tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994055077096729312024-03-08T05:13:02.692-06:00On ThreeSherriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04688721745454625582noreply@blogger.comBlogger146125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-799405507709672931.post-3919294673744247462012-08-02T22:24:00.000-05:002012-08-02T22:24:52.040-05:00NC Trip: Day 2.On Sunday we officially left Asheville for the Great Smokey Mountains, where we would stay for three nights at the Nantahala Outdoor Center. Truth: after hiking for two days, we found that our rooms were at...the...bottom of four flights of outdoor steps. To quote Earnest P. Worrel: "These steps might as well be Mt. Everest."<br />
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But before that, at the beginning of the day, we headed to the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, a cool seven miles through picturesque forest that includes trailheads to several waterfalls.<br />
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I knew from my 'research' that there was a much higher chance of seeing black bears in the Smokies than in the Blue Ridge - but I didn't expect us to encounter one literally five minutes into the trail!<br />
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So it looks like an adolescent bear, especially since the mama didn't come barreling out of the woods to eat all dozen of us who had gotten out of our cars to follow the bear on foot.<br />
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We chose Grotto Falls as our waterfall for the day; it was warmer than the day before, and the trail, we think, is closer to 2 miles one way than the 1.5 they advertise. Very beautiful, though, and I'd never seen so many rhododenron in bloom as there were this year.<br />
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Grotto Falls was literally a piece of paradise. Even with a ton of people there (who happened to be much more cognizant of those who were taking photos).<br />
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When photogaphing waterfalls the ideal situation is a cloudy day; we didn't have any of those that week. ;-) Hence my neutral density filters. So it was difficult to get a great exposure in which the water didn't have blown highlights and the surrounding area was exposed correctly (so that the entire photo has even lighting). But, I did what I could! I especially liked the moss-covered rocks at the base.<br />
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There are plenty of overlooks along the Parkway; unfortunately I didn't get a snapshot of the name of this one but, the memories last nonetheless.<br />
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I was, I'll admit it, a bit adamant about catching the sunset at Clingman's Dome while we were in the Smokies. There was a lot of driving involved, having to get to the NOC and then back to Clingman's, so I'm very grateful to my friends for being up for it.<br />
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Lots of sunset photos here!<br />
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On the bright side, I've been kinda busy at the 'business' blog (check out the link, righthand column), redecorating and rearranging things. And I've been learning studio photography and how to shoot people. :) (With my camera) I've also been to the Chinese Lantern Festival at the botanical garden. So there is plenty to post in the coming days and weeks. Hope you enjoy!<br />
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Okay. Day 1.<br />
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I made it to Asheville in 8 hours and 45 minutes. I am awesome. I managed to sleep a bit before packing up the car and heading out by 1 am. So with no pit stops for sleep - yay! - and two stops for gas (boooo), I showed that stretch of highway who's boss.<br />
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We had quite a first day (we being my photog friend Jennie and her husband Randall. I know. I'm always the third wheel). We went to: Looking Glass Falls, Graveyard Fields, the Richland Balsam area, and stopped at a multitude of overlooks all along the way.<br />
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I had uber-prepared, as I think I've mentioned here on the blog, by purchasing two more ND filters, both a +4. So stacking them along with the +2 I already had, meant that I could finally, really get those waterfall shots. It also meant that I came to understand the limitations of my camera better, and while I love my entry-level DSLR, I am no longer an entry-level player.<br />
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So here's Looking Glass:<br />
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Yellowstone Prong along the hike to Graveyard Fields:<br />
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A zoom shot of the lower portion of the lower falls (more on why in a sec):<br />
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And a portrait-style orientation of the lower falls:<br />
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Notice. The people. They were everywhere. In the water, on the rocks, at the top of the falls, at the bottom, crawling up, crawling down...it made me wish I'd packed something other than my camera. Now, the weather was great, and it was a cloudy day for about half of it so prime time for people to get and enjoy their beautiful state. But all the same...I guess I just never though of waterfalls as places to go frolicking in a bathing suit. I thought you were supposed to stand in awe of nature, and get a few great shots. (And believe me, the crowds were worse at Looking Glass)<br />
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So there are a few folks in the photo above - but at least they're wearing nice colors. ;-)<br />
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A few pretty shots, from the Graveyard trail and from an overlook:<br />
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Funnily enough, though I'd gone on this trip with one singular goal besides re-connecting with my friend, that being to capture some great sunsets, I didn't take into account the perfection of the clouds until we were up in the Richland Balsam area.<br />
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It was stormy looking...<br />
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Then the light began to break through...<br />
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And then the heavens opened up.<br />
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A great final image for a great first day.Sherriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04688721745454625582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-799405507709672931.post-54205283080248258532012-06-17T15:29:00.003-05:002012-06-17T15:29:45.010-05:00Missouri Botanical Garden.A couple of months ago I decided that since it was finally spring and I hadn't had hardly anything to photograph since last autumn, I would go out to the botanical garden and splurge on flower photos. (As you may have guessed, I kind of like photographing flowers)<br />
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This will likely be my last post before my trip to North Carolina. I leave super early this coming Saturday morning; we've got the logistics mostly planned out, and my money is safely tucked away. We'll be spending a few days in the Smokies, and then a few days tooling around the Blue Ridge Parkway, seeing sights new and old. My calm tone betrays how fantastically over-excited I am to finally be going back, and with two more camera lenses, several different filters, a tripod, and mo' knowledge. Plus a vow to myself to get those overlook photos at either sunrise or sunset, instead of at high noon with nothing but haze and white sky to photograph. :)<br />
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Anyway...flowers.<br />
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Last weekend I went to the LaFayette Square Spring Home and Garden event, which they hold every first weekend in June, allowing visitors to tour select homes in the historical district. The homes themselves are unique and beautiful, ranging in style from Second French Empire to Italianate to German Romanesque. Unfortunately you won't see photos of houses in this post, because I'm still deciding what to do with them - architecture photography is not my strong suit. :)<br />
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I went with my aunt, who is diligently learning her camera and taking some excellent photos. She's lucky enough to have a Canon 50D with an 18-200mm and a 105mm macro (which takes <i>gawgeous </i>pictures). But I've also fooled her into thinking I know anything about photography, so she asks for pointers and I help out. Sometimes I get the feeling that I'm leading her astray...like saying, 'oh, I never use landscape mode' or 'what? Manual? Nope.' She asked me one time what F-stop to use and I was like.....<br />
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*crickets*<br />
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(I only manipulate the aperture when photographing waterfalls and the beach. In my defense!)<br />
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So, I think actually her queries will lead me to learn the more difficult aspects of photography, since the last thing I want to do is give bunk advice. :-P<br />
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On to the photos.<br />
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So there was a vintage baseball game in the park; I was kind of expecting it to be all <i>League of Their Own/The Natural</i>, with everyone in stripes using hay bales to demarcate out-of-bounds with golden light illuminating the tiny buzzing bugs while Copland-esque music swelled...clearly I need to get out more.<br />
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And there was jazzy lot outside of a cafe treating the crowd to 40s standards and in general being very mod.<br />
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A fun day. :)Sherriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04688721745454625582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-799405507709672931.post-2278787164259971642012-04-10T18:23:00.000-05:002012-04-10T18:23:22.487-05:00Flickr.I've been wanting to post about Flickr for almost a year, almost since in I joined in March of 2011. It took me almost as long to decide to join in the first place, because I was wary of putting my stuff out there to be critiqued. A writer on the popular Light Stalking blog had noted that Flickr commentors could be brutally honest and to be prepared for that if you join. So I eventually got up the gumption and I'm still active and loving it.<br />
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But, I've learned a LOT in a year about the way the Flickr community operates. It is very different than I thought it would be. So here are my thoughts on the whole thing.<br />
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<b>The Photos</b><br />
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You get absolutely everything on Flickr (which makes sense, since there untold numbers of members from literally all over the world). You get the cream of the crop – photos that have won awards, contests, been published in magazines; you get photos that are beautiful or interesting but done by amateur photogs with no intent to go professional; photos that are just moments in someone's life that they want to share; and photos that are basically on Flickr to make use of its fundamental purpose as file storage.<br />
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If you go beyond that, things get strange. Like the paradoxes – photos that are magnificent but receive little adulation, while squarely mediocre photos get tons of love. I've stumbled across a photostream where the member posts five or six shots of the same subject with miniscule variations – and yet each photo garners hundreds of comments. On top of that...they're not even great photos. What motivates other members to keep fawning? It is a mystery.<br />
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But there are many mysteries on Flickr. Such as the members who have truly beautiful images, and yet inspire members to continue to comment on every single one of them, day after day, without any of the said photos being posted to a group (more on groups in a minute). In one vein, it's heartening; it's great that someone can find so many dedicated fans for good art. In another vein, the loyalty is still a bit of a head-scratcher. Does the photographer know all these people? Does he or she belong to some big photo group in some big city, where all the members commit to patting each other on the back on Flickr? Is the photographer actually famous and I just happen not to know who they are? You could ponder these things without end, let me tell you. (It's also sad to see great quality photos posted to dozens of groups that yet only received three or four comments – but, more on groups on a minute)<br />
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All in all, photos-wise, Flickr is a phenomenal place to find some of the best photographic images you'll ever see, and there is such a wide variety from, again, all over the world. There's something for everyone. Last summer, thanks to Flickr, I discovered three places in California that I knew I wanted to visit on my next trip – Round Valley, Natural Bridges State Beach, and Treasure Island. I made it to all three places and had a wonderful time. Without Flickr, I'd have just been plodding along the streets of Berkeley furtively taking photos of people's gardens.<br />
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<b>The People</b><br />
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Oh, there are many kinds of people on Flickr...<br />
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<i>The nice ones.</i> These are people who graciously comment on one of your photos after you've commented on theirs. They make sure to visit your photostream with a modicum of regularity. If you make a joke or ask a question in your comment, they reply. They add you as a contact because they want to keep up with your work – or are simply returning the favor because you added them first. They reply to a private message if you send them one. You know. Good, neighborly behavior.<br />
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<i>The quiet ones.</i> These people tend to post artistic, moody images. They may not post regularly, because they're off brooding. They often do fabulous work but are not exactly interested in other people (or other people's photos). Yet they still garner a nice following because of the quality of their images. You may add them as a contact; you may comment on their photos frequently; but they are too busy philosophizing over depth of field to notice or respond in kind.<br />
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<i>The divas.</i> These photographers have great stuff and they know it. Often they are world travelers and have photos from Hawai'i to Bali to Egypt to New Zealand. You wonder if they are trust fund babies. Each and every photo posted was taken with a Canon EOS 5D MkII. They only post to groups like Outdoor Photography Magazine and Popular Photography Magazine. But here's how you really know a diva. They never, ever, ever acknowledge anyone's existence (and by that I mean comments). There could be 100 comments salivating over the light and composition and use of foreground subjects, and you will hear nary a word of thanks. It does make you wonder why people continue to, in fact, acknowledge a diva's existence.<br />
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<i>The heroes.</i> These are photographers who are good-natured, have great photos, and get lots of comments – but for every comment they get, they go to that person's photostream and do them a solid. I know two men in particular who do this doggedly. No matter how many people flock to their photos, these guys always flock right back. If I have a photo that doesn't have a comment, all I've got to do is go comment on one of Russ or Daniel's photos. Their comments to me might be repetitive (few variations on 'excellent photo, great job!') but who can blame them? Their effort is truly heroic.<br />
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<i>The favoriter.</i> This Flickr member gets his or her kicks by favoriting millions of photos a day. Okay, that's an exaggeration. But they likely have hundreds of thousands of favorited photos over the course of their click-happy time on the website. I have to wonder what's the point. Do they seriously want a gigantic collection of what they feel is the best of Flickr? Or are they too lazy to post comments and they feel we will appreciate a favorite just the same? Questions linger.<br />
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<i>The ship passing in the night.</i> These are photographers who are probably very committed to their own circle of friends and just don't know what to say to anyone else. So you comment on their lovely images time and again, not looking for reciprocation, just wanting to support them. And then one day – bam! They leave a very friendly comment on one of your better photos. You beam. You giggle. You feel moisture at the corner of one eye. And then...days, weeks pass, and they never post another comment. Ever.<br />
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<i>The lonely artist.</i> These are photographers I've mentioned above – they have beautiful stuff, but no one seems to notice it. Yeah, it's a big world out there in Flickr land, but it's sad to see such amazing photos go under-appreciated. Your mind starts to whir: did they do something in the past to alienate everyone? Have they been on Flickr for eight years and people are just sick of seeing them? Do they leave nasty comments on other photos? Who will ever know. This tragedy, however, leads right into...<br />
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<i>The complete and total head-scratcher.</i> These are photographers who post badly composed, un-contrasted, un-saturated, cluttered images of dead forests and fuzzy twilit streams and still get ten to twenty comments per image talking about 'beautiful photo!' and 'I love this!' This is where my theory of some amateur photo club patting each other on the back comes into play. It is the ONLY reason for such nonsense.<br />
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<i>The missing and/or dead.</i> Lastly, these are people on Flickr who have simply stopped posting. You do have to wonder what happened in their lives. It could be anything: a bad divorce, a sudden catastrophe, a realization that underwater basket-weaving is actually their one true love. Here's a case in point: one of the most amazing photos I've ever seen on Flickr, of two egrets surrounded by the golden water of sunset taking flight in perfect balletic harmony, was posted by a Brazilian woman very interested in the plight of endangered animals in Africa. She posted beautiful things. But her last post was in 2008. I am convinced she was run over by a rhinoceros.<br />
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<b>The Comments</b><br />
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Remember how I said the Light Stalking guy warned us to be prepared for brutal honesty on Flickr?<br />
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He lied.<br />
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I can count on three fingers the number of times I've even seen someone get the guts to even remotely critique a photo or offer a suggestion. 99.99999999% of the time the photos are all praise; some of it earned, some obviously not. There are, of course, several categories of comments to be found on the site.<br />
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<i>The thoughtful praise.</i> Someone looked at your photo, was moved by it, and decided to tell you exactly what they like. Example: “I'm impressed by how you managed to keep the natural tone of the colors in the sunset while still preserving some detail in the foreground. I can't believe this isn't HDR!” Of course it doesn't have to go that far. A simple “What a beautiful flower. Thank you for sharing this with us” will do.<br />
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<i>The pointless utterance.</i> This is the one- or two-word comment. “Great.” “Nice.” “Love it.” If they're really indifferent, they won't even end it with a period. Gee, thanks. (The pointless utterance comes with a particular sting when you know they've only come to your photostream because you went to theirs first. Ouch)<br />
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<i>The personal comment.</i> These are always nice; shows they care. “I'm really loving this whole series of butterflies!” or “I like what you've been doing with black and white lately.”<br />
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<i>The cut-and-paste.</i> This accounts for probably the majority of comments on Flickr. Everyone uses it, though some people use it exclusively – though this is not a good thing. To be more specific, these are words: “capture,” “compo,” “DOF,” and a host of others designed to pinpoint something good about the photo without going into ANY detail. Pair it with an overused adjective and you have the cut-and-paste in all its glory. “Great capture!” “Wonderful compo.” “Nice DOF.”<br />
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<i>The deflection.</i> This kind of comment always leaves one feeling conflicted. It goes something like this: you post a picture of, say, a solitary rock at Mirror Lake in Yosemite, and a commentor says, “Man, I remember visiting this place as a kid. Brings back good memories.” (This totally didn't happen to me) So what you're saying is, you think I'm a hack and you're only commenting because I commented on one of your award-winning photos first, and to avoid lying, you're just going to focus on the history/interestingness of my photo in the larger context of the world and time.<br />
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<i>The hideous group award.</i> I specifically do NOT join groups where commenting/awarding is mandatory. (One group even threatens to remove you if you don't follow through – <i>because they are tracking you</i>. Dudes!) I'll get more into this later (yes, group analysis still a-comin'!), but most of the group award icons are awful. Huge. Animated. Some Flickr users even warn that they will remove your comment if it includes such a thing. I don't blame 'em.<br />
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(In the interests of full disclosure, I do belong to one award group, but hand to God, they invited me first. I'm supposed to post one photo of a rose and then award three others. I do my duty, and then quietly disappear)<br />
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<i>The look-at-me.</i> As bad a group awards are, as pathetic as deflections make you feel, the “look at me!” has got to be the most heinous thing I've ever seen on Flickr. Now, this is my opinion only. It's not like I hate the people that do this or something, because in the end, it's just Flickr, not the nuclear arms race. But, it strikes me as especially odd when someone comments on your photo and then says, oh by the way, check out my latest photo – <i>and then posts the image. In the comment</i>. Still worse, somehow some folks are able to post a modestly-sized horizontal grouping of six or seven of their best shots (or something; I don't know, I always look away, numbed with horror). “Look at me!” Dudes. If you're gonna comment on my photo...for the love of all that is sacred...don't make it about you.<br />
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<b>The Groups</b><br />
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Ahh, groups.<br />
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There's so much to be said that I just cannot say it all here. Basically groups are started by a member or members who want to have a place for all the photos of a certain genre or place to be collected. There are general groups for nature, black and white photography, grafitti, national parks, portraiture, autumn; more specific groups for only Yellowstone or only sports or only the San Diego Zoo or only silhouettes. You get the drift. There is such a diversity of groups that there is literally something for everyone – like the Stick Figures in Peril group (hi-larious), where members post photos of warning signs from around the world showing a stick figure about to meet its doom if it does a certain action.<br />
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Initially you join a group because you want to be a part of something, or you want to be able to see all the beautiful blooms of spring with just a click. There are discussion threads, which cover everything from 'say hello!' to 'comment on your favorite photo by the person above you' to games and so forth. It can be very fun if the group has an active community. Some groups have hundreds of thousands of members; some have (ahem) 54.<br />
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But then you get greedy. After posting in a few groups, you notice that you're getting more comments. So you join a few more groups. You get a few more comments. Suddenly you're a member of 98 groups and you figure you should stop before hitting 100 and becoming a complete, desperate dweeb.<br />
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Then you realize there are good and bad times to post in a group. Though the community is worldwide, there are enough people who live in your country to know that posting to a group at 2 a.m. is not smart if you're trying to grab attention. However, if you're in a big group where photos are posted every minute, you know once you post that it will move quickly off the front page. So you start strategizing again. Soon, you realize that getting comments has become an obsession.<br />
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Some people deal with this by joining a group where commenting and awards are mandatory. You may stumble across a just-okay photo with 39 comments and think, 'what can I learn from them?' Then you realize that 38 of the comments are gaudy awards with no personal message whatsoever, just people sweating whilst filling their “post 1/award 9” requirements before the Machine catches them resting and deactivates their membership. Needless to say, I feel this is kind of a shameless way to get comment which, sadly, are the currency of Flickr. (Just like comments are the currency of the blogosphere. Cough. Cough)<br />
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Of course, I don't truly know the motivation of people who join these kinds of groups. Maybe they just love handing out awards indiscriminately. Maybe they like brightening someone's day with a .gif of a kitten with its nose endlessly scrunching. These are benign things. I just...I don't know. I'll never do it.<br />
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(For clarification, this is not the same as having html for saying, like, 'this photo was seen in Colors of the World!' or whatever. You can chose to do that if you want, it's not mandatory)<br />
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But you know what I found through all this? Posting what you think is a potential National Geographic cover in 45 distinct groups, doesn't actually get you any more comments. In fact, whatever logarithm determines what motivates someone to comment on your photo is completely unknown to me. It's just not something you can force, outside of an awards group. You can't make them love you. And if you put all your time and effort into generating adoration, you will only be let down. I don't know what makes four hundred people decide to comment on six photos of the exact same bird sitting on the exact same branch half-obscured by the exact same rotted leaf. I don't know why one guy posts stunning street photography from my hometown and gets dozens of views and absolutely zero comments, every single time. It makes no sense. And that is the true mystery of Flickr. Don't try to solve it. You'll only go crazy.<br />
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<i>About Me</i><br />
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So, what's funny is that while I've learned a lot about Flickr in a little over a year, the only thing I've learned about my own photography is that sometimes the photo you almost don't even want to post is the one people gravitate to the most. Outside of that, I can't worry about why a photo I absolutely adore and consider a new pinnacle of my craft, only got two comments. Or why for a while I could post just about anything and it would get upwards of 16 comments. Or why that one day stopped. I won't worry about why someone who used to always visit me never does anymore, even though I never forgot about them. I just have to take my head out of that game, and enjoy seeing my photos in a nice community, with faceless photographers I've come to really like whose work I enjoy immensely. And that's what it should be about. Right? The old adage “the more comments a photo has, the better it is” just isn't true.<br />
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So I stopped posting every single photo in as many groups as possible. I just gave up, literally. And guess what...I still get comments, from the people that remember me and whom I remember to remember. After a week or so I might put, say, a photo of a chimp eating a dandelion in some relevant groups (animals, the zoo), and it won't get me any more comments. But that's okay. I've let it go. I am free.<br />
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<i>Wrap-Up</i><br />
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There are plenty of other places to share your photos and be a part of a photography community on the, as they say, interwebs. Facebook, obviously. Google + (of which I'm not a part) apparently had big name photogs liking the possibilities there. I adore the look and layout of 500px, though I refuse to join until I feel worthy. There are some ridiculously fabulous photos on there.<br />
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Some people feel Flickr is about to fall by the wayside – or that it already has. I say, people are too eager to announce the death of something (probably the same pesky people considered 'early adapters'). There's room enough for everybody in this world.<br />
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I read a comment once on a blog about the sheer banality of the commenting on Flickr, how it's just photographers in the infancy of knowledge and skill, trying to use words like 'composition' and 'depth of field' in an attempt to sound big-time. I'll admit...sometimes...coming from certain people...ehhhh. Well, anyway, this person's snobbish comment is totally lost on anyone because hey, head over to 500px – a much more mature, worldly, exclusive version of Flickr – and guess what? They're saying the exact same things! Cut-and-pastes! Deflections! Pointless utterances! Just because these comments may be coming from people who have a little more experience doesn't make the quality of said comments any better. And if you're the kind of person who'd rather see “nice job” from some bum fumbling with his MkII in the wilds of the Amazon rather than a housewife whose blossoming photography is saving her from meaninglessness, then you suck.<br />
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Finally (yes, at last), I should clarify that I've learned a lot about photography in general in the year since I've been on Flickr, but that came from getting out there and shooting and not being afraid to go to places I'd never been before (and alone, no less). It came from sitting in Barnes and Noble pouring over photography technique books I can't afford, and from hitting the blogs and websites whenever time allows. Flickr may be able to pat you on the back, but only hard work and experience can lead you to where you want to go.Sherriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04688721745454625582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-799405507709672931.post-2361796277211354272012-04-05T17:55:00.000-05:002012-04-05T17:55:22.204-05:00The Shrine of St. Joseph and St. John's.Let's get back to church!<br />
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This first set of photos is from The Shrine of St. Joseph near downtown St. Louis.<br />
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I was with a group so, I practiced my not being embarrassed to break away and be a photographer in front of everybody skills.<br />
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I like how each church's altar is different. It'd be sad if they were all the same.<br />
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The next photos are from St. John the Apostle and Evangelist Catholic Church in downtown St. Louis. The painting is Rafael's 'The Transfiguration,' showing Jesus' ascent to heaven, the appearance of Moses and Elijah beside him, and below, the exorcism of a young boy.<br />
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*cue Gregorian chant*Sherriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04688721745454625582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-799405507709672931.post-76326367479256214442012-04-02T00:40:00.000-05:002012-04-02T00:40:52.773-05:00Mariposas (y floras).<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o171/Aquisces/Photo%20Blog%20Pictures/052-4.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br />
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<br />Sherriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04688721745454625582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-799405507709672931.post-67972467704290305832012-03-30T18:11:00.001-05:002012-03-30T18:18:32.615-05:00El zoologico.That's Spanish for 'the zoo.'<br />
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I realized there are only so many photos you can take of the same animals. And every visit will be different. Some days the animals will be alert and enjoy the humans. Other days they'll stay inside the one tight little space allotted for them where they can't be seen, ever. That was kind of the experience this past Sunday, which was a little sad because it was my friend Josh's first visit to the St. Louis Zoo.<br />
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However, we did see a few really cool things! One being a gorilla getting all ticked off at all the people staring at him, and then standing up and beating on his chest. Like in a real jungle!! Did I get a picture of it? Nooooo.<br />
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So you'll have to settle for these.<br />
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I'm gonna try not to make a big deal out of this, sooooo......<br />
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THE PEACOCK SPREAD HIS FEATHERS!!!!! O!!!! M!!!! G!!!! FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!<br />
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YEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!<br />
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Ahhhh. Moving on.<br />
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I hadn't been to the reptile house ('herpatarium') in a few years, and I wanted to get a shot of the brilliant green snake they have. But he was alllll curled up and antisocial.<br />
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So I found others to love. :)<br />
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And now...the tulipgasm.<br />
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<br />Sherriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04688721745454625582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-799405507709672931.post-26201194491493573642012-03-28T18:15:00.003-05:002012-03-28T18:16:38.760-05:00MOAR BLOOMS.(Before we begin, I did get to the zoo with my good friend Josh (and even Lorna for a bit!) so there will be animal photos forthcoming and, of course, TULIPS)<br />
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I caught these on the sly while at Faust Park with my grandmother, visiting the Butterfly House.<br />
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And yes, there will be butterfly pictures. Thank God for spring!!Sherriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04688721745454625582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-799405507709672931.post-78620321681964465932012-03-27T13:59:00.000-05:002012-03-27T13:59:13.878-05:00The deep south.So I was back in the Texas/Louisiana area a couple of weeks ago. I got to see a bit more of Shreveport, including visiting an old Victorian mansion (the Logan Mansion) haunted by the ghost of a little girl named Theodora. I have not yet analyzed my photographs for ORBS, though.<br />
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This place is across the street, unoccupied right now but a bed and breakfast will be in the works after extensive renovation.<br />
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Lots of flowers were in bloom, which was fun.<br />
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Another thing I did was drive to Marksville in central Louisiana to visit a historical mounds site. The state is so charming! I love the south. One day I have to get to New Orleans so I can visit all the old plantation homes, but who knows when that will be.<br />
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While at the historic site, I caught sight of chameleon! What fun!<br />
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Next up: MORE SPRING BLOOMS.Sherriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04688721745454625582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-799405507709672931.post-38973931196630660462012-03-24T18:17:00.000-05:002012-03-24T18:19:11.698-05:00More spring blooms.Spring flowers actually have to disappear from the face of the earth in order for me to stop photographing them.<br />
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Something just doesn't feel appropriate about photographing the inside of a tulip.<br />
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Before we continue - I'm going to the zoo tomorrow so hopefully the tulips there will be in full bloom and I'll have more of them to show here! And if not, I'll probably just obssessively post old tulip photos from last year.<br />
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Now for some good and bad news: the good news is, I know that the pretty pink-and-white blooms I've been posting are....apple blossoms! What a cute name. The bad news is, what I've thought were dogwood blossoms all along were actually white cherry blossoms. I have literally never taken a photo of a dogwood blossom. Yet again, my world is rocked.<br />
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St. Francis Xavier's College Church sits on the campus of St. Louis University (SLU to us natives) near the downtown area. I'd never been in it before, mostly because I'm not Jesuit and I did not attend SLU. But, suffice it to say, I loved it - I love cathedrals in general.<br />
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They were built during a time when the large majority of people in western Europe were part of the peasantry, and lived awful, miserable lives only elevated by the belief that their agonies would be rewarded in heaven. Cathedrals are massive, echoey, and some of them almost unnecessarily tall - but they were made so in order to reflect the infinitude of God and His mercy. When people went to mass in the cathedrals, they were in awe of God.<br />
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The architecture reflects one of the things we want most from God - order from chaos. The staggering symmetry of the interior designs pleases the human eye in ways almost nothing else can; the perfectly identical Corinthian columns suggest purpose and knowing. The craftsmanship of the stained glass windows and, high above opposite the altar, the Rose window, prove that skill and patient effort are beautiful things. And the intricate detail in the ornate ceilings, the painterly depictions of the life of Christ, the bronze-cast Pieta just off the rectory - all of it comes together in a dazzle of art, meaning, love, and endless worship that, I believe, are the perfect setting for escaping the world, escaping one's pains, and just being reminded that there is something bigger, and powerful, and masterful over it all.<br />
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In a way cathedrals mimic those parts of nature that have the same effect. To stand before Yosemite Falls, the Grand Tetons, the Grand Canyon, the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Pacific Ocean, Iguazu Falls, the Nile, Kilimanjaro - you get a sense of your place in the world. You are small, the world is big. But the bigness feels <i>right</i>. The awe it inspires <i>means </i>something. It feels right to feel small against the vastness. It's okay. It is the order of things.<br />
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St. Francis Xavier's was built in the 19th century in the Gothic style. I assume that the Gothic is responsible for the arches that seem to flow backward in waves. I do believe I like this style the best. In it, the beauty of symmetry is most apparent.<br />
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When I took photos inside the Cathedral Basilica (decorated entirely with mosaic tiles), I needed a tripod. While at St. Francis Xavier's, I did not have my tripod and was on a serious time crunch. Yet, quite mysteriously, I did not need my tripod. The light was a bit low as usual, and yet my photos suffered no camera shake and therefore no blur. I got the photos I wanted in one try. What's more, typically when you photograph stained glass windows, the light shining through is so intense that the camera can only expose for it, leaving the surrounding areas dark if not black. And yet, everything was fine.<br />
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Every cathedral's altar is different, and you can spend a lot of time studying all the elements one is composed of. I personally loved the blue color scheme dominating the cathedral's main space (the nave and crossing), and you'll notice the rich dark blue stained glass behind the grand sculpture in this next photo.<br />
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In music history in college, whilst learning about chant and thus some of the history of the Church and cathedrals, Dr. Koegel specifically pointed out the Rose window of cathedral architecture. Ever since then I have loved seeking it out specifically, as it seems so pointedly special. It can be difficult to get a good shot, since they are always high up and sometimes set back a ways so that you end up getting as much balcony ledge as window. But yesterday, it went well.<br />
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I especially love how the high blue windows colored the light coming in, as above; I specifically allowed the light into the picture because it created a sort of ethereal, holy effect.<br />
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And, once more with feeling -<br />
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It is not easy deciding on a landscape or portrait view of the nave because it is at once both gradly wide and tall. I'm sure someone out there has found a way to put a series of photos together to make one full view - but you're not going to see that kind of technique out of me any time soon. ;-)<br />
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One thing that really amazes me about the last photo of the nave is that not only was it my final shot inside and I was being hurried out the door (had a bus to catch), not only is it still sharp with absolutely no blur, but it honestly looks like an HDR rendering. It looks as though I took three or four shots at different exposure values and blended them. There's that softness that often comes with certain kinds of HDR, and a magical sort of coloring too.<br />
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How to explain it?<br />
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I leave that up to you.<br />
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I don't know what kind of blooms these are, all I know is they're awesome.<br />
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I do know that these next blooms are called red buds, even though they are the loveliest shade of pink/purple.<br />
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I don't know what these are called either. =)<br />
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And as always, the bloom of the state tree of Missouri, the dogwood.<br />
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(However, it looks so much like a cherry blossom, and I always thought cherry blossoms were at their core pink, not yellow or green...but it also seems like people on Flickr don't know the difference either. So for now I say, dogwood!)<br />
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There will be more photos in the very near future, as I took another trip down to Texas and Louisiana last week, and had a really cool day trip yesterday with lots of amazing photo opps. So stay tuned!!Sherriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04688721745454625582noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-799405507709672931.post-39196551772751014712012-01-29T11:18:00.000-06:002012-01-29T11:28:53.971-06:00Caddo Lake...for real.<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o171/Aquisces/Photo%20Blog%20Pictures/109-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br />
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Well, I'm back home from east Texas.<br />
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I went for my job - but it didn't really feel like work. It was kind of an impromptu trip; the boss and I left on the train Thursday night and I just got home about three hours ago. You may recall that I went to Texas last March, and visited Caddo Lake State Park at Big Cypress Bayou. I was only able to stand at the water's edge that time; a steamboat tour is available in the spring, summer and fall, but I just couldn't get myself up early enough to go. I wasn't going to let that happen this time!<br />
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Of course the steamboat tour wasn't available now, as it's winter, so I found another tour run by a Caddo Lake native named John Winn. He gives several different kinds of tours, including a photography tour, so I booked one for myself for Saturday morning. There are lots of photos to show, but you'll have to endure my narrative too (as always). =)<br />
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I scheduled the tour for 7 a.m., since that was the earliest I could trust myself waking up for, and because there's that time of the morning right when the sun rises over the trees that the light is the most magical. John uses a Go Devil boat, which is shaped kind of like a canoe and powered by a motor, allowing us to wend through the thickets of cypress trees in a way regular boats (including that steamboat) can't.<br />
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Before the sun appeared, and because it's winter, everything was pretty monochromatic at first. No green leaves or blooms. John, being a photographer himself, mentioned that it's a good opportunity to use black-and-white photography, and I agreed. So this first set you'll see are my b&w conversions (and one experiment with a film filter), which definitely bettered the early photos.<br />
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If you're unfamiliar with bayous, they're filled with cypress trees that grow out of the water; John said there was one cypress that they'd calculated to be five hundred years old, with a thirty-foot wide base.<br />
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The stringy, curly stuff hanging from the branches is called Spanish moss. These trees lend very, very well to the often spooky atmosphere of the bayou (typically attributed to Louisiana; Caddo Lake actually crosses the border into Louisiana), and John offers a night tour for spotting gators and other wildlife, the air filled with the bellowing of frogs. I soooo want to do that.<br />
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Because of the way cameras expose for direct sunlight, I was able to get some shots that darkened the trees and water and gave a more evening time, 'spooky' feel.<br />
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As the sun continued to rise, rays shone on the trees and water, and the experience really began. You'll notice a variety of color tones; a lot of that has to do with how I composed the position of the sun in the photos. I also experimented a bit with color balance in post-processing, because in wintertime the bayou is almost like a blank slate; you can project many different qualities onto the grayish-brown trees and moss.<br />
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I tinkered with white balance a bit too; in the following photo I used 'warm,' and while it was generally too much, I did like how this came out:<br />
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And I tried b&w on a brighter shot of a long stand of trees, and actually really like the result:<br />
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All in all, a great way to spend two hours (and eighty bucks...thanks Dad!). I absolutely plan on going back in late spring or summer to take advantage of the greenery and blooms at sunset, and I hope I can drag Sara with me... ;-)<br />
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Last November I attended a march/protest sponsored by Occupy St. Louis - to take photos. Yeah, I'm mad at the 1% too, but public protest is not in my genetic makeup. However, it was pretty fun and exhilarating, and in order to get a variety of shots, well, I had to join the fray at some point. ;-)<br />
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The crowd of about five hundred marched from Kiener Plaza to the Martin Luther King bridge, hoping to shut down traffic and make a point. The cops were ready, as you saw, and about seven or eight protesters were clearly ready to be arrested. It was a peaceful confrontation, however. =)<br />
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All in all, an interesting experience, glad to have had it.<br />
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To give you the history of why the Lemp Mansion is haunted in brief - Adam Lemp moved here from Germany in 1838 and started a grocery, and soon began a brewery which was the first in the country to sell German lager. His son William Lemp took over the brewery after his death, and achieved much success, including nationwide and eventually worldwide distribution. William had five kids.<br />
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The tragedies began when William's favorite son, Frederick, died of heart failure at 28 in 1901. William was so distraught with grief, and unable to recover from the loss, that he committed suicide by gunshot in 1904. William, Jr. took over the brewery shortly after. He had a tumultuous marriage with Lillian Handlan, eventually ending in divorce. Prohibition caused the decline of the Lemp Brewery, which was sold at auction in 1922 for far, far less than it was worth. In December of that year, William, Jr. committed suicide by gunshot.<br />
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Elsa Lemp was the youngest child of William, Sr. and herself had a rocky marriage. In March of 1920, shortly after remarrying the same man, she committed suicide by gunshot.<br />
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Charles Lemp, the third son of William, Sr., never married and lived in the mansion with his dog and servants. In May of 1949, he shot his dog in the basement, then went upstairs and committed suicide by gunshot.<br />
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To take a breather from all the shooting one's self in the face, if you read the Wikipedia article on the mansion there's no mention of the child of, I believe, William, Jr. The child was special needs, perhaps had Downs syndrome, and this being the callous first half of the twentieth century, he was kept in the attic his entire life. He died there in, I think, his teens.<br />
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So, lots of tragedy makes for great hauntings. The mansion has even been on TV's <i>Ghost Hunters </i>(but, sadly, not yet <i>Ghost Adventures</i>. Single tear) I figured, what better way to encounter a ghost than to go to a haunted house on Halloween???<br />
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Well. Let's just get it out of the way. My group of about thirty who went to the late tour didn't encounter any shadow figures, any full-bodied apparitions, any disembodied voices, any poltergeist activity (moving objects), nothing of the sort. The most that happened was hearing knocks in the attic (and I only heard one of those). The tour guide was a lady who I guess is supposed to be clairvoyant, so she was all about claiming to see a waif in the doorway, or having to step around Charles's ghost dog; none of which I believe. I mean, come on. Because she has some 'gift,' she can see things that we can't. And we're just supposed to believe it. How scientific.<br />
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We got a chance to try out dousing rods, which the tour guide had demonstrated during her talk before the tour started (and her talk was, no lie, AN HOUR LONG). I could totally see her moving her body to manipulate the rods. When I tried them, I could only see that what they're made of (copper?) and how they're mad (maybe kind of weighted?) allows for some movement in your grip but nothing more. I've always hated the whole dousing rod thing, LOL. (Find me a well!)<br />
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I did encounter a cold spot in the dining room we were sitting in during her interminable talk (in which she did things like give us the definition of a ghost), but since we were supposed to be listening to her I couldn't say anything. A curtain tassle hanging from a window behind her seemed to be moving rather vigorously on its own, which Josh thought was awesome, but I could feel some cold air seeping in so I wasn't totally convinced that it wasn't just the movement of air causing it. Then again, I'm not totally convinced it was.<br />
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Anyway, Josh and I took about a million photos trying to catch a floating torso or glowing demon eyes or, more likely, orbs. Skeptics like to dismiss orbs as bugs or dust, in their typical way of necessarily dismissing everything in order to preserve their worldview. Orbs in the paranormal world are spheres of light that show up in photographs and on video, and are sometimes even visible to the naked eye, and they are meant to represent the presence of a spirit (since spirits are generally just energy).<br />
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Josh started catching orbs right away, and multiple orbs, and nice bright glowing orbs. I think the ghosts liked him. I was convinced they did not like me. I could not see any orbs whatsoever in any of the photos I took. I was totally bummed. Totally.<br />
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Anyway, our Lemp Mansion experience did not convince us of the existence of ghosts, that's for sure (even though I have to believe now after working at a haunted daycare). But I decided to go over my photos on my laptop and maybe something would be more visible on a larger screen.<br />
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So without further ado....<br />
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ORBS.<br />
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They are translucent, and difficult to see so please, put your nose up to the computer screen if you have to. I have helpfully drawn a red box around them to aid you.<br />
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This one is situated over the couch just so as to indicate perhaps a ghost sitting on it?? (yeah, I watch too much <i>Ghost Adventures</i>)<br />
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Ghost are supposed to LIVE down dark hallways, so I was super-bummed until I noticed the orb in this photo.<br />
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Is this ghost coming down the stairs?? (Probably to say hello to Josh?)<br />
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And with this orb's position low against the stair railing.....could it be Charles's dog?!?!<br />
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Good times, right.<br />
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My dream job would, obviously, be 'ghost hunter,' because I just think ghosts are awesome and I have the patience to do an all-night investigation. And I clearly have the patience to go through 150 photos checking every nook and cranny for tiny, faint orbs. There's an old penitentiary in the state capital that hosts all-night ghost hunts for a hundred bucks. One day!!Sherriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04688721745454625582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-799405507709672931.post-77242323895558304692011-11-02T22:43:00.000-05:002011-11-02T22:43:28.287-05:00Go Cards!<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o171/Aquisces/Photo%20Blog%20Pictures/058-4.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br />
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So as you know, the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series.<br />
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*pause for moment of reflection*<br />
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So, of course I went to the celebratory parade last Sunday.<br />
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My friend and I got there (way too) early to make sure we had a spot right at the barricades. I had brought my telephoto lens, but it's no fun regardless to be stuck behind a bunch of people and be that much further from the players we'd otherwise NEVER be that close to in life.<br />
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I thought I'd be smart and put my camera in sports mode so I wouldn't have to worry about blur and I'd be able to click away as fast as I wanted. But me being me, I zoinked out and put it in shutter priority mode (I guess making the primitive connection of the letter 's'). But it did result in a kind of cool photo I otherwise wouldn't have gotten.<br />
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And then sometimes the players wouldn't face our side of the street, so couple that with an unresponsive shutter, and you get madness! But, I'm glad for the photos I did manage to get.<br />
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Good times all around. =)<br />
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A little over a week ago, best friend/photographer Sara tipped me off that it was time. Time to see southern Missouri dressed in autumn.<br />
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So, off I went. =)<br />
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On Sunday I left out around 5:15am, hoping to reach rural southeast MO by the time the sun began creeping over the treetops. And this I accomplished; however, it is really hard to find good places to pull over, because the vast majority of the side of the road begins with ditches (or hollows). So even if I found something to photograph, it would be impossible without endangering myself/my car or just parking in the road. But I'm not one to let a little hardship stop me! There was enough abundance of early morning light and colorful leaves to get some shots I liked.<br />
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During my trip to visit Sara and Justin over the summer, we took a lot of side and back roads that I know nothing about, so imagine my surprise when I passed the entrance to Indian Trail State Park, just cruising down Hwy 19! I love how easy it is to get to. And by staying on 19 I was able to get back to Round Spring also. Alas, this is the time of the year when the spring is, as the website says, a "chocolate brown," so not much to see there - but I did investigate the creek and thought it was cool how the grasses are submerged in the water.<br />
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After picking up an Ozark Scenic Riverways brochure, I saw that Alley Mill, which we didn't have time to go see in July, was just a little further down 19, west on 106 past Eminence. It was only 10am at that point, so I figured, what the heck. :)<br />
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On the way I got some photos of quintessential southeast Missouri views.<br />
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Some great trees on the grounds of the mill and spring.<br />
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The bridge leading to the mill...<br />
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And here we have Alley Mill.<br />
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You can go inside. It's all set up with the original antique equipment, a tiny shop (where I bought a book on how to grow all the food I need on a tenth of an acre or something), and a little exhibit on the second floor. I had no idea it was set up that way, so it was a nice treat.<br />
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But ahoy, I mentioned a spring too! This one is still paradise blue, and actually about two or three times the size of Round Spring, and about the same size as Blue Spring.<br />
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The average daily flow of Alley Spring is 81 million gallons. To the right of the spring the water flows over rocks and begins gushing its way downhill towards the small river that leads away from the spring and mill.<br />
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Alley Mill and Spring are definitely a photographer's delight, just like the brochure said. =)<br />
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Just before the parking area for the mill, a bridge crosses over Jacks Fork River, and there's a walking bridge and, across the way, a little place to park. So on my way back, I walked out over the river to get a few shots.<br />
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By then it was a quarter to one, so I decided to head home. I had entertained going to Meramec State Park, because there's a river and lots of photo opps, but peaceful, scenic Alley Spring took care of that for me. I also had originally thought I might not head back till after sunset, but I had only gotten three hours of sleep the night before and was gonna be pretty beat by then, probably too beat to drive three hours home. So, I hit the pavement, and enjoyed the beautiful day all the way to home.<br />
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<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o171/Aquisces/Photo%20Blog%20Pictures/393-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>Sherriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04688721745454625582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-799405507709672931.post-79534856002646409142011-10-15T23:53:00.001-05:002011-10-15T23:53:59.549-05:00The pumpkin patch, again.So it's that time of year again - pumpkin patch time! My mom and I stalked the grounds with our cameras once again, were pestered by extremely young flies, posed with the tiniest pumpkin ever cultivated, tsk-tsked the rising prices, and made fun of the bounce house that curiously looked as though it had never been hosed down.<br />
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Last year's photos were nice, but this time around I had two lenses I didn't have before, the 50mm and the 55-200mm, and they made a big difference. Soooo sit back and enjoy!<br />
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<br />Sherriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04688721745454625582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-799405507709672931.post-12685153968535914362011-10-12T21:30:00.000-05:002011-10-12T21:30:00.343-05:00Gray days.This week I've decided to take some photos round the place with only my 50mm lens in black and white. It's a cool lens because the depth of field is so easy to manipulate, and there's a softness to the results you can't get with other lenses. Plus, coupling it with the black and white you automatically get that journalistic, documentarian style that, let's be honest, is pretty easy, as long as you get a little creative with the composition.<br />
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So, here is the first aggregation of photos from the first half of the week. Enjoy!<br />
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<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o171/Aquisces/Photo%20Blog%20Pictures/175.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>Sherriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04688721745454625582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-799405507709672931.post-14264111954056891942011-10-06T21:09:00.001-05:002011-10-06T21:09:57.761-05:00The end.As my final excursion in California, I got myself to Treasure Island (man-made, hovering near the Bay Bridge) to get a shot of the San Francisco skyline at night. It's a popular spot to see the skyline, so I wasn't alone by far, but there was a small group of unruly teens...anywho, I got to every place I wanted to go to this time around! And it'll probably be a long time before I go back to CA, though I do want to go back, on my own, with nothing but days and nights free to spend my way. =)<br />
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And I finally, finally got to Gilman Street at the proper time for sunset. Yet again, no clouds, but beggars can't be choosers.<br />
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As long as they're in bloom, right?<br />
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I've never been able to find a viable spiderweb to take a photo of (probably because I hate spiders and don't go traipsing where they call home), but they were out this day doing their thing:<br />
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Ahhhh. The Berkeley Rose Garden is endlessly rewarding. =)Sherriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04688721745454625582noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-799405507709672931.post-20070200946904041172011-09-16T04:00:00.000-05:002011-09-16T04:04:31.474-05:00Santa Cruz.<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o171/Aquisces/Photo%20Blog%20Pictures/DSC_0028.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br />
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Another place that I found courtesy of Flickr was Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz. It's about an hour and forty minutes south of Berkeley, a really beautiful drive that wound through mountains and gorgeous fir tree forests. At one point there was a dazzling lake vista - but alas, I was the driver, and I was alone. (Next time I'm pulling over)<br />
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When I got to West Cliff Drive, I hung a left and drove along the cliffs for a bit before parking. It was absolutely wonderful to be in the warm sun and the light wind and have this ridiculously amazing vista in both directions. Though I came ultimately for the natural bridge, I took some time (as it was still a few hours before sunset) to just soak it all in.<br />
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There were surfers! AWESOME.<br />
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The birds even like taking in the view.<br />
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There were lots of birds, as you'll see. It was the coolest thing to hear the waves - they really do "crash" against the shore, and when they hit the rocks they really do "thunder." I'd be walking along, unable to see the shoreline at certain points, and then the gigantic spray would be flung up almost near the top of the cliffs. Really, an amazing thing to see.<br />
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Okay, so funny story. When it was time for me to scope out the scene I'd come for (the natural bridge), I asked a pleasant-looking couple passing me if they knew which direction it was. The woman said they'd found it further west, but that it sadly had already crumbled into the sea.<br />
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Horrors!<br />
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I mean, this was, after all, the reason I drove all the way to Santa Cruz, right? I kept a brave face. I asked if they were sure, since I'd just seen a picture from about a month ago and it was standing tall and strong. She said yup, there were some people taking photos of it but it's days of glory were behind it now. So I said, 'Well, that sucks!' and thanked them for the info and headed despondently further west to see the death of the bridge. This is what I found:<br />
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Pretty pathetic. So I took a few photos, gamely, and then decided to just make sure that they were right after all. I walked maybe fifty more yards - and there it was in all it's splendor, right past the big sign none of us saw pointed toward Natural Bridges State Beach. It was literally the right turn I should have taken.<br />
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It. Is. AWESOME.<br />
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However, there used to be three bridges; the outer and innermost ones really have crumbled, the first at the turn of the twentieth century, and the second in the early eighties after a bad storm. All the erosion from the constant pounding of the surf means that this remaining bridge is, too, in danger of crumbling and likely within our lifetime. That will be a very sad day. So I'm glad I got to see it now. =)<br />
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And here we have arrived at the photo that I had in mind the entire time. Yes, I'm simply imitating the one I found on Flickr, and with inferior equipment it is probably a pale imitation indeed. But for me, it kind of represents a new high for my craft. It involved travel, new accessories, shooting in manual mode, and even learning a new post-processing technique. Everything had to come together the right way, and in the end I came away with this one single shot that worked.<br />
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Hope you like it. =)<br />
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How I got the water to look that way is I went into manual mode, set the aperture to f/25, and then experimented with long shutter speeds. In the end, this three-second exposure took the cake. (It's possible to do thirty-second exposures and longer, which results in the water looking as smooth as the surface of a mirror) When you leave the shutter open so long a lot of light gets collected, which can blow out the scene, so I bought a 2-stop neutral density filter a couple of weeks ago just for this purpose. The filter darkens the scene somewhat so that more light can be collected during the longer exposure. Then, in order to capture the flow of the water, I waited for it to recede from the shore, which captured the lines you see. (It did take me a while to figure that out; I thought I was supposed to get the water coming toward me - but no!)<br />
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I did, however, get a few sand particles inside the camera while changing lenses sooooo they were visible on the photo, about five of them. So I learned how to clone stamp in post-processing. Basically you take a part of the photo very near what you want to erase and clone it, and it is then stamped onto the area you're erasing. So, voila! No sand particles in the picture. Yay!<br />
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All in all, a very rewarding day, a great new experience, and lots of nice photos to commemorate it all.<br />
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<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o171/Aquisces/Photo%20Blog%20Pictures/DSC_0268.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>Sherriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04688721745454625582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-799405507709672931.post-31155532292607899272011-09-14T01:45:00.000-05:002011-09-14T01:45:12.973-05:00Round Valley.Back in Cali!
I found several pretty great places to visit this time around thanks to Flickr, and one of them was Round Valley Regional Park in Brentwood, CA. I think the yellow foothills that come into view as you head toward Martinez are absolutely gorgeous, and here was an entire regional park full of views of them.<br />
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Although fog in the morning is a constant issue in the Bay Area, Round Valley is about an hour east (still a part of the East Bay but...honestly, it should be the outskirts if anything) so as I neared the park the sky began to clear a bit. I had identified, via the internet, the Miwok Trail as the one to hike that day, so probably the first forty-five minutes of the hike the sun wasn't out in full force yet.<br />
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But I found plenty of interesting things to photograph. If there's one thing I love out here, it's the crazy gnarled fallen trees, and there were plenty at Round Valley.<br />
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I came upon this tree just as a shaft of light pierced the overcast-ness.<br />
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Although it's almost fall, there were some wildflowers left along the trail.<br />
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And then the sun came out for real. Ohhhh, the beautiful yellow grass.<br />
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I love the rocks, too. Something about this terrain just makes there be lots of rocks coming out of the ground. It was something I'd noticed on my way back from Yosemite in May, and I had hoped to be able to find some to photograph later, so of course, here was my big chance.<br />
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I brought my tripod to get the right exposures for scenes that would require exposure blending later.<br />
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Eventually, about two miles in, I knew I'd have to take one of the diverging trails that sloped steeply upward in order to get the bigger views. So up I hiked. I did kind of hope to come across some of the free-ranging cattle that laze about Round Valley, but a passing stranger on a horse told me that the cattle had been moved elsewhere for the season. Oh well.<br />
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I thought the autumnal look of some of the trees was kind of cool. (And this is where I heard a growling in the grass, no lie)<br />
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And I'm still just amazed at how much diversity there is in a place that at first looks seems pretty homogenous. Whenever I make it back to California, I'm definitely going back to Round Valley. There's just too much left still to see.<br />
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<br />Sherriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04688721745454625582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-799405507709672931.post-81419021594477488662011-08-18T09:30:00.001-05:002011-08-18T13:05:00.639-05:00View from a height.On my way back from Cali, I was able to snag a window seat (Southwest wants you to think they're all great with the open seating, but they still offer early-bird check-in...for a fee...which I paid) so that I could get the pictures I am posting below. Leaving the Bay area: <br />
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I'm starting to kind of get a grasp of West Cost geography, so I believe these are the Sierra Nevadas:<br />
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Not sure about these, but they're still awesome:<br />
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Coming into Las Vegas - I have a sob story about Lake Mead, but I'll spare you now and just say the main reason for the window seat was to get the photos I didn't get last time. However, Lake Mead is pretty green, so I don't know that this is it, but oh well, it's still a pretty lake.<br />
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Leaving Las Vegas:<br />
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And the piece de resistance - the closest I'll ever get - it's the Grand Canyon!<br />
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