Day 315 (10 Nov 2012) Sleeping Giant

I went with a few friends, including Shannon from SeeingSpotsPhoto, to do what was originally supposed to be a Fall Foliage hike, but it appears the early predictions were wrong on when the season ended, or Hurricane Sandy messed it all up, as all the trees were bare 😦

The best part of the day was talking photography with Shannon; she’s helped me by answering questions and introducing me to people and probably the closest thing I have to a photo mentor.  One thing I suggest, strongly, is that you find someone better than you who can, and will, help you with your photography!

Day 287 (13 Oct 2012) Mt. Monadnock

Today a few friends and I took a short drive up to New Hampshire, to Mt. Monadnock, to hike and admire the fall foliage.  The foliage was predicted to be at 95% peak color, so we figured this was the perfect weekend to hike.  Mt. Monadnock is the second most climbed mountain in the world, second only to Mt. Fuji (which I have climbed); it’s a bald summit (due to fires in the 1800s), a short hike (~4 miles round trip), and the only mountain for many miles around, giving it a great view.

The views did not disappoint, however the trees were not as colorful as we had hoped, but that’s ok, fighting the crowds on the trails provided enough entertainment to counter that, LOL.  But it was a good day for a hike: clear weather, cool air, and enough color to make it worth the 2.5 hr drive.

Day 245 (2 Sep 2012) Giant Mountain

On this date, my 3 friends and I climbed Giant Mountain, and one of them and I left the other two to rest on the summit and added Rocky Peak in our quest to become “46ers“.  I’m up to 9 of the 46 High Peaks in the Adirondacks (click the link to learn more about it), and I plan on becoming a full-fledged 46er someday.  🙂

I took quite a few less photos on this hike, as it was a little more technical of a climb, and I was a little tired from the 16 miles I did the previous day.  This day’s hike ended up being just about 10 miles, the last part, being the hardest (the decent; my knees were wishing for a break about the time I hit the first summit).  You might notice that there are some trees starting to turn, I would love to come up here next fall and shoot from a peak at the peak of leaf season 🙂 Here are my favorites:

Misty Mountians

The High Peaks

Weathered Tree

Giant’s Basin

Mountain Sunset

Day 244 (1 Sep 2012) Mt. Marcy, ADKs

Back on Sept 1st, 3 friends and I climbed Mt. March, which is one of the ADK’s “46ers” and the tallest peak in the state of New York at 5,344 feet (1,629 m).  It was the second attempt for two of us, who attempted to climb it back in May, when the last several miles of trail were still covered in snow and ice.  This time the trail was dry 🙂

It was a great hike, with some spectacular views from the top, and a great time with friends!  Here are some of my favorite photos from the day:

Reflection

Spiders Web

Edge of the Path

Nestled Berries

Cloud Break over Mt. Marcy

Marsh Crossing

View From Mt. Marcy’s Summit

Carin
Rock Pile

My Accomplishment

Day 147 (26 May 2012) Climbing Whiteface Mountain, AKDs

So, I think yesterday was the first day I did not actually put up some sort of post.  I meant to post a photo from my iPhone after we got down from the mountain while having dinner, but I was so wiped out after the hike I completely forgot.  So, today I’m posting for yesterday (I’ll post for today later).

Yesterday my good friend Tom and I climbed Whiteface Mt. and Mt. Esther in the ADKs of Upstate New York.  These two peaks, #5 @ 4867 ft and #28 @ 4240 ft, of the “46ers” , respectfully, are located just north of Lake Placid (the town and lake).  We took the trail starting at Wilmington, NY, climbed Whiteface, and topped Esther on the return trip.  From the reservoir in Wilmington, it’s a 5.2 mile trip with 3620 ft of elevation gain.  Esther is off the main trail 1.2 miles, and adds a few hundred feet of elevation climb.  In 9.5 hrs of hiking we hiked 12.8 miles with about 4000 ft of elevation gain.  We did take an hour break at the summit of Whiteface for lunch, photography, and enjoying the amazing view!

The hardest part of the trail is defending the almost 2 miles of very steep and rocky trail before reaching the turn off for Esther.  IMO its easier to go up than down, at least on the joints and feet!  Once we were down that part, with only 1.4 miles left to reach the car, my energy level spiked!  Almost done!  It was a hard climb, but lots of fun, and well worth the views and experience! (I have to note that at the top there were dozens of people, but that is because there is a road that comes within 300 ft of the summit, and an elevator takes you the rest of the way.  IMHO all the noisy people/pets/kids at the top really detracts from the serenity I normally experience at a mountain summit.)

Here is the summit the night before, as we were driving in.  There it a weather observatory tower at the top.

53 mm, 1/200 sec, f/8.0, ISO 100 (Whiteface Summit, the Night Before)

This is a long-exposure shot of me hiking.  This is my first submission to the long exposure photo challenge I told you about a few days ago

30 mm, 1/4 sec, f/16, ISO 100 (Hiking)

I saw this girl looking out from the summit and could not resist taking the photo.  I edited it so the focus was more on her and what she was looking at then the beauty of the view.  What do you think about it?  A good edit, bad edit?  What would you have done different?

18 mm, 1/160 sec, f/8, ISO 100 (Looking Out)

Lake Placid is seen below:

18 mm, 1/100 sec, f/13, ISO 100 (Lake Placid In View)

There are many areas in the ADKs where you come across a stand of dead trees like this, with many young trees crowding the ground.

37 mm, 1/100 sec, f/11, ISO 100 (Standing Tree)

18 mm, 1/60 sec, f/3.5, ISO 100 (Trail Marker)

18 mm, 1/100 sec, f/13, ISO 100 (The Summit)

Day 143 (22 May 2012) Case Mountain

This afternoon after work I took a detour to Case “Mountain” in Manchester, CT.  I put mountain in quotes because it summits at a mere 744 feet (227 m).  It may not be tall, but since it’s located near the edge of town, it feels quite secluded.  There are many different trails winding through the park, many not on the map or even marked!  It was a nice break from just heading straight home 🙂  However, I didn’t ‘pack’ smart for this hike.  I hauled my tripod, my full camera bag (sling type), an umbrella, and light jacket for the 3+ miles.  I should have left the jacket and tripod at the car (which was near the waterfall), but I guess I was prepared for anything, lol.

As it was drizzly (light rain/mist) I didn’t take the camera out a lot, but I did take a few tripod mounted shots of the waterfall near the park entrance.

18mm, 1.6 sec, f/22, ISO 100, 18-55m kit lens (Case Reservoir Dam)

18mm, 1.6 sec, f/16, ISO 100, 18-55m kit lens, cropped (Case Reservoir Waterfall)

60 mm, 1/30 sec, f/6.3, ISO 400, 60mm macro lens (Trail Wall)

18mm, 1/100 sec, f/11, ISO 100, 18-55m kit lens (Hartford from Case Mt)

Day 134 (13 May 2012) Devil’s Hopyard

Today the weather was perfect, so a friend and I decided to go for a short hike at Devil’s Hopyard St. Park in East Haddam, CT.

I didn’t shoot many photos, as it wasn’t really a photo walk, but here are a couple. I haven’t quite figured out a good way to shoot forest scenes; I will have to so some research on that, as I hope to spend a lot of time hiking this summer/fall.

18 mm, 1/60 sec, f/11, ISO 100, 18-55mm kit lens (Tree Hollow)

18 mm, 1/30 sec, f/8.0, ISO 200, 18-55mm kit lens (Fern Meadow)

Day 126 (5 May 2012) Heart Lake, Adirondacks

Today is a shot of sunset taken with my iPhone, not processed, just as is. I did take some with my DSLR, but as I’m out campin still, you will have to wait till tomorrow night to see them! Enjoy!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/48627721@N06/7146630299

Day 125 (4 April 2012) Topo Time

This weekend I’m heading out on a camping/hiking trip!  A friend and I will camp 2 nights and hike aprx 15 miles to summit Mt. Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains of New York.  Mt. Marcy is the tallest mountain in the ADKs and the highest point in the State of NY at 5,344 feet (1,629 m).  That is “high” for the East Coast, but were I’m from in Northern CA, it’s a foot hill, LOL.

Trail conditions will be “OK” at best, w/ mud, snow, and Ice still, in places.  But I’m always up for a challenge, and what better way to start out the hiking season than by summiting the highest peak in NY!

Tomorrow I will be taking lots of photos, but will probably only post via my iPhone.  However when I return on Sunday, I’ll have them up on my Flickr account for all y’all to see.

Here are a few shots of my map, which came with the guide book, that I’ll be using tomorrow.

60 mm, 1/30 sec, f/6.3, ISO 400, 60mm macro lens (My Destination)

60 mm, 1/30 sec, f/3.5, ISO 400, 60mm macro lens (Mountain Peak)

Day 122 (1 May 2012) Blackledge Falls II

Back a short time ago (11 April), I went to Blackledge Falls to try shooting it in the dark, but it was way too dark.  So today I tried again, but this time I had success!  It was about 7:30, so it was getting darker, but I could see perfect, and only needed 5-13 second exposures 🙂

18 mm, 10 sec, f/11, ISO 100, 18-55mm kit lens (Blackledge Falls)

18 mm, 13 sec, f/11, ISO 100, 18-55mm kit lens (Two Falls)

27 mm, 4 sec, f/8.0, ISO 100, 18-55mm kit lens (Trail in the Woods)

Day 115 (24 April 2012) A Dream

In my dreams I see a path

I look ahead, but afar I cannot see

I look behind, and see the trail I’ve left

I do not know what lies ahead

On this path, so straight and narrow

My path it is to follow,

That is which I know

Pressing on a step I take

To fulfill a destiny

Of which is mine

18 mm, 1/30 sec, f/8.0, ISO 100, 18-55mm kit lens (The Path Ahead)

18 mm, 1/30 sec, f/8.0, ISO 100, 18-55mm kit lens (The Path I Dream Of)

18 mm, 1/30 sec, f/8.0, ISO 100, 18-55mm kit lens (Colchester Airline Trail)

Day 77 (17 March 2012) Newport Cliff Walk

Today my gf and I met in Newport, RI to do the Cliff Walk and to just hang out.  The weather was predicted to be mid 50s and sunny by noon.  But not surprisingly, the weatherman (or weather app) was wrong.  We didn’t see the sun till about 4pm, but instead had a dull day for most of the hike.  But it was in the low 50s, so it was very comfortable 🙂

I took many photos during the walk (thankfully my gf is into photography, too, else I wouldn’t hardly get any, or really annoy her ever 10 min by stopping), but these are a couple of my favorites.  Feel free to check out the rest of them by clicking on my Flickr feed on the right.→

The Clouds Break

The One That Got Away

The sunset was taken from the other side of the city, on our way to dinner.  We almost didn’t even notice it, but a guy taking a pic from the middle of  the street, holding up traffic, made us look in that direction.  We got to the water’s edge just as the sun was dipping below the horizon leaving us with the most spectacular sunset I’ve seen in a very long time, if not ever!

Newport Sunset

Newport Sunset