Interesting areas to photograph in Tucson

Going to be in AZ for a couple of days and staying about an hour from Tucson. Wondered if there are any good sites for photography in that area that anyone can suggest?

Will you have your own vehicle? What kind and which direction from Tucson?

Mt Lemmon
Sabino Canyon
Saguaro National Park East or West
Madera Canyon
Las Cienegas Conservation Area
Etc
More suggestions available with more of your details. Some of these are fee areas but if you have the National Parks pass you're good.

We will have a rental car. Where we are actually staying is in Florence, which is NW about an hour, I believe.

Ok, so areas south of Tucson might make for a long drive.
From Florence, you can also head north. West on Hwy 60 will take you to the Superstition mtns, Lost Dutchman state park, and the road out to Tortilla Flat. Unfortunately we are in a drought, this area would have tons of wildflowers.
East on Hwy 60 to Globe has some interesting landscape and expansive views.
Mt Lemmon and Sabino Canyon are both good areas, but would involve driving all the way through Tucson. That does take a little time.
Saguaro West is an easy jaunt off the I-10 for some desert scenery. Madera Canyon is south from Tucson near Green Valley, birdwatcher place.
Las Cienegas is a grasslands area, they are trying to restore to historic conditions. Wide views, lots of open sky, some old ranch buildings, maybe pronghorn antelope. Main road thru south is dirt but almost as good as a lot of paved city roads.
San Xavier Mission is just off the I-19 south side of Tucson. Bright white Spanish colonial mission, can get some beautiful shots against the sunset.
All depends on what you like and how far you want to drive. Also as mentioned, long drought and bad fires last year, so some areas won't be at their best.

duckster wrote in post #19199515
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Going to be in AZ for a couple of days and staying about an hour from Tucson. Wondered if there are any good sites for photography in that area that anyone can suggest?
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hey, Duckster!

I plan on spending the better part of April in the Tucson area. . It is a photography trip, with no objective other than taking nature and wildlife photos.

I have been doing a ton of research on southern Arizona, in preparation for this trip. . My research is aimed primarily at reptile and amphibian opportunities, but when researching these critters, I come across a lot of information about the habitat they live in. . This means that I am incidentally picking up a lot of info about places in that area like national parks and wildlife refuges - places that typically offer good photography opportunities for landscapes and so forth.

I will be glad to share anything I find with you, if I think you would be interested.

One place I know of right in Tucson is the Desert Museum:

https://www.desertmuse​um.org/about/faq.php

The museum is open to the public, but there are a few COVID restrictions in place. You can find details on the website link that I posted above.

I'm not sure how many good photo opportunities are available right there on the grounds of the museum, but I figure that a visit to the museum will help me learn a lot about the Sonoran Desert, and that the more I know about the natural history of an area, the better photos I will be able to take while there.

Here's a link to a video someone made about a visit to the museum:

https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=PdhSPRjeC4M

I plan to stay near the Buenos Aries National Wildlife Refuge, about an hour south of Tucson. . Here are a couple videos on the refuge:

https://www.youtube.co​m …g-XkVAqrhZXIpRxGD&index=​1

https://www.youtube.co​m …g-XkVAqrhZXIpRxGD&index=​2


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Thank you both for those suggestions! Very helpful. I will have to get online and check some stuff out.

I think Tom mentioned this, but San Xavier Mission truly is a neat place to photograph. I was there several years ago when they were doing interior renovations. Not being Catholic, I'm not dialed in on the do's and don'ts of mission behavior other than respectful, but it was beautiful inside and out when I was there. Being from the east, and non-Catholic, seeing it brought memories of old missions I'd seen in movies. Truly a memorable place for me.

Not sure how COVID may impact access.


https://www.sanxavierm​ission.org/


https://www.google.com …fo100!7i8704!8i​4352?hl=en

one suggestion I didn't bring up, but was reminded of after kicking back at a local park for a couple hours...

AZ is dry, very dry. The humidity right now, late afternoon, is 6% or dewpoint of 3F. Very dry. So, make sure you have water and make sure you drink it. You will be sweating from heat but not realize because it evaporates instantly. Water, sunscreen, chapstick, maybe eyedrops especially if you wear contacts, and water.

I've lived in the area for quite a few years, so can maybe help out if you have some specific questions.

duckster wrote in post #19199570
We will have a rental car. Where we are actually staying is in Florence, which is NW about an hour, I believe.

A great scenic drive to see the real AZ:
From Florence, North on 79 to Florence Junction.
East on 60 to Superior
South on 177 to Winkelman (from Winkelman you can keep going south to Tucson if you wish)
North on 77 to Globe
West on 60 back to Superior and then Florence Junction.


Between Superior and Florence Junction is the Boyce Thomson Arboretum State Park
https://www.btarboretu​m.org/

In Tucson:
If you like aircraft the Pima Air & Space Museum - one of the largest non-government funded aviation and space museums in the world. Fully open during the pandemic and there's about 300 aircraft.
https://pimaair.org/

More aircraft:
Just north of Tucson is Pinal Airpark:
https://www.azcentral.​com …wly-opens-gates/70499204/

There's also Saguaro National Park in Tucson. Two parts, one on the east side of Tucson and one on the west.
https://www.nps.gov/sa​gu/index.htm

Great reminder as we are coming from the Great Plains and the weather is certainly different

Thank you for the specific directions. That is very helpful to have a plan/route in mind.

I would guess that the landscape lends itself more towards wider angle lenses? I usually use my 18-135 USM as my travel lens

Sabino Canyon:

https://www.fs.usda.go​v …nado/recarea/?r​ecid=75425

Lou

Thank you for that link!

dangermoney wrote in post #19199796
A great scenic drive to see the real AZ:
From Florence, North on 79 to Florence Junction.
East on 60 to Superior
South on 177 to Winkelman (from Winkelman you can keep going south to Tucson if you wish)
North on 77 to Globe
West on 60 back to Superior and then Florence Junction.

Going back and reading what I wrote the part of this route that's the real AZ is
Superior->Winkelman->Globe->Superior.

12.2 miles south of Superior is the turn-off for the Ray open-pit copper mine.
https://nancygarrett.n​et …ok-affords-awesome-views/

Florence to Superior is just okay.