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My timing was off to make this photo really work. I took it before 8 a.m. in the morning, but I think it would have come out much better before 7 a.m. or at dusk. Stumbling across a field of sunflowers and other wildflowers is always fun though, no matter the time of day. These sunflowers were actually huge. I was at quite a distance and couldn’t get closer due to a fence.
This is what Mt. Ashland usually looks like in early May. I took this photo in mid-June (after several warm days) of this year. Although the lifts closed back in April, I heard people were still skiing in June.
I think I have finally nailed this shot of Ashland Creek which I’ve taken several times before but never to my entire satisfaction. The key ingredients are:
1) right season (late spring or early summer–more green and more water)
2) tripod
3) right day and time (sunny day in the early morning before the sun is really out)
4) no wind (if the branches or leaves are blowing in the breeze then the “pop” doesn’t pop)
Equipment and EXIF data:
Nikon D7000
Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II lens
$20 tripod
f/22
1 second exposure
ISO 280
18mm focal length
We’ve been watching the rhodies bloom in our yard this past week. These are just outside my front door. I took this photo with my Nikon D7000 and new lens. I took a half dozen photos with a flash as there was no longer much sun, it being late in the day. However, this photo, without flash, was my favorite.
My new lens (Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D AF Lens) arrived in the mail a couple days ago. I had to go pick up Ellie across town at her flute lesson so I took it and my camera in case I arrived early and could try it out. I only had a minute so I took a grand total of one picture with it. This was the result of its first ever use.
A 50mm lens isn’t really a landscape lens, but I think this turned out OK. I cropped the top and bottom off the original to give it more of a panorama feel. I purchased this lens more for low-light photography and concerts. The 50mm, prime lens is tiny and light compared to my 18-200mm lens but not nearly as versatile. I hope to test it out more tomorrow night.
Outside Magazine is currently running a contest in which people can vote for the “Best Town Ever”. Of course, there is nothing scientific about the poll, and it’s merely just a ploy to get people to “like” Outside Magazine on Facebook, but Ashland is currently running second behind Tucson, Arizona. Really? Tucson? Can a city of over half a million people in the city limits with another half a million in the suburbs really be called a “town”, let alone be the “Best Town Ever”?
Anyway, today’s photo is from a real town. This is Ashland Creek which runs through this town, which will soon have less than 20,000 people once the SOU students split this weekend.
I took today’s photo on a recent bike ride I took up Highway 99. The location was somewhere between Talent and Phoenix, maybe 8 miles or so from my home in Ashland. Wagner Butte is in the background. I want to climb Wagner Butte before going to Denmark in a couple weeks, but I don’t think the snow will melt before then. This year, due to the low temperatures and high precipitation, the trails up Grizzly and Wagner are opening much later than normal.
The irises are currently at their peak in town. I took this photo outside my office on campus this past week.
One of my favorite things about driving Ellie to school every morning is seeing this view of Grizzly Peak (from E Main Street between Walker and Wightman). Every day is different–the clouds, the shadows, the level of green (or snow), cows in the field (or not), fog, etc. Today’s photo was yesterday’s view, one of the better ones in my memory so I pulled over to take a picture as I sometimes do.
Ten minutes later, when I got to work, the clouds had lifted and I could see that Grizzly Peak was covered in snow. Grizzly being blanketed in snow is not unusual, but this is June! I don’t think I have ever seen snow on Grizzly in June.
This photo actually looks much better on a big screen. Click on the image after maximizing your browser window for a bigger view.
The weather has been brutal this year. Temperatures have usually been below normal and the amount of rain has to be among the most in recorded history for the area. This rainbow is from two weeks ago, but it has rained a lot since then.