Mt. Rushmore - Up Close: Today was an awesome day! I got to use pretty much everything my G.A.S. has put into my bag: TrekPod Go! Pro, all four of my lenses, Speedlight, my cable...

Just Fred Loc: Darwin's Waiting Room

Today was an awesome day! I got to use pretty much everything my G.A.S. has put into my bag: TrekPod Go! Pro, all four of my lenses, Speedlight, my cable release -- even my Wi-fi adapter to pull photos down to my iPad! My ThinkTank Airport Essentials bag is tops!

And to top it off, I'm very happy with the results. I took something like 240 photos today -- the odds are that one or two of them will be worth looking at a second time.

Here are the fellows on the famous mountain.

George

(Download)

Tom

(Download)

Teddy

Abe

(Download)

Marionsho Loc: Kansas

Just Fred wrote:

Today was an awesome day! I got to use pretty much everything my G.A.S. has put into my bag: TrekPod Go! Pro, all four of my lenses, Speedlight, my cable release -- even my Wi-fi adapter to pull photos down to my iPad! My ThinkTank Airport Essentials bag is tops!

And to top it off, I'm very happy with the results. I took something like 240 photos today -- the odds are that one or two of them will be worth looking at a second time.

Here are the fellows on the famous mountain.

Great shots. Be careful up there. :thumbup:

gonate Loc: sacramento,calif

Great shots, I think they restored the monument a few years after i was there. go job.

Just Fred Loc: Darwin's Waiting Room

Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

The weather was absolutely perfect! The sky was a rich blue, the morning sun made the statues almost glow, and very little (if any) post-processing was needed. Any defects in the pictures are mine and mine alone.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

How close were you? What lens?

Just Fred Loc: Darwin's Waiting Room

rgrenaderphoto wrote:

How close were you? What lens?

There is a walk called The Presidential Trail that takes you under the sculpture (see this map). Unfortunately, a lot of it was closed, so one could only walk up to the area of the base of the mountain, and not all the way around.

I used a Nikon AF-S 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G ED lens at the full 300mm focal length on a D7100. This particular shot was 1/250 at f/7.1, ISO 100.

Thanks for looking!

Irvingite Charles Loc: Irving, Tx

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Super-enjoyable shots. Never been there in person, and don't recall seeing photos from this vantage, or this close :)

LLucas Loc: Upstate South Carolina, USA

These are great! Like Linda from Maine, I also haven't seen those carvings photographed this way and it lookes AWESOME!

Mitch35 Loc: Arkansas

Really like your photos! Such a break from the usual views. Thank you

medavis43 Loc: Folkston, GA

This is really interesting to see how they did the eyes. I never thought it about it before mostly because we see pictures from so far away. But they way these are carved definitely gives life to them, not flat like the old Greek and Roman statues.

Marionsho Loc: Kansas

Mitch35 wrote:

Really like your photos! Such a break from the usual views. Thank you

Thanks. Everytime someone posts a reply, i get to see them again. :D

Marionsho Loc: Kansas

medavis43 wrote:

This is really interesting to see how they did the eyes. I never thought it about it before mostly because we see pictures from so far away. But they way these are carved definitely gives life to them, not flat like the old Greek and Roman statues.

Thanks. I really hadn't paid enough attention to the eyes, until you pointed it out.
:thumbup:

medavis43 Loc: Folkston, GA

Marionsho wrote:

Thanks. I really hadn't paid enough attention to the eyes, until you pointed it out.
:thumbup:

I thought they looked "different" and when I did the download, I could really see it. I've never seen pictures this close up before. Enjoyed them.

Just Fred Loc: Darwin's Waiting Room

medavis43 wrote:

I thought they looked "different" and when I did the download, I could really see it. I've never seen pictures this close up before. Enjoyed them.

Thanks, Marionsho and medavis43. The eyes of the quartet are really quite something! Borglum and crew managed to imbue them with a "catchlight" much like we see in photographs. It makes them much more life-like!