“A thing that you see in my pictures is that I was not afraid to fall in love with these people.” — Annie Leibovitz
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
This week we visit the north rim of the Grand Canyon.
Sunday, 04/17/2022: Posted photo — Bison outside the Park.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/6, 1/500 s, 300 mm.
This week I am posting from a trip we took to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Not many people go to the north rim since it is not near any population area. To drive from the north rim to the south rim of the Grand Canyon takes about 8 hours from closest entrance to closes entrance.
Before you get the sign for the north rim, you go past a bison farm. What a majestic animal to see up close.
Monday, 04/18/2022: Posted photo — North Rim Entrance.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/60 s, 32 mm.
Here is the sign for the north rim. I have signs from all the national parks that I have entered. It is a good way to remember what parks the following photos were taken. I also like to take photos of signs along the trails.
Tuesday, 04/19/2022: Posted photo — View from our Campsite.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/8, 1/100 s, 55 mm.
This is the view we had when we woke up the few days we were at the north rim. Not a bad view!
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/6.3, 1/100 s, 20 mm.
We were walking the Transept Trail to Bright Angel Point to head into the canyon. We saw a sign for ruins that were used 1000 years ago by Pueblo people. There are many historical ruins in Grand Canyon National Park and other parks in the area.
Thursday, 04/21/2022: Posted photo — Western Tanager.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/6.3, 1/320 s, 300 mm.
As we were approaching the trailhead area, I spotted this colorful bird in a bush. I like how colorful it is. I have sold a few prints of this photo during some of my gallery showings.
Friday, 04/22/2022: Post photo — Lightning.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/10, 1/400 s, 70 mm.
We did not go down into the canyon because of storms in the area. There was tornado and severe thunderstorm warning in the area. When this storm was approaching, I took out my camera and started to take photos. I did not see the second bolt of lightning until I looked at the photo on my computer.
Saturday, 04/23/2022: Post photo — View of the Canyon.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/8, 1/125 s, 40 mm.
As we were leaving the canyon to go from the north rim to the south rim, we stopped an looked at the temples.
“We are making photographs to understand what our lives mean to us.” — Ralph Hattersley
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
Happy and blessed Easter Sunday to your all. Here are my thought from last week. This week’s post has somethings new and somethings old.
Sunday, 04/10/2022: Posted photo — Daffodil.
Settings: Google Pixel 2, ISO 37, f/1.8, 1/125 s, 4 mm.
Sign of spring, our daffodils are blooming. I have not gotten out of the house much these last few months. Was able to get out today to walk around our yard. Nice to see plants flowering. We do have more daffodils and tulip in front of our house that I have been watching as I walk from the car to inside the house. I have not noticed any crocus this year. I must have been inside when they were blooming.
Monday, 04/11/2022: Posted photo — Roadblock.
Settings: Google Pixel 2, ISO 62, f/1.8, 1/198 s, 4 mm.
The turkeys are back. On my way into work, we ran into this rafter of turkeys. I am still not driving so I took this photo from the passenger seat.
Tuesday, 04/12/2022: Posted photo — The Cause of My Pain.
Settings: Google Pixel 2, ISO 251, f/1.8, 1/120 s, 4 mm.
I have not looked at my microspikes since my accident. There were put in the back seat of my car when one of my hiking companions drove my car back to my house. I just left them there since the car was not used that often. My car has a manual transmission, so I am not able to shift since I cannot use my left foot for the clutch. We are trading in my car for one with an automatic transmission so I can drive myself to work.
I took out my microspikes to see if they were broken. The first one I looked at had a stick embedded in one of the spikes. The was why I went down, no spike available to grip the ice! What a freak accident. I am glad that I know what happened and happy that it was not an equipment malfunction.
Wednesday, 04/13/2022: Posted photo — Hoodoos.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/8, 1/160 s, 37 mm.
These are hoodoos in Goblin Valley State Park. Goblin Valley State Park is in Green River, UT. Goblin Valley was the set for the movie “Galaxy Quest”, one of our favorite movies. We were surprised that we were able to into the goblins, which we did, and we reenacted some scenes from the movie. The park features thousands of hoodoos, referred to locally as goblins, which are formations of mushroom-shaped rock pinnacles, some as tall as several yards.
Thursday, 04/14/2022: Posted photo — Sunrise.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/16, 1/2000 s, 300 mm.
This is the sunrise from Goblin Valley. We had a wonderful dark sky night and a great sunrise.
Friday, 04/15/2022: Post photo — Delicate Arch.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/200 s, 300 mm.
This is as close as we were to Delicate Arch in Arches National Park. Delicate Arch is a 52-foot-tall freestanding natural arch. What you do not see is the drop off just after the arch. Delicate Arch stands at the edge of a cliff. We arrived in the park late and did not do the hike out to the arch. We did other hikes in the park the couple of days we were there. The longest hike was about a 10-mile hike in extremely hot weather. We followed the rule of at least one gallon of water per person per day. I carried the water and my wife and son carried other supplies during our hike.
Saturday, 04/16/2022: Post photo — Upper Slot Canyon.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 640, f/3.5, 1/25 s, 18 mm.
We found Antelope Slot Canyon by accident. We were looking for grocery stores in the area as we were traveling between the north and south rim of the Grand Canyon. We saw pickup truck that had Antelope Slot Canyon on then. My wife had a friend that went to a canyon in that area that looked like a great stop for us. We did some research and found out the canyon was Antilope Slot Canyon. We arrived in Page, AZ midday to the upper slot canyon was the only place we could get tickets. I know of others that have gone to lower slot and they also looked impressive. Need to go back to visit.
For those of you who know the area, we did not go to Horseshoe Bend since we were just camping at Goosenecks State Park a few nights before.
“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever… It remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.” — Aaron Siskind
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
Here are some more photos of a road trip we took. Looking forward to traveling again this summer. Hiking will be limited, but I will pick up my 50th state (North Dakota).
This week’s blog will only contain information that I have referenced off various web sites. This was the easiest way for me to describe each location. I could ramble on and on about the wonders and beauties of each of these parks.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/7.1, 1/400 s, 150 mm.
“Monument Valley, a red-sand desert region on the Arizona-Utah border, is known for the towering sandstone buttes of Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. The park, frequently a filming location for Western movies, is accessed by the looping, 17-mile Valley Drive. The famous, steeply sloped Mittens buttes can be viewed from the road or from overlooks such as John Ford’s Point.” ― Google
Monday, 04/04/2022: Posted photo — Goosnecks State Park.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/11, 1/250 s, 18 mm.
“On the edge of a deep canyon above the sinuous river meander known as a gooseneck, this small park affords impressive views of one of the most striking examples of an entrenched river meander on the North American continent. The San Juan River twists and turns through the meander, flowing a distance of over six miles while advancing one and a half miles west on its way to Lake Powell. Gaze at the results of 300 million years of geological activity, where the San Juan River winds and carves its way through the desert 1,000 feet below.” — https://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/goosenecks/
Tuesday, 04/05/2022: Posted photo — Balance Rock.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 100, f/8, 1/125 s, 45 mm.
Arches National Park
“Balanced Rock, one of the most iconic features in the park, stands a staggering 128 feet (39m) tall. While this formation may appear to be an epic balancing act, it’s actually not balanced at all. The slick rock boulder of Entrada Sandstone sits attached to its eroding pedestal of Dewey Bridge mudstone. The exposure of these two rock strata layers are ideal for the formation of arches and balanced rocks.” — https://www.nps.gov/arch/planyourvisit/balancedrock.htm
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/8, 1/125 s, 24 mm.
Arches National Park
“Landscape Arch is the longest arch in North America with a light opening of 306 feet (93.3 meters). This awe-inspiring expanse is only 6 feet (1.8 meters) in diameter at its narrowest. Large segments of the arch came crashing down in the 1990s – proof that the park’s landscape can change dramatically in a instant. Although other arches have fallen, Landscape Arch still hangs on by a very thin thread.” — https://www.nps.gov/arch/planyourvisit/devils-garden.htm
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/10, 1/200 s, 42 mm.
Bryce Canyon National Park
“By far the most iconic section of the park, the Bryce Amphitheater is home to the greatest concentration of irregular rock spires (called “hoodoos”) found anywhere on Earth. Viewpoints along the first 3 miles (4.8 km) of the main road provide access to views overlooking this area. This area is referred to as an “amphitheater” as it is a bowl-shaped area shaped by the drainage of seasonal rains and melting snow (not truly a canyon, as those are shaped by flowing rivers)” — https://www.nps.gov/thingstodo/see-the-bryce-amphitheater.htm
Friday, 04/08/2022: Post photo — View from Navajo Bridge.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/10, 1/125 s, 48 mm.
View from the Navajo Bridge
“Those traveling across the country on Highway 89A between Bitter Springs and Jacob Lake, AZ arrive at two bridges similar in appearance spanning the Colorado River. These two bridges, one historic and one new, represent one of only seven land crossings of the Colorado River for 750 miles (1207 km).” — https://www.nps.gov/glca/learn/historyculture/navajobridge.htm
Saturday, 04/09/2022: Post photo — Carlsbad Caverns.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/4.5, 6 s, 33 mm.
“High ancient sea ledges, deep rocky canyons, flowering cactus, and desert wildlife—treasures above the ground in the Chihuahuan Desert. Hidden beneath the surface are more than 119 caves—formed when sulfuric acid dissolved limestone leaving behind caverns of all sizes.” — https://www.nps.gov/cave/index.htm
“Taking an image, freezing a moment, reveals how rich reality truly is.” — Anonymous
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
This week I will be posting a few highlights of one of my trips. We called this trip our norther National Part trip. We traveled through Montana, Alberta, Banff, Jasper, Washington state, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa during this trip. This trip included visits to many national parks in the United States and Canada, visiting family, visiting natural movie sets, and when to an amusement park in the Mall of America in which I held with the design of a few of the rides.
Sunday, 03/27/2022: Posted photo — Lake McDonald.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 100, f/8, 1/400 s, 75 mm.
The first stop on our northern national park tour was in Glacier National Park in Montana. What a wonderful park. It does have many glaciers, some growing and some receding.
Monday, 03/28/2022: Posted photo — Mountain Goat.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 100, f/5, 1/125 s, 200 mm.
While we were in Glacier National Park, we took a hike out to Hidden Lake. On the way out to the lake, we had a few mountain goats walk along the trail with us.
Tuesday, 03/29/2022: Posted photo — Hidden Lake.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 100, f/9, 1/160 s, 25 mm.
This was a destination, Hidden Lake in Glacier National Park. For your information, this hike took place on July 4 and we did most of our hiking in the snow.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/11, 1/4 s, 33 mm.
Johnston Canyon to Lower Falls is an extremely popular and scenic trail in Banff National Park, in addition to being one of the busiest in the Canadian Rockies. We were driving around Banff and found the falls. We camped in Baff on our way to Jasper National Park.
Thursday, 03/31/2022: Posted photo — Lake Louise.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/13, 1/250 s, 29 mm.
Lake Louise is world famous for its turquoise lakes, the Victoria Glacier, soaring mountain backdrop. We went to Lake Louise on a weekend, so it was very busy. We took a few photos and then went on our way.
Friday, 04/01/2022: Post photo — Diablo Lake.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/13, 1/250 s, 35 mm.
On our way back from visiting family in Bellingham Washington, we took a trip to Northern Cascades National Park. One of the hikes we took was out to Diablo Lake.
From an information search, it was verified that Diablo Lake is a reservoir in the North Cascade mountains of northern Washington state. It was created by Diablo Dam and is located between Ross Lake and Gorge Lake on the Skagit River at an elevation of 1,201 feet above sea level.
I really like the color of the water in the lake.
Saturday, 04/02/2022: Post photo — Mount Rainier.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/11, 1/250 s, 42 mm.
Mount Rainier National Park. I am impressed every time I see this mountain. Either up close or from the city of Seattle. One time we flew past the mountain. That must have taken about five minutes to do since the girth on the mountain is so great.
Mount Rainier is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest standing at 14,411′ in elevation. The volcano last erupted in 1894, and when Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, all eyes were on Mount Rainier since the mountains are in the same chain. It is very interesting to camp in an area that has warnings about the possibility of lava flow. If the mountain erupted, I would think that the lava flow would be the least of our worries.
When we travel to Mount Rainier, we like to visit the Paradise area. I have photographed a few waterfalls in Paradise. When we visited this time, the snow was still very deep. Remember, this was early to mid-July. There was one waterfall that I wanted to photograph in the snow, and I could not find it. I had the GPS coordinates from the times before that I took photos of it. Looking at the GPS coordinates, I came to realize that I was standing on top of the falls.
“There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment.” —Robert Frank
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
This week I will be just posting photos of posters that I made from various trips. I have been too busy and tired since I went back to the office midweek.
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
Starting to take more photos. Still will be posting photos from past trips for a little while longer. Sill a long recovery ahead of me.
Enjoy some more travel photos from past trips.
Sunday, 03/13/2022: Posted photo — Low Key.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 2500, f/3.5, 1/40 s, 18 mm.
A low key image is one that contains predominantly dark tones and colors. Low key photography conveys atmosphere and mood. One of my photo projects had a low key image challenge this week. I was thinking about what photo to take to meet this challenge. I would have had many options if I had not just been operated on. With limited mobility, I thought about what there might be around the house. Since low key images contain predominantly dark tones and colors, I took a photo of the fire in our wood stove.
Monday, 03/14/2022: Posted photo — Cameron Falls.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 100, f/22, 10 s, 28 mm.
Cameron Falls, Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta.
Cameron Falls is a very uniquely shaped waterfall of about 75 feet in height found in the heart of the Waterton townsite in Waterton Lakes National Park. After heavy rainfall, the waters upriver from the falls get stirred up with a red mudstone called argillite. As the water flows towards the falls, it turns to a beautiful pink hue when light reflects on the mineral water. We did not see the pink falls since the weather was dry when we visited Waterton Lakes National Park just after we visited Glacier National Park in Montana.
Tuesday, 03/15/2022: Posted photo — New Boot.
Settings: Google Pixel 2, ISO 195, f/1.8, 1/60 s, 4 mm.
I had a post op follow-up today a week and a half after surgery. My recovery is going as planned. I was fitted with this very uncomfortable boot. I still cannot put pressure on my ankle for another four weeks. Need to go back on Tuesday for another follow-up since the first one was close to my surgical date and the doctor would like to see my progress and remove some items from my ankle.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/8, 1/2000 s, 160 mm.
Harvard Glacier, College Fjord, Alaska.
The glacier has a 1.5-mile (2 km) wide face where it calves into the College Fjord. It is 300 ft thick and covers 120,000 acres of Chugach National Forest. The Harvard Glacier is the second largest glacier in the Prince William Sound, after the Columbia Glacier.
It is amazing to see how large a glacier is when you look at it from a distance. In this photo, we were about a mile from the glacier.
The names of the glaciers in College Fjord are: Amherst, Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Harvard, Smith, Vassar, and Yale. The glaciers of the northwest side feature the names of women’s colleges, and the glaciers of the fork and the southeast side sport the names of men’s colleges. What of Princeton? According to my research on the names, the scholars that named the glaciers took delight in ignoring it since none of them were Princeton alum.
Thursday, 03/17/2022: Posted photo — Cairn.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/11, 1/200 s, 34 mm.
On the trail near the Athabasca Glacier, Jasper National Park, Alberta.
A cairn is a mound of rough stones built as a memorial or landmark, typically on a hilltop or skyline. This cairn is shaped like a person. In Canada this is called an Inuksuk.
The Athabasca Glacier is one of the six principal ‘toes’ of the Columbia Icefield, located in the Canadian Rockies. The glacier currently loses depth at a rate of about 16.4 feet (5 meters) per year and has receded more than 1 mile (1.5 km) and lost over half of its volume in the past 125 years.
From the Canadian Encyclopedia: “Inuksuk (also spelled inukshuk, plural inuksuit) is a figure made of piled stones or boulders constructed to communicate with humans throughout the Arctic. Traditionally constructed by the Inuit, inuksuit are integral to Inuit culture and are often intertwined with representations of Canada and the north.” — https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/inuksuk-inukshuk
Friday, 03/18/2022: Post photo — Pall (and Rekard).
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/160 s, 55 mm.
These are my two buddied from Denmark. Earlier on in my photo projects, I featured Pall every week with Pall telling a story about his life. When I went back to Denmark, I picked up Rekard. They ventured together for next year or two. Might be time to bring their adventures back.
Saturday, 03/19/2022: Post photo — Crater.
Settings: N/A.
Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
From the USGS:
“Prior to 1980, Mt. St. Helens had the shape of a conical volcano sometimes referred to as the Mount Fuji of America. During the 1980 eruption the upper 400 m (1,300 ft) of the summit was removed by a huge debris avalanche, leaving a 2 x 3.5 km horseshoe-shaped crater now partially filled by a lava dome and a glacier. It is primarily an explosive dacite volcano.”
Quick Facts:
Location: Washington, Skamania County Latitude: 46.2° N Longitude: 122.18° W Elevation: 2,539 (m) 8,330 (f) Volcano type: Stratovolcano Composition: Basalt to Rhyodacite Most recent eruption: 1980, 2004-2008 Nearby towns: Castle Rock, WA; Olympia, WA; Vancouver, WA; Yakima, WA; Portland, OR Threat Potential: Very High
Dacite: Volcanic rock (or lava) that characteristically is light in color and contains 62 to 69 percent silica and moderate amounts of sodium and potassium.
Stratovolcano: Steep, conical volcanoes built by the eruption of viscous lava flows, tephra, and pyroclastic flows. They are usually constructed over tens to hundreds of thousands of years and may erupt a variety of magma types (basalt to rhyolite). They typically consist of many separate vents. Synonym is composite volcano.
I have been to Mt. St. Helens a few times over the years. The first time was about ten years after the eruption, and we saw the logs floating in Sprit Lake. I just pictured Harry Truman looking up at the mountain from his lodge and wondering why he did not leave. Then again, there were may false alarms in the past. I am amazed on how nature is recovering in the area. I can still remember the first time that I drove into the blast zone. Very lush, dense forest along the road, turn the corner and nothing. Trees looking like toothpicks laying down in the direction of the blast. There were some cars left for visitors to see how powerful the eruption was.
“When I have a camera in my hand, I know no fear” — Alfred Eisenstaedt
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
Surgery went well last Friday. I have plenty of hardware in my ankle. It will be a while until I am able to hit the mountains again in full force. My goal to finish my second round of hiking the 48 highest peaks in New Hampshire will be delayed for at least a year until my ankle fully recovers. Thank you all for your words of encouragement and for all your support.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/100 s, 20 mm.
Desert View Watchtower, South Rim Grand Canyon National Park.
Desert View Watchtower, Grand Canyon National Park
We arrived at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon just before sunset. We spent the last couple of nights camping and hiking along the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and would be spending time on the South Rim. I have been to the Canyon before, but never from this entrance.
From the National Parks Service: “A National Historic Landmark, the Watchtower was constructed in 1932.The design by Mary Colter, is based on the architecture of the Ancestral Puebloan people of the Southwest. This particular tower was patterned after those found at Hovenweep and the Round Tower of Mesa Verde.”
We have been to Hovenweep and to Mesa Verde and agree with that statement.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/16, 1/400 s, 49 mm.
The Four Corners Monument marks the quadripoint in the Southwestern United States where the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet. It is the only point in the United States shared by four states.
Four Corners USGS monument
Tuesday, 03/08/2022: Posted photo — Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/13, 1/800 s, 90 mm.
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Mosca, CO.
One of the amazing things about the Great Sand Dunes is that you can see them from miles away. As you turn off the main road and head towards the dunes, they are right in front of you. We spent the day hiking the dunes pretending we were in a desert. When you look at this photo, you see a couple of dots in the sand. Those are people. The sand was hot. According to Park Service, the sand surface can reach 150 degrees F (65 degrees C) on a summer afternoon or drop to minus 20 degrees F (minus 29 degrees C) on a winter night. It was close to the 150 degrees when we were walking on the sand.
Sand Dunes with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains as a backdrop
From the National Parks Service: “The tallest dunes in North America are the centerpiece in a diverse landscape of grasslands, wetlands, forests, alpine lakes, and tundra. Great Sand Dunes National Park is a complex geologic story going back millions of years. Intense volcanic activity built the San Juan mountain range to the west of the modern day dunes and tectonic activity raised the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the north and east.”
Wednesday, 03/09/2022: Posted photo — Hiking the Narrows.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/9, 1/2050 s, 18 mm.
Zion National Park Springdale, UT.
This is a photo my wife took of me as we were hiking the Narrows in Zion National Park. It was a refreshing hike on a hot summer day. When you hike the Narrows, you need to be very aware of the weather. Because it is so narrow, there is no escape route if there happens to be a flash flood.
Hiking in the murky waters of the Narrows in Zion National Park
From the National Parks Service: “The Narrows is the narrowest section of Zion Canyon. This gorge, with walls a thousand feet tall and the river sometimes just twenty to thirty feet wide, is one of the most popular areas in Zion National Park. You can see The Narrows by hiking along the paved, wheelchair accessible Riverside Walk for one mile from the Temple of Sinawava. If you wish to see more, you will be walking in the Virgin River. This can involve wading upstream for just a few minutes or it can be an all day hike.”
Thursday, 03/10/2022: Posted photo — NRAO Very Large Array.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/10, 1/800 s, 165 mm.
NRAO Very Large Array, Magdalena, NM.
Radio Antennas in the Very Large Array
One of the most interesting places to visit. As you can see from the description below, the array can be very large. When we visited, there were 26 radio antennas pointing in one direction and one pointing in an opposite direction. We thought that was strange. They told up that the odd one was scanning the sky.
“The Very Large Array, one of the world’s premier astronomical radio observatories, consists of 27 radio antennas in a Y-shaped configuration on the Plains of San Agustin fifty miles west of Socorro, New Mexico. Each antenna is 25 meters (82 feet) in diameter. The data from the antennas is combined electronically to give the resolution of an antenna 36 km (22 miles) across, with the equivalent sensitivity of a dish 130 meters (422 feet) in diameter.” — http://www.vla.nrao.edu/
Friday, 03/11/2022: Post photo — Owachamo Bridge.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/125 s, 18 mm.
Owachamo Bridge, Natural Bridges National Monument, UT.
Owachomoa Bridge looking from below
Owachomo is the smallest and thinnest of the three natural bridges in the National Monument and is commonly thought to be the oldest. We had a great hike out to the bridge.
We like to travel to the lesser know parks. These parks are lesser know mostly because of location. They are not close to any major city or town. We like to say it is great to have a park to ourselves.
Saturday, 03/12/2022: Post photo — Spruce Tree House.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/5, 1/50 s, 20 mm.
Spruce Tree House, Mesa Verde National Park, CO.
From the National Park Service: “Spruce Tree House, the third largest cliff dwelling (Cliff Palace and Long House are larger), was constructed between about 1211 and 1278 CE by the ancestors of the Pueblo peoples of the Southwest. The dwelling contains about 130 rooms and 8 kivas (kee-vahs), or ceremonial chambers, built into a natural alcove measuring 216 feet (66 meters) at greatest width and 89 feet (27 meters) at its greatest depth. It is thought to have been home for about 60 to 80 people.”
Spruce Tree House cliff dwelling
We were lucky enough to get to the park prior to 2012 during one of our northern National Park tours. We were able to explore the Spruce Tree House. We went into some of the rooms and into the kivas. Due to the unstable cliff about the Spruce Tree House, the entire site was closed to the public in October 2015. We have visited the park since then since I have a relative that works at the park. We were able to obtain permits to do some backcountry hiking with my relative guide to some dwellings that are off limits to the public.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/640 s, 35 mm.
This is the first in what I hope will be a weeklong series of some of the historic houses around town. I will look for any information I can find on these houses. I have done a search of these housed prior to my starting my blog. There might me more information on them now.
The Squire Dusting house was built in 1810 and is located near the town commons.
Monday, 01/31/2022: Posted photo — Upton School.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 200, f/7.1, 1/250 s, 35 mm.
“Westminster philanthropists Charles Upton and Frank Fenor donated the money and land to build the school, which opened in 1912 and taught all grades for the town. In 1927, it became crowded, and the last three grades were taught in neighboring towns, like Fitchburg and Gardner.
The grades got cut back again when the Oakmont School was built in 1960 for grades 7 through 12. The Upton School was supposed to close in 1993, when the Meetinghouse School was built. However, the roof of the new school building leaked and classes went on for an additional three months.” — Fitchburg Sentinel @ Enterprise, October 13, 2012.
Some of my relative remember going to school in the Upton Building. There still is some talks in town about what to do with the building. Should they renovate it, donate to some charity or organization, move a town office into it? Only time will tell.
Tuesday, 02/01/2022: Posted photo — Broken.
Settings: Google Pixel 2, ISO 604, f/1.8, 1/40 s, 4 mm.
Last night was my weekly Monday night Wachusett Mountain hike. Snowshoes were not needed but did help on the hike. Without the snowshoes there would be some “potholing”. I made it to summit and part of the way down before the heal strap on my left snowshoe broke. I did not expect it to last that long on the hike. The strap broke once already last year, and I was able to make some adjustments to make it last longer. The good people at the Tubbs will be sending me replacement straps to install.
Pays to spend some money on snowshoes of you used them as much as I do in the winter. These are the pair that I am using hiking to work; on Wachusett Mountain and other local mountains; and in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
Wednesday, 02/02/2022: Posted photo — 1815 Reverend Cyrus Mann House.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/8, 1/125 s, 38 mm.
Year built: 1815
Here is a continuation of my historic houses around town week.
The view of Wachusett Mountain from the Rev. Cyrus Mann House in on the Westminster town seal.
One of the houses in Westminster Village-Academy Hill Historic District in Westminster, MA. The district was founded in 1734 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. I just love the look of this house along with the other houses in this district.
Thursday, 02/03/2022: Posted photo — Philip Bemis House.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 400, f/6.3, 1/1000 s, 33 mm.
This house was built in 1759 by Philip Bemis who owned the Old Mill nearby. The Old Mill is now the Old Mill Restaurant. I go to the Old Mill often to photograph the duck and geese that live in the duck pond year-round. They have covered walkways at the Old Mill that frame a waterfall.
“History of the Old Mill:
From its earliest beginning, the Old Mill has served a useful purpose in the community. Originally a sawmill where logs were processed for the new homes of the neighborhood, the Old Mill and its whirling saw sang a song of progress and industry through five generations of ownership before its wheels were stilled and it fell into disrepair in the late 1800’s.
In 1921, the sawmill was converted into a tea-room and operated as such during the summer months by Miss Keough, until 1942 when war restrictions forced her to close. Upon his return from serving in World War II, Ralph Foster and his wife Ruth bought the Old Mill and reopened it as a restaurant, making it a year-round operation, thus the mill was reborn.” — http://www.1761oldmill.com/about.html
Friday, 02/04/2022: Post photo — Freezing Rain.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 200, f/7.1, 1/50 s, 64 mm.
Once again, I need to pause my photo tour of the historic houses around town. We are in the middle of a rain/snow/sleet/freezing rain event, and I want to do as little driving as possible.
During a storm, I like to walk into work. Today I did not walk into work since the storm was mostly a heavy rain event in the morning and I wanted to get to work before the sleet and freezing rain arrived. If it is raining heavy and I was going to do a five-mile hike in the wood, or hike up a mountain, I would not mind the weather. Walking to work in the heavy rain is another story.
Other colleagues told me about all the accidents on the road when they arrived. Cars were off the road and a few of my colleague saw cars speeding down the highways and slipping off the road when they hit a patch of slush or ice. They came in after the change in weather. There was about an inch of slush in the parking lot at work. The maintenance people did a great job of keeping the parking lot clean.
I will wait for the rain to slow down before I go out and clean out my driveway and walkway.
Saturday, 02/05/2022: Post photo — Black and White.
Settings: Google Pixel 2, ISO 252, f/1.8, 1/120 s, 4 mm.
Cool morning today. I left the house early to run some errands. I was planning on hiking Wachusett Mountain this morning and it turned out to be an afternoon hike.
During the day I liked the way the sun was glistering off the ice-covered trees, so I took this photo. I needed a black and white photo for a photo project I am working on, so I converted the photo to black and white.
“It’s weird that photographers spend years or even a whole lifetime, trying to capture moments that added together, don’t even amount to a couple of hours.” — James Lalropui Keivom
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
Sunday, 01/23/2022: Posted photo — Music.
Settings: Google Pixel 2, ISO 252, f/1.8, 1/120 s, 4 mm.
Psalm 23, The Lord is my shepherd…
This is best known psalm out of the 150 psalms in the Bible. There are five books and four literary styles in the psalms. The styles are hymns, prayers of thanksgiving and petition, religious lyrics, and didactic psalms. You can go online or ask your religious leader for more information on the psalms.
Songs, or hymns, at mass are used to enhance the service. I played the organ/keyboard during Mass when I was in college. My family still plays and sings in the choir during Mass today. A good song will lift your spirits.
I did not intend to use this photo today. I used it because it was one of the only photos that I took and it was the one that I liked the best.
Monday, 01/24/2022: Posted photo — Dusting of Snow.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/5, 1/15 s, 50 mm.
Last week we received heavy and wet snow. This week we received a dusting of snow.
In taking this photo, I was practicing depth of field (DOF) in my photos. I am in my 13 year of taking photos every day and I still need on practicing various techniques so my photos are of my liking. I am my own worst critic.
I did go on a great hike tonight. This is my normal Monday night hike on Wachusett Mountain. The trails were in great shape from all the people that have been hiking after the last snowstorm. Microspikes are needed. Some people say no to microspikes since there is no exposed ice on the trails. If I am leading a hike, I am requiring the use of microspikes, or other traction devices, since there is ice under the snow and the spikes give you better traction. I am cautions in a group situation.
Microspikes are great for hiking or in thick ice, nanospikes are good for walking the in areas where traction is needed, but they are not as aggressive as microspikes. I would not recommend the use of nonspikes while hiking since they do not have the grip you need on the snow or ice, or the inclines and declined on a hiking trail. A more aggressive means for traction is the use of crampons. I use my crampons in the higher elevations of the White Mountains, or on a very icy trail. When I hike in the winter, I carry two sets of microspikes: my inexpensive “rock” microspikes and my “good” microspikes and have my crampons with me. Occasionally I will also attach my snowshoes to my pack if there has been newly fallen snow and I know that trail that I will be hiking is an underutilized trail. The difference between my inexpensive “rock” microspikes and my “good” microspikes is the length of the spikes and the quality of the product.
Tuesday, 01/25/2022: Posted photo — Snow White.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 800, f/36, 1/50 s, 93 mm.
Light dusting of snow received last night. This makes for a wonderful winter scene. When I was walking around yesterday, I was thinking of the challenge for the 52 frames project https://52frames.com/photographer/20931. The challenge is for this week is to take a minimalistic photo. This is my first minimalistic photo of the week. Look for a different photo later in the week.
Wednesday, 01/26/2022: Posted photo — Colors.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/160 s, 115 mm.
Last week at this time, I posted a sunrise photo. Today I did the same.
I would like to talk about the colors in a sunrise/sunset. When the sun is low on the horizon during sunrises and sunsets, the sunlight travels through more of the atmosphere. Shorter wavelength colors (blues and violets) get scattered out. This leaves more of the longer wavelength colors like yellow, orange, and red. Therefore, sunrises often take on such colors. Some of the colors of a sunrise or sunset are #95382c, #141b24, #4f3c54, #223444, and #9c4a44 for the more technical people that read my post. Sunrises and sunsets are also in the 1000–2000 K range. Other base settings for sunrise and sunset photos are f/6–f/16 and a shutter speed of 1/500 s. I also like to take my photos one step underexposed to bring out the colors. Shoot RAW so values can be adjusted post process if required.
As always, practice sunrise and sunset photos to find out the best settings for your camera.
Thursday, 01/27/2022: Posted photo — Sky.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/640 s, 24 mm.
Here is another minimalistic photo for the week. I like this one better than the snow photo so this is the one that I may post for the 52 frames project.
Some of the elements of minimalistic photography are simplicity, negative space, powerful composition, isolation, color, and lines and shapes. Minimalist photography shows the power of a simple solo object. In this case, it is the contrail against the blue sky.
Looking at the simplicity of this photo, my watermark may be taking away some of its impact. Need to think about that next time. There is a debate whether to watermark photos. It does take away from the aesthetic quality of some photos. I watermark the photos that I post and not the ones that I display in gallery showings or the ones that I sell.
Friday, 01/28/2022: Post photo — Hook.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/5, 1/15 s, 62 mm.
I see a hook, a needlenose shark, or a stitch puller. What do you see? This is another pareidolia photo.
Today I am not writing much about this photo since I need to prepare our house for the snow storm that will happen tomorrow.
Saturday, 01/29/2022: Post photo — Looking Down the Street.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/80 s, 29 mm.
We received about 10 inches of snow out of today’s storm. It is much less than originally predicted. The storm moved out to sea, and we were on the outer edge of the storm.
I did go out every two hours today to shovel the snow. The first few times out there were a few inches of show to shovel. As the day went on, the shoveling was easier and quicker. Winter storm Kenan was another let down for us. Only 10 inches of snow. We are still waiting for the first big storm of the year.
Kenan was a bomb cyclone. A bomb cyclone is a storm that undergoes bombogenesis. Bombogenesis is a rapid intensification of a low-pressure system in which we measure in millibars. The lower the pressure is, the stronger the storm.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/30 s, 113 mm.
Last week I wrote about how cold it was in this area. Here is a photo of this morning’s temperature. As you can see, it is still cold in this area. The temperature will warm up tomorrow since we are expecting eight inches of snow. Looks like I will be snowshoeing to work tomorrow.
From AccuWeather:
A question meteorologist get asked all the time during the cold winter months is “can it ever be too cold to snow”? Well, the short answer is no.
The ingredients for snow are:
1. A temperature profile that allows snow to reach the surface 2. Saturated air 3. Enough lifting of that saturated air to allow snow to develop aloft and fall to reach the surface
The phrase “it’s too cold to snow” probably originated as a misapplication of the relationship between temperature and the maximum amount of water vapor that can be in the air. When temperature decreases, the maximum capacity of water vapor that can be in the air decreases. Therefore, the colder it gets the less water vapor there will be in the air.
Monday, 01/17/2022: Posted photo — My Commute.
Settings: Google Pixel 2, ISO 186, f/1.8, 1/60 s, 4 mm.
It snowed last night, and it was snowing during my morning commute. I like to say that my commute took longer that usual to get to work. What normally takes me five minutes, took me 45 minutes. It is much safer for me to walk to work in the snow than it is for me to drive in the snow. A little more than half of my hike is on the Midstate Trail. It is nice to live so close to a trail junction or trailhead.
During my three mile hike to work, I may see one or two cars and a half dozen plows. On my way home from work, there will be some more cars, depending on the road conditions. People stay home from work when it is snowing. The funny thing about that is that I live in north central Massachusetts, in a snowy part of New England, so people should be used to driving in the snow.
I did not go on my normal Monday night hike on Wachusett Mountain today. If I were to hike it, I would have to leave work a little early, take the three mile, 45 minute hike home; get in my car; and then hike three to four more miles on the mountain.
Walking generally occurs on flat paths, while hiking often occurs in areas of high elevation. It can include hills and mountains. Some people think of hiking as anything that has above a 500 foot change in elevation.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/16, 1/250 s, 300 mm.
The full moon was yesterday. It was snowing yesterday so I did not have the opportunity to do my full moon without a headlamp nighttime hike on Wachusett Mountain. As written yesterday, I walked to and from work because of the weather.
This morning I saw the moon and wanted to take a photo of it for this month.
From the Old Farmer’s Almanac: “It’s thought that January’s full Moon came to be known as the Wolf Moon because wolves were more likely to be heard howling at this time. It was traditionally believed that wolves howled due to hunger during winter, but we know today that wolves howl for different reasons. Howling and other wolf vocalizations are generally used to define territory, locate pack members, reinforce social bonds, and coordinate hunting.”
Wednesday, 01/19/2022: Posted photo — Sunrise.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 200, f/7.1, 1/30 s, 50 mm.
The sky caught my eye this morning, so I took a photo of it. The photo itself will explain why. What great colors. Too bad a photo does not do it justice.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/11, 1/640 s, 75 mm.
The Aialik Glacier is a glacier in the Kenai Peninsula Borough of Alaska. It drains into Aialik Bay. Part of Kenai Fjords National Park, it drains the Harding Icefield. Aialik Glacier, a little over 15 miles from Seward, is the largest glacier in Aialik Bay.
Icefields are expanses of glacial ice flowing in multiple directions. Like ice caps, icefields usually cover less than 50,000 square kilometers (19,300 square miles), so they are much smaller than the ice sheets blanketing Greenland and Antarctica. In contrast to ice caps, icefields are interrupted by peaks of the underlying mountain ridges, and those mountains influence the flow of the icefield.
This is one of the amazing sites in Alaska.
Friday, 01/21/2022: Post photo — Morning View.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/160 s, 101 mm.
What a great view this morning. As I walk around, I am seeing the sunrise more since the sun is rising earlier in the day. The colors this week on the sunrises have been spectacular.
Saturday, 01/22/2022: Post photo — Colors.
Settings: Google Pixel 2, ISO 124, f/1.8, 1/125 s, 4 mm.
I am posting to another website weekly, https://52frames.com/photographer/20931. This week’s theme is Complementary Colors. I had to go to the store today to get somethings to repair my roof and took this photo of the color samples. There are many sets of Complementary Colors in this shot.
Photo by Joseph Ciras 