Modnar Loc: Batley' West Yorkshire, UK

My wife and I fly from the UK to Boston in a weeks time. Our vacation will take us to :Cape Cod; Martha's Vineyard; then through the White Mountains to North Conway. There are some trips on the itinerary one is on the 'Notch Train' and another on the Mount Washington cog railway. We then return to Boston to do some whale watching.
Our interests are wildlife, Landscape and Railway photography.
We have two queries:
1) What sort of clothing will we need?
and
2)Cameras: We both have Nikon P900s and I have a Canon 7D MkII with a wide variety of lenses ranging from Wide angle (10 - 20 mm) through a range to a Tamron 300mm. We don't want to carry too much but want what we do take to be adequate.

All and any advice will be gratefully received.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

For clothing you will need your standard everyday type cloths, long pants for when you are away from the ocean and shorts for when you are at the beach areas. You absolutely must bring sweaters and a good winter jacket because it can get real cold up on Mt. Washington, any time of the year. Weather is quite variable that time of the year, it can be nice one day and nasty the next but, since in a weeks time it will still be summer, albeit the end of summer, the ocean will still be fairly warm, but, as I said, weather can change from day to day. Expect warm days, when the sun is shining, and chilly evenings.

As for cameras, your P900 is going to be your long distance shooter with its super zoom but it likes a lot of light and it's fairly heavy so, leave one at home. Your 7D II will do the job quite well in the places you need to use higher ISO'S. I'd bring 1 lens to cover the wide shots, one lens to cover the intermediate shots, and one to cover your long shots. If you have extra cash to spare, I'd get a EF 28-300 f/4.5-5.6L zoom and only bring 2 lenses, a wide angle and the 28-300. I've got one and I use it just about every day. If you don't want to buy one, they are a bit pricey, lease it for the trip. It's probably the ultimate Canon travel lens.

Enjoy your trip; I'm looking forward to seeing some of your photos.

repleo Loc: Boston

Welcome to New England. Sept / Oct is the nicest time of the year to visit the Cape and Islands - (try to get to Nantucket too). Traffic has eased off and the locals are full of chat. The weather here in Boston is in the low 80's at the moment and quite humid (shorts and short sleeves weather). You may find it slightly uncomfortable walking around if it is still like this next week. However the weather is quite variable this time of year and normally we would be donning sweatshirts and jeans. The Cape is usually about ten degrees cooler and the Islands a little bit cooler again - all in all very comfortable. As you move up into New Hampshire and especially Mount Washington it will be cooler but shouldn't need more than a heavy sweater or light jacket. Most of the region is in drought so rain is overdue, but no signs of it yet. Also, we have had heavy infestation of Gypsy Moths which have left some areas completely stripped.

You may be a bit early for the fall foliage colors. This link has some predictions for this years foliage - https://newengland.com/today/seasons/fall/weekend-foliage-planner-new-england-fall-trips/
As you move up into NH you will see more color. The local TV stations usually give foliage reports as part of the weather forecast. If you are still here the weekend of Oct 8,9,10 you can catch the cranberry harvest and its amazing sights.
Camera / lenses? I do mostly landscapes and find that I am using a 18-105 mm on my Sony A6000 (crop). I probably shoot most in the 18 - 28 mm range.
I have put up several posts of themes from the Cape all summer. If you click on my name and look for my topics you will find them. Bear in mind I am only a beginner but you might see some places you like. If you want any more details you can PM me.

Jay Pat Loc: Round Rock, Texas, USA

Sounds like a great trip!!!
Pat

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

If you are caching the train from North Conway (NH) get there early. Lots of oportunities for locomotives on the turnataable etc. A standard zoom (15-85mm?) will do fine for most of your photography, I used a 24-105 on a 5D for most of mine.

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

Stop by mount Washington hotel.

Step into a river. Don't forget a tripod.

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ABJanes Loc: Jersey Boy now Virginia

If you have time I would head over to the coast of Maine. Walk the Marginal Way in Ogunquit, ME Have some ME Lobster & some NE Chowder too.

Modnar Loc: Batley' West Yorkshire, UK

Many thanks to all the UHHrs who replied with such good advice . We will heed it and pack our bags accordingly.

Leila

The weather will be in the 70's F. I recommend you check with Yankee Magazine's site https://newengland.com/seasons/fall/foliage/live-fall-foliage-map/ to get updated on where the fall color is. Because of severe drought conditions this year, the foliage color has been delayed. So, head North! As a native New Englander, I wish you a lovely trip.

Carlmk Loc: Naples, FL & Boston, MA

Whale watching.

Here is a suggestion. Take the whale watching boats out of Provincetown (P-Town). That is where all, for the most part, the whale watch boats go. P-Town is at the tip of Cape Cod and is a very interesting town in its own right.

It transformed itself from a Portuguese fishing village to an art colony. It is one of the biggest centers of gay life in the east. Great restaurants, entertainment and art galleries. Everybody is welcome!

Great scenery nearby- The National Seashore Park is there with their sand dunes and world class beaches.

Besides whale watcing there are fishing excursions, sailing, bike trails from the town to the seashore, dune buggy rides etc. etc.

The reason to go whale watching from P-Town is the whales feed nearby. Whale watch boats from P-Town spend more time watching and less time traveling.

Two ways to get there. From Boston take the 90 minute fast ferry early and take the late ferry back to Boston. You can take all of it in in one day.

From Cape Cod you can drive. No part of the Cape is more than an hour or so from P-Town. If you plan to stay overnight you must have reservations. In season two nights minimum are required. Enjoy!

Grnway Loc: Manchester, NH

You're in Yorkshire, so pack the same stuff that you would for a weeks outing home: sweater, rain jacket, sturdy shoes, thin gloves, thin skull cap. Avoid big bulky jackets. You may only need them once and the same result can be achieved with layers.

As for where to shoot for what you want, there have been many great suggestions already posted.

Enjoy your visit to our beautiful part of the country!

welcome!

Szalajj Loc: Salem, NH

Clothing for your trip should include both hot weather and cool weather clothing. We just experienced one of the hottest and muggiest days of the summer yesterday. The temperature hit 93 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday, with very high humidity.

Mount Washington is at the highest elevation on the east coast. They have already had temperatures down to the freezing mark, and it can get windy up there. Either a late fall or winter jacket for that outing is in order. Otherwise, you should bring lots of layers, especially one that will really break the wind. For the whale watching trip, similar clothing, as you will experience sea breezes. If you will be doing any walking around Boston, dress in layers that you could fokd and stash in a tote bag as it warms up, but might need again as the sun sets.

Lenses for the Mt. Washington should be your longer lenses, as you would be shooting great Vistas as far as landscapes go. You might want your wide angle lens for interior shots of the cog railway car. Foliage this year is going to be iffy, due to the drought conditions we've been experiencing most of this summer. They say the color might not be as brilliant, and might not stay on the trees very long this year, so timing is going to be critical.

For the whale watching trip, your lens choice will be a toss up. Years ago, the whales always seemed to be way off in the distance, but more recently, the whales seem to take an interest in the whale watching boats, and seem to come in much closer. You do not want to change your lenses out in the open sea air. If your boat has a cabin where you will be out of the wind, that might work. Just be careful of the salt air, and keep the length of exposure as short as possible, and get your caps on both your camera and lenses on as fast as you can.

Cape Cod and Martha's Vinyard have been getting the majority of the little bit of rain that Massachusetts has been getting recently, simply due to the weather patterns that we have been experiencing. It hasn't been much, mainly short length showers, but raincoats might be worth packing, even if they are the lightweight camping or hiking variety that fold up small and could fit into your camera case. They might come in handy for the whale watching trip, or walking around as well.

Could you list your lenses, there would be better advise on which specific lenses you should bring. Also, don't forget a currency converter for you battery charger, and at least one spare battery.

If you should need any camera equipment or service while in the Greater Boston area, Hunts Photo & Video is my personal recommendation. They have a number of locations throughout New Engkand, I use their Melrose location, but they also have one in Manchester, New Hampshire. My sales rep there is Peter Pritchard, his email address is ppritchard@wbhunt.com, the phone # is 781-662-8822. He usually has Thursdays off.

Mary Kate Loc: NYC

You may be a tad early for peak color. However, given the lack of rain you may luck out. If you go to Provincetown on the Cape, you might want to give Ciro and Sals a try for Italian food.

TomV Loc: Annapolis, Maryland

The weather has been mild and should continue to be so during your trip. Mt Washington can get cold but you will be up there for a short period of time so nothing heavy is really required. Shoot quickly. I have used the Cog in mid Sept and was not that uncomfortable. It was sunny though there was ice in areas around the buildings. For a trip like this I would bring whatever equipment you can to cover all types of scenarios. I have a Tamron 28-300 that I put on my Sony a99 (Full-Frame) that served me well when I was in Vermont last year. I would suggest the wide angle for your cropped sensor cameras. Have plenty of memory cards and some spare batteries. I grew up in New England (Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts) and there are more photo ops than you can shake a stick at.

Carlmk Loc: Naples, FL & Boston, MA

P-Town Try The Red Inn especially the late afternoon happy hour. Raw clam bar and other goodies too.