Hi my name is Jordan Herschel
I'm an outdoor landscape photographer based here in the southwest and today i'm here
with Maverick Helicopters to talk a little bit about my favorite National Parks
One of the best things about Vegas is
outside of all the glitz and the glam of the strip and everything that has to
offer is that it's centrally located to so
many amazing world-class National Parks
Death Valley National Park is one of my
all-time favorites it's only a two and a half to three hour drive from Las Vegas
and features some of the darkest skies and the coolest sand dunes you could possibly see
Make sure to bring water and it might
not be the best to visit in the summertime because we just had a record
high temperature there but it's amazing the other nine months
out of the year in the spring you get a lot of wildflowers
and in the fall and the winter you can see a lot of coyotes and other wildlife
Make sure to check out the Mesquite Dunes and if you're brave
check out Zabriskie Point for sunrise or sunset
and also bad water basin which is
the lowest elevation point in the united states
As a photographer one of my favorite things about Death Valley is the night
skies it's so far removed from many sources of large light that at night the
stars in the Milky Way shine so bright
What's up gang my name is Stan Moniz
I'm an adventure photographer and filmmaker based
in Orange County, California
I'm here today with maverick helicopters to talk
a little bit about my favorite park and possibly even my favorite place in
the world Joshua Tree National Park
So what makes this park so special and unique to itself is that it is specifically
located between two deserts because both deserts the
Colorado and the Mojave desert is so distinct containing their own vegetation
wildlife rock formations it makes for a full day of adventure
if you're up for it
At the South Side of the park at lower elevations you can
find your Cholla Cactus Garden your Ocotillo Trees and at the higher
elevations you'll start to find more unique boulders and rock formations
and of course your Joshua Trees
This park has definitely something for everyone from camping under a beautiful dark night sky
which is my favorite
from your basic to advanced hikes to rock climbing to
bouldering if you're up for the adventure it's there
Quick tip if this is your first time visiting the park
I highly recommend you taking this beautiful leisure drive
at golden hour down Park Boulevard it's going to roughly take you about 30
to 40 minutes start your drive from the West Entrance of the park and end it on
the North Side of the park and if you have not done this drive yet at Golden Hour
You are missing out you need to do it
watching the sun go down and seeing these
shadows cascade down these massive boulders and rock formations is just
unbelievable it's hard to beat a desert sky taking the drive watching the colors
in the sky change from a deep blue to pastels to
pinks and purples
It's just magic
Bryce Canyon National Park is only a
three and a half to four hour drive from Las Vegas
this place is stunning
It features a number of great geological features
Large red columns that are so cool to hike through and photograph
The great thing about Bryce is that it's good for all seasons
It's cooler in the summer than here in Vegas so you can go outside and enjoy yourself
and in the winter it gets quite a bit of snow which could be really fun to see
and play around in
One of my favorite things at Bryce are
the hoodoos these are the large orange columns that you've probably seen photos of
They glow really orange and red in the
sun they can be amazing during sunrise and sunset which i love as a photographer
A photo tip for you if you visit Bryce is to bring a wide angle lens
You get really up close to these hoodoos and
they're quite tall so a wide angle really helps you capture it all on frame
Zion national park located in Utah is only a two and a half hour drive from Las Vegas
One of my favorite things about Zion
National Park are the hikes and there's a hike for everybody
Zion exists in this large canyon they're surrounded by these awesome red walls
Zion National Park is known for his unique hikes and there's a hike for
everybody whether it's walking up and down the
virgin river or hiking all the way up to Olmsted or Angel's Landing
there's something for everyone of every hiking ability
one of my favorite hikes is Angel's Landing
It's about three and a half miles of a pretty steep vertical face
But provides you amazing views down the entire canyon
Another one of my favorite hikes is the Narrows which allows you to wade up the
Virgin River between these giant sandstone walls
A photography tip for Zion National Park is if you have the time
try to be there early in the morning or near sunset when the sun gets low and
you're low in the canyon the walls really take on this orange and red
glowing reflective color
Grand Canyon National park is the
furthest national park we'll be covering from Las Vegas but it's still only a
four and a half hour drive this national park is one of the most
iconic in the world and one of the seven natural wonders
one of my favorite things about Grand Canyon National Park is just the sheer
size and scale of the place
doesn't matter which rim you go to you're going
to be blown away by the absolute size of it
also one of the best things about Grand Canyon National Park is that it's
totally accessible to anyone Watchtower and Mather Point are
absolutely amazing you can just walk right up to the edge and look over
One of the unique things about the Grand Canyon is that you're able to see it by air
Walking up to the edge at Mather Point
or watchtower and looking over is an absolutely amazing experience but
there's no way to truly grasp the scale of the place
until you see it from above
You may notice that if you visit the Grand
Canyon and go up to the edge it looks like it just goes on forever
One of the unique things about seeing it from a helicopter is even from high up
it still seems to stretch on to infinity
My photography tip for the Grand Canyon
is if you have one available bring a long lens
the canyon is just so large and the textures and layers are so cool that it can be really neat to get a
close-up perspective
If you're visiting Las Vegas and you
want to see the Grand Canyon but you don't have time to drive
One of the coolest things is that you're able to see it by air
Instead of driving four hours in a car to the grand canyon
you can be from your hotel to the Grand
Canyon and back via helicopter in that same four hours
As a commercial photographer I've been fortunate to fly with a number of
helicopter companies here in Las Vegas
I choose Maverick because of the safety
the facilities and the pilots
I've never been up in a helicopter and
had a bad time the pilots are super knowledgeable
and at all times you're made to feel safe and welcome
Although it's not a national park honorable mention goes to Valley of Fire State Park here in Nevada
we're very proud of it it has amazing red rocks and is
beautiful any time of day that you go also one of the best things that is the
closest one to Las Vegas that we're mentioning here
It's only an hour drive each way
Las Vegas is obviously famous for its glitz
and glamour but one of my favorite things about Vegas is that it's
centrally located to so many cool national parks
and other great outdoor activities
If you come visit make sure to take a
little time to get outside
you