btbg

The two best places for landscape photography that are easy to get to are Valley of Fire State Park and Red Rock Canyon. If you are going to have a high ground clearance vehicle there is also Gold Butte National Monument, which is where Little Finland is. Spectacular place, but a little hard to get to. Just google Little Finland if you want to see some amazing photos.

If you like old cars and buildings then you should check out Nelson. It's a ghost town that is owned by a hoarder. Costs you $20 an hour to photograph if you use a full size camera. Free if you are using a cell phone.

Hoover Dam is also photographic.

In Las Vegas there are a lot of murals and graffiti in the Fremont Street Area. The Fremont Street Experience is also an interesting, though crowded place to photograph. The strip photographs well at night, although tripods are not allowed, which makes photographing it somewhat challenging.

There are also the obvious places such as the Chihuly glass in the Ballagio entrance, the Ballagio's Christmas display and it's fountain. The Volcano up the street from the Ballagio also photographs well at night. Shooting the strip from the top of the Eiffel Tower will cost you some money, but makes great photos. Several of the Casinos photograph well. The Venetian is beautiful inside and has street performers outside during the timeframe when you are there. The Luxor has several places that photograph well. One of my favorites is on the platform for the monorail looking at the sphynx and the pyramid. You will need a wide angle lens and have to be as far away from the sphynx as possible to get both into the same photo, but it can be done.

Properframe Loc: US Virginia

I don't think I saw anyone else mention the Neon Museum. It is just a few blocks east of Fremont Street. They have accumulated the old neon signs from the past. Some are electrified. They have timed tours and a docent tells you the history of the signs and the hotels/casinos. Try to get on the last day tour near dusk and the lights will come on. You have to shoot handheld so dusk provides enough light to get the light glow without need for a tripod. They have a photo shoot once a month. The night tours sell out fairly quickly - I imagine the first night tour may still have enough light to shoot handheld.

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

[quote=Warhorse]My wife and I are heading to Las Vegas for our 30th wedding anniversary, we married at the "Chapel of the Bells".

We will be there December 11th through the 15th. I am looking for must see/photograph locations, thanks for any tips.[/quote

1) Hoover Dam
2) Fountains at Bellagio
3)Freak show on the Blvd

Jsykes

If you private message me I can send you a one week itinerary of photographic sites (plus sample images) for a trip we took late last year

Jrkarra Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

I am planning a similar trip and did some research.
These are in my mind..

https://www.canyontours.com/red-rock-canyon-suv-tour/

https://www.canyontours.com/valley-of-fire-tours/

These might be helpful

Thanks
Sastry

Leland22 Loc: Texas

Zion is only a couple hours north of Vegas. Take an extra day on the trip and go there if you have not. We stay in Hurricane at the Comfort Inn-reasonable compared to the Zion area. If you are lucky, you will get to see Zion in Winter-spectacular.

peekaboo

Just trust your instints.

Warhorse Loc: SE Michigan

"instints" ?

JDefebaugh

As noted in an earlier replied, if you favor landscapes then:
1. Valley of Fire
2. Valley of Fire
3. Valley of Fire

btbg

There is no reason to hire a tour guide for either Valley of Fire or Red Rock Canyon. Both are easy to drive on your own and have a number of clearly marked trails.

You would be much better off to do a little research on your own and then go to the part of either park that is most interesting to you. For example both parks have good examples of petroglyphs, that are unlikely to be on a tour because they either require walking or are considered to be in a sensitive area, so are not advertised. For example across the road from the trail to Mouse Tank in Valley of Fire there is a large collection of petroglyphs that are not listed in any of the park literature. Neither is Kaolin Canyon (some call it pastel canyon) in Valley of Fire, but both features are easy to see on your own.

What matters most in both places is what you are most interested in and how much you can or are willing to walk. Valley of Fire has nearly 500 identified arches and 100s more mini arches, yet only two or three are in the park literature. The way to see both places is do your research and then go on your own.

Vector

I second Red Rock Canyon, Hoover Dam, and the Grand Canyon. Haven't done Valley of Fire or Zion (yet). If you don't mind driving, rent a car as opposed to a tour. Cheaper and you can set your own schedule. I'd recommend visiting (in and out) as many of the casinos on the strip as you can; they're all like their own little village and there's typically somethin worth capturing. In addition to the water show at the Bellagio, there's usually a beautiful garden exhibit inside. Wandering around Caesers (inside and outside) is (or at least was) a photographic treat in the past for me. Lastly, you might want to check out the Wynn. They typically have a nice garden exhibit and some ridiculously heavy metal art. Do a search on Wynn Tulips. Not bad if you have 33 million bucks to spend! Enjoy your trip!

b top gun

Valley of Fire gets my vote with Hoover Dam a very close second. The attached were taken in the Valley of Fire area exactly two weeks ago.................

b top gun

Flew into Vegas with a friend, started at Hoover Dam, spent a day in Sedona, AZ, a day at the Grand Canyon, a day visiting sites of note in the Page, AZ area (I especially liked the Navajo Bridge in the Marble Canyon area), drove U S Rt 89 to Zion, next day went to Bryce Canyon, last full day was at Valley of Fire, stayed at Excalibur and flew back the next morning.

Piraterich

The Neon museum at night is fantastic

(Download)

hj Loc: Florida