More But Different

After a week off, it was time to go out hiking again, but a different spot from last week. Wanted to give the fall colors a little more time to pop out.

And, it seems they did!

A nice shot of a large group of trees turning yellow, still somewhat greenish, framing a rocky hilltop.

A little HDR action of a marshy beaver pond. Makes the weedy masses just under the water really stand out. All murky and mysterious...

As I was hiking, somehow I got off the trail I usually take. And wound up on a different one, which among other things went past the remains of this small old cabin. It still had 4 walls, but no roof. There was a door inside, but it wasn't attached. All the log gaps were gooped up on the inside like it had been used sometime recently. Not sure. Kinda looked like someplace people would occasionally visit, maybe more in the past. There was a little garbage and assorted stuff laying about inside, amongst all the tall weeds.

See, its not all fall colors! Just liked the view of this rather large balanced rock. The left side looks a little like a face to me too. While it seems a really strong wind might knock it off, its probably more stuck there than it seems.

A nice grand vista of fall colors across the valley. Was quite a nice day, and quite colorful as well. This fall has been pretty good for colors and for them hanging around. Certainly better than last year. Get ready for next weekend, cause I'm heading out again!

Huff & Puff & Hike

Remember that mountain bike I bought last year? I've ridden it a lot on the Greenway paved path. As well as quite a bit on a off-road trails park here in town. But never in the actual mountains. Till now!

Nice warm day, went out to a favorite hiking spot. Where I have tried my other mountain bike ROB (Really Old Blue) in the past. But with no suspension, it was just to punishing for me. Now I have a full suspension bike, time to give it another go!

Here's a scenic overlook shot. Which I posted because off in the distance you can see a forest fire that just popped up today or last night. It was a bit windy, but they got the fire under control in another day or so so it didn't grow too much. That's good! All the grayish spots throughout the trees? Lots of dead pine trees. Too many.

Since it's early September, its a bit early for fall colors. This little meadow area is very green. But in a couple weeks the many tall aspens here will be in full color. That'll look great. I may come back for a hike then. Check out that bike in-situ!

Here's later in the day. This area is much less green, more dried out. But you can see a little fall color too. I saw bits of color, mostly in the smaller trees. So the colors are starting...

Here's a 3-shot panorama I took on the way out. Merged together in Photoshop. Still a lot of green (and dead trees too) without much color to see yet.

So how'd I do? Well, the bike and I both survived (other than a blister on the side of my thumb). The riding was certainly a lot better with suspension. That saved me a lot. I still had to go slow and careful in the rough/rocky/loose ground areas. Which there were plenty of. Climbs were my downfall. I just don't have the juice for long climbs on rough rocky uneven ground. I often had to get off and push the bike up many of the hills. Climbing is NOT my strong suit. Good thing I never wanted to be in the Tour de France. Or Pro mountain bike racing. Casual riding is my strong suit. Cause I'm a pretty casual guy I guess!

Eye In The Sky

Got back from a recent summer vacation trip. Took assorted photos along the way, but after looking at them, the only ones worth posting were sky photos with some interesting clouds and stormy weather.

They were pretty dramatic looking, and gave me some pretty interesting images. Some were shot HDR, some weren't. Ready to check them out? No? OK, I can wait....

Hmmm hmmm hmmm........

Now you're ready? OK, here they are!

A strong storm front rolled through, and had some pretty extreme sky conditions. There was some rain but mostly just a LOT of thunder and intense looking clouds. This one had some definite mammatus cloud formation going on.

A close up of another cloud. The clouds almost seemed to be boiling. The shape was constantly changing. Looked pretty menacing, and pretty amazing at the same time.

A colorful break between one set of clouds with another darker cloud moving in. This one is a little more dramatic with the HDR effect. Was a real busy, ever changing sky.

Some extreme colors as the day got later and the light got lower on the horizon.

Quite a dramatic day don't you think?

Super Sparkly!

Already it's July 4th. America's birthday. And about half way through the year.

Time to blow some expensive fireworks up!

The evening had some clouds and a brief rain shower but quickly cleared a couple hours before the show. Temp was in the low 70s with a light breeze - just enough to blow most of the smoke away. Pretty near perfect conditions for an explosive light show.

Starting off with an unusual looking one. Kind of looks like a face, or maybe a skull. Got a well-timed (lucky) capture here.

A big sparkly pair of bursts, nice purple and gold colors.

This one looks tropical to me. Like a big palm tree.

Another big burst, this one with another bright flash just starting in the middle. 

Another burst, this one made up of a lot of smaller explosions.

Finally, a little experiment. I shoot on a tripod for fireworks - you have to. During the time exposure I rocked the camera back and forth, which gave me the effect of the light source swaying around. I took several like this, with different degrees of success. This was one of the better ones.

Timing fireworks is probably harder than herding cats. It's best if you get your camera and tripod all set up before they start. Then just shoot non-stop without paying much attention, look at them after the show. You'll probably get plenty of good shots, a few awesome ones, and some throw aways. 

Have a Super Sparkly day...

See? More Things!

As mentioned previously, the next car show, only a few days later. Must be summertime.

Was actually a pretty nice day for a car show. Temps in 70s, not much wind and few clouds (till it rained later in the afternoon. When I was on my bike and had to hide in a tunnel for about 10 minutes.)

The event was moved to a parking lot this year. Gave it a lot more room. There seemed to be more cars this year too. Lots of the stuff you always see - the Camaros, the Mustangs, the 57 Chevys, Tuner cars, etc. Anymore, I look more for the lesser seen vehicles, or the neat or unique shot on the oft-seen ones. Anyway, lets look at a few shots.

What did I just say about Camaros? Anyway, this nose shot is of a 70 1/2 model, when they changed over to this new body style. A very Orangey Z28!

A 1960s Buick Riviera lowrider. Had a pretty elaborate paintjob, as lowriders often do. A lot of work went into this car.

The bed of a Chevy Cameo pickup from the late 50s. The beginnings of the smooth sided instead of the stepsided bed for pickup trucks. This one was mildly hot-rodded and looked really nice.

A very nice, shiny 30s Ford convertible. With a lot of updates and definitely looks like a fun car to go cruising in!

OK, now, it's time for one of my favorites - DHCBWOCHO! Or Dramatic High Contrast Black & White Old Car Hood Ornaments. One of the series I shoot randomly whenever the mood and opportunity strikes!

This is an old Autocar. It's a pickup, but it's been modified. Now it's a Rat-Rod, so everything looks kinda worn, rusty, beat up and cobbled together. 'Cause it's a rat rod! I like the hood ornament though.

This one is pretty rare. It's an old Durant Motors Star Four. A briefly produced car, meant to compete with Model T's. According to the paperwork in the window, I think only 13 of these cars are known to still exist. And it was in very good condition!

Finally, a Nash Ambassador Country Club from 1954. This car must have been the fanciest one you could buy from Nash. It seemed to have every badge and thing on it you could think of. A really classy car. With a pretty ornate and large chrome flying lady hood ornament!

Ok, I guess that... wait, what? Oh yeah. I guess we are coming up on another holiday. So perhaps one more in that spirit -

A rear panel view of the American Motors Rebel Machine. Showing the Red, White & Blue striping. Because ready or not - next up is July 4th! Fireworks inbound!