Whoever says Austin/South don't have fall colors??

11/20/2002 03:47:59 PM · #29

Rainier rocks.... :) If i were at Seattle, i'd go to Rainier every weekend in the summer time :) Of course the Olympics is only 3-4 hour drive away from Seattle.

Originally posted by GeneralE:
I just noticed I took that almost exactly a year ago. Here's a small view: Rainier Sunrise #11

11/20/2002 03:50:23 PM · #30

Maybe this is more to their liking.... rock size wise :)
Big Bend

Originally posted by Gordon:
Originally posted by paganini:
[i]
Australia doesn't have decent mountains either :) better than here, but even mountains in West Texas and New Mexico can compete against it, not to mention Mount Rainier or any other big ones (the numerous 14ners in Colorado) in the Continental US.

I think the problem they have with 'enchanted rock' is that it doesn't compare very well with the Australian 'enchanted rock'

Gordon

RIM BlackBerry Curve

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

11/20/2002 04:12:44 PM · #31

Originally posted by paganini:

Maybe this is more to their liking.... rock size wise :)
Big Bend

I've almost gone to Big Bend a couple of times. The 10/11 hour drive
each way makes me baulk a little bit though. The thing is, I only
ever see that shot - is there much more there in the way of hills
than just those two bits of rock ?

I've felt cheated like that ever since I went to Lake Louise. Its
beautiful and grand if you look in one direction, but turn around
and there is a hideous hotel and the rest of the area is nothing like
the Lake view that is so well photographed.

11/20/2002 04:50:09 PM · #32

Goto: //www.nps.gov and check out the parks :)

There is a book called "How to photograph national parks" or something like that witha silly name @ Borders on Great Hills Trail/183, should check it out if you haven't been there, probably the largest photography book collection that ih ave seen at local bookstores. It gives you the tripod points of where photos were taken for each national park it showed. It's a AAA book or something, really silly, not worth buying but good enough to browse to see the major points.

You can hike a long way in Big Bend, supposed to be a huge park. I was planning on going until i call the lodge and realized that it's all sold out for Thanksgiving (duh...) -- the nearest hotel/motel is about 70 miles away, so i don't think i'll drive there for the thanksgiving weekend. My dad is here with me, otherwise i'd just go with the Sierra Club in Austin (they have annual Big Bend Thanksgiving trip)

My favorite national parks are:
Rocky Mountain National Park (very busy, the only downside, but lots of scenery, lots of wildlife. I went there last July 4th weekend as well as Memorial Day weekend (which had a snowstorm, 12 inches of snow and i had to camp out in the cold... wasn't prepared for that!). Estes Park is right outside and has a ton of lodging, etc. Very well equipped that way. Unfortunately it is around 8000 ft at the base, which means, coming from Austin will require a few days acclimitizing, or at least don't carry 50 lb packs the first two days :)
Mount Rainier - a bit hard to get to, nearest places are 1-2 hour drives away. They have a lodge on the south side but DO NOT ever get the room next to the stairs, i couldn't sleep at all cuz people kept coming up like elephants. Great hiking, very decent views (assuming the mountain is clear of clouds, it means, waking up at 6 am) and the best time to visit is in August where it doesn't rain as much.

Future targets: Yosemite National Park (black bear problems though), and Yellowstone/Grand Tetons. I have a mild interest in Big Bend -- some people like desert type landscapes which Big Bend is really famous for, but i like the lush green mountains or the snow capped types.

Originally posted by Gordon:
Originally posted by paganini:
[i]
Maybe this is more to their liking.... rock size wise :)
Big Bend

I've almost gone to Big Bend a couple of times. The 10/11 hour drive
each way makes me baulk a little bit though. The thing is, I only
ever see that shot - is there much more there in the way of hills
than just those two bits of rock ?

I've felt cheated like that ever since I went to Lake Louise. Its
beautiful and grand if you look in one direction, but turn around
and there is a hideous hotel and the rest of the area is nothing like
the Lake view that is so well photographed.

[/i]

11/20/2002 04:54:56 PM · #33

BTW, in case you haven't figure it out yet, Gordon, Austin or Texas in general do not have a very good park system. The reason is that most land in Texas are PRIVATELY owned... You can go to a nearby state, New Mexico and visit the Gila Wilderness, public land (so don't go during hunting season for safety reasons because people do hunt in National Forests or Wilderness areas), to name one. But there is no National "forest" or wilderness area in Texas other than the two national parks which are hard to get to from Austin (10-12 hour drive).

I heard a decent place to go is the Ouachita Forest area, which is on Oklahoma/Arkansas border, 6 hours drive from Austin.

11/20/2002 05:26:47 PM · #34

Magnetic, nice picture of East Coast colors. That E-10 just makes super sharp images! That tree is nothing compared to *my* maple tree of which i took umpteen shots but none were anything to write home about. SLWHFPSB (=sobbing loudly while hugging fluffy pink security blanket).

Gordon, i take it you succeeded in summitting Mt Bonnell. When will the account of that harrowing expedition come out in paperback edition? BTW, your Kirium image is grand; love that purple toning. Have you ever done any printing of duotone images? I noticed that nowadays you are tauting that HP Photosmart C20 behind your ID. Since Kirium was a set-up shot it would have been so interesting for the sake of comparison had you made the same shot with the HP Photosmart C20 as well. Are you getting my drift? Know what i mean? Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more.....

Hey, paganini, i'm a slow poster (thanks to lousy aol disconnecting me all the time) and last night we were posting at the same time about "sick sense of humor". It's that great minds yadayada stuff. I have a big favor to ask you, if you can and absolutely no rush. I would like to have a plain image, or scan, of just a page of sheet music for my Photoshop inventory to work into manipulations at some point. Anything by Beethoven or Brahms would be great. So, would be Barber's Concerto for Strings (violins?) that i heard again yesterday and loved (i better don't confess that right now i'm listening to the Grateful Dead :). My email address is listed at my profile. It would be very, very much appreciated :)

Seeker

Canon EOS-30D

11/20/2002 05:30:08 PM · #35

Ok Pag, I'm not going to let that last comment slide. . .
Texas has a GREAT park system. Just because you're not famailiar with it doesn't mean there isn't one. Here's a list of SOME of the parks in Texas:
Abilene State Park
Acton State Historic Site (see Cleburne Complex)
Admiral Nimitz Museum State Historic Site - National Museum of the Pacific War
Atlanta State Park
Balmorhea State Park (see Davis Mountains Complex)
Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center (see Big Bend Complex)

Bastrop/Buescher Complex
Bastrop State Park
Buescher State Park

Battleship TEXAS State Historic Site (see San Jacinto Battleground/Monument State Historical Complex)
Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park

Big Bend Complex
Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center
Big Bend Ranch State Park
Fort Leaton State Historic Site

Big Spring State Park (see Lake Colorado City Complex)
Blanco State Park
Boca Chica State Park
Bonham State Park
Brazos Bend State Park
Buescher State Park (see Bastrop/Buescher Complex)
Caddoan Mounds State Historic Site (see Mission Tejas/Caddoan Complex)
Caddo Lake State Park
Caprock Canyons State Park & Trailway
Casa Navarro State Historic Site

Cedar Hill Complex
Cedar Hill State Park
Penn Farm

Choke Canyon Complex
Calliham
South Shore

Cleburne Complex
Acton State Historic Site
Cleburne State Park

Colorado Bend State Park
Confederate Reunion Grounds State Historic Site (see Fort Parker Complex)

Cooper Lake Complex
Doctors Creek
South Sulphur

Copano Bay State Fishing Pier - Concession Operation (see Goose Island Complex )
Copper Breaks State Park
Daingerfield State Park

Davis Mountains Complex
Balmorhea State Park
Davis Mountains State Park
Indian Lodge

Devils River State Natural Area -
Limited Use
Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area - Access by Special Request

Dinosaur Valley Complex
Dinosaur Valley State Park
Meridian State Park

Eisenhower Complex
Eisenhower State Park
Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site

El Paso Complex
Franklin Mountains State Park
Hueco Tanks State Historic Site
Magoffin Home
Wyler Aerial Tramway

Enchanted Rock State Natural Area
Fairfield Lake State Park
Falcon State Park
Fannin Battleground State Historic Site (see Goliad/Fannin Complex)
Fanthorp Inn State Historic Site (see Republic of Texas Complex)
Fort Boggy State Park
Fort Griffin State Park and Historic Site
Fort Lancaster State Historic Site
Fort Leaton State Historic Site (see Big Bend Complex)
Fort McKavett State Historic Site

Fort Parker Complex
Confederate Reunion Grounds
Fort Parker State Park
Old Fort Parker - Operated by the City of Groesbeck

Fort Richardson Complex
Fort Richardson State Park and Historic Site
Lost Creek Reservoir State Trailway

Franklin Mountains State Park (see El Paso Complex)
Fulton Mansion State Historic Site
Galveston Island State Park
Garner State Park

Goliad/Fannin Complex
Fannin Battleground State Historic Site
Goliad State Park
Zaragosa Birthplace State Historic Site
Mission Rosario State Historic Site

Goose Island Complex
Copano Bay State Fishing Pier - Concession Operation
Goose Island State Park

Government Canyon State Natural Area - Limited Access Pending Development
Governor Hogg Shrine State Historic Site - Operated by the City of Quitman

Guadalupe River Complex
Guadalupe River State Park
Honey Creek State Natural Area
Hill Country State Natural Area
Honey Creek State Natural Area (see Guadalupe River Complex)
Hueco Tanks State Historic Site (see El Paso Complex)
Huntsville State Park
Indian Lodge (see Davis Mountains Complex)

Inks Lake Complex
Inks Lake State Park
Longhorn Cavern State Park -
Concession Operation

Jim Hogg - Operated by the City of Rusk
Kerrville-Schreiner State Park
Kickapoo Cavern State Park -
Limited Use
Kreische Brewery State Historic Site
Lake Arrowhead State Park
Lake Bob Sandlin State Park
Lake Brownwood State Park
Lake Casa Blanca International State Park

Lake Colorado City Complex
Big Spring State Park
Lake Colorado City State Park

Lake Corpus Christi Complex
Lake Corpus Christi State Park
Lipantitlan State Historic Site

Lake Houston State Park
Lake Livingston State Park
Lake Mineral Wells State Park & Trailway

Lake Somerville Complex
Birch Creek
Nails Creek
Trailway
Wildlife Management Area

Lake Tawakoni State Park
Lake Texana State Park
Lake Whitney State Park
Landmark Inn State Historic Site
Lipantitlan State Historic Site (see Lake Corpus Christi Complex)
Lockhart State Park
Longhorn Cavern State Park - Concession Operation (see Inks Lake Complex)
Lost Creek Reservoir State Trailway (see Fort Richardson Complex)
Lost Maples State Natural Area
Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site
Magoffin Home State Historic Site (see El Paso Complex)
Martin Creek Lake State Park
Martin Dies, Jr. State Park
Matagorda Island State Park
McKinney Falls State Park
Meridian State Park (see Dinosaur Valley Complex)
Mission Rosario State Historic Site

Mission Tejas/Caddoan Complex
Caddoan Mounds State Historic Site
Mission Tejas State Park

Monahans Sandhills State Park
Monument Hill State Historic Site
Mother Neff State Park
Mustang Island State Park
Old Fort Parker - Operated by the City of Groesbeck (see Fort Parker Complex)
Palmetto State Park

Palo Duro Canyon Complex
Lake Rita Blanca State Park
Palo Duro Canyon State Park
Pedernales Falls State Park
Penn Farm (see Cedar Hill Complex)
Port Isabel Lighthouse State Historic Site -
Operated by the City of Port Isabel
Port Lavaca State Fishing Pier -
Concession Operation
Possum Kingdom State Park
Purtis Creek State Park

Ray Roberts Lake Complex
Greenbelt
Isle du Bois
Johnson Branch
Lantana Lodge at the Jordon Branch

Republic Of Texas Complex
Fanthorp Inn State Historic Site
Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site
Rusk/Palestine State Parks
Sabine Pass Battleground State Park and Historic Site
Sam Bell Maxey House State Historic Site
San Angelo State Park

San Jacinto Battleground/Monument State Historical Complex
Battleship TEXAS State Historic Site
San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site
San Jacinto Monument
Sauer-Beckmann Farm
Sea Rim State Park
Sebastopol House State Historic Site
Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site
Sheldon Lake State Park
South Llano River State Park
Starr Family Home State Historic Site
Stephen F. Austin State Park
Texas State Railroad State Park
Tyler State Park
Varner-Hogg Plantation State Historic Site
Village Creek State Park
Walter Umphrey State Park -
Operated by Jefferson County
Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site (see Republic of Texas Complex)
Wyler Aerial Tramway (see El Paso Complex

Go to Texas Parks System for more information. . .

11/20/2002 08:31:15 PM · #36

Gee Thanks Seeker. I knew about all of those places. However, none of them appeal to me that much. I went to Colorado Bend, for example, and as a state park, it's pathetic. Like Gordon says, Enchanted Rock is interesting but not extremely interesting :)

Every time I want to see a real mountain, there is no choice but to fly out of Austin. Of course, Austin is better Dallas :) at least we have a little bit of bumps here... Dallas is completely flat.

Besides, most Texas state parks are pretty small and lame compared to other state parks out there. That's why Backpacker magazine has never recommended a state park for a trip, other than maybe overnighters at Enchanted Rock. If they had more public lands, maybe the parks will be bigger, at least, instead of these few hundred acre parks that dominate most of the Texas areas. The only places that have decent scenery are near the New Mexico border, namely, the National Parks (not state parks)

* This message has been edited by the author on 11/20/2002 8:31:29 PM.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

11/20/2002 08:32:20 PM · #37

Can I just photograph it and email it??? I don't have a scanner :(

Originally posted by Journey:
Magnetic, nice picture of East Coast colors. That E-10 just makes super sharp images! That tree is nothing compared to *my* maple tree of which i took umpteen shots but none were anything to write home about. SLWHFPSB (=sobbing loudly while hugging fluffy pink security blanket).

Gordon, i take it you succeeded in summitting Mt Bonnell. When will the account of that harrowing expedition come out in paperback edition? BTW, your Kirium image is grand; love that purple toning. Have you ever done any printing of duotone images? I noticed that nowadays you are tauting that HP Photosmart C20 behind your ID. Since Kirium was a set-up shot it would have been so interesting for the sake of comparison had you made the same shot with the HP Photosmart C20 as well. Are you getting my drift? Know what i mean? Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more.....

Hey, paganini, i'm a slow poster (thanks to lousy aol disconnecting me all the time) and last night we were posting at the same time about "sick sense of humor". It's that great minds yadayada stuff. I have a big favor to ask you, if you can and absolutely no rush. I would like to have a plain image, or scan, of just a page of sheet music for my Photoshop inventory to work into manipulations at some point. Anything by Beethoven or Brahms would be great. So, would be Barber's Concerto for Strings (violins?) that i heard again yesterday and loved (i better don't confess that right now i'm listening to the Grateful Dead :). My email address is listed at my profile. It would be very, very much appreciated :)

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

11/20/2002 09:14:26 PM · #38

Originally posted by Journey:
...i better don't confess that right now i'm listening to the Grateful Dead :).

Yes you had better. They have a lot more in common with classical music than most people would think...someplace I hope somewhere I still have a copy of Pete Seeger's Goofing Off Suite -- a collection of things he played for "fun" and not necessarily to be "practicing." The Ode To Joy on 5-string banjo offers whole new perspecive...

If you want I'll send you a copy of the sheet music for the Dead's Attics Of My Life complete with 4-part harmonies.

11/20/2002 10:12:18 PM · #39

paganini, e-mail of a photograph is just fine! :) Muchas gracias, amigo :)

It's okay General E; if you want to email that music that's fine but don't feel obliged. I'm really not a Deadhead but every now and then i like to listen to their In The Dark album. I'm wondering whether Jerry Garcia is grateful these days, what do you think?

* This message has been edited by the author on 11/20/2002 10:14:01 PM.

* This message has been edited by the author on 11/20/2002 10:19:01 PM.

* This message has been edited by the author on 11/20/2002 10:28:35 PM.

11/20/2002 10:20:00 PM · #40

this is a link test:

11/21/2002 01:43:29 AM · #41

Wahahahahah :) very accurate....

Originally posted by Journey:
this is a link test:

Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX Aspherical DF for Canon

11/21/2002 03:15:59 PM · #42

BTW, paganini, about that photograph. Don't waste much time on it and don't worry about warp, creases and coffee stains. I'll probably can take care of that in PS and besides a coffee stain can add charm.

magnetic9999

Canon EOS-20D

11/21/2002 08:46:02 PM · #43

hey journey,

thank you for your comments : ) ..

yeah it's pretty amazing here colorwise, gets me every year.

-- this is last week on a rainy drizzly day --

11/22/2002 03:07:33 AM · #44

Magnetic, that is a lovely, lovely image of the rainy day fall colors. Thanks for sharing it. You know, i am with you that a border or multiple borders give such a nice finished polish to an image. Makes a big difference sometimes.

Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX Aspherical DF for Canon

11/22/2002 05:02:16 AM · #45

Some fall colors; all taken in my garden.

ferns

Japanese Maple (not the big maple!)

rain (in Washington???)

magnetic9999

Canon EOS-20D

11/22/2002 09:58:50 AM · #46

those are gorgeous, J. esp the 3rd one : ) .. i also like the first one very much .

i used to live in vancouver bc when i was a kid. i seem to remember one of the TV 'translator' stations was based in Bellingham. NBC? Can't remember now, been so long..

well, if i got offered a particular job ive applied for, and i accept it, then i may be back up in that neck of the woods. my only real reservation is the rain. i'm too moody as it is : ) ..

thanks for sharing !

Originally posted by Journey:
Some fall colors; all taken in my garden.

ferns

Japanese Maple (not the big maple!)

rain (in Washington???)