An Uphill Battle. Again.

Stairway leading to the Grand Canyon Lodge
North Rim, Grand Canyon National Park

Some Familiar Things Aren't

Here it is in July, 2017 and I have been ignoring my photography since January, 2017. It's not that the photography did anything bad to me, I have just been involved in software development and that has taken precedence over my photography. I've been spending my evenings and weekends studying new software development technologies.

I've missed getting out with my camera, though, and it's never far out of mind. I've got a weekend trip planned to the Chiricahua National Monument that I'm using to kick off my new plan.

Last night I decided I'd charge all of the batteries for my photography gear. Wow. Two batteries each for two cameras. Update and charge the Tether Tools Case Air. Charge the tablet, the Kindle, the portable USB power supply, the RavPower File Hub. I'd forgotten all of those things (could be due to my age).

As I was charging things I did a bit of cleaning. Not that anything was that bad; I'd cleaned things after my last outing to the Saguaro National Park in January. As I was handling my cameras, I couldn't help but wonder about how much I'd remember once I was out trying to shoot a picture. Sure, all the buttons looked familiar and the Nikon D610 still feels good in my paws, but could I still take a picture?

Hit the Trail More Often

Start of Transept Trail
North Rim, Grand Canyon National Park

Until I lose my desire for studying software development, I'm going to at least limit it to the weeknights and then I'll get out on the weekends to return to my photography excursions. I'm hoping that this plan will provide a balance that I think I've been missing. I really enjoy getting out of the house but my computer has enticed me to stay inside.

I have to admit, however, that I also feel like I may be burned out on shooting desert landscapes in Arizona. I am going to try to figure out how to overcome that. There is a lot that is interesting about Arizona, that you don't see anywhere else, so it shouldn't be hard to keep interested. I think that what I need is a different perspective.

Striving for a Fresh Start

I have continued to watch photography related videos, as well as reviewing my photographs. One thing that I've noticed is that it takes more and more to "wow" me with a photograph. They all kind of blur together for the most part. I really want to create images that are striking, different. But what does that mean and how can I accomplish that?

One thing I know is that I really want to be more minimalist. I want to focus on one or two things in the image and not present a big confusing mess. Even the images of Bryce Canyon seem cluttered. Tony and Chelsea Northrup recently had an image on one of their photo review YouTube videos with a shot of the ocean, some "God Rays" where one of the rays was pointed at a small and solitary sailing boat. I really liked the simplicity. I want to try to shoot more like that, or at least that sort of clear vision. Perhaps that is due to also enjoying the conciseness of the new C# programming language constructs!

For starters, though, I am at least going to just try to get back out of doors. This picture below is of one of my favorite memories from the last few years of photography. It's nothing special but I just loved sitting in that meadow along Arizona State Route 67 between Jacob Lake and the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Me, wilderness, warm sun, my camera. I can't wait to get back!

Me and my Nikon
Near Forest Service Road 611 and SR 67
October 7, 2015

Reflections of 2016

Looking at 2016

I just received an award at my day job yesterday for being an employee for 15 years. It is near the end of the calendar year. Both of these events have caused me to reflect on this last year of 2016.

My DJI Phantom 3 Advanced

I spent a lot of time this past year dealing with health issues. Nothing too terrible, just sinus infections including Allergic Fungal Sinusitis, a nasty little collection of issues that resulted in a lot of down time and 3 surgeries.

At the beginning of the year I added a DJI Phantom 3 Advanced to my photography kit. I wanted to like it but ended up being very disappointed with the still image quality to the point that I am selling it. The video capabilities might be fun for some but I am not looking to do video. The still images are barely useful for posting on social media in my opinion.

I also don't like flying the thing. I got it after it went on sale at the beginning of the year for about $800 for the basic drone but it's still too much money for me to want to lose by running it in to something. It's just not for me.

Arizona's Raptor Experience 

Luna the barn owl
Arizona's Raptor Experience

I didn't really get out to shoot photography until May when I visited the Arizona's Raptor Experience in Chino Valley, Arizona, with a fellow shipmate from my last Navy ship, the USS Paul F. Foster DD-964 where we served together for such fun deployments as the first gulf war.

We spent a few hours shooting various raptors as the owners placed them on various features such as stumps which they had staged around their grounds. It was pretty amazing! I got a few shots that I liked, but the ones of the Harris Hawk in flight made me realize I don't have much practice or skill at capturing birds in flight!

Snowy Egret at Gilbert Riparian Preserve
Gilbert, Arizona

I did get this image of a snowy egret at the Gilbert Riparian Preserve in Gilbert, Arizona, which is my best shot of a bird in flight to date.

My birding experiences made me realize that I really wanted a longer lens. After reviewing the Sigma, Tamron, and Nikon lenses, I chose the AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR. I didn't get out and try it much until later in the year...

In May I also dovetailed in a 1 night excursion  to the Chiricahua National Monument to shoot the Milky Way. I got a decent capture of it and enjoyed my overnight trip.

And, in May, I squeezed in a very short and unproductive visit to Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Arizona. Unfortunately I was only there during mid-day and did not even bother taking any photographs.

After my birding excursions I had a couple of surgeries and during the recovery (as well as a lot of the entire year) I spent my down time reading John Muir books which generated a great desire to visit Yosemite National Park. I put in a request for vacation for the first week of September, following the Labor Day weekend (a holiday for most people in the United States).

California Here I Come

I stayed in 3 California parks: Joshua Tree for one night, Yosemite for 3 nights, and Sequoia for 1 night. I got some shots that I like a bit but I know I could do better so I'm planning to head back sometime. I really want to get back to Yosemite in the early spring in order to try to get some photographs of snow on the ground. And, when I was there in early September, there was very little water in the falls. Yosemite falls was non-existent.

Moon over Joshua Tree National Park, California

Half Dome and El Capitan
Yosemite National Park, California

Sequoia at Sunrise
Sequoia National Park, California

More Parks for Me!

After I got home from my California parks, I was still feeling good (must have been the steroids I was on!) so I decided to take a day trip with my wife and our dogs up to Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument and Waputki National Monument, both near Flagstaff, Arizona. After she saw that, I talked her into spending a couple of nights at the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.

Sunset in Ruins
Waputki National Monument
Arizona

We went to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for another 3-day holiday weekend for Columbus Day. I got a couple of shots of the canyon that I like but I also got some shots of wild bison that captured a wonderful experience of sitting on the ground  a few feet in front of wild and un-caged bison!

Sunrise at Walhalla Overlook
North Rim Grand Canyon National Park
Arizona

Wild Bison
North Rim Grand Canyon National Park
Arizona

And finally, not wanting to be done for the year, I decided to visit Utah's Bryce Canyon National Park over the Veteran's Day 3-day weekend in November. This trip ended up with the transmission on my Ford Explorer giving out so my visit at the actual park was cut short but I got a shot or two that I like. 

Sunset at Sunset Point
Bryce Canyon National Park
Utah

Six National Parks in 2016

The year's not quite over but I'm not sure if I'll get to any more National Parks before the end of the year. I've got half a notion to try to get to the Petrified Forest National Park but we'll see if I make it. Regardless, I visited 5 National Parks and 3 National Monuments this year that I had never been to before (I visited the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in 2015). 

In every park I got to see something that was new and amazing. There were always photography opportunities that challenged my artistic eye and photographic abilities. Some places actually took my breath away when dealing with the view or the heights or the bison.

Besides the bison, I got to see some other wonderful animals in their natural habitats which is much better than a zoo. I had some medical issues to contend with but it ended up making me appreciate the times that I got out even that much more and makes my photographs more personal as well since they captured what I was able to see and do in 2016. I hope your year was good for you too!

Trying to stay motivated

Stagnation

Since my problematic trip to Bryce Canyon National Park (see my November 21, 2016 blog) I haven't been motivated to get out and shoot anything. I'm in a photographic doldrum.

I've been searching and reading on other sites for cures to this malaise regarding getting outside with my camera, and some of the tips have been okay. They just haven't been enough to push me back over the edge into getting out there.

Attempts at Overcoming

Photoshopped image of my dog Elmer
Wilcox Playa, Arizona

I have tried watching videos of photographing or hiking areas on YouTube or other services with the hope that they would spur me to visit the places or somewhere similar. One video was shot partially in the Utah salt flats and gave me a mild yearning to get back down to the Wilcox Playa in Arizona (near, surprisingly, Wilcox, Arizona).

I still think that area has some photos to offer if I was just a bit more creative. I saw a similar shot taken in a location like that with a sweating bottle of water or something as a foreground object with the expanse of the playa in the background. Plus, I like that area for some reason. It's the gateway to the Chiricahua National Monument which may be the attraction for me.

Last Friday, the day after Thanksgiving 2016, I worked. I woke up early, grabbed my camera and tripod, and got in to the high-rise that I work in on Central Avenue in Phoenix, Arizona. Since moving there this last summer I've been wanting to see if there were any photographic opportunities possible by shooting out of the windows. I work on the 23rd floor and also have access to the 16th and 19th floors.

Unfortunately there were not any good shots of the downtown high-rise buildings and the other buildings around mine didn't have many lights on. There just wasn't a shot that inspired me to even get my camera out of the bag. I even went down to the street to see if it would yield anything but I didn't like any shots there either. The only shot I envisioned at all was a long exposure with car tail lights but because it was a holiday day there wasn't much traffic. I gave up there too.

I've even tried flushing my mind. I've had dry spells before when I was writing and recording music and often the thing that got me rejuvenated was completely forgetting about music for a while. The time length varied, too. I'm trying to do that still with the photography but it's hard to forget about it.

Remedy?

Superstition Mountains

If nothing else inspires me before this next weekend, I'll at least try going out to the Superstition Mountains. Perhaps I'll even try staying in the Lost Dutchman State Park overnight.

That place usually offers some sort of photographic opportunities. And I still don't have any golden hour shots from Tortilla Flats which I think could offer something. Perhaps even Roosevelt Dam,

It's not that there aren't some photogenic locations pretty close to Phoenix, heck, I wouldn't even mind the drive back to Joshua Tree National Park.

I can't blame the scenery - I just need to get back out to it!

Bryce Canyon National Park - Postmortem

I'm Back - Finally!

A selfie at Bryce Canyon National Park

I made it to Bryce Canyon National Park and back but not without some issues...

Per my plan, I headed up to Utah on Friday, November 11, 2016. I expected to just be gone over the 3 day weekend, returning home on Sunday, November 13, 2016. I left Phoenix at about 2:30 AM after filling up with fuel and coffee, expecting to arrive 7 to 8 hours later at Bryce Canyon National Park. I half planned to try to get some sunrise shots along the way if I was somewhere that I thought might be interesting.

I use about a half a tank of fuel in my Explorer to get to Flagstaff so stopped there about 2 hours later to top off the tank and grab another coffee. It was about 25 degrees Fahrenheit when I got out of the Explorer in Flagstaff - that helped wake me up!

Lake Powell Wahweap Overlook

Wahweap Overlook at sunrise

As I headed on up the road it was looking like I'd hit Page and Lake Powell about sunrise. I pulled off the highway to visit the Lake Powell - Wahweap Overlook. I'd tried to go up there a year ago but as I turned on to the road on that visit, my cooler tipped over in the back of my Explorer. Fortunately my sleeping bag was laid out so it soaked up all of the melted ice water! Anyway, I ended up taking care of that mess and never did get up to the overlook.

This time I did go up there, hitting it before the sun broke over the horizon.

I was disappointed in the location. The view of the lake isn't great from there. The main body of water has the Wahweap Marina in it and it just wasn't that pretty to me. At this time of year (November), the sun is rising in the south-east which means you're shooting towards the Salt River Project-Navajo Generating Station and it's tall stacks. Another feature I don't care to take photographs of.

But, I did get a sunrise shot using my 70-200mm lens so that I could narrow my field of view. However, I really wanted a sunburst but forgot to close down the aperture to f/22. So, here's what I got:

Sunrise over Lake Powell

On to Bryce Canyon National Park?

I headed on up the road, passing in to Utah along U.S. 89. I drove through to Kanab, UT where I again filled up the fuel tank and grabbed another coffee and some Pop Tarts. The next stop I planned on was at Bryce Canyon National Park, about an hour and a half from Kanab.

From U.S. 89 you need to turn east on UT 12, which leads to UT 63, the main road through the park. Before I got to the UT 12 turnoff my Explorer started running rough. I turned on to UT 12 and drove through the Red Canyon and made it to the Chevron / Bryce Canyon Pines General Store at mile marker 10, where I pulled in.

Royal Express Automotive

I decided I better head back to Kanab but when I tried to leave the Chevron I couldn't make it up the very slight incline. I had to do a 3 or 4 point turn on UT 12 because there is not much of a shoulder along the road there, and then made it back to the Chevron parking lot.

After some time, and with my wife working on things from Phoenix, we arranged for a tow (through our auto insurance, State Farm), to Panguitch, UT where there is a transmission shop. Eventually, after a couple of hours, I arrived at Royal Express Automotive.

It turned out my transmission was shot. I ended up staying in Panguitch until the following Thursday before it was replaced. I got my Explorer back at about 3:00 PM on Thursday, November 17, 2016. 

Off to Bryce Canyon National Park - for reals

I had hoped to get the Explorer back by 11:00 AM or so, and then to at least do a drive by on my way back to Phoenix. While I was waiting at the auto shop, I struck up a conversation with a woman who turned out to be the wife of a ranger at Bryce Canyon National Park. She convinced me that I should visit it as long as I was this close. So, after getting the Explorer and its new transmission, I headed there.

It was very cold - my Explorer said 21 degrees Fahrenheit - and pretty windy. Everyone was bundled up. I first went in to the Visitor Center to get my National Park Passport cancellation stamp and picked up a couple of souvenirs.

Then I visited Sunset Point, Bryce Point, and Inspiration Point. The sun was pretty low in the sky and the shots weren't that exciting. The scenery was nice but it was so cold that it was miserable to be out on the viewpoints to take it in. I tried, and I took a few shots, but damn it was cold!

I toyed with staying overnight but I thought I'd seen a weather prediction of temperatures getting to about 6 or 7 degrees Fahrenheit and I just couldn't bring myself to going through that after the week I'd spent already. So I settled for a few shots with the intent on visiting again, hopefully when it is a bit warmer!

Sunset Point Detail

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!

AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR Angle of View Examples

I went to Marshall Lake near Flagstaff, Arizona this last weekend, and shot a few photographs. By the time I got to Marshall Lake it was after the sun was up so I didn't get any shots with great lighting. But, I'd never been there before and really liked the location even if the photography wasn't great when I was there.

It's a pine tree forest with a large meadow with a lake in it. The lake was pretty empty in late August, but it didn't take away from the beauty of the place.

The meadow runs basically southeast to northwest, with the northwest end providing a vie of the San Francisco Peaks on the other side of Flagstaff. This included Humphreys Peak, the highest mountain in Arizona.

Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

When I saw the view of Humphreys Peak I decided to use my newish AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR Zoom to get a shot. If nothing else, it might prove that when there is snow on the mountains that this location would be a great place to capture it from.

Due to health reasons, I haven't shot much with this new lens and I really wanted to see what it would do. I was somewhat surprised...

According to Google Earth, it is close to 20 miles from Marshall Lake to Humphreys Peak. The 200-500mm lens has a 5°00' to 12°20' angle of view on an FX body. I am not very good at estimating angles, but I thought this would be a good fit.

Note: Google earth gave me an error saying I couldn't use the web version on Chrome - I had to use Internet Explorer! That's funny. Then the IE version wouldn't download the plugin. I ended up downloading and installing the desktop version.

I attached this bad boy lens, sat up my tripod at a small parking lot near the lake, where the boat ramp is, and pointed up the meadow towards the mountain. As soon as I looked through the view finder I was a but surprised.

I couldn't really fit all of the image in the photograph with this lens. Here's the view at 200mm which should be the 12°20' angle of view:

Humphreys Peak (the highest peak on the left)
Nikon D610 + 200-500mm f/5.6, 200mm, f/8.0, 1/400s, ISO 100

I didn't want to cut off the mountains on the sides. I wanted to show the entire meadow - it was really peaceful and a nice change from the desert around Phoenix.

I had to try it, so here's the shot from the same location zoomed in to 500mm, which should be the 5°00' angle of view:

Some of the San Francisco Peaks
Nikon D610 + 200-500mm f/5.6, 200mm, f/8.0, 1/400s, ISO 100

You can see the radio towers! While I appreciate the magnification, it was too much for this shot. Maybe if I was trying to photograph wildlife I'd have appreciated it. 

Here's the shot I ended up preferring, shot with my AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/4G ED VR, which according to Nikon's Angle of View calculator, should be 30°60':

San Francisco Peaks from Marshall Lake
Nikon D610 + 70-200mm f/4, 78mm, f/8.0, 1/400s, ISO 100

The bottom line is that I was amazed by the magnification and narrow angle of view of the 200-550mm lens. The image quality is good. But I was really happy that I had the next size smaller zoom to capture this image. I am really enjoying my lens collection! 

Free Bonus!

I thought I'd throw this in too - I was getting bored in the bright daylight so I decided to take a selfie with my pup Elmer:

Elmer and I at Marshall Lake, Arizona

First photos with my new AF-S NIKKOR 20mm f/1.8G ED

I got my new AF-S NIKKOR 20mm f/1.8G ED lens yesterday in time to try to shoot the Perseid meteor shower with it. I went out last night to a spot east of Apache Junction, Arizona, with the Arizona Night Photography group from meetup.com. There were quite a few people there; on the website 77 people said they'd be there.

Arizona Night Photography group
Perseid Meteor Shower 2016

The spot had pretty good levels of light pollution even that close to Phoenix. Unfortunately the moon didn't set until about 1AM. Not that it mattered, we didn't really see much of a concentration of meteors. I was there from about 6:30 PM to about 2:30 AM and probably only saw about 20 meteors or shooting stars. A couple were pretty bright but for the most part it was the same as my previous meteor shower outings - pretty underwhelming. I was bummed because this was being touted as the best event of 2016.

This outing worked like my others (I've tried to shoot Perseid and Geminid showers in the past). I'd see a meteor to my left so I'd point the camera that direction and take a number of shots. While doing that I'd see a meteor to my right so I'd recompose. A gal I met last night likened shooting meteors to shooting whales. You never really know where they're going to show until they're already gone. 

If there was truly a concentrated emanation point it might be different. But I haven't experienced that myself.

I still tried to get some shots with my new lens, even if they weren't including any meteors. I really wanted to see how it worked.

The bottom line is that I think the lens works great, at least compared to my AF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f/4G ED VR. But I still had the same problems using it.

Moon Glow
20mm - f/2.0 - 2.0 sec - ISO 400

I shot 70 images but only got a few that were in focus. I really have a hard time focusing in the dark. The best subject was the moon but that was only good for the distant subjects such as stars. I was able to do that okay and I think the focus is pretty good. I like that I could use a lot shorter exposure time due to the faster (larger diameter) aperture. 

The image at right was shot with my Nikon D610 and the Nikkor 20mm at f/2.0 and ISO 400. I did crop it because the rest of the foreground at the bottom was out of focus.

The larger aperture diameter also reduces depth of field and it really came in to play. I was hoping that the larger aperture would allow me to focus easier since I thought I'd be able to view the subject better, either through the view finder or in live view. It didn't seem to make much improvement over the 16-35mm for me, however. I still struggled to focus.

I tried auto focus too but it was worse than manual focus. 

Focal Plane Example
20mm - f/1.8 - 8.0 sec - ISO 500

I shot this capture of a cactus but you can clearly see that the focus plane runs somewhere through the middle of the cactus. Some of the needles in the upper "crotch"  of the cactus are in focus as are some of the "blooms" on the ground. This image doesn't have any post processing done to it so you can also see the other artifacts.

So even though I shot a few pics, I don't have much to show for it due to my focus problems. I just couldn't focus on close objects. (The problem was not due to auto focus changing the focus when I shot the photograph - I had the auto focus turned off OR I used back button focus - focus doesn't change unless I want it to.)

If I hadn't been with the group of people trying to shoot night photographs I would have lit up the subjects with a flashlight while focusing.

Beyond that problem, which is with my technique or abilities and not that of the lens (since a few images were in focus), I had heard that the coma was really good in this lens. I know I've had issues with coma in my 16-35mm but this lens is a lot better behaved, probably due to the aspherical elements is my guess. And because this is a prime instead of a zoom.

Here's a pic with a bit of exposure adjustment but you can see the coma in a number of places in the corners. It's not bad. I haven't done it myself but I recently watched a YouTube of a photog who edits the stars that have bad coma, I think it was in Photoshop, and he'd just apply a round mask to the offending stars and get rid of the coma shapes.

Coma Example
20mm - f/1.8 - 8.0 sec - ISO 1000

I'm pleased with the lens so far and can't wait to put it through some more paces.

As for the outing, when I left the appointed location I travelled over to the Superstition Mountains to see if it was any better. It was sort of on the way home and allowed me to wait until a bit later. I got there around 3 AM. I got out of my Explorer, waited maybe 15 minutes but didn't see another meteor so headed home. 

I haven't been out much this year due to my health issues and this little shoot was very pleasant. The air temperature cooled after about 11 PM, maybe to 85 degrees F or so. Just sitting out under the sky, seeing part of the Milky Way with my own eyes, was simply wonderful. I got to meet a couple of gals who are knowledgeable about photography (both shooting full frame Sony A7 and A7R) and was able to talk to them for hours about camera gear and post processing. I don't care if I didn't get any good meteor images - I got a lot of pleasure!