quality being so good, and media storage getting so cheap, it may be time for me to start shooting video, so I'm pondering the 95.