Ten-Years Ago (07-October-2008) — California

Gone to See America October 2008 Road Trip. Eighth Annual Nikonian Photography Adventure Trip. Day 3: Yosemite National Park.

Rock Slide at Curry Village.  Hard to believe it has been ten years since I experienced a rock slide at Curry Village. Since then, many of the cabins and cabin tents in Curry Village were relocated further away from the valley walls. Actually, Curry Village is now known as “Half Dome Village” due to a trademark dispute between the National Park Service and the previous concessions service company. Actually, all of the hotels, lodges, campsites, and restaurants had to change their names. Since the rock slide, I stayed in Curry Village two more times.

After our morning session, we ate lunch at Curry Village. Michael Mariant was going to do an IR photography workshop in the afternoon. On the way to the workshop, we stopped by our cabins. As we were leaving the cabins there was this loud noise. At first it sounded like thunder — but the sky was blue with no clouds. The noise got louder, and Michael yelled “run for your lives — rock slide” We all ran from our cabins to the parking lot. Since I drove, I was one of the few  that had cameras and lenses available. Most of the folks left their gear in the cabin for the IR workshop. I took the  following images  during and just after the rock slide. Luckily, there were no injuries since most everyone was out of Curry Village visiting other parts of Yosemite  when the rock slide occurred. Later in the afternoon, a Park Service helicopter with a USGS geologist surveyed the rock slide site and declared things safe. Only then were we permitted to return to our cabins. A school group was also staying at Curry village. That evening the Elementary school age children moved to a different campsite. The Middle and High school students remained at Curry Village. The crisis counselors told the students that a large rock falls in Yosemite Valley on average every 9-10 days, so they would be safe for the rest of the trip. Little did they know that Murphy was listening!!!!


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.

Friday (05-October-2018) — New Jersey

Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

I was working on my computer and noticed something large crawling up a window trying to get in the house. I quickly realized that it was a large green Praying Mantis. It walked right by a Stink Bug — turning up its nose. That’s too bad, as the Stink Bugs are making a major effort to get into the house before it gets much colder outside.

Praying Mantis trying to get in the house. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 800, 80 mm, f/5.6, 1/60 sec). (David J Mathre)
Praying Mantis trying to get in the house. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 800, 80 mm, f/5.6, 1/60 sec). (David J Mathre)


Praying Mantis set free on my Garden Tower. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 320, 80 mm, f/11, 1/60 sec). (David J Mathre)
Praying Mantis set free on my Garden Tower. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 320, 80 mm, f/11, 1/60 sec). (David J Mathre)