Hi there,

If you're going to the southwest, be aware of using a polarizer all the
time. many times skies will turn very dark, almost black, and look just
plain bad. Unless there's a ton of glare or water in the scene, you probably
won't need one. Last time I shot film there, I used Velvia 50 for lower
contrast periods, and Provia during the day. Loved the results. If you
expose properly, things can look amazing.

Look for a book called "Photographing the Southwest." Can't reall the
author. Also, you may want to purchase a newsletter from
www.photographamerica.com for that area. Good info on spots, times, etc.

Hi, if you like to experiment a bit, get a red-enhancer filter. This is
a thin piece of Dydimium glass which intensifies the red's but - and
this needs to be kept in mind - it will modify the entire image's color
rendition as well. So you get significantly enhanced reds but you pay
for it with a more reddish overall image as well. Works fine with color
slide films but for color negative films, most digital enlagers filter
the additional red out again.
Have fun and keep in mind - don't use the polarizer too much and if,
then place the plane of extinction exactly in the middle of the image to
avoid very one-sided darkened slides.
George