Five-Years Ago (06-October-2013) — Arizona

Gone to See America 2013. Nikonian Annual Photography Adventure Trip. Day 1: Sedona.

The first stop for our van was at Slide Rock State Park. While walking down one of the trails, I noticed a park bench right next to a steep drop to Oak Creek. Even though chained to the ground, you would need a seat belt to safely sit on the bench.

Bench on the Edge of a Cliff. Rock Slide State Park, Arizona. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). Image converted to B&W in Capture One Pro 7. Nikonians ANPAT-13. (David J Mathre)
Bench on the Edge of a Cliff. Slide Rock State Park, Arizona. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). Image converted to B&W in Capture One Pro 7. (David J Mathre)
International Harvester McCormik Farmall Tractor at Rock Slide State Park in Arizona. Gone to See America 2013. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/3.5, 1/50 sec). Image processed and converted to B&W with Capture One Pro 7. Nikonians ANPAT-13. Note the John Deere tractor in the corner. (David J Mathre)
International Harvester McCormik Farmall Tractor at Slide Rock  State Park in Arizona.  Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/3.5, 1/50 sec). Image processed and converted to B&W with Capture One Pro 7. (David J Mathre)
Backlit Summer Bloom. Slide Rock State Park, Arizona. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera, FT1 adapter, and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 160, 220 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec). (David J Mathre)
Backlit Summer Bloom. Slide Rock State Park.  Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera, FT1 adapter, and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 160, 220 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec). (David J Mathre)
Penny Caught in a Cactus. Sedona, Arizona. Gone to See America 2013. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 32 mm f/1.2 lens (ISO 160, 32 mm, f/2.8, 1/8000 sec). Nikonians ANPAT-13 (David J Mathre)
A Penny for your thoughts?  Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 32 mm f/1.2 lens (ISO 160, 32 mm, f/2.8, 1/8000 sec).  (David J Mathre)

Ten-Years Ago (06-October-2008) — California

Gone to See America October 2008 Road Trip. Eighth Annual Nikonian Photography Adventure Trip. Day 2: Mono Lake.

Our van departed Curry Village at 05:30 AM. That still wasn’t early enough to get to Mono Lake before sunrise (78 miles via Tioga Pass). We spent the morning at Mono Lake photographing the Tufa’s, a unique geological formation rising out of the salty alkaline lake. This is also a major site for bird migrations — feeding on the brine shrimp. We then had breakfast at the Whoa Nellie Deli in Lee Vining (strongly recommended). After breakfast we proceeded to Bodie State Historic Park.





Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed here.

Ten-Years Ago (06-October-2008) — California

Gone to See America October 2008 Road Trip. Eighth Annual Nikonian Photography Adventure Trip. Day 2: Bodie State Historic Park.

After breakfast at the Whoa Nellie Deli in Lee Vining, our van went to Bodie State Historic Park. This is a Gold Mining Ghost Town. California  maintains the park in a state of arrested decay. It is a favorite location for photographers, and a site for  filming movies. The van from the group that visited the day before had issues with one of the park rangers, so we departed before closing time (17:00) — even though the sun hadn’t set.

School Marm's Hat. Bodie State Park in California. Image taken with a Nikon D300 and 200 mm f/2 lens (ISO 200, 200 mm, f/4, 1/320). (David J Mathre)
School Marm’s Hat. Bodie State Park in California. Image taken with a Nikon D300 and 200 mm f/2 lens (ISO 200, 200 mm, f/4, 1/320). (David J Mathre)
Bodie Panorama. Composite of twenty images taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens. (David J Mathre)
Bodie Panorama. Composite of twenty images taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens. (David J Mathre)




Individual images from the slideshows can be viewed here.