I picked up my new Road Trek RS Adventurous RV today at Campers Barn in Kingston, New York. The RV is built on a Dodge Sprinter body with a Mercedes diesel engine by the Road Trek folks in Canada. In nine days I start my “Gone to See America 2009” road trip. This trip will take me to by road to Bellingham Washington, to Alaska on the Alaska Marine Highway, on road again to Anchorage and Denali Alaska to take part in the Nikonians ANPAT 9, and then back via the Alaska-Canada highway.
White Ram. Road Trek RS Adventurous. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 18-200 mm lens (ISO 200, 18 mm, f/11, 1/500 sec)
During the day we heard that Michael Jackson had died. That evening while looking for dinner in San Francisco we saw that the Wax Museum already had a Michael Jackson display.
Michael Jackson Memorial at the San Francisco Wax Museum. Image taken with a Nikon D700 and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 1600, 16 mm, f/2.8, 1/160 sec). Raw image processed with DxO 6.5, Capture One Pro, Topaz DeNoise, and Photoshop CS5.Andrew with the Gimme Some Chocolate Bear in front of Ghirardelli Chocolate Shop in San Francisco. Image taken with a Nikon D700 and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 1600, 16 mm, f/2.8, 1/60 sec). Raw image processed with DxO Optics Pro, Focus Magic, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5.
Gone to See America 2009 Road Trip. Day 4: Crystal Geyser in Green River Utah.
Before leaving Green River for Cedar City, I made a stop at the nearby Crystal Geyser. The cold geyser is near an abandoned Air Force missile testing facility, and is right next to the Green River. The geyser is now accessible via a dirt road on Bureau of Land Management land. I was fortunate to arrive this time when the geyser erupted. The geyser is unique in that the water is cold, and powered by carbon dioxide — not heat. The geyser is the result of drilling for gas (petroleum) many years ago. When the place was under Air Force control, the geyser was off-limits for visits. The eruptions are irregular, and you need to be lucky or very patient to see an eruption happen. In this image there is someone meditating while the eruption occurred. The water coming out of the geyser rises over 20 feet in the air — and unlike Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park, the water from Crystal Geyser is cold to the touch. The water is mineral rich, and deposits building the crystalline Travertine terrace as the water flows to the river.
Meditation at Crystal Geyser outside of Green River, Utah. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 35 mm f/2D lens (ISO 200, 35 mm, f/10, 1/400 sec). (David J. Mathre)
Backyard Winter Nature in New Jersey — Spring is Coming!!!
The Purple Crocuses have started blooming across the street. This is a good sign that spring is coming. In order to get a deeper depth of field (DOF) I took several images each with slightly different focus points, and then combined the images using Helicon Focus get the composite image. The focus range was just around the flowers, keeping the background leaves out of focus.
Early Purple Crocuses. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 200 mm f/4 macro lens (ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/500 sec) (David J. Mathre)Early Purple Crocuses. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 200 mm f/4 macro lens (ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/500 sec)
