Film to Develop

My film is now off to be developed. I shot 4 rolls in Big Bend, 1 roll of the kids at home, and 1 roll is a few years old. I put it away and forgot about it, but I believe that there are Big Bend shots on it.
I'm really curious about the Ektar. It's supposed to have fine grain and warm colors. It's a color negative film, and has more dynamic range than color slide film.

Anyway, this is a bit of an experiment and completely for fun. I'll post info later on about how I "scan" the negatives.

Constant Companion

I've been meaning to post this for a long time now. About a year ago, I purchased a Sony RX100. I wanted a high quality camera that was truly pocketable. At the same time, I bought an EyeFi SD card.




This post isn't intended to be a review of this equipment. You can find tons of reviews online. My quick summary is that both devices work as indended, and I'm  very pleased with them. The image quality of the RX100 is superb for what it is.

I want to focus on purpose and result and also the effect on my photography.




I got this set up because I was dissatisfied with the camera in my cell phone. I wanted to be able to take better quality photos and have them transferred to my phone immediately. The camera in my HTC Inspire phone is pretty horrible. It's far worse than my first little point and shoot digital from 12 years ago.

Having the RX100 in my pocket (on most days) has allowed me to capture things when I feel the urge to and to produce a decent quality image file (especially in low light scenes).

It has also worked the other way around. Because I have it, I am more likely to shoot and engage in photography.




The other impact is that I share photos online (Instagram and Facebook) quite often.

I feel better connected to photography on a daily basis, and I feel that, simply because of the photographic "exercise", my photography has gotten better. (well, at the very least, it hasn't gotten much worse)




I'll keep this short. But I just wanted to highlight what an impact this little bit of equipment has had on my photography.

Note: The last three photos in this post were shot with the RX100.

Equipment Loss

A few days ago, when I was shooting in Closed Canyon, I lost the batteries from my camera.

The battery grip on my camera holds two Li-Ion battery packs on a removable tray. The tray is captured and held in place by a latch mechanism. It is a single point of connection, ie there is no secondary latch or catch to hold the tray in place.




The camera had been functioning fine. I had not dropped it or jarred it. I had been gently working my way down the canyon with the camera and tripod.

Without warning, the tray and both batteries slid out. They clattered down the slickrock and into a deep pool of stagnant water. It was too far down and too deep for me to attempt to recover. It just wasn't safe.




I cannot figure out how it happened. Fortunately I had the alternate battery tray (holds 6 AA's) back at the hotel. It uses the same latch mechanism. I played around with it and could not recreate the accident.

I've contacted Canon. Their response is for me to simply buy a new one. Since the battery grip is out of warranty and the tray that failed is gone (ie cannot be inspected), they won't take any responsibility.

I can see their side. But I think they should have at least offered to check out their design and look for latch failures in other circumstances.

Big Bend - done!

I'm home now and very happy to be here. My last few days in the Big Bend area were spent in Big Bend Ranch State Park.


I had to deal with multiple flat tires, 100° heat, lost camera batteries, a cold, and a rattlesnake. It quite wasn't the "trip from hell", but it wasn't very easy either.

I'll have loads of photos and stories in the coming days.

Edit:  I'm sorry for the poor quality photos that I've been posting. I've been managing it all from my phone (reviewing, editing, posting) and I never realized how bad the pics looked until just now on my home computer monitor. I'll need to play around some with my mobile photo editor (on my phone) and see if I can get the output to look better.

Big Bend day 8

The days are blending together. This trip is passing by quickly. We are having fun. Since the national park is closed, we are focused on Terlingua and also Big Bend Ranch State Park.




Clouds have finally moved back in to break up the clear skies we've had for the last several days.

Big Bend day 7

Big Bend National Park is closed. Our group is shut out now.




The nearby Big Bend Ranch State Park lives in the shadow of the national park, but the state park is also very beautiful.



These are from Closed Canyon in the state park. It's a neat location to explore.

Big Bend days 4 & 5

We've been busy exploring the Big Bend. It's been fun, and I'll just let the photos speak for themselves.

Recognize what's in the last photo? :-)

Big Bend day 3

Getting Into the Mode

Slowly my mind is coming back to the creative, visual mode. I've been gone from that way too long.

There are amazing little details all over. It feels good to slow down, enjoy them, and photograph them.



I'm leading a group of excellent photographers and friends around my favorite landscape. Getting to show them the sights, and watching them find their own beautiful details is an amazing thing to see.

Big Bend days 1 & 2

First full day in Big Bend.




Getting out here was a long journey. The weather was nice. The drive went well.

We haven't hit the park yet, but the desert is green and there are some flowers!

There is a threat of rain today, and it should clear out tomorrow. We tried to shoot the stars last night, but it was too cloudy.
sunset last night

Pinhole Sunset

I missed posting yesterday. Packing and preparing for this long trip along with work, life, etc proved too busy for me.

I came across a neat photo project on Kickstarter:
www.kickstarter.com/projects/1756746750/across-america-a-photo-book

I've yet to back a photo project on Kickstarter, but this one really caught my interest. It's straightforward, basic, and is about subject matter that I'm passionate about. I backed it, and good luck to Ashley.

I'm on the road now making my way to Big Bend. The sunset on highway 90 tonight was beautiful. I HAD to pull over :-)





Always have a camera with you! :-)

Stink Bug

I saw this large stink bug crawling on the outside of my office window. I'm on the fourth floor of a high rise office building



Not much else to say. It's late, I'm tired of packing, and I need sleep. But the bug definitely grabbed my attention today and made me get my camera out.

Preparing

I'm getting ready for a trip to Big Bend. Preparing all the camping gear, food, clothes, etc is a lot of work, but it's worth it and the trip will be a lot of fun.




Preparing for the photography part if the trip also means getting my photo gear ready. But I'm also trying to prepare my mind and my interests for being out in my favorite landscape with a camera.



Maybe it's just the trip prep, or maybe my passion is coming back. So many details in my everyday life are starting to jump out at me and capture my attention. To say life is beautiful sounds kind of cliche, but it truly is.

Tripod Hack

I have an old Bogen-Manfrotto tripod that I use for short range (ie when I'm not hiking long distances), heavy duty purposes. Many years ago I gave up on the crappy center column design, stripped it off, and planted a big Kirk ballhead on it.

The problem with it is that sometimes it's just too short.

I figured out that 5/8-inch diameter aluminum rod fits inside the smallest leg section.




This modification will give me a 14 inch boost. The new 4th section can be either fully out or fully retracted.


The end result is 72-inches max, just a couple of inches shorter than me. I'm not sure how it will hold up to the abuse it will see in the field, but I'm about to find out :-)