Where to photograph in LA, Niagara, Toronto, Rome, Malta & Crete?

Hi

I will be going overseas in April and plan to take a SLR camera with
me. I will be visting Los Angeles (6 days), Niagara Falls Canada side
(1-2 days), Toronto (1 day), Rome (2 days), Malta (7 days) and Crete (2
weeks).

I will be with my wife (who is not into photography) and my 4 year old
son so I will not have time to waste to look for ideal photographic
opportunities whilst on our travels.

I will be buying a Canon Digital SLR (Most likely a 20D or its
replacment if there is one coming by March). I have a 28-135IS lens,
70-200 f2.8 lens, 16-35 f2.8 lens and a 2 times Tamron teleconverter. I
will also get a Macro Lens soon. As I am limited for space, I am
thinking about only taking my 28-135lens and my 2x teleconverter or
buying a standard zoom lens to 300mm.

First of all, can anybody provide me with suggestions as to where to
photograph in the above areas, what to look for and the best time to
photograph (ie sunset or sunrise depending on their location). Although
I will be taking my family, I should be able to take early morning and
late eveing photos as well as during the day whilst doing the tourist
thing with my family.

Also, What lenses do you suggest I should take with me?

Thanks

DM

 

You said you are going "oversees". I live there and I never knew I
lived oversees. I always thought YOU lived oversees.

My machine is giving me trouble posting. I tried twice earlier, with
no luck. I found lots of links for you and then it didn't post. Ugh.
So I'm not putting in the links because maybe that is causing the
problem (but I don't think so). I think it is "operator error".

For Niagara Falls, Google the following.

Niagara Vistors Bureau. There are a few links. If it says "Buffalo",
that is about 15 miles south on US side

CA side. Maid of the Mist. Great boat ride. But protect the camera!
Marine Land. amusement park for the kid
Niagara on the Lake.
Helicoptor ride Good photos from the air. High shutter speed due to
vibration

For the US side
Access to the base of the falls.
There is an aquarium. A little small, but lots of fish in tanks.

CA side has the better view!
Sometimes it is lit up at night, but mostly in the winter.
Both sides have casinos, but they don't allow cameras.
There is a whirlpool a ways below the falls. It is okay

For the US side, google
Red Coach Inn. Best meal of my life.
Old Fort Niagara

I am convinced that the reason that Niagara Falls was the Honeymoon
capital of the world is because everyone took a week-long honeymoon and
there's only about 2 days of stuff to see there!.

If you want to cross the bridge, check out the requirement before you
go. It is an international border. Security is tighter now -- I think
they are afraid of Canada invading.

Toronto
checkout www.bluejays.com if you are in town, check out the
bluejays v. New York Yankees or Boston Red Socks. The schedule is at
the site. It is the All America Sport in Canada
Also Google Harbour Front or Harbor Front or HarborFront or however
they spell it. It is downtown Toronta. You might find a concert or
something at night.
Google Skylon. You can go up in it. I think it has glass floors.
Pretty cool. The Skylon defines the skyline of the city.


A boat ride after dark would give good photos of the city, reflections,
etc.

Also, there some good architecture downtown

 

Of your list, I've only photographed Niagara Falls, in 197?. We were
tent camping from VA to MN to MI to Sudbury, Ontario then around Great
Lakes (ex-wife and super dog). The best shots I got were from the
Skylon Tower--looks like it's still there!

http://www.skylon.com/index2.html

We went through Toronto, but didn't stop--I thought it was a nice city
in passing, but as cash-strapped tenters, we weren't "into" cities.


Paul B.
www.scienceteacher.biz

 

You said you were going "oversees". I am over here, so does that mean
I live "oversees". Hmmm. I always thought YOU lived oversees.

Some links:
Buffalo is just south of Niagara Falls USA.
http://www.buffalocvb.org/home.html
http://www.niagarafalls.ca/tourism/index.asp
http://www.niagarafallstourism.com/
http://www.niagara-usa.com/

The kid will love http://www.maidofthemist.com/

On the American site, you have access to the foot of the falls by the
bridge or at Goat Island -- the island between the falls.

On the US side, to the north is http://www.oldfortniagara.org/
On the CA side is http://www.niagaraonthelake.com/

South of Niagara Falls is an amusement park called marineland. pretty
cool.

In NF USA is an aquarium. Okay, not great. But lots of fish.

I haven't been to Toronta in years. Check out the Skylon. It's a big
tower. It is photographed a lot and people shoot picture from it --
especially at night if the Blue Jays are playing. If I remember right,
it has a glass floor. Pretty cool.

Check out www.bluejays.com. Nothing like seeing the All American sport
in Canada (cheaper too).
schedule is at
http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=tor&m=4&y=2006
Games on 18th/19th and 21st/22nd will be good. If you go on the 18th
and 19th, you tell the people you meet in LA "I'm going up to Toronto
to watch the Yankees play". You will need a BIG lense.

The area of Toronto know as Harborfront (or maybe Harbourfront) is
supposed to be pretty exciting. You might find something interesting
going on at night.

If you can arrange it, a nighttime boat ride out of Toronto harbor
might give some nice pictures. You might get lucky and even get some
type of sunset over the city. The sun will rise over the water.

There is also some good architecture in downtown Toronto.

For Americans going to Niagara Falls, it (and Fort Erie) are the
capital of Lasik eye surgery. If you wear glasses, you can get your
eyes zapped while you are there. I had mine done in Fort Erie.

There are also casinos in Niagara Falls -- both sides of the border.
No cameras are allowed, but it'll keep your wife occupied while you run
around taking pictures.

On the US side, had best meal of my life at http://www.redcoach.com/
It is downtown near the falls.

By the way, if "oversees" includes North America, Europe, and Africa;
where are coming from?

 

Over an hour after posting, it finally arrives. I thought it got lost
in cyberspace.

 

Just a little correction on the tower in Toronto... It's Not the
Skylon... It's the CN Tower. Skylon is located in Niagara Falls.

 

You are, of course, right. At least I wasn't thinking "Space Needle".


I am suprised no one from out west hasn't thought of all things
California.

 

I was in Rome for a couple of days last year, there is alot to squeeze
in especially if you are site seeing and not just taking photographs.
The Rome Tourist Board has a recomended itenary if you are there for 48
hours which worked pretty well for me (assuming you want to visit the
main sites).

http://www.romaturismo.it/v2/en/main.asp

If you want to see the Vatican (you will not be allowed to photograph
the Sistine Chapel) get there very early before it opens to try and
beat the queue. The same with the Colloseum.

Have a great trip, Abi

 

Articles posted to usenet newsgroups via the "Google Groups" web-forum
interface are prone to delay before they appear in that interface; as are
articles posted using a normal news-server. They do usually appear fairly
quickly on the normal news-servers though; good servers can manage a lag
of only a few minutes for articles posted anywhere in the world, and
seconds for those posted to the same service.

 

The Skylon Tower is in Niagara Falls. In
Toronto they have the 1700 ft tall CN
Tower. Fabulous view day or night as
long as the weather is clear. And yes,
it has a glass floor which gives a
fabulous view straight down - a lot of
people are scared to go out on it. You
can Google CN Tower for more info.

Yes. An early evening boat ride through
the Toronto Islands and along the
harbour will provide some excellent
landscapes of the city.

 

Why no posts from California? Any thoughts?

 

The Toronto Zoo is worth seeing. Many animals are in open settings:

http://www.torontozoo.com/

Many sites also in downtown Toronto, including Chinatown:

"When Toronto's New City Hall was built, the Chinese area was
displaced to the district around Dundas St. W. and Spadina Ave. It has
grown into a frenzied, boisterous neighbourhood that can easily be
mistaken for Hong Kong."

http://www.torontotourism.com/Visitor/WhatToSeeAndDo/Neighbourhoods/Chinatown.htm

http://www.where.ca/toronto/article_feature.cfm?listing_id=45

 

Considering he is traveling with a child, isn't there some Medieval
Faire that is a dinner theater with medieval foods and jousting or
something right in front of you? I have never gone, but it looked like
it would be fun. If they let you take pictures, that too would be fun.

 

I would bring a wide angle for tourism though I understand that one you
have is a big bulky thing. 28mm on digital is not very wide & sometimes
you need that to capture the setting. Maybe a compact prime for
inconpicuous street shooting.

For LA, maybe head over the hills to Palm Springs & the Anza Borrego
desert: it might be in bloom in March!

 

Well, since I'm in Orange County (home of Disneyland about half way
between Los Angeles and San Diego), perhaps I can offer some
suggestions. I'm going to attempt photography at as many of these as I
can this year.

North San Diego County: (about 80 to 100 miles south of Los Angeles)

Carlsbad: RIght next to the Legoland California theme park
(http://www.legolandca.com/) is the Carlsbad Flower Fields
(http://www.theflowerfields.com/) I'm planning on going there for the
first time this spring to try and get some good photos.

Just a little bit south and inland from Carlsbad is the San Diego WIld
Animal Park where you might want to try a Photo Caravan Safari
(http://www.sandiegozoo.org/calendar/wap_photo_caravan.html)

Greater Los Angeles Area

California Poppy Reserve
http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=627

Joshua Tree http://www.nps.gov/jotr/ & Death Valley
http://www.nps.gov/deva/ are good choices for spring time photography
visits while the plants are in bloom and the summer heat hasn't set in
yet.

And don't forget the beaches for many great sunsets...