DJI Phantom 3 Advanced - Initial Impressions - Part 2

This unit basically requires some sort of intelligent device that you put on the controller such as an iPhone, iPad, or some of the Android devices. They don't mention any way to use it on a Windows device. The device you use can mount on the controller itself and provides access to most of the drone functionality that is not directly related to controlling flight. For example, you can set up the camera, set the maximum distance you want the drone to fly (useful when learning how to fly), and you can see the image from the drone camera itself.

I really hoped I could use my Kindle Fire but there is no native application for it. Apparently you can "sideload" the application which means opening up the Kindle to a non-Amazon application but I didn't read of anyone having great success so at this point I haven't tried it. Instead I decided to just use my iPhone 5 and then I'd determine if I wanted more.

Before the drone arrived I installed the DJI Go Application through the Apple store. Installation was no big deal, similar to most Apple installations.

DJI Phantom 3 Intelligent Flight Battery

When the DJI Phantom 3 Advanced arrived from DJI the first thing that I had to do was charge the batteries. I'd purchased an extra battery so that meant charging the 2 batteries for the drone plus the battery in the remote controller. I can't say exactly how long it took but I'm guessing it was around 3 hours or more before the batteries were charged. It could have been 4 hours. The controller took the longest, perhaps as long as the two batteries combined.

While the batteries were charging I spent my time reading the brief documentation, registering with the FAA, and watching plenty of videos on YouTube. DJI has some introductory tutorial videos just for the Phantom 3 Advanced and Professional model.

The batteries that power the drone are called "Intelligent Flight Batteries". They have some circuitry in them to support and display the status of the battery's cells. For $150 each they better have something in there!

Note that I am talking about things that are new to me. I have some appreciation as to the technology in this drone compared to earlier versions or drones from other companies. The fact that this drone offers 720K video streaming from the drone to the controller, for example, was a $1,400 or so add on to the version 2! Now they're throwing it in for free! That's just one example of what I'm able to take for granted. Another is the way this drone detects and manages its position through GPS and Glonass, resulting in a hover that pretty much stays where you put it when you take your hands off of the controls. Thanks to everyone who came before, developing this technology!

Once I got the batteries charged and turned things on and linked up I was told I had to upgrade the firmware. This is a process that a number of people complain about. I upgraded the aircraft by downloading the update software and installing it on the SD card. I couldn't get the controller to upgrade that way but when your iPhone is attached you can upgrade online if you have internet access through your iPhone.

Still image from DJI Phantom 3 Advanced
Saved as DNG and processed in Lightroom

Finally, I was ready to fly but it was about 2:00 AM and dark outside. Instead I took some photographs and video with the device and familiarized myself with the controls. I couldn't hold back, and installed the propellers and actually lifted off inside the house. It was only a few seconds before my wife came out and, with a pleasant voice, reminded me of the current time and that she had to get up early to take a vehicle in for service. I shut the unit down to wait until the following day...

I transferred the few images to my PC and did a little playing around in Adobe Lightroom with the DNG images. Then I decided to go to bed so I could get up at some point when the sun came up and take the drone outdoors.

Why the "Advanced" model?

DJI makes three variations of the Phantom 3, the "Standard", the "Advanced", and the "Professional". The Standard lacks a number of features that I thought I should get and most of the reviews I read echoed my thoughts. You can review the differences on DJI's website. The Standard has an inferior video downlink, does NOT use the GLONASS satellite system, does NOT have the Vision Positioning System which helps with flight control when satellites are not available (e.g. when you're indoors), does NOT support filters for the camera lens, and has a less capable controller, to name a few items. I was especially interested in the ability to have lens filters. I decided the Standard was not enough for me.

The Advanced and Professional models are identical except for 3 items:

1. The Professional has a camera that will capture 4K video; the Advanced will only capture HD video.
2. The Professional comes with a higher powered 100W charger; the Advanced comes with only a 57W charger meaning that the battery charging time is longer.
3. The Professional has Gold stickers; the Advanced has Silver stickers. Note that the Standard model has Red stickers.

Since I'm not after the camera for video purposes and the still image specifications are the same between the Advanced and the Professional, and the Professional was selling for about $350 more, I decided to go with the Advanced model and use the savings for additional batteries (I will buy at least one or two more I'm betting...) and other accessories. This is the same conclusion I found a lot - unless you're trying to get the best video available, and as long as you have a computer where you can process and/or view that video, the HD format video is still really good.

DJI Phantom 3 Advanced - Initial Impressions - Part 1

I believe I've posted that I've been interested in the new(ish) Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E lens. At the beginning of the new year I almost got it but then another idea started competing - to get a drone that would take decent still photographs. I've had this idea for a while, at least since reading about it in Outdoor Photography magazine.

I did a bit of research and the name that kept coming up in the price range I was interested in was the DJI Phantom 3 Advanced. It has a camera on a 3-axis gimbal that shoots amazing HD video and I found a number of decent stills taken with the unit too.



DJI HD Camera on Phantom 3 Advanced

The camera is made by (or at least branded) DJI using a Sony EXMOR 1/2.3" sensor that will shoot 4000 x 3000 pixel images in JPEG and, more importantly to me, DNG! If you don't know, DNG is an Adobe open, lossless RAW image format, supported of course by Adobe Photoshop (PS) and Lightroom (LR). So you get a 12 MP image in a RAW format that can be shot from a very stable platform at up to a (legal) height of 400 feet!

I thought this would open up some new perspectives for images! I also hope to be able to stitch together shots in PS or LR to get larger shots if desired.

I've also mentioned in the past how I have a hard time imparting the sense of height from the top of a ridge or cliff and I have wondered if having some additional height for the camera might make a difference. Alternatively, shooting from off of the cliff might do it too. A drone would allow those types of shots, and many more! Like shooting a saguaro from more than 6 feet off the ground! The rocks at Chiricahua National Monument!

On the other hand, the Nikkor lens has received nothing but wonderful reviews, even from Ken Rockwell, and that's not very often that he likes something! It's reported as having better image quality (IQ) than the competitive 150-600mm lenses from Tamron and Sigma, as well as better build quality than either of those lenses. However, the Nikkor has 50mm less reach on the short end and 100mm less on the long end. The smaller magnification factor allows for tighter tolerances and better performance from the Nikkor - it's just a matter of which is more important, focal range or IQ.

Not long after I got into photography I determined that IQ was my main motivation and trying to achieve sharpness and clarity and color saturation were what I was interested in and still am. Consequently, along with my attraction to genuine Nikon gear, I really wanted this lens.

Around the beginning of 2016, both of these items were hard to find at times, an indication of how popular they are. At the same time, DJI celebrated their 10th anniversary and offered a 20% savings on the Phantom 3. I decided to take the plunge and go for this instead of the lens. They are both in the same ball park as far as cost (the lens was about $1,400; the Phantom 3 Advanced was $799 but with an extra battery at $150 and a case at another $150 you're up at $1,100).

I ordered mine directly from DJI (Adorama and B&H Photo also carry them, with no tax to Arizona residents and free shipping, but they were out of stock). DJI had the same deal (no tax, free shipping). It took about 3 days to arrive and all of a sudden I was a drone owner!

I'll continue my thoughts on my drone and my decision in my next blog or two...

DJI Phantom 3 Advanced w/ Apple iPhone 5

A Bit of Satisfaction and Pride

I got a bit of a return on my photography, one that is pretty meaningful to me! And I'm going to brag about it. One of the biggest paybacks I get from taking photographs is sharing them with others and getting their feedback. I have mostly had good feedback and I really enjoy hearing someone say "that's gorgeous" or "I want one of those to hang in my house". I like seeing the smiles. I like being asked "where is that?" or "how did you do that" (I don't have a lot of these.) I like it when someone says "you could sell those" or "that would be a good postcard".

I have had a good number of those reactions I'm happy to admit, in person as well as from online postings such as Facebook. They always make me feel like I'm figuring out how to take a good photograph. Over the holidays I've had two different instances that bolster my ego regarding photography...

Yaquina Bay Lighthouse

I attended a Christmas party for one of the units at work that I do software engineering for. The party included a "white elephant" gift exchange with a limit of $20. I immediately decided to give a framed photograph. I was able to use a discount at Walgreens to get an 11x14 print for about $5.00 and I found a decent, matted frame at Walmart for about $17.00. I cheated a bit but too bad.

I was torn between giving a photograph from Arizona, which would perhaps be more practical for more homes in the Phoenix area, perhaps more likely to fit in with an existing decor and therefore more likely to be hung up. On the other hand, I thought of one of my favorite lighthouse photographs from my Oregon trip in August 2015. I decided to go with the Yaquina Bay lighthouse with a flying seagull in it.

The photograph was a hit, and ended up being "stolen" by the final recipient. She had visited Oregon and just loved it. Almost everyone else said how beautiful it was too. That was very rewarding! My photograph was going to be hung on someone's wall who wasn't a relative!

I had also decided to get myself one of my prints for Christmas (okay, my wife gets to look at it too), in particular I wanted to try a metal print. I chose to print a large panorama from the north rim of the Grand Canyon that I titled "Angels Vista". It is a 4 exposure panorama processed in Adobe Lightroom, of the view near Angels Window.



Angels Vista

I uploaded the image to my account on Pixels.com (http://Randall-Morter.Pixels.com) and chose to print it at 48" x 20". Pixels is cool in that they actually print images at the source image ratios and don't force you to crop them to a standard print size.

I had been interested in a metal print for some time. I wanted to see if the vibrance is truly different. I wanted to see what it looked like hanging on the wall. I wanted a good size print.

The print arrived in about 2 weeks after ordering it. It was packaged well. Unfortunately there was an issue on the right side of the print - similar to a double exposure. It only affected about the right 1/4 of the print so I guessed that the metal slipped when going through the printer. I contacted Pixels.com ON A SUNDAY - their help desk is open 24x7. They created an issue ticket for me and I received a follow up email within 2 days.

I took some pictures of the issue and sent them to the help desk and was issued a replacement that arrived in about a week. It was perfect!

That left me with the somewhat flawed original print. I have to interject that my wife had not noticed the image "ghosts". I decided to see if I could donate it to my employer, the Arizona Department of Education. The director of Human Resources said it was beautiful and they'd look into hanging it somewhere. It was accepted and now hangs in the waiting room for the Teacher Certification unit on the main floor where thousands of teachers pass through each year.

What about the metal print?

I didn't notice or think that the print was truly more vibrant, but without a comparable paper print I can't really say that it was or wasn't better. I almost would like to try it again with the saturation / vibrance really boosted a lot more. On the other hand, it is of an overcast day so it may not be worthy of that sort of treatment.

Overall, however, even though the replacement version is fine, the metal prints look unfinished to me. I think I prefer a print with a matte and a frame. It might be possible to put some sort of frame around the metal print, similar to what I've had on a canvas print, like a 1" wide black wood frame that kind of "floats" around the metal print with a 1" gap or so. That might be better. Someone else suggested just adding other items around the metal print, for example, some metal cactus wall art. Other photographs might suffice too. Those suggestions might work but if it was a matted and framed print I think it would stand on its own.

On the other hand, my cost for the 4 foot wide print, finished and suitable for hanging, was about $180. A paper print in a matted frame would have been much more expensive if the frame was nice at all. The frame I got my son for a 30" x 20" photograph was about $250. So there is the trade off.

Because of the large image size, Pixels would even print the photograph larger, up to 5 feet wide. I didn't end up going to that extreme but in the end I wish I had. I would like to see it at that size! I may eventually do a paper print of it at that size.

Considering the Nikkor AF-S Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR lens

I have had my eyes on the new (relatively new, it was announced in August 2015) AF-S Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR lens. It looks like an amazing lens. I just haven’t been able to pull the trigger yet and I don’t know why.

This lens has great reviews from just about everyone on the major sites such as Adorama, B&H Photo, and DP Review. Even Ken Rockwell had good things to say about it. I’m waiting for Thom Hogan’s review but he hasn’t posted much – but he has hinted that he likes it.

Nikkor AF-S Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

I’m not going to go over the specs of the lens; you can read details about the lens at many other and more informed web sites. But I will mention why I want it and why I’m hesitant to get it.

I have shot enough to know that at times I wish I had a longer lens. In particular, this last summer on my trip along the Oregon coast, I shot some sea lions from distances that I would like to have had more reach available. By the time I shot and cropped what I could shoot with my 200mm lens, there wasn’t a lot of image left.

For my Nikon D610 I have the Nikkor 70-200mm f/4G (with the lovely gold band) and like it a lot. I had a plan to get the Tamron 150-600mm but a friend convinced me that the 70-200mm was a better lens, that I’d like the image quality (IQ) better on it. So I went that route and haven’t been disappointed at all with my choice other than the lack of reach.

When the Sigma 150-600 came out and had reports or reviews that it had better IQ than the Tamron, plus it had the docking station available to get firmware updates, and the lower priced version was right even with the Tamron, I started thinking that I’d pick one of those up. I was more interested in the less expensive version, not feeling that basically doubling the price was worth what the “sport” version offered for how I shoot.

Then, this last August, Nikon announced their 200-500mm lens. This is a tough call. It’s a little narrower focal range than the 150-600mm. That means that on the short end I might be able to use the Tamron or Sigma for a particular shot but I may have to swap out the Nikkor to my 70-200mm if I really wanted to be shorter than 200mm. If you’re backed up against a wall or cliff and want to include more of a scene than 200mm will allow, the choice is to swap lenses or compromise on the composition. Or, have the Tamron or Sigma.

On the long end, 100mm extra on the Tamron or Sigma probably wouldn’t be noticed quite as much. I might have to crop the Nikkor shot a bit if I needed to remove something from the shot that I couldn’t get rid of through extending the lens that extra 100mm but it wouldn’t be nearly as bad as the difference between the 200mm maximum I have now compared to the 600mm of the Tamron or Sigma. That’s 3 times the distance or 200% increase! Between the 500mm to 600mm there is only a 20% increase.

Nikon has a cool angle (or field) of view simulator that you can also use to see the dramatic difference (or lack of difference) between focal lengths. It is online at:

http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/lens/simulator/

For a full frame camera, the diagonal angle of view for 150mm is 16.4 degrees and for 200mm it is 12.3 degrees which is fairly significant. The diagonal angle of view at 500mm is 5.0 degrees and at 600mm it is 4.1 degrees. That end is not very significant as can be seen on the Nikon simulator.

The Nikkor is somewhat more limiting at both ends when compared to the Tamron or Sigma. The difference is that Nikon can fine tune the optics easier since they are providing only a 3x zoom, compared to the others that are a 4x zoom. This is born out in the reviews where actual users state pretty convincingly and in sufficient numbers that the Nikkor has improved IQ.

In addition to the focal length, the Nikkor also offers a larger and constant aperture of f/5.6. By comparison, the Tamron and Sigma aperture is f/5 to f/6.3.  The Nikkor will support using a teleconverter, if desired and your camera supports it, at all focal lengths while providing auto focus.

All three lenses have image stabilization by the Nikkor claims that their new version offers 4 stops worth of stabilization. All of the lenses expand and contract according to the focal length so they’ll all have breathing to do.

My biggest factor in my photography is striving for IQ. Because of this, I believe that the Nikkor is the best choice for me. I’d rather swap a lens at the short end and gain any edge in IQ. I’m still a Nikkor only guy with my lenses and have been pretty satisfied with all of them. And, if I mount the 500mm focal length on my D3200 I end up with a 750mm equivalent!

Okay, I’ve convinced myself regarding WHICH lens to get, I just need to convince myself that I truly need a longer lens. I think I need one more photo shoot where I come across a situation that I could ACTUALLY benefit from a longer lens. Once I do, I think I’ll order a copy!

P.S.(es)

1.  Purchasing this lens at roughly $1,400 US will be my third lens of $1,000 or more. In fact, all told I think it would mean I will have spent about $3,600 on lenses ($1,000 for the 16-35mm f/4, $1,200 for the 70-200mm f/4, and the $1,400 for the 200-500mm). This is after having been into photography for less than 3 years. Also note that I have my eye on the Nikon D810 which is also about $3,000. Sheesh. I may need to sell a guitar or two!

2.  I don’t use my D3200 crop camera enough. Next time I want more focal length I should really get out the D3200. I actually have the 55-300mm DX lens, which provides an equivalent of 450mm at the long end. I’ll admit that I did NOT get that rig out when shooting the sea lions and now I wish I’d taken the time to do it. I did think about it at the time but didn’t do it (it was cold and windy, I was parked a bit away from where I was shooting and the D3200 was in my Explorer, I would have had to put the quick release plate on the D3200, and I could probably come up with more excuses – such as I never seem to be as happy with the D3200 IQ in anything other than bright light).

In addition, one other thing that’s been on my mind lately, is that I’ve never tried my more expensive lenses on the D3200. I should see if the IQ is better on the D3200 if I use a better lens.

Improved View

John Muir

I haven't been out shooting, or even out not shooting, due to other activities around Christmas. And I don't expect I'll be able to get out until January sometime. But my heart has actually been getting some improvement...

I've been reading John Muir for the past month or so. I noticed today that on my way out of my office, I was looking at the big cumulus clouds over the Phoenix area (it is cloudy here once in a while) and calling them "sky furniture", "sky flowers", and wondering what wonderful descriptions Mr. Muir would apply to them.

That made me realize how much his books, his thoughts, are affecting me, and in a positive way.

I REALLY enjoyed his "My First Summer in the Sierra" and am now enjoying his "Steep Trails" book. I've read others, including "The Yosemite" and "The Grand Canyon of the Colorado", but the First Summer and Steep Trails are my favorites.

In these two books he offers narratives of his travels. The others are more simple descriptions. They are all fantastic if you like reading about nature with a very literary prose and knowledgable facts. He was clearly well educated and knew very much about botany, geology, and perhaps even human nature.

He discusses various measurements and I have no clue as to how he determined the values such as the height of trees or girth of their trunks. I assume he must have had some instruments with him but I've yet to read of any other than a barometer. How did he know his elevation at various locations he visited?

I really get a kick out of some of his sayings and observations. His writing makes me want to follow in his exact footsteps, heading off into the wilderness with nothing but flour, sugar, and tea.


Here are some links that I think anyone would enjoy looking at:


John Muir: A Brief Biography http://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/life/muir_biography.aspx
A great, quick overview of the man on the Sierra Club website, the organization that he co-founded.

John Muir - WikiPediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muir
More details with more dates as only WikiPedia can do it.

John Muir Books on Amazonhttp://www.amazon.com/John%20Muir/e/B000API2FA/ref=la_B000API2FA_af?rh=n:283155,p_82:B000API2FA
If you have a Kindle there are a number of these that you can get for free.

I think he will certainly inspire me to pay more attention to what I see in the world, starting with today's cloud formations. I only wish I'd encountered his books earlier!

---

NOTE: I believe the John Muir images to be public domain images (according to my Googling).

Ooops – wrong format – learn your Camera!

This last weekend I had a problem that I haven’t had for some time. I changed a setting on my camera without noticing it and ended up with less than optimum photographs.

View of Tucson from a viewpoint on lower Mt. Lemmon

I was up at the ski resort on Mt. Lemmon, just north of Tucson, Arizona. Who would think that there’s a ski resort there? But there is; located near the 9,159 foot summit, it claims to be the southernmost ski resort in the United States. And, there was some snow!

It was pretty chilly (by Phoenix standards anyway) with a gentle breeze. My Ford Explorer said about 37 degrees Fahrenheit. I got out of the car to reconnoiter the area for possible shots, taking my dog with me. I had him tucked inside my jacket and he was shivering. I found some shots I decided to take so I put him back in the car and grabbed the camera which was already mounted on the tripod after taking a few shots at a viewpoint on the way up the mountain.

I set up and took my first shots. I had my Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 wide angle lens mounted to my Nikon D610.

Looking at the histogram, I really wanted to move the curve to the right, brightening it up. I was using an f/9 aperature and didn’t really want to open it up any more in order to try to keep as much depth of field (DOF) as possible. And, I was already shooting at 30 seconds.

I decided to increase the ISO. I always have the camera at ISO 100 and thought I’d bump it up to 400. On the D610 you have to push a button on the back of the camera and change the main command dial.

I was working in the dark and didn’t have a flashlight with me. I thought I pushed the correct button but nothing happened when I changed the dial. So naturally I pushed other buttons and changed the dial, observing through the view finder any changes. I finally got the correct button and dial combination and bumped up the exposure. I liked what I was seeing on the histogram.

It wasn’t until the following day when I imported the images and started processing them that I found out I had changed the format to JPEB FINE / SMALL. When I saw that the images were JPEG and only 3,008 x 2,008 pixels in Adobe Lightroom, I knew immediately what I’d done and that the images were not going to be able to be adjusted as much as if they were RAW format.

I hopped up from my chair and verified the setting on the camera. I also verified my sinking feeling and disappointment. The camera was indeed set on JPEG FINE / SMALL. I switched my mode dial from my U2 setting and back again to reset everything.

I’ve learned that I need to keep my skills a bit more polished. I was pretty sure the ISO button was the bottom button on the left side of the back of the D610, and it is. I must have hit the button above it at first and then, in my confusion, just started hunting and pecking instead of taking the time to know for sure what I was adjusting.

Looking north from Ski Valley on Mt. Lemmon

One of the 3 books I’ve got on the D610, probably the Thom Hogan book, said you should learn the camera so that you can adjust it in the dark. I worked on that because I seem to gravitate towards shooting at night. I’ve been pretty good. I think that in this case I had been using Live View a bit to try to focus, zooming in and out. This requires the use of two different buttons on the back of the camera (different than the ISO button).

The zoom in button, which is the one right above the ISO button, and which I’d been using with Live View, also doubles as the QUALity button, meaning that when I changed the command dial with that button pushed in I had changed the format to JPEG. Darn darn darn.

Don’t let this happen to you! You really should learn all of your cameras controls well enough to operate them blindfolded, especially if you are going to take night shots. This means you don’t need a flashlight. Flashlights ruin your night vision and if you’re shooting with other people nearby, a flashlight can ruin their shot or their night vision as well.

Quick Tip - John Muir

Excuse me while I diverge from pure photography again…

Aspen along FR 611

I was really changed by my trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in October, 2015. It was beautiful, peaceful, and very rejuvenating. I can’t claim to be an explorer, or to be brave when it comes to facing the heights. But nonetheless I was affected to my bones with the experience of being alone in some of the “remote” areas I visited.

The best for me was found at two locations.

Basically anywhere I went along Forest Service Road 611 – there were very few other cars or people on that road. I was able to park my Explorer alongside the road with the windows down and not worry about anything. I was able to walk off of the road and into the trees (trying not to damage or even alter growing vegetation as I did so). I could hear the wind blowing through the upper reaches of the Aspen and the birds calling to each other. The air was clean, cool, and invigorating.

My and my Explorer on FR 611

I took a number of pictures of the Aspen, and even some of the road, but as I look at them I realize they fall short of conveying the peace of the place. Perhaps they show some of the beauty but, while that is commendable, the peacefulness is missing. I am transported back but only because I experienced it firsthand. That is a great aspect of photography – being reminded of life events. But I know when my wife looks at the photographs her experience is limited to what is presented within the borders of the image. I want to try to figure out how to incorporate more feeling into my photographs whether through capture or post processing.

The other location I truly enjoyed losing all sense of time at was at a small meadow on the side of the paved road leading to Point Imperial. I was there early in the morning, having just been to Point Imperial and watching the sun start to rise over the eastern edge of the Grand Canyon. Driving down from there I stopped at a paved wayside by a small meadow. There was frost on the ground and I could seem my exhalations. The meadow stretched up into some hills on my left and the sun was just starting to light the tops of the trees that bordered the grass.

Frosty Meadow near Imperial Point

The frost shimmered in the light becoming even more obvious. There were very few birds chattering. The air was very still as if holding its own breath while waiting for the sunlight to reach down and warm the meadow.

Again I stepped into the grass. I did step on the wintry grass. I had to immerse myself. I took some photographs. These photographs seem to portray a cool meadow with abundant frost. I like these images but perhaps I’m jaded again by having been there to take them.

I am mentioning these two locations because I just started reading a book that imparts a joy of location and experience to me. I read quite a bit but probably 99% of what I read is technical writing (I’m a software engineer and tend to stick to that type of reading). I did finish War and Peace recently, and although it’s main characters are supposed to be fictional, the book intertwines Napolean’s conquest of Russia with the details of life there so I consider it semi-fictional.

Kindle book free with Amazon Prime

The new book that I started and highly recommend to those with a literary interest is “My First Summer in the Sierra” (http://www.amazon.com/First-Summer-Sierra-John-Muir-ebook/dp/B004TS16CU) by John Muir. The Kindle version is available for free if you have an Amazon Prime  from Amazon but I read reviews that said the print version, with the Muir sketches, is much better so I’ve got a copy on order.

The text alone, though, is impactful to me. I don’t know much about John Muir (yet) but it’s clear he is an educated and thoughtful man with great command of the written language. His writing style is different than anything I’ve read – factual yet poetic. There are passages with a lot of Latin botanical names which kind of escape me but the rest of the writing is very refreshing. He is getting to the essence of how I’m beginning to appreciate the natural wonders I’m exposing (pun semi-intended) myself to now that I’ve got my photographic excuse to visit nature!