Help! Yellowstone or Yosemite?

[shootinsmiles]

I'm planning a trip this summer, actually June, and need help deciding the final location. I'm coming from Dallas and considering the following trips:

1. Dallas to Estes Park, CO to Yellowstone. Returning back through Arches National Park, Grand Canyon and back to Dallas.
2. Dallas to Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Sequoia National Park, Yosemite. Returning back through San Diego and Tucson to Dallas.

I have 2 weeks to complete the trip and will be camping out under the stars. I really enjoy taking landscape photography but will shoot wildlife when it presents itself but I don't go out of my way for those shots. Does anybody have any suggestions? What about books? Does anyone know of books that identify good shooting locations at the parks?

Thanks,
John

[bigguytf]

If you come to San Diego, go to the Wild Animal Park and take the Safari. Out in a truck for 2 hours with the animals up close.

[joemusic321]

First off, you will not regret going to either destination. I've been to both and my main regret was I didn't have enough time to spend at either park! I think Yellowstone is probably a few hundred miles closer (as the crow flies, so to speak) so, you may have more useful days of shooting due to less driving time.

As to books, I have two. These aren't necessarily the best but just the ones I have and they were both useful to me. One, "San Fransico and Northern California" by Andrew Hudson, has a pretty decent section on Yosemite. The second, "Yellowstone and the Tetons" by Joseph K. Lange, is a good guide to most of the main attractions. Both of these are photography centric.

By the way, if you go the way of Zion, etc., do not miss Bryce Canyon.

[Hikin Mike]

For Yosemite, a must read: "The Photographer's Guide to Yosemite" by Michael Frye. The best $8.95 I ever bought.

I keep it in my camera bag.

[Mike55]

I'm planning a trip this summer, actually June, and need help deciding the final location. I'm coming from Dallas and considering the following trips:

1. Dallas to Estes Park, CO to Yellowstone. Returning back through Arches National Park, Grand Canyon and back to Dallas.
2. Dallas to Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Sequoia National Park, Yosemite. Returning back through San Diego and Tucson to Dallas.

I have 2 weeks to complete the trip and will be camping out under the stars. I really enjoy taking landscape photography but will shoot wildlife when it presents itself but I don't go out of my way for those shots. Does anybody have any suggestions? What about books? Does anyone know of books that identify good shooting locations at the parks?

Thanks,
John


Yellowstone,Yellowstone and Yellowstone. This includes Grand Teton National Park (just to the south) and the AMAZING national forests that surround the park itself.

If you are going to be camping, you need to check out the campgrounds in the area. These pages show you all the actual campgrounds for Grand Teton and Yellowstone:

http://www.parkcamper.com/Yellowstone-National-Park/Yellowstone-National-Park-Camping.htm

http://www.parkcamper.com/Grand-Teton-National-Park/Grand-Teton-National-Park-Camping.htm


There is a bunch of other info as well such as hot spots for photography. Make sure you have a decent sleeping bag. It can get cold at night at 7,000 feet.

It's 20 hours from Dallas to Jackson Wyoming (the site of Grand Teton National Park, and Yellowstone just to the north). So that'sa two day drive. That gives you ten days to explore Yellowstone, Grand Teton and the surrounding national forests. To be honest, I would just do that and skip the southwest. It's too much to fit in. If you are camping, you will have a much more peaceful and enjoyable time staying in one general area for the ten days of non-road time. The Yellowstone ecosystem is really amazing and ten days will really let you soak up the ambiance there, and you will leave a better person because of it.

Besides, when you actually see the Tetons in person, you are not going to want to leave for another park. Very, very few others measure up after seeing the Tetons (Glacier would be one of them, and IMHO goes a step beyond Grand Teton). Plus, when you see all the wildlife that is out there, it really gets your juices flowing in terms of working to get the best shot.

Grand Teton National Park is only six miles south of the Yellowstone border, so any trip to Yellowstone is really a trip to both. There are so many amazing things to see and do in the area. Beartooth Pass is considered the most scenic drive in the U.S. (NE corner of Yellowstone area). The Wind River Range is *outstanding*, and is the southeast arm of the ecosystem. There are endless mountains, rivers, lakes and forests in the entire ecosystem. You could camp in quiet, secluded national forest campgrounds or the more busy campgrounds in the parks themselves.

[shootinsmiles]

Mike55,
Great information. Yellowstone it is the 3rd week of June. I've posted another thread related just to Yellowstone and would love more input based on your knowledge of the area.
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=694199
Thanks,
John

[Digitally_Altered]

I also vote yellowstone, went 2 yosemite this past weekend, its a beautiful place, but does not compare to yellowstone, I prefer the fall there, but lots to see anytime...

[TheFloridaShooter]

Yellowstone................................. Yosemite is great but I like Yellowstone better.

[Exposure101]

I've been to Yosemite many times and still want to go back to take more pictures. Then again I've never been to Yellowstone so I can't comment on it. Either way, I doubt that you will regret going to either one since they're both national parks and are spectacular (with yellowstone having geysers and stuff).

[Randy1213]

Lucky you! I shoot Yosemite a lot and really like it there. Seems to me your Yosemite/Grand Canyon/Sequoia trip may be a bit ambitious for a two-week jaunt, though. If you do go for Yosemite, the photog book recommended above is a MUST. In fact, it has good spots broken down by time of year, so you may want to get the book now and see what's happening in June. That could help you make your decision. You may also want to consider entering Yosemite over the Tioga Pass. That way, you can hit incredible Mono Lake on the way in.

[Hangbot]

For Yosemite, a must read: "The Photographer's Guide to Yosemite" by Michael Frye.

+1!

[GTogs]

I would vote for Yellowstone as well. On your way from Dallas, make sure you spend at least a couple of days in the Estes Park / Rocky Mountain Natrional Park area. It is well worth the stop.

[bps]

Either place is great, but I would probably shoot for Yellowstone. One word of advice: don't try to visit a million places on your vacation. Spend as much time as you possibly can in Yellowstone. You'll actually see more this way...

Bryan

[ADHD426]

Definitely yellowstone, if I am not too late.

[shootinsmiles]

Thanks for all the tips. We have narrowed down the trip to Yellowstone, Tetons, and Estes if time allows. We leave next week and I'm really looking forward to the experience. Unfortunately, the forecast is calling for rain. I'm hoping their forecast for rain is like it is in Texas where it might rain in the day but 75% of the day is sunny.

We're flexible though and can adjust on the fly if we need to. We might pack up camp and head for Glacier NP or Arches if the rain is too much.

[argyle]

I'm planning a trip this summer, actually June, and need help deciding the final location. I'm coming from Dallas and considering the following trips:

1. Dallas to Estes Park, CO to Yellowstone. Returning back through Arches National Park, Grand Canyon and back to Dallas.
2. Dallas to Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Sequoia National Park, Yosemite. Returning back through San Diego and Tucson to Dallas.

I have 2 weeks to complete the trip and will be camping out under the stars. I really enjoy taking landscape photography but will shoot wildlife when it presents itself but I don't go out of my way for those shots. Does anybody have any suggestions? What about books? Does anyone know of books that identify good shooting locations at the parks?

Thanks,
John

There is a three-volume series by author Laurent Martres, "Photographing the Southwest". Each volume covers a specific area and provides a lot of detail to help you get the right shots. I'd strongly recommend that you get these books prior to your trip, they're that indispensable for landscape shooting. I picked mine up from Amazon quite a while ago and they get a lot of use.

And I second Hikin Mike's recommendation for "The Photographer's Guide to Yosemite".

[ianlti]

what lens is good for yellowstone landscape shots?

[Mike55]

Any lens in the 18-70mm range would be perfect. Yellowstone is w-i-d-e-. A Canon 18-55 IS, 17-55 IS, Tamron 17-50, Sigma 17-70 or Canon 17-40L would all be good choices. I would think the 24-105 IS on FF would be perfection in Yellowstone.

[ianlti]

I read some post saying that UWA lens is very hard to find a subject.