If you get a chance, go into old town can't remember what they call this closed street, lots of fun, the light/music show is cool. Also if you have time go out to Red Rock canyon.
Just a little info:
1. Those paper boxes on the strip don't have news papers in them :)
2. Be prepared for people trying to hand you all kid of literature on the street about tours and shows. See you hotel for information.
3. The $1.00 slots pay off better than any other.
4. If you would like to play the tables they have practice tables. Very nice to gain confidence.
5. If you see a beautiful woman go to the phone and call a room before getting on the elevator she not staying there, well maybe an hour :)
Just a little info:
1. Those paper boxes on the strip don't have news papers in them :)
What is in the paper boxes?
Classified ads - Even though no legal in the city of LV the escort services advertisement is in them. Found out the bad way. I got off the bus from McCarran airport and opened one up thinking it was tourist information. When I opened the front page I quickly found out that was not the case. Should of seen the look in my wifes eyes. If looks could kill, I knew to put it back just by her expression. :)
If there is any laws against certain photography...please let me know now. I don't want to post my Mug Shot in my portrait portfolio next week. I can take pictures of people in the street right? Or of any building? What is allowed or not allowed? I will be attending a convention everyday till 5pm and then I have all evening free. One day I am going to skip out after the lunch break and go shooting and shopping. Is it hot there?
Las Vegas is FULL Of amateur photographers at all hours of the day and night. Don't worry about it, EXCEPT: they will definitely NOT allow you to take pictures inside the casinos. Not ever. Even when we were working FOR the casinos, we couldn't shoot inside the casinos unless EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THE SHOT was a "shill", placed there by management.
Some of the hotels don't mind shooting in their lobbies etc. I haven't been to Vegas in a few years, pre 9/11 anyway, but I remember taking pictures in Mirage and Excalibur, but being asked not to do so in Caesar's Palace. Your chances decrease exponentially with deployment of a tripod, which will ALWAYS bring security into play.
If I were you I wouldn't even bother trying to shoot outside at mid-day. The lighting will be harsh, there will be relatively little activity, it will probably be hot... By far the best time to shoot outside is dusk. Vegas is a city of lights, you want to capture them as the sky transitions between sunset and dark, basically. Or from dawn-to-daylight for that matter, if you can get up that early.
As someone else pointed out, Red Rock Canyon, a short drive from Vegas, is beautiful, if you get the chance. As is Hoover Dam, especially the tour inside of it (unless you're claustrophobic).
Forecast for next week is high sixties, low seventies (which is hot compared to the 40s-50s we have right now).
Night Photography:
Casinos are best photographed after dark. You can spend many hours doing that. Cruise the strip and go crazy. The fountains at the Bellagio, volcano erruption at Mirage and the pirate show at Treasure Island are all popular outdoor nightime photo ops. The intersection where Excalibur, MGM Grand, New York-NewYork, Tropicana and Luxor are located at the south end of the strip is also very popular. Among many, many, many other interesting photo opportunities there are. Take your tripod!
Daytime photography:
Red Rock Canyon - //www.sunsetcities.com/redrock.html
Valley of Fire - //www.sunsetcities.com/valleyoffire.html
Hoover (Bolder) Dam - //www.sunsetcities.com/hoover-dam/is_it_hoover_dam_or_boulder_dam.html
Never been to either Red Rock Canyon or Valley of Fire so cannot comment on either first hand. Red Rock is closest. The others are about 35 miles from town.
Temperatures:
Mid to upper 60s is the average high temperature for Vegas this time of year. There is about a 20 degree temperature shift between the high and low temperatures. Being the desert it cools off pretty fast after the sun goes down so dress accordingly.
The weather was great and I lost about $100. I did win $4 once on the penny slots, so I am proud of that. I was just in awe of how colorful and exciting Vegas is! I went to see Anthony Cool and it was the funniest thing I have ever seen in my life!!!
