Ever since I had my own transport, I've taken off on these solo journeys – by car or motorcycle – to see what I could see. I was in Las Vegas in 2006 because my wife was attending a conference and I was tagging along. So while she was soaking up knowledge, I was soaking up vistas such as this one.
On my way back from the Hoover Dam, instead of taking the direct, freeway, route, I sauntered north along Lakeshore Road and then turned onto Lake Mead Boulevard by way of Northshore Road. As I emerged from the mountains, I had this wonderful vista below me. To get the photo, I had to scramble a ways up the hillside to get to an overlook that revealed the whole length of The Strip. At the far left is the Mandalay Bay Casino. Tracking right you can see the Luxor, with it's searchlight piercing the sky. Next to that the green of the MGM grand. After that they come thick and fast, New York New York, paris, the Bellagio, Ceasar's Palace, the Venetian, the Wynn, all the way up to Stratosphere at the right hand edge of the picture.
I don't care much for the extravagance that is Las Vegas. But having lived for seven years in the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East, I like the desert environment and Las Vegas makes a great start and end point to travels around the desert areas in the western United States with plenty of fantastic scenery within a few hours drive.
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Production Data
Camera: canon eos 5d
Lens: Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM AF Lens (B&H)
Tripod: Gitzo GT3531 6X Carbon Fiber Tripod Legs – Supports 39.6 lbs (18kg) (B&H)
Ball Head: BH-55 LR: Full-sized ballhead with LR (Really Right Stuff)
Processing: Lightroom 3.6
Processing: Photomatix 4.02
Processing: Photoshop CS5
Processing: Topaz Adjust 5
