Travelling to USA

Hi. I'm travelling to the USA for the first time and was wondering if anyone could give me tips on some place to check out.

First I'll be travelling around some of New England - Between Boston and Concord ma, as well as travelling up the coast to Penobscot Bay area. Will also be having a look around Cape Cod.

Then to New York City - would love to know where to get good city shots without having to charter a boat or a helicopter (cuz that aint an option), also any tips on street scenes. oh and city night scenes too...

Dropping into Washngton DC for a day - are there any tips for photographing monuments?

Then to San Fransico for a little bit - again, what are the interesting photo spots?

I'm hopefully going to be getting an ultrawide before I go, and am still looking into a prime for lowlight, but at this stage have a 450d with IS kit lens,

If you have an idea for a location in the areas I'm travelling thru, you can give me the name of the town/area, or in the case of the big cities a street locaton.

Any help is much appreciated.

ps, any advice on problems I'll encounter would be cool too, ie I hear there are still limits to where you can take a backpack in New York, and are there places/situations where tourists can't/shouldnt photo?

Definately get an Ultrawide and practice with it. There are going to be a lot more people here than Australia, a lot more little towns close to each other and the cities, in the case of New York, has half as many people in one city than all of Australia, so be ready for that.

Overall, the laws here say you can shoot anywhere outside in public and shoot anything, including people. In general, the concept is, if it's in public, there is no expectation of privacy, you can shoot it. Some building, inside, may not allow shooting, some places will, but won't allow tripods, other places it might not be safe to carrry a nice camera in the open, as it might get you mugged.

In the northern US, it will be getting cold soon, already is at night. Wear a loose coat and keep the camera inside it if it looks chancy, even a loose light weight coat will hide what you got nicely and won't make you sweat.

As to what towns to look for, all of it will be new and different for you, so just be ready. In New England, get down to the water somewhere. And for monuments, you will need the UWA, and I suggest getting a Tokina 12-24, and buy it when you get to New York and drop in to B&H. Only $400 new here.

What to do in NYC depends upon how much time you plan on spending there and when. I was born and raised in Brooklyn. If I was visting for the first time I would check out Times Square, Rockerfeller Center, Central Park. If you'll be here before Oct 12 you can visit Governor's Island. You can catch a free ferry from Battery Park and access is free to the island. Governor's Islans was a US military base until the mid-90's. There are 2 forts on the island and plenty of other photo opportunities. Some other things you might want to see is Yankee Stadium The new stadium opens next year and the hold one will be demolished. Send an email if you have other questions.

Tips for DC - Get to the monuments at sunrise. This will afford you a chance to shoot without hundreds of people between you and your intended subject. If you go down to the mall you can walk to most of the monuments from there. Since you have limited time you might want to look into a company called Washington Photo Safari's. They di walking tours for photographers in DC. It is run by photographers. (No I am not associated with them in anyway.)

Mike

I always tell people going to San Francisco to make sure they take the Alcatraz trip including the audio tour inside. Then there is always China Town and cable cars.

Hello zetomenon;

Well, my first tip, since you're going to be covering soooo much photogenic ground, is to make sure you have PLENTY of storage available. Take at least 4 x 4GB cards, and a portable backup drive would be good if you have one...

Next; I travel extensively to the USA, always take my kit, and NEVER encounter any problems! Normal rules apply... Just don't flash around stuff of obvious value in areas which are clearly poor; but outside of that, I don't even think about it!

And I can vouch for B&H : It's a photog's heaven!

As for locations; you'll be over-burdened with options...

Boston : Make sure you do "The Freedom Trail" & The Waterfront. Old Boston is very pleasant... The Freedom Trail will take you to ALL points of interest...

Cape Cod : Is do-able in a day from Boston, but two days is a much better option, specially if you want to go all the way out to Provincetown - worth while... Hyannis & Chatham are specially pleasant.

The Maine Coast up to Penobscot is just LOADED with opportunities... The percieved wisdom is to drive past the southern resorts (maybe except for Kennebunkport) and head straight to Portland & North. ALL of the peninsulars from Portland up to Bar Harbor are WELL WORTH side-trips... If you have the time, push North to Bar Harbor from Penobscot... Acadia National Park is worth the effort.

As for NYC; rumour had it that backpacks were NOT allowed on the trip to Liberty; but I was there in June and EVERYBODY had backpacks ! (I left mine at the hotel & regretted doing so all day!) For other shot-tips, just check-out New York City posts in the Urban forum here...

San Francisco : Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Pier 39 & Fisherman's Wharf, Coit Tower, Ride a Cable Car, Embarcadero, Lombard Street, Nob Hill, Sausalito (take the ferry across the bay) & Union Square are the highlights... Out of town - head for Napa Valley or Lake Tahoe if you have the time...

Hope that helps;

Cheers;

Lee

zetomenon wrote in post #6181815
Hi. I'm travelling to the USA for the first time and was wondering if anyone could give me tips on some place to check out.

First I'll be travelling around some of New England - Between Boston and Concord ma, as well as travelling up the coast to Penobscot Bay area. Will also be having a look around Cape Cod.

Then to New York City - would love to know where to get good city shots without having to charter a boat or a helicopter (cuz that aint an option), also any tips on street scenes. oh and city night scenes too...

Dropping into Washngton DC for a day - are there any tips for photographing monuments?

Then to San Fransico for a little bit - again, what are the interesting photo spots?

I'm hopefully going to be getting an ultrawide before I go, and am still looking into a prime for lowlight, but at this stage have a 450d with IS kit lens,

If you have an idea for a location in the areas I'm travelling thru, you can give me the name of the town/area, or in the case of the big cities a street locaton.

Any help is much appreciated.

ps, any advice on problems I'll encounter would be cool too, ie I hear there are still limits to where you can take a backpack in New York, and are there places/situations where tourists can't/shouldnt photo?

Dude, you're gonna miss the good stuff in the Rocky Mountain middle of the country.

Hey, the only way to really do America is by car. We invented car travel and we got it right. America was designed around individual travel, there are roads everywhere. The American highway system is the largest single construction project ever built by man. Even the China wall is puny by comparison.

Too bad all the gas is running out.

canonloader wrote in post #6195490
Hey, the only way to really do America is by car. We invented car travel and we got it right. America was designed around individual travel, there are roads everywhere. The American highway system is the largest single construction project ever built by man. Even the China wall is puny by comparison.

Too bad all the gas is running out.

If only we could tap into George W Bush....

With any luck, the OP will come after he's gone.

lkb-28 wrote in post #6187987
San Francisco : Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Pier 39 & Fisherman's Wharf, Coit Tower, Ride a Cable Car, Embarcadero, Lombard Street, Nob Hill, Sausalito (take the ferry across the bay) & Union Square are the highlights... Out of town - head for Napa Valley or Lake Tahoe if you have the time...

Also add Golden Gate Park, the Legion of Honor, and for the GG Bridge, there are SEVERAL angles to take those photos. You may also want to venture to the top of Twin Peaks.

canonloader wrote in post #6195490
We invented car travel and we got it right.

Sorry Ol' chap, much as I hate to admit it, the French have that honour. They had a road vehicle by 1769.

DunnoWhen wrote in post #6195899
Sorry Ol' chap, much as I hate to admit it, the French have that honour. They had a road vehicle by 1769.

I didn't say we invented steam train travel by road, I said car travel.

In Wash DC, head down to Mt. Vernon