The soft focus gives the feel of a painting. awesome image!
I was at the Alamo in San Antonio about dusk. I had my Sony A7II on a strap around my neck, and my 3 year old daughter asleep on my left shoulder. I tripped over the wheel of a suddenly moved stroller. I caught myself with my right, but my camera smashed into the granite tiled sidewalk when the strap broke at the point where it attaches to the camera. Got an "oh shit" from the photographer behind me, but the most precious cargo never touched the ground, just woke up and crying. And thanks to the L bracket mounted to the camera, it took and absorbed most of the impact, and was still functioning fine.
I was just in Desert Island / Barr Harbor / Acadia last week. I pulled my travel trailer and stayed in a campground a few miles outside Bar Harbor. l only intended to stay 2 days, but enjoyed it so much I stayed nearly a week. I spent several days in Acadia. So much to see and photograph. The weather cooperated and now I want to go back in the fall. It was very crowded though. I got up in time to be at the top of Cadillac Mountain by 5:00 AM to get sunrise photos over BH, and was dumbfounded by the crowds up there for the same reason. I agree also with an earlier post about the route between Conway NH and N Woodstock. I drove it also, although it was misty and cloudy at higher elevations. I camped a couple days at Covered Bridge Campground which is worth a stop too. Now I'm in the Oneida Lake area, getting ready to head back to Texas. I will be back though.
I have an old image somewhere of my family camping with Maroon Bells in the background in the mid 60's. These days there are so many visitors, you have to take a shuttle bus to the site. It's still worth the visit though. One of the iconic views in the Colorado Rockies. I will try to find that old photo and post it.
BTW, the photos were excellent!
They truly were "the greatest generation". The tail gunner had a great view of Europe, unless he was firing at a ME-109 coming in fast. Thinking of them and comparing to many of the current generation, I worry about our country's prospects. But, that is for another topic on another forum. I had the opportunity to drop out the bomb bay of a CAF B-24 as a skydiver about 30 years ago. That was a great jump, and we 4 jumpers had the honor to buy beers for the pilot, who flew as bombardier on one during the war.
Crystal Mill is probably the single most photographed place in Colorado. That said, it is worth the drive if you have 4wd. And also the town of Crystal beyond.
Just a couple years ago, Canikon users would rather fight than switch. It is amazing how much that has changed. The A7II was my first "good" digital. Still have it, event though I recently upgraded to the A7III. To me the additional expense was not enough to tempt me to the A7R series for the extra resolution. Yes, lenses are expensive, but the G OSS models are exemplary. I recently found a Leica 50mm Summicron f2 lense in a second hand shop in deep east Texas and bought it for an embarrassingly low price. With a $35 adapter for Leica screw mount to Sony E mount, I have superb fast prime. It weighs almost a pound, but looks tiny compared to the Sony offerings. I don't mind focusing manually at all, going back to film roots. I'm glad I bought Sony.
Apologies to Merlin. They did get burned on Beta though, didn't they. Even though it was a superior format.
BTW, if you are worrying about the border issues you hear about near other border towns, you shouldn't. Yes, lock up and hide your expensive camera gear, but Big Bend is too remote and too rugged for the cartels to deal with. Driving north out of Lajitas or BB, you may come across the occasional Border Patrol checkpoint.
You will love Big Bend. I have been a couple times a year for the last 10 years and several times before that. Now that I'm retiring and buying a small RV, I will likely be spending more time there. I agree with many of the remarks here. Carry a hydration bladder on hikes, no matter the time of year. Humidity averages below 40% most of the time. Wear long sleeves and a hat. Even when cool, the sun is still intense. Like someone else said, keep your gas topped off. Gas is only available at Panther Junction (central) and Rio Grande Village (east side of park). There is gas available outside the extreme west park entrance at Study Butte, or Terlingua beyond that. I was there for a short trip last October (just two nights), intending to do some astrophotography, but unfortunately there were low scudding clouds, so I didn't get a single image of the galactic center that was not partially obstructed. I will try again next May. There are so many good foreground opportunities for astrophotography in the park. Tuffa Canyon is one. Lots of weird formations of the light colored volcanic ash that reflect ambient light. Cerro Castelon is another on the same side of the park, as is Santa Elena Canyon. If you are in a 4 wheel drive vehicle or at least a high clearance two wheel drive, you can drive the River Road which has lots of possibilities. On the east side of the park, the Hot Springs are a great place to shoot. You have limestone bluffs as you go down the trail and then remains of the hot spring spa built around the Pancho Villa days. These of spa foundations contain the hot water with a nice sandy bottom just the right height fore a good soak as you wait for the right time of night, right on the the Rio Grand. mudduck is right that the best place to stay is in the Chisos BAsin, either in the stone cottages or the motel. Clean rooms, great views, decent food and drink in the lodge. No A/C in the rooms because it is not needed. Take a jacket for nights though. The Basin is usually 10 degrees cooler than the river locations, and I've experienced a light dusting of snow in early November.
As for the politics of "illegals", things are now closer to the way it has always been. Before 9/11, you could cross the river into Boquillas without restriction. There were locals that would row you across the river for a couple bucks. It was usually a two man operation, because a second was needed to bail water out with a coffee can. Then on the the Mexican side, you could rent a burro for another $2 to take you up to the village. There the local kids would try to sell you Chiclets and pretty pieces of quartz and you could sit on an open patio and have a genuine street taco and drink a cold cerveza. This was part of the BB experience. 9/11 changed all that. The border crossing was closed. In the last several years it was reopened but you now need a passport to enter Mexico even there. It's great that some sanity has returned, because the closing just killed a micro economy where Mexicans freely came across to shop and work in the US and return to their homes in Mexico at the end of the day.
I also agree with mudduck that you should not limit yourself to just BB, but also see McDonald Observatory where on most nights you can look through a 10" telescope and see the rings of Saturn clearly. Great planitarium too. While visiting, stay in Fort Davis, nice little artsy (Texas style) town. Historic Ft Davis is where the Army billeted the "Buffalo Soldiers" and experimented with using camels intead of horses in the southwest. And don't forget to look for the Marfa Lights, the cause for these ghostly lights still has not been determined. Have a great time!
Very nice. What is the location?
Love 'em! The photos too!
I love the idea of putting disposable cameras on the tables. I think I'll suggest that to my daughter for her wedding. BTW, she hasn't asked me to photograph her wedding and I would not if she did. I'd rather "be there".
Used to use Black Rapid. The strap was comfortable, but since I keep an L-bracket on my camera all the time, it was a pain to unscrew from the tripod socket when I wanted to use my tripod, not to mention the security of that system. I found myself constantly tightening it. So, I changed to the Peak Design system. The quick releases are secure and fast, and it's super easy to change from tripod to shoulder strap to wrist strap almost instantly. Great product!