Need landscape advice for Alaska trip

Hi there guys and gals! I am fortunate enough to be heading to Alaska for a 7 day cruise in about 3 weeks and need some advice on shooting landscapes both from a cruise ship and from a moving train. We are going to take the White Pass railroad train trip excursion and having never shot from a moving platform I need some advice on camera settings and lens selection. I have a 17-40L, and a 28-75 to choose from for my landscape shots and a 100-400L for my wildlife close-ups. Being a portrait kind of guy I am unsure of how to set up my 5D mkiii to shoot from something that is moving down the tracks. I am guessing I will need a faster shutter speed than you would normally use for scenery shots and perhaps a higher aperture number to get more depth of field? Being a total noob to this type opt photography I am looking for any and all info to help me get some memorable shots. I never shoot in auto mode so camera settings are not a problem for me...just need some suggestions. I will also be shooting from the balcony of our cruise ship. Thanks for any and all input!

I went on the same trip you're about to have for my honeymoon a few years ago - awesome trip. A couple things I learned that might help:

-As with any landscape, you'll want to be around f8-f11 to maximize DOF and minimize diffraction so this will impact your shutter speeds (more on this below). Although, if your focus distance is longer like it will be from the ship, you might get away with larger apertures.

-From the ship, longer focal lengths are much more useful than shorter ones unless you're taking picutures of the interior of the ship. You just end up with SO much water otherwise. You'll be better off using your longer lenses and stitching to get 1 panos or 2 x 3 stitched landscapes.

-While taking landscapes from the moving ship, I would suggest making sure your shutter speed is at least 1/100 (more is better, especially if you're closer to shore or using a telephoto) to avoid motion blur so this might require you to bump your ISO quite a bit for sunrise/sunset. You'll want faster yet if you intend to freeze your foreground while shooting from the train. Use image review at 10x on a couple photos (both in the foreground and horizon) to make sure you're fast enough for the situation.

-From the train, you may not be able to freeze the motion in the foreground completely depending on the speed of movement, light and composition. If this is the case, you might want to just roll with it and include the side of the train cars in front/behind you to help the viewer understand the motion.

-Most of all, have fun - I recommend the zip line courses...those were a blast. Kayak tours also stand out in my memory.

I thank you for your input and I was thinking along the same lines you mentioned....but even thinking I would need higher shutter speeds than 1/100. I never thought about needing the long lens off the ship but if they are further away from land than I thought they would be, then you are right about trying the stitching for a panorama. I don't think we will have the time to get the zip lines in but we will definitely consider it. Where did you do the zip lines?

Point-n-shoot-n wrote in post #16856667
I thank you for your input and I was thinking along the same lines you mentioned....but even thinking I would need higher shutter speeds than 1/100. I never thought about needing the long lens off the ship but if they are further away from land than I thought they would be, then you are right about trying the stitching for a panorama. I don't think we will have the time to get the zip lines in but we will definitely consider it. Where did you do the zip lines?

The shutter speed is really dependent on how wide you're shooting and/or how much foreground you have - I guess I was trying to set rules when there really aren't any. 1/100 is plenty for that vista in the distance but maybe not for the pier closer to the moving boat. And, it may not be enough for a 400mm stictched pano. The most important part is to be aware of it and if upon chimping you're getting motion blur you know the shutter isnt fast enough.

I think we did the zip lining in Ketchikan.

Thanks again for the replies. Did you post any of your pictures from the alaska trip on this forum? I would love to see some of what you got!

No, unforunately that trip was before I really go into photography. I didnt have my website for hosting and the pictures are buried on an external hard drive somewhere. sorry!

I was on that train last year. They will let you stand outside on the platforms between the cars. Fantastic ride. I used a 24-105L on a 60D on the train ride and mostly a 400 5.6L from the ship. I envy you. I wish I had had the 6D I have now for better landscapes. If you get a chance also take the train ride from Seward to Anchorage. It's even more scenic. And that's saying something. You can stand outside between cars on that ride also.

You might try having somebody drive you in a car while you take some practice shots out the window in the open countryside to get your camera settings. Especially if you have a road in your vicinity that is next to a big valley like the train ride. I don't think the White Pass train goes more than 15-20 mph. It rocks back and forth a lot. The Seward-Anchorage train probably hits 30-40 mph. You're going to have a great trip.

hulgar wrote in post #16875650
You might try having somebody drive you in a car while you take some practice shots out the window in the open countryside to get your camera settings. Especially if you have a road in your vicinity that is next to a big valley like the train ride. I don't think the White Pass train goes more than 15-20 mph. It rocks back and forth a lot. The Seward-Anchorage train probably hits 30-40 mph. You're going to have a great trip.

We won't make it to Seward or Anchorage on this trip since our ship doesn't visit either of those ports and we have no ground transportation other than the ones we will be taking from the ship. Unfortunately there are no valleys in florida either..thanks for the thoughts though!