First time landscape--Haleakala--advice?

Will be going to Maui in a couple weeks and want to give a shot at landscape photography. I'm told Haleakala is a must see and must shoot. I've seen some awesome pictures here already.

Any advice on first time sunrise shooting? Is a ND filter required for early morning shots? If so, which one(s) for early sunrise or sunset shots?


I have a 5d,tripod, 35L, 70-200, tripod and remote and contemplating renting a wider lens.

Thanks

I was just there a couple of weeks ago. I would tell you it depends what type of shot you are looking to get and at what time. I hiked a couple miles into the crater and shot at sunset. I'm not sure you would need just an ND unless you wanted to go for a longer exposure, but I would definitely recommend some GND filters and possibly even some Reverse GND filters. 35mm might be wide enough, I think most of the shooting I did in there was between 28mm-50mm.

Reverse GND, and less than 24mm.

Here's my grab-bag of advice from visiting one time:

If you're going to be shooting from the overlook by the visitor center, be sure to get there very, very early - like 2 hours before sunrise. Keep in mind that the drive is long, and on unfamiliar, winding roads in the dark it will take longer than you might think. It can get quite crowded - think multiple tour buses at once - and you may have a hard time finding a spot for your tripod that avoids people in your shot if you aren't there early.

If you're there with a tripod, expect to have people ask you for photography advice (why aren't my iphone photos in near-darkness coming out right?).

Bracket and/or watch your histograms, because the light at sunrise changes fast, especially if there is changing cloud cover (as there was when I was there).

A GND or combining bracketed exposures is a good idea as stated above.

Some nice starscapes can be had when it's still too dark to easily see the crater with the naked eye.

It will be cold and possibly windy, so dress accordingly. (It's not really all that cold, but people who show up in their beach clothes can have a bad time.)

I would rent a wider lens if I were you, but it depends on what types of images you want. I used a 14mm as well as a 24-105, and I felt that the 14mm was wider than I needed, but the 24mm wasn't wide enough. A 16-35 or 17-40 would be a great option.

I posted a few pictures in this thread:
https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1344579