Week 15, Day 101, August 9, 2009 Privy Inspection

Primitive camping has just gotten easier. In the past we used a shovel and dug a whole to take care of business in the woods. Now the state has provided box privies on all the camp sites. Here Pastor Chris inspects the privy. There isn't much privacy except a few trees, but it's easier than digging our own hole.

Lessons Learned:

• A person made this photo much more interesting, and humorous.

Photo details: Exposure time 1/100, Aperture f/4.0, ISO 400, Focal Length 50 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 81mm, Lens Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, hand held.

Week 15, Day 100, August 8, 2009 Spider Web Dew Catcher

When we awoke on the third day there were a lot of spider webs catching the morning dew. I love how the drops of water look like a tiny necklace.

Lessons Learned:

• I would really like a great macro lens.
• I should have taken a tripod with me. (I was trying to cut down on what we had to carry.)
  

Photo details: Exposure time 1/125, Aperture f/1.8, ISO 100, Focal Length 50 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 81mm, Lens Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, hand held.

Week 15, Day 99, August 7, 2009 Sunrise over Lake Lila, Winner of Week 15 in Onine Viewer Poll

The second morning at Lake Lila I woke up early before the sunrise and took several photos of the moon, followed by the sunrise. This photo is the sunrise with a lot of fog burning off the lake. The combination of the thick fog, the sun, and a calm lake created some interesting photo opportunities.

Lessons Learned:

• Morning time is an excellent time for photography.
• Sleeping on the hard ground helps me to rise earlier.

Photo details: Exposure time 1/640, Aperture f/7.1, ISO 100, Focal Length 70 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 113mm, Lens Sigma 70-300mm 1:4-5.6, hand held.

This photo was the winner of the week 15 online viewer poll.

Week 14, Day 98, August 6, 2009 Fire Starter

For about the last 12 years there has been a group of us that have traveled to remote areas in the Adirondacks for a weekend of primitive camping. These areas are incredible beautiful, and great opportunities for photography. On this day we traveled to Lake Lila. All boats and equipment have to be carried about 1/3 of a mile to the lake. No motor boats are allowed on the lake. There are fewer than 30 camp sites on the lake, and it's a first come first serve basis. Campers are limited to 3 nights, or 4 days.

In this photo one of the campers is blowing on the wet wood to get the fire started.

Lessons Learned:

• Ziplock bags are very handy. I put my camera and my lenses in ziplock bags to protect them. The waves were very rough, and the canoe got a lot of water in it. The ziplock bags saved my equipment.
• My less expensive lenses also came in handy. I didn't have to risk any of the more expensive ones.

Photo details: Exposure time 1/200, Aperture f/1.8, ISO 100, Focal Length 50 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 82mm, Lens Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, hand held.

Week 12, Day 78, "End of the Trail"

These shoes hiked a lot of miles this past week. It's time to air them out, and let the mud dry so I can clean them well.

Lessons Learned:

• Closeups of items many times produce interesting photos. I think it is partly because we don't normally look at items this closely.

Photo details: Exposure time 4 sec, Aperture f/11.0, ISO 100, Focal Length 17 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 27mm, Lens Canon EF 17-40mm, tripod.

Week 11 Day 77, July 16, 2009 "Long Lake from a Bench"

I was inspired by Barbara Martin's Blog Theme "Bench of the Week" when I took this photo at Long Lake in the Adirondacks. It's a great theme, and I hope that she continues using it.

I've been informed by Barbara that she got the idea of the "Bench of the Week" from RuneE of Visual Norway. Take a look at Barbara's and Runes blogs.

The Sea Planes in this photo have been run by the Helms family since around WWII. I've been up 3 times, and the views from the sky are spectacular.

I'll fill in the rest of the information on Monday.

Week 11 Day 75, July 14, 2009 "Sunset over Rich Lake"

Many of the Days were cloudy, but on this day the clouds began to break up as sunset approached. I grabbed my camera and went back to the beach on Rich Lake. The clouds and the light were great, and there were a few people out in canoes before the daylight completely disappeared.

Very often there are loons on these lakes. Loons are one of my favorite birds. I usually see them in pairs, and their calls are eerie, and beautiful at the same time. Did you know that a Loon cannot walk. They are designed to swim, and dive for long periods of time. Many of their bones are solid unlike most other birds.

This year I only saw single Loons swimming, and only heard their calls once. I wonder if they were nesting, and if one would catch fish while the other was watching the eggs? I did take a few photographs of Loons, but they were not very close. We did have one pop up out of the water about 30 feet from us while we were swimming. I was amazed at how large they are.

Lessons Learned:

• I was very curious about a polarized filter for this shot. I done have one, but wonder if I can take better photos with one. Do you have any thoughts?

Photo Details: Exposure time 1/50 sec, Aperture f/21.9, ISO 400 , Focal Length 80 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 130mm, Lens Canon 70-200mm f2.8L USM, tripod.

Week 11 Day 73, July 12, 2009 "Moss on a Stump", Winner of Week 11 in online Viewer Poll

Today we did a 10 mile hike to one of the Great Camps, Santanoni, near Newcomb in the Adirondacks. The trail is the old dirt road and is fairly flat. There is the old farm that supported the camp, and the camp itself which is on Newcomb Lake. (The only building on the lake.)

Along the way this moss had great lighting, so I took a few photos. I also took some photos of the camp, but it's very difficult to see the whole camp at once. It is surrounded by trees. (I'll post some of those photos on my picasa site.

Photo Details: Exposure time 1/60 sec, Aperture f/5.6, ISO 100 , Focal Length 70 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 113mm, Lens Canon 70-200mm f2.8L USM, hand held.

This was the winner of week 11 in the online viewer poll.

Week 11 Day 72, July 11, 2009 "Rainy Day on Rich Lake"

We arrived in the Adirondacks and it rained most of the day. I went to a beach on Rich Lake, and took a few photos. The mist was rising from the trees and looked like a morning fog.

Lessons Learned:

• Rainy Days are interesting for photography, but on the gray dreary days I find less inspiration. I need to look in new ways.

Photo details: Exposure time 1/640 sec, Aperture f/29.0, ISO 100 , Focal Length 95 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 153mm, Lens Canon 70-200mm f2.8L USM, tripod.