Asr

I've been researching tripods myself for a while and have pretty much narrowed down to either the Manfrotto 190XPROB or Gitzo 1541T/1542T, at least for now. My initial budget for a tripod was up to $200 but after I found out about the Gitzo, I had to reconsider, because it does look pretty awesome. The only thing holding me back is the price for it along with a ballhead and camera plate. If you end up going for that Gitzo, apparently the best ballhead for it is the Markins Q3T (supposedly specifically designed for that Gitzo model) along with the appropriate plate for your DSLR. The Markins stuff ain't cheap unfortunately. Other brands I've discovered through my Shutterbug subscription include: Really Right Stuff, Flashpoint, Vanguard, Induro, Benro, Giottos, and Slik. They all seem to be well-regarded brands. Too many tripod models to sort through between them all though.

Saw Alison Krauss & Union Station last night, was great to see them again after last year at Telluride. Awesome concert, her voice sent a shiver down my spine too many times to count. The set list included several songs off the new CD (my favorite was "Dimming of the Day") but some classic ones from older albums too, mostly New Favorite. One of the last songs was a new song w/ piano that was very bluesy and was really great, probably the highlight for me. I have to remember to carry a pair of binoculars to concerts like these so I can actually see the band members and not just hear them.

Elusive Disc Labor Day sale:

Could one of those go to Justin (W)? So he can bring it to RMAF, that is.

Some very fine company indeed, looks like the NorCal contingent was well-represented. Wish I could've been there for what was surely an awesome time.

Some pics from this weekend, from a local air show that I was able to attend for free. I rented the Nikon 70-300 f/4.5-5.6 for the occasion and it worked out ok, but as things turned out, it was a bit on the short side. Thanks Peter, was pretty hard to get that one aligned actually - almost all of my other attempts came out slightly crooked (I was using a Gorillapod Focus, which I got after you mentioned, earlier in this thread).

Travel pics from a trip to Seattle last week/end. The weather was really nice - no rain and unexpectedly warm (75-ish average every day for the 5 days I was there). I think I'm officially all traveled out for the year now. #1 - Museum of Flight #2 - Argosy boat cruise #3 - someone's tiny dog at a bar I hopped into one night - and as far as bar experiences go, that night was unexpectedly awesome btw (there was a Canadian, a South African, and another guy from Minnesota I think - plus 2 sassy female bartenders) #4 - downtown at night #5 - Pacific Science Center #6 - I forgot the camera was on a long exposure at the Space Needle and destabilized it accidentally #7 - Mt Rainier from the Space Needle #8 - sunset over Puget Sound, from the Space Needle #9 - Kerry Park #10 - Experience Music Project & Sci Fi Museum

Hey Peter, if you come out to CO let me know, would like to join you on that pre-RMAF photography venture. Could maybe take up to a few extra days off from work, especially if the weather is nice enough that weekend (i.e., hopefully no rain). Would be nice to hang out with another photographer, as opposed to my usual company who doesn't really have the patience to wait around for me taking pics.

Took this pic today after some instruction from Dan Ballard (danballardphotography.com) via the Colorado Photography Festival this weekend. Any feedback appreciated. It was my first photography workshop, was a great learning experience and will probably do more. (click for larger)

Gorillapod Focus Op-Tech 1501012 camera strap and registration for the 1st Annual Colorado Photography Festival next weekend (w/ "six of the nation's premier nature photographers")

Elusive Disc: Music Direct has a similar sale going (10% off + free shipping for music orders over $75) but only for their e-mail newsletter subscribers, which is just douchey. Coupon code for Music Direct is AUG10FS. Expires at same time as ED.

I like how the avatars are so much more prominent on the forum list or thread list view - makes it easier to identify who wrote the latest post in a thread, for example. And makes it obvious who doesn't have a custom avatar, so we can rag on them.

90s grunge & alt-rock fans take note: - Nirvana - Nevermind (2-CD reissue) - 9/20 (not sure if it's supposed to also be a remaster) - Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You - 8/30 - O.A.R. (Of A Revolution) - King - 8/2 Metal: - Anthrax - Worship Music - 9/13 - Black Tide - Post Mortem - 8/23 - Chimaira - Age of Hell - 8/16 - Eyes Set to Kill - White Lotus - 8/9 - Revocation - Chaos of Forms - 8/16 - Trivium - In Waves - 8/9 Other stuff: - Black Sabbath - Sabotage (vinyl) - 8/9 - Jane's Addiction - The Great Escape Artist - 9/27 - Jimi Hendrix - Winterland (5-disc) - 9/13 - Mick Taylor - Mick Taylor (2011 remaster) - 9/6 - Primus - Green Naugahyde - 9/20 - The Horrors - Skying - 8/9 - Tori Amos - Night of Hunters - 9/20

Looks like you stopped in Rocky Mtn Nat'l Park there Jeff. I go up there pretty frequently because it's so close from where I live (about 30 mins away), always a great area to watch deer & elk especially. Don't usually see bighorn but I see you got lucky there. If you come back for RMAF in October, that should be a great time to catch mating season when the male elk do their bugle calls (and when the aspen trees turn gold - though the weekend of RMAF, the aspens might be closer to deep orange or red). On another note, finally got around to parsing down my set of non-Taste-festival pics from my June trip to Chicago: #1-#3: Millennium & Grant Parks (I was actually looking forward to a heavy storm there at first but ended up disappointed) #4-#5: Field Museum displays (Nikon F4 in #4) #6-#7: Chicago Line architectural boat tour through the river, and Lakeshore Tower (#7) #8: N-facing view from Willis Tower #9-#11: from Shedd Aquarium #12: one of my last pics on the trip, from just outside Shedd Aquarium

The comments on those pics include the image settings - long exposures on most of them (upwards of several minutes), which causes the massive cloud streaking. And the use of a 10-stop ND filter, to help compensate. Of course it also goes without saying to use the smallest aperture possible and lowest ISO as well. This is a good explanation of ND filters btw: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutral_density_filter

Nice pics Jeff. Are those from Vail?

There are a crapload of classic jazz reissues coming out this week (7/26) and next. I won't list all of the CDs (too many) but the list below should give an idea. They're all supposedly Japanese SHM CDs. Charlie Parker - Bird & Diz Ella Fitzgerald - Ella & Louis John Coltrane - Crescent Kenny Burrell - Guitar Forms Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World Wes Montgomery - A Day in the Life | California Dreaming Full listing available at AllMusic.com (where I found out). Going to be buying a few and will report back on the mastering quality when I get them.

Some pics from a trip to San Francisco last weekend. Was yet another fantastic 5-day mini-vacation - in fact, I think I'm going to make all of my future trips 5 days. Just long enough to feel like I've taken up temporary residence in a new area and don't want to go back home at the end. (Sorry if 25 pics is too many, didn't really want to pare this set down further.) #1 - N-facing view from my hotel room #2 - Chinatown #3-#4 - fire jugglers at Justin Herman Plaza (Market & Embarcadero) #5-#8 - CA Academy of Sciences (in Golden Gate Park) #9-#10 - De Young Museum (also in Golden Gate Park) (#10 made me think of HC) #11 - NE area of the city from a boat tour #12-#13 - Aquarium of the Bay's "underwater" tunnel exhibit #14-#18 - Pier 39/Fisherman's Wharf area #19 - downtown SF near the Metreon #20-#23 - SF Museum of Modern Art (expand the towel pics to read what's on them - I got a laugh out of the embroidered text) #24-#25 - views from the Grandviews Lounge of the Grand Hyatt SF (GG Bridge in remote background of #25) On a photography-related subject, I incidentally discovered on this trip that the Tokina 11-16 f/2.8 produces image quality superior to the Nikon 16-85 f/3.5-5.6 when all variables are kept constant - better contrast specifically, along with slightly sharper IQ, and better starburst effects on light sources (easily noticed on night shots).

So did anyone end up buying tickets for GABF? I can't believe the thing is sold out already! Well, I'm trying to quit alcohol anyway (definitely unsuccessfully recently). If anyone's going to come out for GABF, I'll stick around town, otherwise will probably be going on a trip that weekend.

Cross-posting from HF before it gets moderated. Oh wait, it continues too: Btw WarriorAnt, since you're probably going to read this: HC isn't HF. Deal with it. Also, it's the Internet. Either don't take things personally or develop thicker skin.

Thanks for the links Al - looks like she was an amazing woman who led an amazing life. Will certainly raise a glass in her honor. Best wishes to you and your family too.

I ended up deciding not to attend the show and bought tickets for touristy stuff instead, but since I'll be in the area anyway, I'm definitely up for lunch, or dinner, or drinks. Just let me know a time/place and I'll be there. Hopefully not too far from SF though (or BART/Caltrain stops) since I'm staying in the city and won't have a car. Going to be in the area 7/13-17 so if anyone would like to meet up, let me know, I'll buy a round or two.

4th of July pics from a weekend trip into the Rocky Mtns, as noted: - #1 through #4 along Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mtn National Park. #5 also in RMNP at the Alpine Visitor Center - the dog was cool, had to take a shot. Yup there was still snow and lots of it! - #6 and #7 from Green Mountain Reservoir along CO 9 (from Hot Sulphur Springs to Frisco). - #8 from Frisco's Fantastic 4th of July Parade. - #9 from the marina in Lake Dillon. - #10-#13 of Frisco's fireworks show over Lake Dillon and the resulting smoke (#13). - #14 & #15 are Frisco by day (Ten Mile Peak directly behind the town) and Lake Dillon, respectively. Made several attempts at multiple exposures on this trip to save for HDRs at some point in the future.

One of my biggest challenges was firing fast enough - as in, my response time to stuff happening around me, bringing up the camera quickly, adjusting zoom, framing, & focusing. In fact, for some shots I switched over to manual focus and fixed the zoom so all I needed to adjust was focus. Yup, had a fantastic time in Chicago, saw lots of stuff there. Was nice to revisit after the chaos of CanJam last year and take things in a little more slowly. Gear was my Nikon D7K w/ 16-85 f/3.5-5.6. Not a very fast lens obviously but it worked out ok.

Made my first real attempt at street photography at the Taste of Chicago festival last weekend (6/25 specifically). Found it really challenging to pull off. Great festival btw - had a total of 4 Bacardi Silver mojitos along with a varied sampling of food ranging from fish tacos to deep-dish pizza to popcorn and some other stuff that's a blur now. I know the exposures are less than stellar; plan to fix them from the RAWs later. Took so many other pics from the 5 days I was in Chicago - almost filled up one of my 32GB cards in RAW+JPG mode, so more pics later. Wanted to post this one though - I stayed up all night one night so I could catch the sunrise over Lake Michigan. Had a great view from my hotel room window, was definitely worth staying up all night for.