Vegas Photography Blog

Las Vegas is a gold mine of places to snap some amazing photographs. In this blog though I want to feature a place built around an actual, real, gold mine though. The location is directly adjacent to a small town near Lake Mojave, Nelson, Nevada. Once you drive past Nelson you will come across a location that looks as if you’ve just stepped back in time. A private property owned by Tony and Bobbie Werly is a historical landmark nestled within the Eldorado Canyon area. Here you will see old buildings, amazing rusted-out and antique cars, amazing old road and gas station signs, and even old mining equipment used back when the local Techatticup gold mine was in full swing. Truly, this place is a photographer’s dream location to get some amazing photos and many famous music videos, and movies have been filmed here including 3000 Miles To Graceland.

I recently discovered this location through a model I was working with, Melanie Gratz, who suggested the area for a shoot she wanted to do. It sounded intriguing and when we arrived at the location, I was like a kid in a candy store gawking at all the great opportunities for photographic backdrops. Everything from old gas pumps, antique cars, and a barn with more character than a Jack Kerouac novel. I really felt as though we arrived there via a time machine.

Model Melanie Gratz getting blown up in in Eldorado Canyon, Nevada.
Photograph by Adam Sternberg

To get to the area, you head south out of Las Vegas on US-95 as if you were headed to Boulder City/Laughlin. Once you leave the valley you will take the exit directly past the Railroad Pass Casino which will. The US-95 Exit will take you south past the Boulder City area dry lake bed (on your right) about ten miles. Once you pass the dry lake bed, you will see Exit 165 for Nelson, Nevada on your left. Take that exit and drive another 15 miles or so and you will drive directly into the town of Nelson.

You’ll see a few houses and you will eventually hit a fork in the road. Head to your left and you’re right on top of the Eldorado Canyon property.

Here are some additional photos I captured with Melanie while we were on our shoot here…

When you arrive you will find a small museum on your left where you can check-in with the property owners and caretakers of the area and if you are planning on taking any photos, you will need to make a reservation with Bobbie Werly prior to your arrival. To do so, call 702-291-0026. Any photography on the grounds will require you and any models or other participants will to sign a waiver and model release. In addition, there is a small charge to photograph in the area of only $20 for the first 2 hours and then $10 for each subsequent hour you are out there. The owners live on the property and this is how they earn an income so for this very minimal charge you will find tremendous value for what they provide. It’s worth every penny so please be sure to take care of them.

A few things to be aware of while walking on the property. This is the location of an old mine and the buildings and items on the property are real relics. As such, rusty nails, broken glass, and sharp, rusted metal are common sights. I’m told that even an occasional snake is seen from time to time as well. BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS and respect what you see. If you pick something up, put it back where you got it. Watch where you are walking, and most importantly, if you open a door to a building or a vehicle, close it when you are done. You do have limited access to some of the buildings and they truly are amazing inside but be respectful that you are on private property. During the summer, it’s very hot outside with temperatures definitely exceeding 100 degrees and with the nearby lake, it’s a bit humid out too. Winter temperatures can get quite cool too nearing the feezing point. Remember, you’re deep in the desert so you can get some pretty dramatic temperature swings out there. Here are some survey shots I took when I was out there last for you to enjoy…

The Eldorado Canyon museum. This is where you will check-in prior to your shoot.

The above two photos were taken inside the barn. Here you will find everything
from deer antlers to old tools, antique signs and even a canon!

Below are some of the awesome old vehicles they have on the property…

Leftover parts of the plane wreckage used in the movie 3000 Miles To Graceland

7 image HDR Tone Map composition I shot on a tripod in the late afternoon.

For an additional small fee you can get a private tour of the nearby Techatticup gold mine, left abandoned decades ago and recently opened and made available for tours, the tunnels into the Eldorado Canyon mountains is an amazing sight. Inside is electrical lighting fixtures to guide your way and some breathtaking views. Due to the coolness of the granite in the mountain and the natural air filtration system inside the mine, you will discover an amazing natural phenomenon. When I was last on the property in mid-July, it was a sweltering 114 degrees Fahrenheit outside but when you approach the entrance of the mine you are immediately blasted with an arctic-like air that is quite refreshing. I was told the air inside is usually in the mid-60s when the temperature outside is in the hundreds. It’s a very interesting experience to say the least and can make for some very cool photos. Be sure to ask Bobbie or Tony for a private tour when you call and they will give you the details as the mine is obviously locked-up and secure from travelers.

So if you are looking for some amazing photos in an area you’d never expect to exist, be sure to make a day trip out to Nelson, Nevada and the Eldorado Canyon area. You truly will have a wonderful experience just exploring the grounds and if you are interested in booking me for a wedding, engagement, or just a personal photo shoot so you can get some of the most amazing photos you can imagine from this area, please don’t hesitate to give me a call today at 702-204-1740.

Since my last blog entry about the Las Vegas Art District graffiti I’ve been swamped by emails from photographers wanting more information on shooting, tourists wanting me to photograph them there, or even local residents just wanting more information on the kinds of things you’ll see there. As such, I’ve been approached by a wide variety of models and entertainers wanting to do a shoot there so I’ve been churning around in my head creative ways that I could make a really amazing shoot out in that location work and in this blog entry I’m going to share with you the results. Scouting through all the hundreds of photos I have of the area, I finally settled on one location I wanted to use as a backdrop…

I chose this spot because of the wide variety of color and uniqueness of the artwork to use as a stage for what I wanted to create. There were two major issues though. The first is that the graffiti was sprayed across an indentation where the wall expanded into two different levels. You can see this dividing point on the left side of the image near the center. So if I were to shoot here, I would have to use only one section of the wall but due to the size of this image, that wasn’t going to be a problem as this entire image spans approximately 15-20 feet. The second issue was that there was a corrugated tin awning that loomed over this side of the building. As you can see, shooting at virtually any time of the day was going to cause some pretty ugly lighting issues. So, my only choice was to shoot this at night.

This now created an entirely new set of problems. The first was security. Where we would be shooting was not exactly the safest part of Las Vegas. We would be going behind dark buildings in a highly industrialized area of Las Vegas. Gang activity is high, there were many homeless people in the area, and we would have no easy access to a public area if we needed to be on the move so there was a bit of risk involved. Being that I would be lugging around about $7,000 in camera gear and would be followed by a model in high heels, crazy makeup, and some quirky outfit on, it’s not like we didn’t stand out. Lastly, do do this shoot at night meant we would have no light. Ambient light in the area was virtually non-existent so out I go with my monolights, soft boxes, and umbrellas all wired to a Vagabond II power pack. I was, in essence, creating my own studio out in the middle of some abandoned buildings.

Now that I had a location and logistics in mind, I had to find me a model. I actually struggled with this issue for quite some time not really knowing what I was looking for. Did I want a tall blond bikini model or someone with more experience in urban modeling and fashion? I put out casting calls in all the usual places I frequent online such as Model Mayhem, Craigslist, etc., and I got a ton of responses. Over 100 in all and I just wasn’t finding who I thought would be great for this until I got an email from a local model named Kitty LaRose. Kitty, a 21 year old model, originally from Utah, had a very "girl next door" look and in her email, she expressed to me that she really wanted to expand her portfolio into something very different than the simple, wholesome shots that she had modeled for in the past. After we met for a pre-shoot interview I knew this was the perfect model for my "vision". Next up, makeup…

There are many great and talented makeup artists here in Las Vegas but, without a doubt, the best I have ever worked with is Tai Shane. Her husband, Adam is a great friend of mine and fellow business partner in photography and these two make for one impressive team. For makeup, I wanted something as wild and crazy as we could come up with. Here are some shots from Kitty in the makeup chair…let the transformation begin!

I envisioned a black band across her eyes, airbrushing across her face, some insane type of hair, the works. 2 1/2 hours of makeup application later and sorting through a variety of wigs, we came up with a look on her that was nothing short of spectacular. It’s amazing what happens when you work with professionals at the very top of their game! Here is a headshot I got of Kitty mere moments after Tai finished her art…

Kitty was starting to really come out of her shell and now we were off to go shoot. Luckily for us, it wasn’t a long drive to the location we were going to shoot at. By this time the sun had already gone down and it was about 8:30PM. We parked nearby and I knew it would be about 3 trips back to the car to get all the gear and props needed for this shoot. The night before I was custom creating some cool spray paint cans to be used for props, so those had to go out to the location. Then there was all the camera gear and lighting, etc. While I was not seriously afraid for my personal safety, I was more concerned with all my gear exposed in a somewhat unsavory part of town and, more importantly, my 5′1" tall model wearing a black PVC dress, fishnets, high-heels, purple and black makeup, and a pink wig standing out by some abandoned buildings. After a brief amount of time, I had all my lighting setup and we were ready to shoot.

Kitty jumped right in and really played the part to perfection. The image I wanted to capture was of a punk-rock girl getting caught painting graffiti and, angrily, took her aggressions out of the photographer, spraying paint right into the lens. We tried a variety of different lighting scenarios and angles and eventually settled on using just two monolights in this type of configuration:

The resulting shots we were getting were nothing short of magnificent. Right when we were about to get a few extra shots, Kitty looks at me and says, I think we’re in trouble. A police car pulled in around the corner from us. With big, bright studio strobes flashing for over 30 minutes, we figured someone called the police on us. While I was afraid that we were going to be cited for some trespassing ordinance or shooting in the city without a certain permit, Kitty was freaking out over her attire. She was convinced she was going to be arrested for prostitution! So, we packed up and started walking back to the car, which was about 20 feet from the police were at. It turns out, they pulled someone over for a traffic violation and all the time were walking back to my car with camera equipment and a model that looked like something from a sci-fi movie, not one person even gave us a second look. You just have to love Vegas sometimes!

So after reviewing all the images, I narrowed it down to just one. It was a difficult task as we had so many great photos to choose from. While I generally do all of my own touch-ups on the photos I shoot, this one needed more of an artist. I wanted to have some paint sprayed at the camera with the effect of paint splatter on the lens. This was a bit outside my skillset so I contracted the job out to my new Photoshop expert, Jose Ortiz of JT Graphic Designs. Jose had a brilliant idea that, in addition to the digital art he would create for the image, he would take actual spray paint and spray it on a piece of plate glass and then photograph the results to use as a layer on the photograph. The results were just awesome! So a few revisions later and almost 2 months in the works, this project was now complete. You can now see the results for yourself…

It just goes to show that with some creativity and a great team of passionate, talented artists who love what they do, you can make a simple wall transform into something truly magical.

Want to book a shoot with some killer graffiti? Give me a call at 702-204-1740 to book your session now!

There is so much more to Las Vegas other than the bright lights, glamorous hotels and casinos, nightlife and nature. As with any major city, you see your fare share of graffiti throughout the city and while some of it is just gang taggings, some of it is really quite artistic. Our mayor, Oscar Goodman, has a unique policy regarding gang taggers and this is to cut off their thumbs. His theory is that you can’t hold a can of spray paint without thumbs. That theory aside, there is an older, industrial area of Las Vegas that has been transformed into a new "Art District". In the area of E. Charleston and Main St., you can visit incredible art galleries, vintage clothing stores such as The Attic, antique stores, and so much more. If you haven’t had a chance to spend an afternoon walking through this area of Las Vegas, you’re really missing out.

So have fun, be safe, do some exploring, and you’ll be sure to have an awesome day of scouting locations and getting some awesome photos of another side of Las Vegas not often talked about. Of course if you are a model or a group and want to get some awesome photos of some of these hot spots, be sure to pick up the phone and give me a call at 702-204-1740 or email me at adam@shotbyadam.com

9. The Fountains at Bellagio. Set in a 9 acre man made lake, these fountains in front of the Bellagio are a favorite photo op for almost everyone coming to Las Vegas. Whether you shoot them in the day or night, this breathtaking show makes for some awesome photos for you and your family. It’s also a real hot spot for newlyweds as well. The fountain show usually goes off every 30 minutes during the day and every 15 minutes after 8 PM and shows may be canceled if there are high winds. You will want to consult the

7. The Welcome To Las Vegas Sign. This is kind of a no-brainer for anyone on a Las Vegas vacation. The sign, built in 1959 is a real icon of Las Vegas and you would be remiss if you didn’t get at least one fun photo there. In the past it was a real challenge to get to the sign but due to a renovation project in 2008, there is now a parking lot adjacent to the sign making access to it quite simple. For everything you ever wanted to know about shooting at the sign, please read my past blog about

If you are ever traveling to Las Vegas and would rather leave the picture taking to someone else, email me at

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When people travel to Las Vegas, whether it’s for business or pleasure, they often bring a camera with them. There are so many sights to see just on the Las Vegas Strip alone you could fill plenty of digital storage cards for sure. Of all the things people most want to be photographed in front of is the "Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas" sign which can be found on Las Vegas Boulevard ("The Strip") about a mile south of the Mandalay Bay resort, sandwiched between the Bali Hai golf course and the old east entrance to the McCarran airport. Built in 1959, it is, without a doubt, not only a cultural icon, but a true gateway to the fun and excitement that makes up Sin City.

The image above was shot in mid December just after Sunrise. It is a
5-shot HDR (High Dynamic Range) photograph composite and required
many hours of work in Photoshop to remove the numerous power
lines running through the background.

The key to getting a great photo at the Vegas sign comes down to a lot of factors so if you really want to get a shot worthy of hanging on your wall, keep reading! I’ve been living in Las Vegas my entire life. A Las Vegas native, I remember how difficult it was to actually get to the Las Vegas sign. In 2008, a renovation around the Sign began and in December of 2008, new ground turf was added as well as a parking lot constructed out of the center island in the middle of Las Vegas Blvd. Prior to this, getting pictures of the Sign was a real challenge. You had to either park at the Mandaly Bay convention center to the north or the Jack and the Box to the south and walk about 1/2 of a mile to get to the Sign. There was no real easy way to get there and when you were there, generally the police would often give you grief for being there if they caught you. If you were there doing a shoot, you had to fight with tourists who would drive up, park their car right in the middle of the street, jump out to get a photo and run back to their car before they were caught…hence, the need for a parking lot to alleviate this problem. Generally speaking though, if you got to the Sign in the morning or later in the evening you pretty much had the Sign to yourself.

Today though, you have to be a bit more clever to get a good shot of the Sign because you’re competing for time and space with all the other tourists waiting in line to get their photo as well. So here are a few quick tips that will yield you the best results:

•  If you are staying in Las Vegas for more than just  a weekend, plan your shoot for mid-week. The busy tourist days for people getting photos at the Las Vegas sign are weekends, holidays, or when a large event or convention is in town.
• GET THERE EARLY! If you’re planning your shoot for New Years Eve at noon, plan on waiting at least an hour before you get your shot and it won’t be a good one at that. Even if the city is a bit busy, the earlier you get to the Sign the better. I can assure you that I’m not a "morning person" but when I have to do a shoot with a client or model, I always tell them to plan on shooting no later than 7AM. Not only will you get the best possible light for your shoot, but you won’t have to be fighting with others for the same piece of real estate. With very rare exceptions, whenever I get to the Vegas sign early, it’s like my own private photo studio. Remember, the more you procrastinate getting there, the worse your shot will be.
• It is important to remember that you still are in a very public place when shooting. You literally are in the middle of one of the most highly traveled roads in the country so if you’re planning on shooting something wild or crazy, be prepared for some car horns and cat calls from the nearby drivers.

Shot of "fitness Diva" Christi Lee during the renovation period of the
Welcome To Las Vegas sign in November of 2008. Shot was taken at
7AM and the outside temperature was under 40 degrees. In the 15 minutes
of shooting, we heard over two dozen cat calls or car horns and two cars
stopped in the middle of the road to watch.

• Bring a tripod! OK, so you can’t get to the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign early in the morning and others are there getting their photos too. So you think, "It’s no problem, I can just give my camera to the person behind me in line and let them take a picture of my wife and I."  Big mistake. It’s all about taking control of your environment. Understand that the person behind you is more concerned with getting their photo perfect and not about getting your photo perfect. They don’t know your camera as good as you do and, chances are, they take photos about as good as your pet cat you left back at home. So many times I’ve seen people wait 10 or 20 minutes to get their shot, the let someone they’ve never met take it, and as soon as they walk back and get their camera to see the photo taken, you can see their face go from one of fun to one of disbelief that their photo looks like crap. By this time, two other groups have gone up to take their picture and you either can wait another 20 minutes or just settle on a lousy photo. The bottom line, pack a tripod in your luggage and take it with you to your shoot at the Sign. This way, you can compose the shot exactly the way you want it and, assuming you are shooting with a digital camera, you can take test shots with other people before you so when it’s your turn, you get the best possible results from your camera shooting off a timer rather than from a young couple still recovering from their previous night’s partying.
  
• Always use a flash…always! Obviously if  you’re shooting people in front of the Sign at night you’re going to want to use a flash on your camera but even if you’re shooting during the day, turn your flash on as well. "But Adam, if we’re shooting in the middle of the afternoon, there is plenty of light outside. Why should I use my flash?" Well, unless you want your subjects in the photo to look like a black-and-white cookie you get at the deli, you need to tell your camera that a fill flash is needed. By default, your camera’s meter readings are going to tell the camera to turn off the flash but what it doesn’t know is that the light you are using is very harsh light, which is really bad for photographs. The Sign faces south, which means you will be shooting to the north. If you are shooting during the winter months, the sun in Las Vegas will be traveling over the southern sky which is helpful, but during the busy tourist months of summer, it’s directly overhead. Regardless of when you are shooting, unless you are shooting within an hour of sunrise or just before sunset, the sunlight will be your enemy. Your subjects will be either dark on one side and light on the other or will have such terrible facial shadows that everyone will look like an alien when you take their picture. The solution? Force  your camera to use it’s flash. If you don’t know how to do this, read your owner’s manual. The flash will compensate for the shadows and your subjects will look great instead of like Martians.

The last and best piece of advice I can give you when taking pictures out at the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign is to be patient. If you get there and others are there taking photos too, use the time wisely. When waiting in line, start taking test shots and get your camera settings read so when it’s your time, you don’t have to mess with your camera while others are waiting on you to get your shot and move along. Preparation is the difference between getting mediocre photos and getting a shot you will be showing with pride to your friends and family for years to come.

If you’re coming to Las Vegas and want some awesome photos of your vacation or event while you’re here, give me a call to book me as your own "personal paparazzi". Your event lasts but a moment, but your photos last a lifetime!