David's Images of the Day Photoblog
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.
Sunset Panorama over from Yavapai Point near Sedona. The wide panorama was created as a composite of 11 images taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 32 mm f/1.2 lens (ISO 200, 32 mm, f/5.6, 1/40 sec). The raw images were processed with Capture One Pro and the panorama generated with AutoPano Giga Pro. The individual images can be viewed in the following slide show.
Since the US Government shut down all the National Parks, Monuments, and other “non-essential” government facilities closed. The organizers of ANPAT 13. We have been scrambling to find places for the four vans to go out and photograph. The plan was to spend time in Grand Canyon National Park. Many signed up for the trip specifically to see the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Our van’s assignment for the day included Lower Antelope canyon, on Navajo land, and thus not closed. Horseshoe Bend, the upper vista point is on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land — technically closed, but no one was there to stop folks from hiking to the upper view vista point. Restrooms being locked at the Horseshoe Canyon vista parking lot was the only sign of the shutdown. Since Grand Canyon, one of the most visited National Parks closed, many others like us were looking for alternate places to visit. The parking lot for Horseshoe canyon was near full with many folks already at the overlook. Rather than fight for a spot at the favorite viewpoint, I found a different place with a good view. I mounted a camera with a fisheye lens on a sturdy monopod. I then held the camera over the edge
Horseshoe Bend, Arizona. Image taken with a Nikon D4 and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 100, 16 mm, f/11, 1/200 sec). Camera mounted on a monopod held out over the cliff. Nikonians ANPAT-13 on a day that the National Parks were closed. (David J Mathre)
Road trip day as the group moved from Sedona to Williams, Arizona. I drove myself since I had my vehicle. Most of the others traveled in the four rented vans. I set up my Nikon 1 V1 camera and 10 mm f/2.8 lens on a tripod strapped down on the passenger seat to record a time-lapse video of the drive.