Yosemite in May?

[Casey G]

My brother in law is getting married at Bass Lake just a few miles south of Yosemite in May and we are going got make the best of it and stay a full extra week. I’ve never been to Yosemite and will 4 days there to get as much in as possible. It will be me, my wife and out 3½ year old son. We will be driving in from the south entrance.

Any advice on what to do and what not to do would be great, also any tips on what equipment I should take. I want to carry as little as possible.

I have a Nikon D300s, Nikon 17-55, Nikon 18-200 and a Nikon 70-200. I don’t think I’ll need the 70-200 and definitely don’t want to carry it around. Do I need both the other lenses? I’m not opposed t buying a wide angle if I would get a bunch of use out of it.

Thanks for any and all the advice ya’ll might have.

[Wil_Bloodworth]

Casey,

You won't need the 70-200mm. You'll (probably) be shooting at F8 for greater depth-of-field anyway so you won't notice much difference in IQ. Sure, the 70-200mm is FAR superior to the 18-200mm but I highly doubt you'll notice. You WILL, however, notice how much lighter your backpack will be. Also, you'll enjoy the lower end of the focal range on the lighter lens.

You said you want to carry as little as possible... so leave the 70-200mm out completely. Take a tripod if you can... IF you plan on spending some real time on photography. If not, you'll be ok with the VR at F8-ish during the day.

Have fun!

- Wil

[venchka]

May: Waterfalls in flood. Crowded if school is out. You didn't say where you were staying. Up high won't be as crowded as the valley. The 3 1/2 y.o. may prevent you from getting to some of the good vantage points.

Have fun!

[Casey G]

We will be staying at a resort on Bass Lake called "The Pines". We will arrive on Saturday the 15th and leave on Friday the 21st. I'm hoping that school won't be out yet? It's only a 20min drive to the south gate so that won't be bad.

The Pines Resort & Ducey's on Bass Lake

I guess I'll only bring my 18-200; it will be nice to have one bag for my camera and our son! Since he's far from the average 3 year old I hope we get to do most everything. Here's a quick pic of what I mean by not the average. The look on the 5-6 year old kids faces in the neighborhood is priceless.

Thanks for the advice and with the help of a camera and video recorder i hope he'll at least remember some of it.