Q about filters, sky, and exposures

[Noni]

I have the wonderful opportunity to get out to Zion National Park next week. I suspect I will be shooting all day long, which means midday, strong, hard light. And from what I can see by on-line stuff, some of the canyons can ONLY be shot during the day because of their depth/height (meaning the sun only lights up one side of the canyon for a short while during the midday).

So I was wondering, in my newbie exhuberance, what I can do about my awful tendency to blow the sky during the day. Is there any tips you'd be willing to give so that I don't get blown sky or underexposed canyons?

Also, is there a specific filter I can use which will help me to get that glorious blue sky?

And lastly, what sort of exposure should I use if I get lucky enough to have a cloudless, clear night sky to do some star shooting? I'd like to see if I can get those trails...but I'm not sure exactly how. Long, long exposure, but what about the other settings? Speed of "film" and so forth? And yes, it will be on a tripod.

Thanks in advance; this photography thing is a whole lotta fun, but boggles my poor non-technical mind something fierce.

Best-
Noni

[UncleDoug]

I have the wonderful opportunity to get out to Zion National Park next week. I suspect I will be shooting all day long, which means midday, strong, hard light. And from what I can see by on-line stuff, some of the canyons can ONLY be shot during the day because of their depth/height (meaning the sun only lights up one side of the canyon for a short while during the midday).

So I was wondering, in my newbie exhuberance, what I can do about my awful tendency to blow the sky during the day. Is there any tips you'd be willing to give so that I don't get blown sky or underexposed canyons?

Also, is there a specific filter I can use which will help me to get that glorious blue sky?

And lastly, what sort of exposure should I use if I get lucky enough to have a cloudless, clear night sky to do some star shooting? I'd like to see if I can get those trails...but I'm not sure exactly how. Long, long exposure, but what about the other settings? Speed of "film" and so forth? And yes, it will be on a tripod.

Thanks in advance; this photography thing is a whole lotta fun, but boggles my poor non-technical mind something fierce.

Best-
Noni

Soft and hard edge split neutral density filters for sky blowouts.
http://www.singh-ray.com/grndgrads.html

Polarizer for the blue.

[etaf]

http://luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/blended_exposures.shtml