Big Bend advice

[Coelus]

My cousin bought some land outside of Alpine that I'll be going to for three days next month. It'll be primitive camping while we're there and I was wondering if anyone could offer some packing/ gear care advice.
We'll be staying fairly close to a base camp since it's going to be so dang hot. I'll be packing my 20d, tripod, spare batteries, etc. and my kit lenses, but would rent some better glass if it's needed.

[JamesB]

get a really wide angle lens, I rented a canon 10-22 for my spring break trip and loved the results.

im not sure how to keep all the gear cool as I have always keep it with me out on the trails.

take LOTS and LOTS of water. at least 1 gallon per person per day. At the visitor center in Panther junction there is a faucet for free drinking water

James

[kachina]

A few rules of thumb that I follow when I head out that way:

Carry one gallon of water for every 8 hours you plan to be away from base camp.

Make sure your tent is WELL ventilated.

Take a wide brimmed hat, long-sleeved shirts, and light-weight long or convertible pants.

Take lots of CF cards.

I love the desert. Hope you get a chance to stop and enjoy a star party at the McDonald observatory on your way out or back. Oh yes, don't forget your remote shutter release for star trails at night. That area is a pretty nice one for getting great star trail shots. Have a great time.


EDIT: Like James said, lots of water. I got a phone call between writing and hitting submit.

[josphy]

Camp in the mountains where it won't be so nightmarishly hot. Chisos Basin. One of my favorite places. I'll be there mid-July myself in fact.



Big Bend

[arthur]

Also, if you are prone to altitude sickness, take it easy if you go up in elevation. Speaking as one who didn't and paid.

[Daniel Bates]

Definitely take an ultra-wide-angle (I like the Tokina 12-24 myself), and lots of CF cards. And make sure you post the pictures when you get back!

[xseption]

Take a zoom lens if you want some wildlife photo close-ups ... I met a javelina face-to-face and had the wrong lens on (of course I was not worrying to much about lenses when he started acting aggressively)

[shutterdrone]

Watch out for dust in the desert. Changing lenses and, if you don't have a sealed body, carrying it on its strap out side of your pack can result in massive dust infections. Make sure to take a blower brush with you, and inspect your sensor as often as is reasonable.

Echoing what everyone else says, water is more important than anything else (except covering your skin! Even if you have sunscreen on, exposed skin gets hit with a lot of infrared, resulting in IR load and serious overheating w/o sunburn.) the 1Gal/Day typically applies in more temperate environments. I usually add half to 3/4ths a gallon/day for every 10 degrees F over 80F. So, Big Bend in July is a 2+ gallon/day trip for me. Better to shed gear weight and add water weight =)

!c

[Coelus]

Water-check, we'll have about a 15 gallon capacity on hand to refill the canteens and bottles for three of us and we're driving distance to refill that. Exposure-check, I've spend a lot of time outdoors so big hats and long sleeves are normal. As is first aid kit, etc.
CF cards-check, three 2 gig cards, I'll also have the laptop in the truck and a power converter if I need to download.
Super wide-maybe, I'm looking at renting either a Canon 10-22 or a Sigma 10-20 depending on which one I can get in when I need it. Should I get a polarizer for them? They're both 77mm and I wouldn't mind owning a superwide in the future so I could talk myself into the investment.
Also going to get sunset/sunrise times to make sure I'm ready in time for golden hour shots.

[xseption]

Originally Posted by Coelus

Super wide-maybe, I'm looking at renting either a Canon 10-22 or a Sigma 10-20 depending on which one I can get in when I need it. Should I get a polarizer for them?

Yes! There seems to always be a haze, sometimes thick and sometimes thin. The polarizer and early morning seem to produce the best photos ...

[shutterdrone]

Originally Posted by xseption

Yes! There seems to always be a haze, sometimes thick and sometimes thin. The polarizer and early morning seem to produce the best photos ...

If you're into doing b&w - a good IR filter can really cut through haze, or so I hear =)

!c

[Coelus]

OK, so I do like B&W but I usually shoot in RAW and convert. So would a polarizer be more beneficial, or an IR/UV filter given my usage. Here's what I'm looking at:
B+W 77 mm Kaeseman Circular Polarizer Multi-Resistant Coating (MRC) Slim Glass Filter
or
B + W 77mm UV/IR Blocking #486 Wide Angle Slim Mount Glass Filter

It's only a $25 price difference so that won't be a factor, it's a question of which type will do me the most good.

[venchka]

The polarizer will do the most good in the most places. The IR/UV won't do much (or anything) for reflections or turning blue sky bluer.

PS: You got the right brand & quality level of filters. Stick to those.

[JamesB]

I have a great place to go to for sunsets in Big Bend.

Go down to Rio Grande Village (RGV) and take a right at the stop sign. this will take you down past the RV camper area and to a day are use place. park in the parking area near the adobe structure.

then take the trail up the little hill. this trail actually ends over at the hot springs, but once you get up on top you have an amazing view both east and west at sunset.

Looking East
http://www.james-benton.com/igallery...&nw=640&nh=427

Looking West
http://www.james-benton.com/igallery...e=3&imgid=1718

the wife and I love this place. I have never encountered another human up there for sunsets. have seen some critters but no humans.

we would typically get up there 1 hour before sunset to snoop around up top and just enjoy the peace and quiet.

also another gem I just found this year I had overlooked about a dozen times before and is real easy to get to.

its the RGV nature trail in the south east corner of the RGV camp site. I just whis I knew about it sooner. lots of tall grass and water this would make excelent sunrise or sunset location as well
http://www.james-benton.com/igallery...e=3&imgid=3430

James

[JamesB]

I have rented both the canon 10-22 and the sigma 10-20 from rent glass.com

while both lenses are great and do a great job, the canon was actually a tad bit better

James