Washington & Alaska

[smiway]

Well my wife and I are off to Washington & Alaska tomorrow. Spending one week in Nat'l Parks in Washington. Then we're cruising in Alaska for a week. I'm taking my MP with 50mm, 35mm & 75mm lenses & a spare CV R2m body. Also bringing a light tripod and plenty of film. A lot of my friends think I'm nuts not taking a DSLR instead.
Anyone have any suggestions or advice for us?

 

[Bryce]

I shoot a fair amount under a thick forest canopy here (western Washington) and have noticed that very little light reaches the forest floor. Don't leave your tripod home, even with fast film. And lens speed is usually both necessary and useless- so get a good idea how your film tolerates reciprocity.
To give an idea what I mean about dim, I've found scenes under the canopy that need 1/60 at F/1.4 on 400 film. And of course shallow DOF is seldom flattering under these conditions, nor is coarse grain...
At the opposite end of the spectrum is sunlit scenes with snow, which you may well run into if you're visiting the higher parts of the Cascades or Olympics.
Enjoy your visit!

 

[smiway]

Thanks Bryce!

 

[venchka]

I find that photos taken of the evergreens tend to go blue-black. It's almost impossible to get any detail in a mixed spruce-pine-fir forest from a distance. I carry an 81A (very slight warming) filter to counteract the ever present blue-green-haze-clouds-fog. Zip lock bags!

Have fun! Enjoy!

ps: If your friends knew anything they would be envious of your lens collection.

 

[Ben Z]

A lot of my friends think I'm nuts not taking a DSLR instead.

Whether to take a D-SLR is a personal thing, but having done just about the same trip a few years ago, it was a no-brainer for me that I took an SLR setup (at the time I had a Nikon F3 and F4s) in order to get macro and telephoto. I suppose I could've taken a Visoflex and the 400 Telyt and a motor winder but that seemed like more trouble than it was worth. I think you're going to be kicking yourself a lot that the longest lens you have is 75mm.

 

[charjohncarter]

I lived in both places, I would recommend a raincoat and gloves, and maybe a heavy sweater. It can be nice there at this time of year OR it can be just plain cold and wet. You might consider some kind of plastic baggies to cover your equipment. The Olympic Peninsula is wonderful, I hope you get there. Take a picture of one of the many waterfalls and post on RFF. I find that DSLRs have problems with dynamic range in forests if it is a sunny day. The images are too contrasty.

 

[Bryce]

Oh, yeah... The other posts all give good advice. So, a watertight camera bag/ box is a really good idea.
Also, B+W's of evergreens turn out a bit better through a yellow-green filter than a yellow one. The green component helps lighten the trees to a more natural seeming tone to the eye. Just my opinion of course.

 

[Sofa King]

bring your raincoat!

 

[Artorius]

I live here in Washington

I live here in Washington

In addition to the above selections, consider these.

Things to do;
Seattle's Pikes Place Market
Rainier National Park
Gig Harbor waterfront
Bremerton Naval Shipyard
Anywhere on the coast including Ocean Shores
Columbia River
Any of the Boat Marinas
Tacoma

I have been here 20+ yrs., and still haven't had a chance to do it all. You are lucky though, the weather is going to be great this week. Any other suggestions or directions, drop me an email, or PM me if I can help with anything.

By the way, I just read your Bio. There are many places to visit Model Railroads up here. There are also a lot of train yards here also.

 

[smiway]

Thanks to everyone for their replies.

 

[Mark J]

We are currently having a problem with smoke from forest fires here on the Kenai Peninsula, with a little rain. Wider would be nice for some of the scenics. A light tripod is a very good idea. Film can be gotten in Anchorage and the other MAJOR cities, but is quite expensive in the smaller communities. Photo-Wright in Anchorage has a good film selection if you don't want to carry your own. Enjoy your trip and please post some of your photos.