Stratosphere Sunset

I shot this photo December 13, 2007 with an Olympus E500 digital SLR. You can buy posters and other items featuring this picture here.

I stayed at Treasure Island for the first time during this most recent trip to Las Vegas. I had felt that my recent Las Vegas photo series focused too much on the south end of the strip, so I chose Treasure Island which is near the north end of the strip (across the street from Wynn and Venetian.) I've rented cars in Las Vegas 5 or 6 times and it's usually more of a hassle than a convenience for me, since my goal is to shoot as many photos as possible; and driving around then looking for a parking spot subtracts from "photo shooting time."

My first day there, December 12, I arrived just before sunset and took a taxi from the airport to the famous "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada" sign. I already have a lot of photos of the Welcome sign, but they're all either during the day with the sign's lights off, or at night with the sign lit up. This time I caught the sign just before sunset... it was still light out but the sign's lights were also lit up. It was a nice surprise to get some slightly different pictures of something I've already photographed many times.

The taxi was parked at the Las Vegas Tourist Bureau waiting for me; then we went to Treasure Island. I shot a few photos out of the taxi window on the way.

After checking in at Treasure Island (there was no line at all; one reason I like visiting Las Vegas during early or mid-December is the lack of crowds) I went up to the roof of their parking garage and got a few decent sunset shots with Rio Suites and Mirage. Then I walked about a mile north to the Stratosphere and rode the elevator up to the top for the seventh or eighth time. This was the second time I'd been up to the Stratosphere observation deck since the Stardust was imploded and I'm still disappointed with the way the strip looks without the Stardust (you can view the 314 photos I shot during this trip at my web site (click on Las Vegas Photos #7).

I got a few good shots of the Sahara, Riviera, and Circus Circus at night; which I hadn't done for several years.

My second day, I walked to Fremont Street and shot photos along Las Vegas Blvd. (after you cross Sahara Ave., the touristy Las Vegas strip ends and becomes a more typical urban area of cheap motels, gas stations, fast food restaurants, pawn shops, strip clubs, and quickie wedding chapels.) There's also a miniature reproduction of the Welcome sign at the intersection of Fourth Ave. and Las Vegas Blvd, instead of "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada" it says "Welcome to Fabulous Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada". I took some shots of this sign also.

Downtown I photographed the El Cortez, Main Street Station, and some of the casinos on Fremont Street.

Heading back to the tourist area of Las Vegas Blvd., I was approaching the Stratosphere as the sun was setting, and shot the picture above. Then I walked on to Caesars Palace and shot a few mid-strip photos before heading back "home" to TI.

The third day, I had a morning flight so I didn't shoot any more photos. That's my usual Las Vegas photo taking trip routine: a few hours of night shots after arrival; a full day of photo shooting the second day; then back home the third day. Since I usually walk the entire time (except for going to and from the airport) I'm usually sore, tired, and not motivated enough for another day of photography anyway.