USA travel report by Lucas Sch?nfeld

At the turn of the year from 2018 to 2019, a friend and I had the idea during a cozy evening that we wanted to take a completely different vacation this year. Up to that point, I had mainly been fascinated by trips within Europe, but this time it was going to be a road trip in America, more specifically through the west of the USA.
You read and see a lot about the United States of America: everything is much bigger and there are endless expanses that invite you to dream. It's precisely these things that have a huge attraction for me, so we decided to plan a road trip together. We took the plane from Berlin to New York, changed planes once and got on the next flight to Salt Lake City.
Our road trip was to start there: via Lake Powell to the Grand Canyon and Tusayan, then on via Las Vegas to Los Angeles. We planned a penultimate stopover in Morro Bay before returning home from San Francisco via New York.

Of course, I wanted to take lots of photos on this trip and already had motifs in my head that I really wanted to capture. We had already marked a number of spots that we had to see and saved them in our cell phones. I wanted to reduce my luggage to what was really necessary and not take anything unnecessary that I wouldn't need in the end. A camera with two lenses, plus the usual travel equipment that you need on a trip like this, that should be enough. The combination of a Sony Alpha 7 III with two zoom lenses was perfect for traveling with relatively little luggage but still having plenty of photographic options. In the end, the choice fell on the new Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 for the ultra-wide-angle range and the popular all-rounder 28-75mm f/2.8, also from Tamron. The plan was set and we were ready to go.

We flew out of Berlin-Tegel at lunchtime. Check-in went smoothly and we were delighted when we finally taxied onto the runway and the plane began to move. Our journey to America began. Excitement and joy grew immeasurably. After several movies and around eight hours of flying time, we landed in New York at JFK airport. Once there, we saw a huge queue of people waiting at the border control
I had a premonition that we would probably miss our connecting flight. My feeling was confirmed a short time later when we saw our plane fly away right under our noses. Nevertheless, we stayed positive and spent the night in a hotel. Our flights were rebooked for the following day and so we were able to travel on with a day's delay. We were now on the approach to Salt Lake City. If we could now get our rental car (an SUV) without any problems, we could be in Lake Powell that same evening, luckily this time everything went according to plan.

We queued at the car rental counter for just under 45 minutes before our road trip could finally start and cover the first 400 miles. That may not sound like much at first, but it's actually around 650 km. When we arrived at the hotel late at night, we fell into bed dog-tired. I hadn't been able to think about photography until then. The next morning dawned and we were in vacation mode.
Warm climate, endless expanses and a breakfast like the Americans love. I was finally able to devote myself to photography. I have long dreamed of being able to take photos of Horseshoe Bend, the Grand Canyon, American roads and dams. At that moment, I could hardly comprehend that we really got to see all of this. It was completely surreal to see these places and photograph them here.
Now my chosen lenses were paying off. Firstly, I had the Tamron 17 - 28mm f/2.8 and the Tamron 28 - 75mm f/2.8 with me. So I was able to cover both the wide-angle and telephoto ranges to some extent.

When I arrived in Las Vegas, I felt overwhelmed by the impressions. The unbelievable heat of almost 40 degrees and a city that probably never sleeps left me speechless for a moment. As we wandered through Las Vegas in the evening, I felt so incredibly small between the large hotel buildings and the crowds of people moving through Las Vegas. No wonder a lot of great movies have been filmed here. However, I found it difficult to photograph this city. That's why I decided not to use the camera again until I reached Hoover Dam. An incredible structure that gives you the opportunity to walk from one time zone to the next.
After the Hoover Dam, we went to my favorite city, a city with an incredible attitude to life, full of creativity and positive thoughts - we had arrived in Los Angeles. I had a few photos in mind that I really wanted to take. One was the skate park on Venice Beach and the other was the view over Los Angeles with the famous Hollywood Sign.

Our apartment was so well located that I was able to enjoy the view of Los Angeles early in the morning and take a few photos. This is exactly how I had always imagined it. Being able to enjoy the time alone, far away from mass tourism, was worth its weight in gold.
I'm not a fan of transferring photos I've taken straight to my phone or laptop and editing them. But in some situations I couldn't help myself and wanted to see the result immediately. I saw photos like I had dreamed of. We visited other spots in LA such as Angels Flight, explored downtown and rode the Ferris wheel in Pacific Park in the evening. This also marks the end of Route 66, which we had driven along a few times on the way to Los Angeles.
Here, too, it was important to me to always photograph the sights from a different angle than the usual tourist guides present. This is the only way to create memories that are unique. This is particularly important for me as a photographer. Collecting, capturing and saving feelings.

When we left Los Angeles, I was a little sad and full of melancholy. I had never seen such a beautiful place before.
We continued towards Morro Bay: a small town by the sea that is a stopover for many people. Here we were able to observe a rich variety of wildlife. We saw otters, sea lions, pelicans, squirrels and even a snake.
One night later, we continued towards our last stop - San Francisco.
Our route took us along Route 1 along the cliffs. Probably the most beautiful road in the world, we stopped every half hour to look at the sea and the cliffs. It looks incredibly beautiful when the sea touches the coast and the sun makes the rocks glow.
When we arrived in San Francisco, it paid off that we had brought long-sleeved clothing with us. After all, the temperatures in San Francisco were only just under 20 degrees from the 30 degrees we were used to by now.

I really wanted to see the Golden Gate Bridge, but unfortunately it was in the clouds and we were denied a view of the bridge for the entire stay. We visited places we had chosen beforehand: China Town, Silicon Valley, Alcatraz, Pier 39 and the Painted Ladies.
As a highlight, one morning we drove up Twin Peaks, a small mountain from which you have a wonderful view over San Francisco. We were the first ones up early in the morning and the clouds blocked our view. Just before we were about to leave the mountain again, the sun fought its way through and gave us possibly the most beautiful view over San Francisco.
A few days later, as we made our way back to the airport, we began to feel nostalgic. We had seen so much over the last three weeks and had gained a wonderful impression of the west coast of the United States. Our conclusion was unanimous: We definitely want to come back here. I would therefore recommend a trip to this country to anyone who has the opportunity. Whether as a photographer or simply as a tourist, the impressions will stay with you forever!