Daily Image - Mar 2019 Archive

29 Mar 19 My apology to all for the silence this week. With folks visiting us last week from MT I managed to come down last Friday with what I'll just call the crud and was bed ridden until today when I decided I had to get up and move on, but not very fast and not for any length of time before napping. A 4% weight loss among other things was part of the last 7 days "fun" time not to mention negatively impacting their visit! Needless to say I wasn't about creating any images to share so I'm attaching one from last fall's visit to Yellowstone that I've had hanging around for a while. This was taken on the 2nd day of the drive to the condo and is exemplary of the kinds of sights I was enjoying on that 2 day drive. It had to be one of the most beautiful drives, both coming and going, I've experienced on our many visits with the yellows at their best. On top of which was the varied weather conditions which I've shared in many previous images and will continue with a few more. This was a rest stop that was closed on the drive to in lovely conditions like I'm sharing but which was open on the return trip in the snow and ice. This basically what the camera saw. Full Blown Autumn Color Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 320; 1/500 sec @ f / 9.

04 Mar 19 We left off Friday mentioning a problem with a hard crash on the graphics box. Thought I'd have everything in-hand by tonight but the problem turned out to be a bit more than I had anticipated. The culprit was a HD that decided to go south and as it turns out it is the drive with all the current photos. Back up date is the last of each month and Thursday was that day, but the HD decided to go out a few hours before I got it backed up. Now it's touch and go WRT getting those files off. After unsuccessfully battling the drive for two days, I elected on a day of rest for Sunday and after church we drove to Hurricane Ridge for some R&R. Didn't quite fully turn out that way but that's a story for later in the week. Bottom line is I didn't get the files worked up over the weekend I wanted but tomorrow is another day. Meanwhile I still have a large number of 2018 fall Yellowstone images to share and this is one of them. On the side of the intersection of highway 191 where you turn to drive to Big Sky is the Michener Memorial Chapel; if you were to park there and cross the highway and walk down the path of the small roadside embankment this is what you would see, or perhaps I should say might see, it being weather dependent. Of course being MT, you might also see a fisherman or two although when I was there non made their appearance. This was roughly 3 p.m. with not even a hint of what the weather would be like in another 12 hours. At this point in time I was anticipating a lovely sunny clear drive home the next day. Of course that wasn't to be the case and the contrast in the weather for those two days was amazing, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed! This is a six pane pano that I've cropped for best composition and although there is some curvature distortion the river does divide where you see it to flow around that little island only to regroup at the island opposite end. Missing a Fisherman Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO400; 1/640 sec @ f / 9.

05 Mar 19 As I write my bad HD from which I'm in the process of successfully removing the files has come back to life and I'm seeing everything as it should be. At this point in time I have absolutely no idea what is going on but, just as our first dog Heidi who had both retinas detach which was to render her permanently blind but they reattached on their own letting her make medical history, I'm going to accept what seems to be happening and do what I can to make the most of it. As I've been writing that morning I left the condo to return home provided me with lots of challenging photographic opportunities, to say nothing of the driving challenges, and having initially overridden the desire to shoot the fishermen in the snow, I finally couldn't resist and turned around and drove back to Hebgen Dam to grab a few shots of them and the dog in the blizzard. The snow storm was close to obliterating everything but I just had to shoot them as I was certain that sans proof no one would believe me. As I was doing so the dog, who apparently was thinking how crazy can you get - meaning those guys fishing, not me taking the photos - was looking at me as if to say "get me out of here." I'm rather certain that he could have walked back to the little island that's mid stream and hunkered down but he didn't, he just kept close to one of the two guys in waders trying their best to cast in high winds and swirling snow in hopes of catching something other than cold. This is a Husky sized dog so you can get an idea of just how shallow the water is where he is standing and he can walk back to the island along that brownish band (long extension of the island) in the water anytime he wants. At its deepest the river is less than 4' and it's mostly under 3' and unless the dam is releasing excess water, as it does from time to time unannounced, the current is quite gentle. So no animals were hurt during the filming of the image. This is straight from the camera. Serious Fishing Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 1000; 1/500 sec @ f / 9.

06 Mar 19 The drive from the condo was one of snow in some form almost to the outskirts of Ennis. I stopped there to shoot a few frames of the outdoor artwork in the snow and then pressed on toward I-90. About 500 feet above the town is a large parking area which provides for a large panoramic view of the town and the land and river surrounding it. We've stopped a few times to enjoy the view but never in the snow. During the drive to the condo the entire area was shrouded in fog but on this return leg I got to see it in snow. The town sits in the middle of the image and you'll need to zoom into something like 50 - 100% to visualize it. When you do the falling snow and other details will become very apparent. The little silver band in the middle left 1/3 of the frame is Hwy - 287 and it is wrapping around the parking area where I'm standing to take the shot(s). If you ever take this route to Yellowstone be sure to stop and take in the view. This is an 18 frame pano which I've cropped some for best presentation, otherwise this is what the camera recorded. Lightly Snowing Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 320; 1/5000 sec @ f / 9.

20 Mar 19 Approximately halfway give or take 10% between Ennis and I-90 is the community of Sheridan. Maybe 10 miles prior I finally got completely out of the weather with no precipitation either falling or sitting on the road. As I was approaching the town I noticed a truck in the road with an arm waving a red flag up and down. As I slowed down from perhaps 30 mph to about half that it suddenly became apparent why the gentleman was waving the flag. Directly in front of him was a large herd of Black Angus being "directed" down the shoulders on either side of the road by a cattle dog and three mounted riders. To put it mildly I was simply amazed. As I watched for the better part of 45 minutes the dog moved the cattle into two parallel lines, one on each shoulder, and moved then down the road. It was both amazing and a first rate show simultaneously. I thought you might enjoy seeing a shot of what I got to watch first hand. Note that the dog has three legs off the road. I've cropped this some and added a little dodging and burning, otherwise, this is what the camera recorded. On the Job Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/800 sec @ f / 9.

21 Mar 19 Left Sheridan and traveled the back route to Butte. The mountains were a combination of snow and vivid color. I'll have to share at least one shot from that part of the drive. Once I got onto I-90 it was smooth sailing and lovely color all the way to 5 miles prior to exit 16 (Haugen) where we stay overnight going in both directions. It was a difficult drive however as I was constantly wanting to stop and shoot the fall colors. I'll leave it at that and let the image give you some idea of the beauty I was seeing non stop. This is what I was enjoying the entire drive. Snowing on the top of the hill and bright sunlight below. This was taken at a rest stop. This is basically straight from the camera the exception being a small amount of dodging and burning. Roadside Stopper Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/200 sec @ f /11.

01 Mar 19 Not sharing what I wanted today but a system crash Thursday on my graphics box interrupted my planned work with the repair of the computer underway as I write. So today we're looking at a capture of two different kinds of tracks, one which helped to make possible the other. This is a shot of part of our "driveway" otherwise known as the private drive from the street to our house. The shot I shared Wednesday was taken from the same location only instead of looking down the drive I'm looking straight down at the roadway. The top of the shot shows the depth of the snow, roughly 6", at the base of which is our tire track from the same tires that let us get stuck the week prior. It's sorta obvious that perhaps we didn't have sufficient tread for our Sequim snow adventure. On top of the tire track you see the footprints (tracks) of a local small bird who was taking advantage on the smaller amount of snow for going on its walk. I had hoped for tracks or more animals but these were all we saw other than Maggie's. But it was fun to see them. I've cropped the original a small amount for presentation but that's all. Tracks Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/400 sec @ f / 9.

22 Mar 19 Something very simple for today's close-up. During our February snowfalls much of the landscape was engulfed in snow, sometimes fully and at other times partially. This was the only frond of this fern that remained above the snow for the duration and at times it formed this lovely arch. Had it been yellow I would have been looking for lunch. This is looking at what would normally be the underside of the frond and you can clearly see the spores along the upper half of the arch. The camera wasn't parallel to the frond so one side is in sharper focus than the other. The softness of the left side and the ice crystals on the right force my eye into the center of the arch which is displaying the sharpest venation. Hopefully it will accomplish the same for you. This is straight out of the camera. Green Arch Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/160 sec @ f / 9 with full flash.

15 Mar 19 There were two missed opportunities from my perspective during my 34 years in the Navy, the first being that I wasn't able to get an exchange tour in the mid-west and the second, ruined by a predecessor, was that I didn't get to fill a CO's billet in Iceland. But as I DID get a lifelong dream of going to Antarctica on an all expenses paid trip, I really can't complain. Can't do much about the first, but the second I can and so this coming year (2020) I'll be spending the last 3 weeks of February in Iceland. Can't hardly wait. I'll be joined by a comrade-in-arms from my USUHS tour and it should be a blast!!!! Needless to say we'll be seeing a lot of solid water as well as many-colored water vapours so now I'm looking for any excuse to practice shooting similar things here locally. The jaunt to Hurricane Ridge offered lots of opportunity and I'm thinking there is a chance for more before all the snow departs. While driving up to the parking area I saw today's capture and I'll leave it up to you as to just what it is. My sister, having a rather imaginative brain, will, I'm sure, conjure up something way out there. As for the rest of you, I'll just have to wait and "see." This is straight from the camera. Ice Age Creature Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/2500 sec @ f / 9.

07 Mar 19 Had it been just a wee bit colder today we would have had perhaps an inch of snow accumulation, but alas, it just hit the ground and melted. But on Sunday last, needing a break from the computer problems, and in need of a little more snow, we called the National Park Service to see if Hurricane Ridge was open and it was, although they neglected to tell us when it closed for the day, which as it turned out was 70 minutes after we got there. So the park was open for 1/5 the amount of time it took to go there and back and the reason for selecting that park with snow, shooting the sunset, wasn't in that time frame. So should you call to check on park openings be certain to get ALL the info including exactly which hours you have access to YOUR park! The road from Port Angeles to the summit is approximately 18 miles in length and about 14 miles in you begin to see folks enjoying themselves with skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, and other activities. While the road has plenty of pullouts for viewing and photography, during the winter months most of them are covered in snow and not accessible so I had to do some considerable walking at times from those which were available to get the shots I wanted. Today's submission is one I took from the road and will give you an idea of the beautiful ungroomed slopes available for all types of snow sports EXCEPT snowmobiling thankfully! You can not only find two snowboarders in this capture but also follow a few trails left by the skiers, one starting a bit below the summit on the right and exiting in the clearing at the bottom of the frame. I shot until they forced us to leave but the real photos are those an hour or less on either side of sunset. I wish I could have gotten a few to share. Other than some cropping for composition, this is what the camera saw. Winter Fun Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/1000 sec @ f / 9.

11 Mar 19 The weather and the time change cooperated for us to make a return trip to Hurricane Ridge but the body didn't so we return to Hurricane Ridge for a photo of how it looked as we made our departure last week. This was taken from the entrance/exit of the parking area looking back in the direction of the visitor center. Immediately to the right of the leftmost set of trees jutting up into the background the parking lot makes a 90 shift so you lose site of it at that point in the frame. If you look closely you can see a faint trail starting at the top with the parking area and snaking down and out of the frame on the right at approximately the top third. There is a road, dirt and full of chuck holes, that comes off at that point which will take you down the side of the slope to a small recreational area. I've only driven down it a small way but one of these days I plan to see exactly where it goes. The snow in the foreground is what has been pushed there having been plowed by some curiously interesting snow removal equipment. I'll show what I mean in another mailing. For those of you in the greater Puget Sound area there is still time to go up on the weekends (Fri - Sun) for some lovely scenes and lots of photo opportunity. Think I'd like to go back with some form of sliding device for a few hours of hillside fun! Other than some cropping this is what the camera saw. Wheeee Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; /1600 sec @ f /11.

14 Mar 19 Breaking Jan's rule for DI mailings today because she picked the image and we're sharing a creative version before the straight version which she considers taboo. So today we'll look at a watercolor type version and the straight shot in a few days. The three evergreens more or less lined up with three mountain peaks and the trees and peaks were in proportion to one another so I thought it made for a nice composition. Telephoto lenses are great for creating compression of distant objects as any of you movie goers are fully aware and if you are not sure what I mean, think of many of the chase scenes in movies with the hero in front and those chasing him right behind. It's a neat trick and the theater makes good use of it. This is a telephoto shot but with a short tele (195mm); however the Olympics at the Hurricane Ridge location are actually quite close together so the combination of real and artifact makes for an Oriental type painting. The perspective will be even more dramatic in the straight shot so you may want to save this one to compare with the straight. The original was pretty much what the camera captured but I've converted it to look like a painting. As a Watercolor Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/1250 sec @ f /11.

18 Mar 19 Based on several reasons I'm sharing the straight version of Thursday's creative shot a bit earlier than I was originally planning. So not really anything more needs to be said. This straight version should give you a very real feel for multiple layers of mountains in this lovely creation called the Olympics Mountains. While there is some slight compression courtesy of the lens, these mountains really are close together. If the opportunity ever arises for you to see them in their winter dress I highly encourage you to take advantage of it. We are fortunate to be able to visit them almost year round. Same info as before. The Three Sentinels Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture priority; ISO 200, 1/1250 sec @ f /11.

08 Mar 19 For today's close-up Friday I've selected another image from the Hurricane Ridge trip last Sunday. It was the wrong time of day for the shot but with the park !@#$% forcing us to leave I didn't have much choice. This is what the west side of the visitor's center looked directly above the west covered deck. The icicles were forming off the edge of the cover which I've removed from the shot as it went almost pure black when exposing for the icicles. One of the challenges of shooting icicles is to get them dripping and catching the droplets as they fall. There are 6 droplets falling and over another dozen just about to drop so I was fortunate to have captured things as I did. The best part of this one is that many parts of the image are capturing the sun and displaying same as either a sun burst or just a bright golden spot. Roughly another 15 to 20 minutes and it would have had perfect lighting. With DST starting at 0200 Sunday I may have to just go back and try again, proper weather permitting, meaning clear skies and NO rain. We woke up to a nice snow fall and got about an eighth inch accumulation but it was all gone by midday. And rain is in the forecast. As Mr Harvey would say, Stand by for . . . . . . . Other than the cropping off of the overhead, this is straight from the camera. Melting Point of Light Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/5000 sec @ f /11.

12 Mar 19 Today we'll look another shot from Hurricane Ridge and I think I'll share something from that visit for each of the remaining days of this week. This image has been converted to a monochrome but not the usual B&W but this time gold and white. Now it looks a bit like it may have been something from an old sketch book. This is from the end of the parking lot and a main trail in the winter for snow sports and the start of a nice walk when the snow is not present. A combination of the setting sun and shadows from the evergreens made for a nice composition. Other than the conversion to monochrome and a small amount of cropping, This is what the camera recorded. From a Sketchbook Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/800 sec @ f /11.

19 Mar 19 Here's another shot looking back towards the visitor center from the parking lot. This was taken just as we left and you'll note the sun just beginning to get into position to start what I had hoped would be a wonderful sunset series. But it wasn't to be. Nonetheless, we were still able to enjoy a brief moment of some dazzling light bouncing off the snow. All we needed to make it perfect would have been a small group of elk strolling along the ridge. Happy birthday Jennifer! This is straight from the camera. Layers of Fun Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/2000 sec @ f /11.

13 Mar 19 As we were driving along the road to the visitor's parking lot at the summit we noticed some interesting patterns in the snow along the sides of the roadway. Never did find out what specifically was making the design in the snow although it obviously has to be some form of snow removal equipment. I'll leave it up to you to decide exactly what was used, and while you are doing so you can also enjoy of view of the Olympics. This was shot just as we were departing and along with the slowly sun setting behind us a few nice clouds were moving in. As it turned out it was a spectacular sunset but of course we didn't get to witness it. IF I did my work right the cloud on the left should display a little 3-D effect. Other than cropping and a small amount of dodging and burning, this is what the camera recorded. Guess Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/1000 sec @ f /11.