Fremont Street Experience • Las Vegas, Nevada

The Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas in full swing with massive 4 block long LED display and eardrum busting sound system. That's a huge tongue licking a sucker (candy not gambler).

The world's largest LED display is good for more than mere eye candy. Its canopy retains cool air from AC pouring out of casinos while deflecting the blazing Nevada sun. A typical summer day in Vegas is 100-115 degrees F., so Fremont Street is a refreshingly cool experience if you stroll the casino mall. Likewise, frosty Vegas winters are a little warmer under the LED display canopy. Although they change programming periodically, once you've seen one video, you've seen 'em all. If you don't mind shoulder to should crowds and drunks, the Fremont Street Experience is a blast New Years Eve with classic rock bands, fireworks and constant light-shows.

A quick technical note. It took me many practice shots to get this image right. First, a clear shot of the video canopy was boring, so I needed a foreground object to create graphic tension, scale and depth. If would seem an easy selection with so much neon signage, but most lights are disabled during the "Fremont Street Experience" video. I tried using fill flash on people and objects as foreground objects but wasn't pleased. One evening I was across the street from the main video display when the "Experience" switched on and noticed signage on that block remained on. So I composed with "Chief Hotel Court" in the foreground and waited for a nice video sequence and nailed a few shots. Incidentally, be prepared to monkey with exposure as most cameras have trouble with both the rapidly changing video display and the surrounding darkness (tends to overexpose).