Hmm ... unfortunately my husband and I managed to spend more time in airports and in airplanes than we ever did on the Vegas strip! It's a LONG story. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the triple digit temps while I was there! Yes, I am certain I am the only Canadian to have ever gone to Vegas in August and still wore a jacket! ???? Well, as I fight off the sniffles this evening, I will say that the hotels in Vegas definitely utilize their air conditioning! I found the temperature in the hotels a tad bit too cold for this chick but I am whimp! Something else my husband and I really noticed was the smoke in the casino's. All of Alberta's public areas have been smoke free and designated Non-smoking for at least 10 years now, so it was odd to see so many smokers in a public area (yup, even our pubs and casinos are smoke free). Although I wasn't there long enough to really explore Vegas (we didn't even make it to a show or the Grand Canyon) I will say Vegas is certainly an interesting place.
These were the cozy, comfy chairs we slept on during our 12 hour stay at the airport in Seattle (I did say it was a long story; haha ... we were never supposed to fly through Seattle nor were we supposed to fly with Air Alaska!) Truthfully, they really were not that bad to sleep on but I could have used a blanket!
This is Lori and her faithful companion 'Jet' aka 'Jet Black!' After a long night tossing and turning in the airport terminal, these 2 were absolute rays of sunshine! 'Jet' is the most handsome lad and has been with Lori for just over a year. Listening to Lori speak of 'Jet' absolutely warmed a persons heart. It was so great to meet Lori and Jet! Both my husband and I hope we can cross paths with them again! Thanks for the great conversation Lori! You and Jet made our trip and our day!
Beautiful Seattle! Hopefully I will get to see it outside of the airport next time.
Headed for home! At least this route took us over the scenic Rockies!
You can't beat that!
Sorry to hear you had to sleep at the airport. I would have been nuts. Vegas is definitely an interesting city. We have been there a couple times. It's worth a trip back when you have more time.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason ($$$) casinos have gotten around the no smoking laws. Even here in the midwest there is no smoking in public EXCEPT casinos. They claim taking smoke out of casinos would hurt their attendance but as more and more people quit smoking I have to believe there is a larger segment of the population that would go to the casinos once in awhile but don't because of the smoke. The bars tried to claim the same thing but now that smoking is gone from bars it doesn't seem to hurt them.
By the time we made it to Seattle, we had the choice of being 'nuts' or 'laughing' at the whole situation. I think had the Alaskan Airline staff not been so nice, 'nuts' we would've been. However, we tried to make the best out of a very trying situation. A romantic stroll through the terminal, dinner at one of the few remaining open restaurants, a glass of wine, a cold beer, window shopping and then settled in for a long nap on airport terminal chairs listening to CNN blast through the tv all night! Hahaha! My husband got my travel bag to sleep on and I got my camera bag!
DeleteI was really surprised that the casino's still permitted smoking. None of the casinos were full, so we to questioned how many people avoid them due to the smoke.
Terri,
ReplyDeleteYour photos are stunning once again! You have such a knack of taking night shots. I love the perspective and the lighting. Since you have given me tip for night time shots, I haven't taken the opportunity to take any, but I still have the notes in my camera bag for when the occasion arises.
I have never been to Vegas and I have to say that if there is smoking still allowed everywhere, I don't think I would enjoy it that much. Now that there is no smoking allowed in public places, my sniffer is extra sensitive to the smoke and I get immediate headaches. I am sorry that your plans got sidetracked.
You asked how did I like taking the images in RAW. Well, it is surprising how large the files are. I am glad you suggested getting lots of memory cards. I was very nervous about the RAW photos and saving them. I wasn't quite sure how many pixels to save them as, and was worried about the images when I printed them out after I had edited them. I printed a few out and they were fine. I spoke to a professional wedding photographer and he recommended not using the infrared filter because people tend to look washed out, so instead I used a UV filter, and that seemed to work out. I have taken other photos in RAW to try it out some more, but I haven't had time to play with them yet.
Thanks again for all of your advice and support. It was so much fun having my first paid wedding photography session. It turned out the groom is a fellow teacher who was in one of my professional development groups, so it made it easier to give directions like," Look over here, smile, do up your bottom button of your suit..." The bride was so photogenic. At first they only wanted candid shots, but then 20 minutes before the wedding they wanted more formal shots of each quest with them (25 in all), but they didn't want too many directions, keep it sort of casual, so those shots I didn't give too many directions out of respect for them.
Well, nice to see your photos again and to hear from you. Gotta go! Have a great weekend.
Awe, thanks Renee! I really like night photography. It might be the night owl in me! Haha! If only it didn't conflict with the early birds in my family! LOL! I was tempted to take my tripod but knew I didn't want to lug it around so I got creative and used my bracelet to prop my camera up with. We had never been to Vegas either and I don't know if I'm sold on returning. The smoke did bother me. YUCK! That being said, I know there were many things outside of the casinos and shows that I would've liked to see. Perhaps another time and maybe by then Vegas will be mostly non-smoking.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to hear you had fun and enjoyed taking the wedding photos. You did awesome! It's a bit daunting to shoot in RAW to start with but now I can't imagine not shooting in RAW. I love it but yes, LARGE files! You definitely want to delete what you don't want and back up the others. I imagine you are getting ready to head back to school very soon?!? Enjoy your last few days of summer and I wish you all the best for a wonderful school year!