My Favorite National Park

I've been Everywhere

Me on the USS Rogers in the Straits of Juan de Fuca
Olympic National Park and Port Angeles, WA
Ca. 1977

Okay, that's a bit of an obvious exaggeration. I've been a number of places on the west coast of the United States and a few places beyond. I went through my grade school and high school years on the Olympic Peninsula and often went camping or visiting around the Pacific Northwest, including innumerable visits to the Olympic National Park and Hurricane Ridge. 

In the Navy I visited overseas to Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Australia, to name a few places.

I've definitely been to Yosemite National Park

Seven weeks ago I visited Yosemite National Park for the first time. I spent three nights there, two full days and parts of two more days. I drove most of the paved roads in the park. I drove from the east entrance to the valley, from the valley to Hetch Hetchy, Glacier Point, and to the south entrance. 

I walked a little bit in the park (I wish it was more). I smelled the smells, felt the Merced and Tulomne river water, laid on some granite near Tenaya Lake, sat in El Capitan meadow and climbed some rocks at the base of El Capitan (just some of the ones laying at the base - no cliff climbing!).

Out of my (this is just between us) 59 years on the planet I've spent less that four days total at Yosemite. So why do I miss it so much?

Withdrawals

Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View

This is the U.S. National Park systems centennial anniversary. As part of their promotion they want us to determine our favorite park. I have to say that mine is Yosemite.

I've been through a divorce. In fact, two of them. When I was separated from my wives and children I missed them and would find myself thinking of them all of a sudden, "out of the blue." During the last seven weeks I've had the same experience with Yosemite. I woke up this morning after some insignificant dreams but as soon as my alarm went off I had a vision of looking at Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View which then fed into a vision of walking along the trail at the base of El Capitan. 

I have similar visions every day. One minute I'm on the shore of Tenaya Lake, the next I'm at Washburn Point. I find my mind drifts off...

Last Friday my wife and I went out to dinner. She was talking about something that I'm sure was very important. My mind was examining a vision of Half Dome and I was wishing I could get closer to the mountain.

A couple of weeks ago my wife and I went to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I had issues battling the heights on view points. I finally got to see and photograph some wild bison. But the entire time I was thinking to myself "this place is nice, it's better than being in Phoenix, but I wish I was in the Sierra Nevada area, especially if I could be at Yosemite!"

I'm hoping to return in February, to see the valley in the snow. But that really seems like a long way off. It's almost as long as a "westpac!"

Short visit to the Grand Canyon

North Rim of the Grand Canyon

Angels Window Vista

My wife and I were able to get away for a short trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon over the Columbus Day weekend, October 7-10, 2016 . Since I'm a state employee I get a good number of holidays and this year I wanted to get back to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and to take my wife Nancy.

We left Phoenix on Friday and drove to Flagstaff where we got a motel. We had our four dogs with us so you know it was a fun time in the Explorer! We stayed at the "Butler" Motel 6 because they always accept pets. When checking in they told me they only accept up to 2 dogs. Oops. They made an exception so we settled in and ordered some Pizza Hut delivery.

We were able to take showers and get going by about 6:30 AM which surprised me. I still expected a leisurely drive because we'd have to let the dogs out a few times along the way and I wanted Nancy to see the scenery along the drive.

Heading north on Highway 89 towards the Vermilion Cliffs

After filling up with fuel in northern Flagstaff, we headed north on US Highway 89 from Flagstaff, past the Sunset Crater and Waputki National Monuments which we'd visited the previous weekend, I noticed clouds towards the Grand Canyon area. The weather report had warned of a chance of rain.

Nancy (and I) enjoyed seeing the western part of the Painted Desert on the Navajo Indian Reservation. It's not quite as spectacular or substantial as in the Petrified Forest National Park but it's very similar. The multi-colored hills along the drive to Page are interesting but we didn't take the time to stop and photograph them.

Before we knew it, the Vermilion Cliffs were visible. Since there were a good number of clouds in the sky the sun was only hitting them directly in a few small areas. They weren't terribly vermilion but Nancy was still impressed.

US 89A spanning the Colorado River at Marble Canyon

Navajo Bridge

We turned west on to Highway 89A at Bitter Springs, eventually crossing the Colorado River at the Navajo Bridge and Marble Canyon. We continued on past the Cliff Dwellers and South Fork of Soap Creek area, with the Vermilion Cliffs on our right, and entered the Kaibab National Forest and the twisty roads heading to Jacob Lake. The desert shrub turned to pine forest as we gained altitude from roughly 5,000 feet at Bitter Springs to 7,900 feet at Jacob Lake.

At Jacob Lake we turned south onto Arizona State Route 67 which leads about 43 miles right to the visitor center at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We had experienced really good traffic conditions on our drive which really contributed to an enjoyable trip.

We were planning to camp for two days at the North Rim, actually, since the national park campground was full, we were going to camp at the DeMotte campground in the Kaibab National Forest which is about 6 miles north of the park entrance. I didn't mind that at all - it was where I stayed the prior October.

Prime parking spot!

When we got to the  at mid-morning on Saturday we drove past it, continuing on to the park. I wanted Nancy to see the lodge area in the daylight.

We pulled into the busy parking lot at the lodge and as luck smiled on us we got the parking spot closest to the visitor center. The image at left is from last year - we got the same spot this year!

We got out a folding chair and set it up in the dirt near the east end of the parking lot overlooking the canyon. We got the four dogs leashed up, got their water dish, and I sat down in the chair with the 4 dogs while Nancy visited the lodge, store, and view points.

No Fear of Heights for my wife!

Trail to Bright Angel
Photo by Nancy Morter

One of my goals for this trip was to try going out to Bright Angel view point. The prior year I had tried to go out there using the trail that runs below the lodge. I made it part way but then my fear of heights took over and I had to turn around.

Since then I have found out that there is another trail which runs from on top of the hill, starting at the lodge. I have watched a number of YouTube videos of it and felt that since it was paved I might be able to do that trail all the way to the view point.

Nancy went to both of the view points below the lodge. I'd suggested starting with exiting out the lodge to the western veranda and then going down the stairs to the western viewpoint first. Then she could make her way to the eastern "lodge" viewpoint, and continue on along that trail that I couldn't finish, to the Bright Angel view point.

When she made it back to me, she had done exactly that - she'd gone to all three of those viewpoints!

I got my turn to walk around a bit but I just went to the Deli in the Pines and got some pizza for the second day in a row. If I'd thought about it I wouldn't have got pizza in Flagstaff. I like the pizza at the north rim. It may not be quite as good as our Pizza Hut but getting it and eating it at the north rim makes up for the quality. We ate it at the picnic area north of the lodge.

Since it was getting to be about 2:30 PM, we left from there to go set up our campsite while we still had daylight.

Rainy Day

As we headed north out of the park, the skies got cloudier and cloudier. We started getting sprinkles on the windshield and by the time we got to the campground it was a full downpour. We pulled into the parking for our campsite. We decided to wait for half of an hour and if the rain didn't let up we'd just go back home. It wasn't so much the camping itself that was turning me off. I just didn't want to pack up a wet tent and dogs into the Exploder, nor did I think we'd enjoy just sitting in the tent for a couple of days if it didn't let up. And it didn't look like it was going to from where we were.

But then, after about 20 minutes or so, the rain turned into almost a mist it became so light. We decided to stay.

Campsite # 28
DeMotte Campground

We got out the tent and started setting it up. As soon as we had back of the Explorer unloaded and sitting on the campsite table, had the ground tarp out and the tent staked down, the rain started back up good and fierce.

Crap.

We kept going and did get the tent set up and all the gear inside. But since our tent is the kind with nothing but mesh for a roof (you're expected to put the rain fly on after the tent is set up), we had a good amount of puddles on the floor of the tent. We (okay, Nancy) got some of it cleaned up but we didn't have a mop and bucket with us so it was still pretty damp.  It may not have helped that when the campground host came to see us I ended up talking to him for at least half of an hour while Nancy was working to set up the tent.

Wife was cold!

We use cots to keep ourselves off of the floor in the big tent so that part was okay. It was just that the dogs would walk in the water puddles and then jump up on the cots and sleeping bags. It just wasn't the best conditions that we'd slept in.

Of course, once we'd finished setting up the tent and had sat inside of it until about 5:00 PM, the rain stopped coming down. We were just left with the puddles on the floor. Other tenters came in after we were done setting up and pitched their tent in the dry weather. When I walked around the campground later there were a good number of tents that were set up after ours and they were perfectly dry!

The dampness probably helped it seem very cold that night too. In the morning the thermometer in the Explorer indicated a toasty 28 degrees Fahrenheit!

Off to Cape Royal

The following morning we got up at daybreak. After feeding the dogs I made us some coffee and cocoa inside the tent with my Primus stove. We ate some Pop Tarts with our hot beverages and then we were ready to explore Cape Royal!

Cape Royal is at the southern end of the WalHalla Plateau east of the north rim visitor center area. Along the drive you pass the Vista Encada picnic area, Roosevelt Point, and Walhalla Overlook before reaching the large dirt parking lot at Cape Royal. There's a nice paved trail there which takes to you Angels Window and Cape Royal view points. Once again, I sat behind with the dogs while Nancy explored. There are no dogs allowed on the trails.

View from Cape Royal
Photo by Nancy Morter

When Nancy returned, the main words out of her mouth were "wow". That made the trip worth while to me!

We had been to the south rim together in probably 1988 but haven't been back since. We plan to return sometime but frankly I prefer the north rim. I don't remember, however, either of us having as many "wow" moments at the south rim.

Don't misunderstand me. I am not for one minute trying to get more folks to visit the north rim. I think everyone should only visit the south rim and leave the north rim for me! There were enough cars at the north rim as it was!

Back to Bright Angel

Bright Angel Point to the right!

After letting Nancy get her fill of the sites, we drove back to the visitor center. I wanted to try the Bright Angel trail.

I decided to try it without taking any photo gear. I wanted to be unencumbered. I headed along the asphalt covered trail thinking I was hot stuff. Then I got to a point where the trail headed downhill and the trail had a significant crown as well. It is about 3 to 4 feet wide. There were other people coming up and going down, forcing you to hug one side or the other. And on each side are significant drop offs. I got a couple of steps down it and knew that it was too much. I couldn't even think about trying to come back up that trail.

I got some tunnel vision, my pulse picked up, and basically I was scared spitless. I turned around and struggled to get back up to higher ground. What a wus. I was disappointed with myself.

I walked to the lodge and thought I'd try the viewpoints there. I'd done them the year before. But when I got to the west viewpoint I couldn't get out to it either. I didn't even bother trying the east viewpoint below the lodge.

I went back to the Explorer, got inside and calmed down, explaining to Nancy that I couldn't do it. She didn't make too much fun of me as we headed back to our campsite.

Relaxing at DeMotte Campground

When we got to the campsite we started discussing what we were going to have for dinner. Nancy drove over to the North Rim Country Store to get some cooking oil. With that I made some of the hiking type of food we have been wanting to try. I browned up some chicken chunks from a foil pouch in the cooking oil on top of my Primus stove. Then I added a Knorr rice mix with water. When it was ready we put it on some flour tortillas and topped it off with a Tillamook cheese stick before rolling up our tortillas. 

They really tasted good! And we didn't have any plates to wash or throw away! It went down good with our Grand Canyon beer!

By the time we were done and I'd washed my pot and stowed my stove it was getting dark so we headed into the tent. We both started at our Kindles a bit (I read part of my Captain Cook eBook that I was in the middle of). We fell asleep pretty early - about as soon as the sun was gone!

Sunrise at Cape Royal

Sunrise from Walhalla Overlook

We woke up early, about 3:30 AM. I took the dogs out and then took myself to the vault toilet. Nancy did the same at about 4:00 AM. I knew I wasn't going back to sleep so I asked her if she wanted to go see the sunrise over the Grand Canyon. Reluctantly she agreed.

We drove out to Cape Royal again where I stopped at Walhalla Overlook. It was still dark and cold as I sat up my Nikon D610 on the tripod. Nancy and the dogs sat in the Explorer tolerating me.

Once the sun started coming up Nancy thought it was wonderful. I did too. I was liking the photographs I was capturing and was feeling like the trip was going to be worthwhile photographically after all! 

I shot for maybe an hour and then decided to head on down towards the Cape Royal parking lot. I wanted to try a shot of Angels Window as the sun was hitting it. I wasn't disappointed with that shot either!

Angels Window at Sunrise

I really noticed at the Angels Window how quickly the colors disappeared. When I took the shot at right the sun was nice and orange. In about 10 minutes it was back to normal daylight. During that time I took a shot with the nice golden hour sun and within a few seconds (I think I switched the camera from portrait to landscape orientation or vice versa), the next shot didn't have the good light. I'd never seen it change so dramatically over such a short period before!

After I got a few shots we went back to the Walhalla viewpoint to feed the dogs now that the sun was up and I'd got some cool photographs.

Our big dog, Docie, started barking. We looked across the parking lot, across the Cape Royal Road, and saw a mule deer buck looking back at us! Then we saw there were more than one over there.

I got out of the car to try to take a picture. I still had the camera on the tripod. I walked slowly across the road and sat it up and shot. As soon as they heard the shutter they took off. It looked like there had been maybe 6 to 10 of them in the herd. None of my photos turned out.

Oh deer!

When the dogs had finished we headed back down the road. We saw more groups of deer out and about getting their breakfast. Then I spotted something crossing the road ahead of us that I couldn't quite make out. When we got to the point where they'd crossed, we saw there were maybe 3 or 4 wild turkey trying to eat. I rolled my window down and made some noises and one of them stuck it's head up and looked at us then they wandered off.

A short drive after that Nancy spotted a coyote along the side of the road. It was looking over the bank down into some brush that stood between the road and a small meadow. As we slowly approached it wasn't paying any attention to us and then it jumped down into the brush. We assumed that it had its eye on some warm breakfast too!

Nancy said that the only thing missing now was seeing some bison!

Oh bison!

Herd of bison near the park gate

Well, she must have been my good luck charm because about a mile or so south of the park gate we came across a herd of bison grazing along Highway 67! I couldn't believe the luck! Of course we stopped and I took some photographs. 

The bison were impressive. I got close enough to become a bit nervous, probably around 50 feet or so away. There was a group of 3 of them that looked me right in the eye as I was taking their photograph and I was both trying to get the shot as well as wondering if I could get out of their way if they charged!

Bison wondering what I would taste like

After safely leaving the park we headed back to the Phoenix heat. We stopped at the Navajo Bridge so Nancy could walk across a bit, then in Flagstaff for breakfast (I had lunch), and made it back home by about 6:30 PM. A very nice trip before the park closes for winter!

Photographing Solo or with a Group?

Me and my dog Elmer at Chiricahua National Monument

Man's Best Friend

One thing I struggle with regarding my photography excursions is how I often wish I had someone to talk to besides my dog Elmer. He is a fantastic listener, never interrupting my discourses, but it seems like he doesn't contribute much to our conversations. Perhaps he's shy or intimidated by my wealth of knowledge!

When I started on my photographic adventure in August of 2013, Elmer was there to share in the experiences. He patiently waited next to me while I shot photographs of a gully in northern Arizona for probably two hours. Okay, he wasn't real patient - since we were just starting out he didn't realize that I didn't like him wrapping his leash around the tripod legs. Eventually, however, after three years or so, he's gotten really good at staying away from the tripod.

The Yin*

Campsite at Pine Flat Campground, April 3, 2015
Oak Creek, Arizona

During that same three years I've found myself wishing for more human interaction in my photography trips. In 2015 I was able to get out close to every weekend and a lot of those were over-night trips. When I did set up camp somewhere I really found myself wanting someone to talk to during the times that I spent sitting at the campsite, especially if they could talk photography and even better if they could teach me about photography.

I have made new photography friends and especially enjoy learning from them. I fantasize about going on weekenders where I watch them get amazing photographs and see how they go about it. Can you imagine what would it have been like to tag along with Ansel Adams or Galen Rowell?

Instead, it has been me and Elmer for most of my photography outings. As you can see, he's exploring our campsite in the image above. And, on a side note, he's also the only one that sits in my studio room at home while I process the images. Well, one or more of my other three dogs might join in at times. Elmer, however, is always there beside me; he got his name from Elmer's Glue - he's white and he sticks with me.

The Yang*

I have tried going out with one or more photography friends on various trips, all of which were just day trips. I've invited photographers on overnight trips too. I've had one person accept an invitation in three years for a short visit to Canyon Lake. I had another outing for some night photography that a couple of friends accepted. That's 2 outings with 3 people in 3 years.

On the other hand, I've accepted invitations from others and gone out with them to shoot places or things they were interested in. I've even looked into local photography groups and tested the waters with one to shoot the Perseid Meteor shower.  I have had or tried some "group" outings. And, I have enjoyed some of the discussions I've had during those shared experiences.

Channeling my Inner Hermit

While I still go back and forth on this issue, I really think that I end up producing more when I'm alone. I have read online, for example in a DP Review forum discussion, how a number of other photogs gravitate to this conclusion as well.

While it's fun to talk about camera and other equipment, even when I've been out with others I find that we don't set up our tripods next to each other. There are no 3-legged bonding moments.

Personally, when I'm shooting, I like to concentrate on what I'm doing. Perhaps it's because I'm getting older and have a hard time multi-tasking, especially compared to when I stood Officer of the Deck watches in the Navy. I have the exposure and composition considerations going through my head when I'm looking through the view finder. I have a hard time dealing with distractions at those moments, especially if the shot is tricky at all like when shooting the moon or milky way.

When I've been with groups I've found that either someone else is right where I want to shoot from or they're not at all where I want to shoot from so I walk away. They're either talking when I want to concentrate or they're concentrating when I want to talk. They're shining bright flashlights around at night when I'm doing a long exposure. They want to go on a trip to shoot mid-day wildlife while I want to shoot early morning sunrise landscapes.

Me at Seal Rock, Oregon, 8:52 PM

It could be that there is someone that shoots exactly like I do and is willing to get out of the house when I do for as long as I do. But that would be like finding the perfect spouse!

I enjoyed myself last year when I was on the Oregon coast. I could stay on the beach in the dark and cold until I no longer wanted to shoot and when I left no one was complaining that it was too soon or too early to leave.

I can take a break to eat when and where I want or decide to only eat the Jolly Ranchers and jerky I normally have in my Explorer. I can decide to call it a night and settle in somewhere at any time or I can decide to drive around the next bend to see what is waiting.

I think it might be good to go on a trip with another photog if they drove themselves and if we tried to meet at some point during the middle of the day. But I like to shoot sunrises and sunsets and night shots. I'll shoot mid-day if there's nothing I can do better, such as when I'm travelling and I'll only be at a certain location during the day like when I drove along US 395 beside the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada last September. I was in Lone Pine during mid-day only. I didn't even take my DSLR out of its case. That kind of sucks too, because I liked Lone Pine more than any of the other towns along Highway 395 for some reason.

I'll keep extending invitations for photography trips once in a while but with the response I've had, I've kind of quit doing much of that. Likewise I may accept an offer once in a while to go with someone else when they ask. But because I tend to prefer wandering off by myself anyway, I'm just not that excited about invites. I like sharing my photographs but I think that the process of capturing them is more of a private thing. Well, I will likely take my dog Elmer!

---

* In Yin and Yang, Yin refers to the dark or cloudy while Yang refers to the bright or sunny.

Nikkor 200-500mm f/4E Image Quality, continued

Testing the Lens

Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E

I went outside to my back yard a couple of weekends ago, at mid-day, and shot some sample images from my 200-500mm lens at different apertures and focal lengths. I had two goals:

1. Try to be more scientific about knowing my lens – which apertures provide the sharpest images at which focal lengths. 
2. Try to mark the lens for focus at infinity at a known f-stop so I could photograph the upcoming Hunters Moon that night. (http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-hunters-moon).

I don’t have much that I can see or shoot a photograph of from my back yard that is very far away. I settled on a power transmission tower that is about 1,000 feet away. I’m not convinced that it is enough of a distance to make much of a determination from so I’ll have to re-do my tests with a better subject.

Considerations for Depth of Field

According to my DOF calculator, using 500mm at f/5.6, the far end of the focal range is 1,290 feet; I want to go to infinity for the distant sky photography. Even at f/8 the far end is only 1,450. I need something at about 3,300 feet to get the far end of the range out to infinity using f/5.6.

But, what I did shoot may tell me something about the lens performance at this shorter range… Okay, it really didn’t. When I pulled the images in to Lightroom I honestly couldn’t see much difference between any of the shots as far as sharpness is concerned. That means that either my eyes aren’t very good or all of the shots were equally crappy. I think it’s more of the latter.

I noticed that while I was zoomed out to 500mm that the tower was really jiggling in the viewfinder. I had my camera on my tripod sitting on my patio. I don’t get where the vibration was coming from. I took some of the shots at 1/500 second and some with 1/800. I didn’t notice what looked like motion blur in any of the images but they also didn’t look terribly sharp.

Adding weight to the rig

I tried some of the images after suspending a gallon of water from the tripod to see if that helped (a gallon of water weighs about 8 pounds). It didn’t make any improvement that I could detect.
Another thing I noticed is that there was atmospheric distortion. Without looking through the viewfinder I could see heat waves between my location and the tower. I could see that in some of the images too, where the arms of the tower were distorted.

The bottom line for my experiment is that none of my images looked terribly sharp. I hope to try again soon with a more distant subject in a colder location like Flagstaff, Arizona. I also want to try getting some sort of bean bag or something to place on the lens to try to dampen vibrations.

In the meantime, I've uploaded some of the images here. You can click on them to see the full size. These were exported from Lightroom with White Balance set to Daylight, Tone Curve set to Medium Contrast, Lightroom sharpening set to 50, Detail @ 50, and Masking @ 50. Lens corrections were enabled. Camera Calibration was using Camera Neutral v2. All other settings were zero, default, or off.

These images are at 480mm and 300mm, avoiding the limits at either end of the lens. They are at apertures of f/5.6, f/8, f/11, and f/16.

Focal Length at 480mm

Nikon D610 + Nikkor 200-500mm at 480mm, f/5.6, 1/800s, ISO 100

Nikon D610 + Nikkor 200-500mm at 480mm, f/8, 1/800s, ISO 100

Nikon D610 + Nikkor 200-500mm at 480mm, f/11, 1/800s, ISO 100

Nikon D610 + Nikkor 200-500mm at 480mm, f/16, 1/800s, ISO 100

Focal Length at 300mm

Nikon D610 + Nikkor 200-500mm at 300mm, f/5.6, 1/500s, ISO 100

Nikon D610 + Nikkor 200-500mm at 300mm, f/8, 1/500s, ISO 100

Nikon D610 + Nikkor 200-500mm at 300mm, f/11, 1/500s, ISO 100

Nikon D610 + Nikkor 200-500mm at 300mm, f/16, 1/500s, ISO 100

AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR - It's not you, it's me

Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E

The  NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E

I received my Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E back on Monday,  05/09/2016. At the time I was dealing with some health issues and didn't get around to shooting much with it after it arrived.

I've read a number of accounts stating that this lens has production quality assurance issues, such as this article on Photography Life (https://photographylife.com/nikon-200-500mm-f5-6-vs-500mm-f4-at-block-creek-ranch). A lot of articles tell you to get out and test the IQ (Image Quality) and send it back if it isn't good. Again, and unfortunately, I didn't do that.

Now I'm questioning the lens. Or myself.

What I care about in the lens

I really want sharp pictures. As the common term goes, I want "tack sharp" pictures. I want to use this, or any lens, to see the utmost detail in what I'm shooting which ends up being reflected in the sharpness.

I don't really care about vignette issues because any of the post processing software I have takes care of that (Nikon Capture NX2, Adobe Elements or Lightroom, or manually in Adobe Photoshop). Same with distortions, or at least to the point that I don't notice it (but I'm not terribly critical when it comes to that since I think that distortions mainly show up with subjects with a lot of straight lines such as architectural photographs).

For me, shooting primarily landscapes, the bottom line is that I want to see details in trees when they're shot from afar. I want to see details in rocks, boulders, or mountains. If I shoot an animal I want to see my reflection in their eye. In that regard I'm similar to Todd Vorenkamp who wrote this article for B & H about testing a lens for sharpness (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/tips-and-solutions/how-test-your-lens).

Treating her right

My Nikon D610 and Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod

I know that the lens isn't everything when it comes to capturing sharp images. For instance, Ken Rockwell has posted an article about issues affecting image sharpness that has a lot of things to think about (http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/unsharp.htm). And here's an article by Thom Hogan that's still available (although I don't think he has a link to it on his current site): http://www.bythom.com/rightpixels.htm.

Basically there are a number of items that combined will factor in to whether you get a sharp image or not and I try to address them as best as I can. First, I almost always use a tripod. I don't care if a lens has vibration reduction or not, I don't trust my shaky hands. Second, I almost always use a wireless remote shutter release trigger. Third, I use a mirror lock up mode (which is one reason I wanted the better camera, in my case, the Nikon D610. The Nikon D3200 doesn't have mirror lock up).

But what happens when you do those things and you're still not convinced your getting great (sharp) images?

Is it soft?

Climbers on El Capitan
Nikon D610 + Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E lens

The photograph at left of the climbers on El Capitan was shot with the Nikkor 200-500mm lens at 480mm, f/11, 1/200s, ISO 100. It was shot at 2:20PM in pretty bright sunlight (there weren't any clouds there and this cliff face was being hit with the sun on 9/6/2016. There was some breeze but not much and especially not where I was sitting in the El Capitan meadow.

This image has a link to the full resolution image. Sharpening has been applied but I still think I should be able to see more detail. I'm just not sure.

I do know that if you believe in the reciprocal rule for shutter speeds, with a 500mm focal length the shutter speed should be at least as fast as 1/500 seconds. I have to be honest and admit I haven't actually thought of that while shooting and consequently I haven't adjusted the lens as necessary to get that faster shutter speed (either by increasing the ISO or using a larger f-stop such as f/8). Prior to taking the shot, I consciously thought of setting the f-stop to f/11 in order to have a larger depth of field which means more of the shot should be sharp. Of course, there's only one distance from the camera that is the sharpest; the depth of field is a range of sharpness deemed to be "acceptable." But, the range should include a good amount of sharpness at the target distance.

Depth of Field Calculations

I shot the image above from the El Capitan Meadow near a fallen log. I can see it on Google maps, which allows me to also measure the distance from the log to the face, which is roughly 1,800 feet. There are various claims as to the height of the face; I'll just arbitrarily use 3,000 feet. I also know that the climbers were roughly 1/2 of the way up the face which makes them about 1,500 feet above the level of the meadow. Using a bit of mathematics, that means that the distance from my camera to the climber is roughly 2,343 feet. I'll round it to 2,300 feet.

There are many online depth of field calculators, and I chose to use the one by Studio JPIC (http://www.studiojpic.com/calculators/depth-of-field-calculator). Choosing the Circle of Confusion of 0.029 for my Nikon D610, and using the values above, the DoF (Depth of Field) is calculated to be from 1,167 feet to 76,562 feet for a total of approximately 75,400 feet (I'm ignoring the decimal portion, it's not really significant at these distances). The climber should have been in focus. 

Changing the Aperture on the calculator to 8, the DoF is calculated to be from 1,348 feet to 7,807 feet, roughly 6,500 feet, which is quite a change but still, the climber should have been in focus. Just for fun, I changed the aperture to 5.6, resulting in a DoF calculated to be from 1,539 feet to 4,543 feet, roughly 3,000 feet. I could have easily just left it there.

According to Thom Hogan's review of the Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E (thankfully someone puts more effort into testing lenses than I do - I can just benefit from their work), the lens (his copy at least) gets slightly sharper at f/8 than f/5.6 but not much. In fact, he says that by f/11 the diffraction starts to be an issue and implies it should be avoided. I need to commit that to memory - that unless I'm trying to get a sunburst (which requires the small apertures such as f/22), I shouldn't use this lens above f/8. And for this distance the DoF would have been fine.

So if it's not the (calculated) depth of field issue, what's the problem?

Is it truly soft?

I can only look at my images - I don't have another copy of the lens to compare them to. I think I need to actually go out and do some testing. I'll have to try to do that. But just through writing this and thinking about things, I want to keep my aperture at f/8 or lower.

Reciprocal Rule

Bison at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon
Nikon D610 + Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E lens

And for wildlife, or any subject with movement such as trees swaying in the wind, I want to pay attention to the "reciprocal rule" which provides a guideline that for a lens at 500mm the shutter speed should at least be as fast as the reciprocal of that length, or 1/500 second. I don't think that would have made much difference with the rock face since it wasn't moving much but I can't be sure that the climber wouldn't have been sharper. He could have been swinging around.

In the bison photograph at right, I shot this at 500mm with f/11, 1/100 second, and ISO 100. If you open this image you'll see that the eyes are not terribly sharp. It's not bad but I think there's some motion blur. I think this should have been shot at f/8 and a shutter speed of at least 1/500s and if necessary the ISO should have been bumped up. It was an early morning shot, at 8:33 AM, but there was plenty of sunlight and no clouds in the sky. I don't know if I would have needed to increase the ISO or not. 

No decision

It looks like I've got some learning to do regarding this lens. Long lenses require different considerations; they reveal a lot more motion in the camera. I haven't figured out if the lens is an issue or my technique. Until I determine whether I can do everything under my control to get the best image quality and sharpness out of the lens I don't have a reason to send it back to Nikon. I'll keep working with the lens and describing my results. 

More support gear

Black Diamond Ergo Cork Trekking Poles

I want to be a hiker!

Before my trip to Yosemite National Park last month I bought a few items I thought I'd need for camping. If I could afford to stay in a motel all the time those things wouldn't be necessary. But, not only can I not afford to stay in motels all the time, I am hoping to get in to shape enough that I can hike to photographic locations. I'm tired of only shooting what I can see from within short walks from a road.

In fact, I want to get to the point that I can do an over-night hiking trip. I'd love to be able to hike out, pitch a tent, shoot some photographs that most people don't shoot, and make it back without serious health issues. That is what I'm working on now.

That said, my purchases prior to going to Yosemite were intended to start getting the gear required (or at least required as far as I know from watching YouTube!).

As I mentioned in my posts on August 24, 2016, August 27, 2016, and September 21, 2016, I got some gear and clothing. I like all of my clothing purchases and am satisfied with my other gear. 

I'm heading to the Grand Canyon National Park - North Rim soon and decided to add some additional items.

More Stuff for Me

BPA Free 1 Gallon Jug

When I was at Yosemite National Park I had a hard time carrying water with me. It wasn't terribly hot but I often have a hard time with cramps when I'm camping and staying hydrated helps greatly. I have also found that by drinking more I don't get as hungry. Over the past year or so I've started drinking a lot of water which is why I got the water bottle to carry in my Explorer.

I carry a stainless cup in my Explorer and keep it filled using this water jug - and I use it because it has a screw top lid that is pretty secure. I get gallons of water from gas stations which have those snap on lids and then pour it in to this jug which doesn't have a lid that can pop off while driving over bumpy roads.

The problem is trying to carry my stainless cup with me on a trail, even a short one. The Columbia Silver Ridge Convertible pants have a cargo pocket on the right leg and I did carry the stainless cup in that pocket some but there were issues. It's heavy (24 ounces) which tugged on the pants significantly. I'm one of those guys that has a butt which is as shapely as a sheet of plywood, that is, without much to keep my pants up. The weight of my water cup kept me having to pull up my pants.

The cup also bangs around. It's not held tightly to my leg so each step as you walk the cup swings out then back to hit your leg. It didn't hurt but it was annoying. And, when I wanted to crouch or bend down and get on my knees, it was in the way then too. It just wasn't a great option.

Hydration Backpack

GkGk Hydration Backpack

I decided to get a Hydration Backpack and ordered the GkGk Hydration Backpack With Waterproof Cover from Amazon for $21.99.

I don't know for sure how this will work since if or when I start actually hiking I will need a full backpack which will have its own water bladder. And, when walking a trail to shoot photographs I hang other things on my shoulders so this may not be practical then either. 

I use a LowePro waist bag when I carry my gear, which has a shoulder strap. If I want to take my Nikkor 200-500mm lens I carry it in a separate Amazon backpack. I sometimes put a strap on my Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod and carry it with a strap that goes over my shoulders.

This was a pretty inexpensive way to try out a hydration backpack to see how I can work it in to work with my camera gear bags. I hope to try it out at the Grand Canyon and will let you know!

Snow Peak Titanium Mini Solo Cook Set

Snow Peak Titanium Mini Solo Cook Set

Before my last trip I had bought a MSR Stowaway Pot - 1600ml from REI. While it cooked okay, the handle is not very secure making it very difficult to pour out of. I decided to look for something else. After watching a number of YouTube videos about hiking cooking gear, I decided to try a Snow Peak titanium set from Amazon.

This set has much better handles. It is small, however. It probably will be okay if I use it while hiking by myself or if other people have their own pans. But I'm not sure how it will work to try to cook a meal for two. It's not advertised for that purpose but my wife and I will try it out while at the Grand Canyon.

It is too small to get a medium fuel canister inside of it. The small size might fit but I don't have a small one to try. I was able to get my Primus Yellowstone Classic Trail Stove inside. 

Sock Liners

Darn Tough Boot Socks

I also decided to try some sock liners. My wife and I have both purchased and really like Darn Tough Merino Wool Hiker boot socks. However, we both have a small issue with them bunching up as you walk. We haven't walked far, perhaps a couple of miles, but we both experienced it. 

In my case I think I bought socks that were too large. I plan to get another pair or two, and thanks to Amazon's return policy, I'm going to try a smaller size to see if they work better. 

But I've also read about using sock liners. I was hoping to have something that grips your feet and allows you to slide around in the boot sock, hopefully preventing the sock from bunching up. That's one of the things a sock liner is supposed to do. 

Fox River Liner Socks

I decided to get a couple pairs of Fox River Outdoor Wick Dry Alturas Ultra-Lightweight Liner Socks from Amazon for $5.99 each. I wear between a size 11-1/2 and 12 shoe so I ordered the XL size which is for size 12-14-1/2. I've received them and I'm concerned that I should have got the large (L) instead. These fit slightly loose and I'm worried about how they may either not solve my problem or may even compound it. 

I do like them other than perhaps the size issue. The seam above the toe is on the outside of the sock which means it won't dig in to your toes as much. It's also not right on the tip of your toes so it won't hurt you there either.

I will be trying these out at the Grand Canyon to some extent and I'll let you know how they work!