darren_salkil

<P>Breck is a pretty cool little town in it's own right and you should have plenty of photo ops downtown (especially at night), and even though you're not skiing, hit the resorts for photos as well.</P>

 

<P>I'm not too sure what you'll be able to get to outside of town without a car (watch the weather, avg. high temp. there in March is 39 F, you may want to consider renting a bike depending on the weather), but if you haven't already check out regional info at<a href="http://www.colorado.com/"> this</a> website and try to find a copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1555910068/qid=1069259334/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-4792336-0644109?v=glance&s=books">this</a> book.

 

They should give you some ideas of what there is to do other than skiing.

 

DS

<P>Not sure how far you're wanting to travel, but a couple of places come to mind.</P> <P>First, about 30-35 miles NE of Cabool (near Salem) you've got Montauk State Park</P> <P>http://www.mostateparks.com/montauk.htm</P><P>Use this page to look for other State Parks that may be close enough for you.</P><P>http://www.mostateparks.com/statemap.htm</P><P>Look in both the Southeast and Lakes Regions as Cabool is pretty close to the western border between the two.</P><P>The second place would be Ozark National Scenic Riverways park. If you want to check out the Jack's Fork River and it's tributaries, access is 15-20 miles SE of Cabool near Mountain View...if you want to go to the park headquarters it's located in Van Buren - about a 70 mile drive.</P>The NPS webpage for ONSR is</P><P>http://www.nps.gov/ozar/</P><P>And the PDF map of the park is located here:</P><P>http://www.nps.gov/ozar/ppmaps/ozarmap1%2Epdf</P><P>That area of Missouri is full of rivers and streams and I'd suggest you 1) Google something like +Cabool +Missouri +streams (or rivers); and 2) Get the DeLorme Atlas and Gazeteer for Missouri and check out the topos for what else is in the area. Be sure to remember that MUCH of that area is sure to be private land, so make sure you either have multiple locations to choose from (many are sure to be posted as "no tresspassing." Also, don't forget about hunting season...not sure what "later next month" will be, but firearms deer season is Nov. 15-25, muzzleloader Nov. 28-Dec. 7, archery deer and turkey Oct. 1-Nov. 14 and Nov. 26-Jan. 15, so be careful.</P><P>DS</P>

I'm just going to pass along a few bits of information (that you may already know) that may help you have a more enjoyable time @ the Balloon Classic.

 

First and foremost show up EARLY...I assume you've already seen the schedule of events and know the Pathfinder balloon leaves around 6:40 a.m. LOTS of people will have been there a long time by then (National anthem @ 6). Oh, and in case you haven't seen the sched. you'll want to bring a tripod and make sure you're back at the venue that evening to photograph the baloon glow.

 

Obviously you'll be working mostly with early morning light. As far as the weather goes, most of our clouds/rain happens in the afternoon and evening here. I can count on one hand the number of mornings we've had overcast skies this summer. The message here is don't get discouraged about the weather until whichever day you're planning on being there...then if you don't like what you're seeing wait 10 minutes. All kidding aside, check the local NBC affiliate for what I've found to be the most accurate local forecasts (KOAA channels 5/30, www.koaa.com).

 

And, lastly if you need any reccomendations on where to grub, or a good local watering hole, by all means, feel free to contact me.

 

DS

As to your ?s about the Mini I can get the following into mine (main compartment) with a little free space left over:

 

Nikon F5 w/80-200 2.8 attached

Nikon N70 w/50 1.8 attached

35-70 2.8

24 2.8

small (read: tiny) binocs

 

Plenty of room in the pockets for other stuff/accessories, and fairly comfortable (comparitavely for a small camera backpack) to carry on day (6 hour or so) hikes.

 

My only real gripe is that the pack is a little short for my torso (I'm only 6', so it's not like I'm a monster) and the "waist strap" becomes a "wrap around your lower ribs and restrict expansion" strap when I use it. That makes it hard to breath during heavy exertion and therefore not very useful when you really need the added stability. If you're, say 5'6" (maybe even 5'8") or shorter that probably wouldn't be an issue.

 

Oh, and I got mine on e-bay (I can e-mail you the sellers info if you like) for $89 shipping included.

 

All in all, It's a perfectly adequate bag for my use, and I'd say a great bag for what I paid.

What an excellent suggestion Bob! I didn't even think about that, and the front page Gazette article on the 1 year anniversary was staring me in the face.

 

I think I'm going to bust out of work early for a drive!

 

Thanks again Bob.

I believe you'll also get the fEE message on shutter priority if you're not at min. ap as well (you don't actually have to lock the lens there in my experience, just set it there).

 

Also, I can't speak for the F100, but the F5 allows you to use either the aperture ring or the command dials to set aperture in aperture priority or manual modes.

I'll throw in a few suggestions to go along with the previous poster's:

 

The North Cheyenne Canyon area has a lot of options for scenics, (previous poster mentioned Helen Hunt falls) with waterfalls and the High Drive. I belive the Kempf sculptures mentioned are also in this area. Unfortunately, they began removing/moving them last week I believe.

 

If you decide to go to Cripple Creek/Victor, I'd suggest taking Gold Camp road if you've got a 4 wheel drive vechicle and are comfortable driving narrow dirt roads with no guardrails. Alternatively, you could take highway 24 west of the Springs to Divide (stop in Green Mountain Falls between the Springs and Woodland Park) and then take highway 67 south to Cripple Creek/Victor. Lots of views on both roads, and Mueller State Park is about 7 or so miles south of Divide on 67. One thing that never fails to make me smile on this drive is passing the little store just east of Divide that sells Jerky exclusively and has a big "THANKS VETS" sign up. I realize they mean military veterans and appreciate their sentiment, but it is just too funny on a jerky shack.

 

If you're up for a day trip, head over to the Salida/Buena Vista/Leadville area. Lots of old ghost towns and mining camps (I'd highly reccomend St. Elmo and Clear Creek road), the Colligiate Peaks, and good wildlife veiwing along the way and north of Leadville. I was there last weekend and the towns are hopping with the rafting season getting underway.

 

What I would do is head to the local library and invest some time looking at books like "The Colorado Guide" (Caughey & Winstanley) and "Colorado Scenic Guide: Southern Region" (Lee Stanley).

 

Best of luck.

Normal legal disclaimer BS:

I am not a lawyer, I don't claim to be a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV. Therefore, do not consider this to be anything even resembling legal advice, as I am just your average Joe with an opnion. And without further adieu, here it is:

 

After reading the complaint, I have a mixed and somewhat different opinion. Yes, read loosely and out of the context of the specific incident cited it sounds, well, just plain dumb.

 

I think the point here is that the lable knowingly and willfully hired someone to rip off a photo, and chose not to credit or liscense it.

 

By looking at the two pieces in question, it becomes readily apparent that we're not talking about a photo of a mountain or some natural/public object, but of a fairly unique photo. The real rub here, IMHO, is there seem to be records indicating record lable employees knowingly and willfully, saw the photo, and chose not to liscense it, but rather to have another photographer reproduce it (more than likely at a lesser cost). Whether this other photographer was aware of the photo or what the lable was doing is a whole other moral can of worms.

 

What you're talking about is being inspired by nature and/or great photographich works and knowingly or unknowiling emulating them. I don't interpret what you cited to make this a crime, even if you try to sell your work in that you're not being commissioned by someone who saw one of the photos you referenced and didn't want to pay liscensing fees to use that photo for worldwide publication.

 

Basically I don't read this to imply anything for the average photographer, only for those who conspire to plagarise other's original work for their own benefit.

Josh,

 

<p>I think the trouble people are having with answering your question is that you're basically asking for "Americana." I've lived in Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, and I can safely tell you that you can drive 20 miles down nearly any county or SMALL state highway and find limitless locations like you've mentioned.</p>

 

<p>Here's the type of thing I mean:</p>

 

<p>Driving through the town of Montevallo on state higway E in west central MO once, I noticed some "advertisement" whitewashed on an old smokehouse it read:</p>

 

<p>FOR SALE</p>

 

<p><s>HORSE</s> DODGE VAN</p>

 

<p>$250</p>

 

<p>Now I'm not sure if they a)sold the horse for 250 and aquired the van and wanted to sell it for the same amount; b)traded the horse for the van and wanted to sell it; or c)(as I like to believe)they had both and decided that they'd rather have the horse than the van. Whatever it was, IMHO, was a beautiful slice of rural Missouri. In my experience in those three states, things like that are rather common and will be easy to find provided you stay out of towns with populations > 10,000.</p>

 

<p>My suggestion? Pick a main route that looks good to you and will put you in under your time schedule. Along the way as you feel the urge just, as George Strait once sang, "go anywhere the old wind blows, down a blacktop road, anytime." The freedom will stimulate your creativity and I guarantee you'll find more than enough of what you want to shoot along the way.</p>

 

<p>As for Colorado (where I live now), east of Denver is basically an extension of western Kansas. I'm going to assume you'll be headed west so turn left (south) at Denver ride that to Pueblo and take a right(west)...from there, just wander and you'll find plenty of the scenery you mentioned, especially along highway 50.</p>

 

<p>Enjoy the ride.</p>

<p>I'll throw in another option to consider (as if you need more things to think about right?) from my experience...the 80-200 is a great lens, I've had mine since it was the "new" 80-200 and I've never even considered trading it in for any of the new incarnations.

I've also owned the 35-70, it too is a great lens. However I almost always found 70 not quite long enough and (more often) 35 not quite wide enough.</p>

<p>If I were in your position, I'd try and find a good deal on a 20-35 f/2.8 (should be able to find a used one for 2-300 more than the 35-70), and fill the 35 to 80 gap with a 50/1.8 and a little technique I like to call manual zooming (take a couple of steps forward/back). I've found the 20-35 range much more useful than the 35-70 for interesting compositions and it focuses <i>slightly</i> closer. Another bonus is if you use filters, the 20-35 and 80-200 both take 77mm, while the 35-70 takes 62mm.</p>

<p>The bright side of this whole dilemma is with the fixed aperture zooms, you can't screw up by buying a bad lens, they're all technically solid. The trick is going to be finding combination of lenses that suits your shooting style best.</p>

<p>Best of luck.</p>

<p>DS</p>

First, condolences to freinds and family of the travelers who might

be reading this. Although this isn't photography related, it's a

good reminder for everyone who enjoys, or thinks they might enjoy,

backcountry adventure to always know the conditions, seek local

advise/information, go prepared, and ALWAYS err on the side of

safety.<P> <a

href="http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Mar/t03052003.asp">Cover

Story</a></P> <P> <a

href="http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Mar/03052003/utah/35218.asp">Full

Story</a> </P>

I'm in The Springs Todd.

If you're interested in Colorado, there are lots of good books that outline wildflower hikes. I'd suggest seeing if your local library has any or if they can arrange an inter-library loan for you. Those books should tell you where and when peak seasons are.

 

As far as snow goes, we're waaaaay below normal on the south end of the Front Range this year, I think that goes for most of the rest of the Rockies as well (Utah and Idaho included). Feburary and March however are our #1 & 2 snow months though, so hopefully things will get better.

Well, I'll cast my vote for Moab in March if for no other reason than sheer variety of opportunities. You've got Moab itself, Arches and Canyonlands of course, Capitol Reef, the San Rafael Swell, and a couple of GREAT state parks (Dead Horse Point and Goblin Valley) all within 150 miles of each other. WHEW!

 

The furthest of those destinations from Moab are Capitol Reef, and the SR Swell and Goblin Valley (a lot like a miniature Garden of the Gods), so if you're planning on staying close to Moab those might be out. If you go to the Island in the Sky region make sure you take a trip to Dead Horse Point while you're in Canyonlands (take a left on 313 5.5 miles north of the visitor's center for the Island in the sky area). It's a great uncrowded area with some awesome overlooks of the Colorado. Last time I was there, we showed up after noon and still got a campsite...on the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend!

 

If you'd like to avoid staying in Moab, or if you want to check out the Swell, Goblin Valley and Capitol Reef, you might consider staying in Green River. It's located about half way between Hwy. 24 (to Goblin/Capitol Reef) and 191 (to Moab) on I-70. Rates are usually better there.

 

Oh, and I'll throw in my restaurant reccomendation for Moab: Eddie McStiffs. They brew a nice bluberry ale and have great food.

 

Best of luck wherever you decide to go.

Batteries were an issue for me as well. Alkalines (I only used eveready's because they're the only manufacturer who still prints a "if our product damages your device we'll repair/replace" type thing, plus I had a local retailer that sold 4 paks for $1) not the answer, but neither was spending $$$ on Nikons NiMh system. Here's what I've been doing:

 

Sam's had a 1hr charger with car adapter an 4 1850 mAh NiMH AAs for about $30(us). Got additional 1850 mAh AAs from H.C. Baker on that auction site for $2/cell.

 

Now, if these batteries last the 1000 recharges energizer says they will I'll call this ~$60 well spent.

 

And that's how you save ~$500+ on a NiMh system for your F5 (or F100 for that matter).