brad_hiltbrand

I drove much of that route that twice last winter in late Dec and again in February. That is

the fastest route, although 6.5 hours is not nearly enough time. Count on at least 8-9

hours. I prefer to take the Walker pass (rt 178) from Bakersfield rather than Tehachapi

pass (rt 58). The Walker Pass is much more scenic, but slower. There are lots of great

Joshua trees near the top of this road.

In the summer Sonora Pass (rt. 108) is the quickest way to 395, but it and several other

routes over the Sierra are closed during the winter. If you are prepared for lots of serious

winter driving, I80 over Donner Pass and I50 through S Lake Tahoe also work assuming

you can drive South on I395. It was closed recently for several days between Mammoth

Lakes and Bridgeport. Check the weather and road conditions before leaving!

http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/mtnhwys.htm

Oh, I almost forgot. The Mamiya is manual focus. The Fuji autofocus is pretty

good, but manual focus is limited to preset distances. I like the Fuji a lot, but

sometimes I feel like I have to struggle to use what was really designed as a

point-and-shoot camera. Using traditional manual settings on the lens instead

of toggling buttons to change parameters on a hard to see LCD screen would

be a joy. Other cameras I have considered are the larger manual focus Fuji

rangefinders but they are limited to a single focal length and have no in-

camera meter. The Mamiya is clearly the best medium format rangefinder

system available. But then there is that pesky cost issue :)

There are many advantages of the Mamiya 7 over the Fuji GA645. First, the

negative size is almost 2X larger which would make looking at film on the light

table a joy and increase resolution of scanned images. Second, the

viewfinder is much larger and brighter. And third, the prime lenses for the

Mamiya are as sharp as lenses get and there is a much wider range of focal

lengths available compared to the 55-90mm range on the Fuji.

The down side is the cost. To cover the same range of focal lengths with the

Mamiya as provided by the 4-step zoom lens on the Fuji would take at least

three different lenses for a total system cost of over 4K.

I have decided it is more important for me to concentrate on improving my

picture taking before upgrading to the Mamiya 7II.

It is not really hard to use a polarizer with any rangefinder. Simply hold the

filter in front of your eye looking at your scene, rotate the filter to maximum

polarization, note the position of the rings relative to each other using

manufacturers labels or marks on the rings, mount the filter on your lens, re-

orient the rings to the proper position you just determined, set exposure

compensation of +1.5 to 2 stops (somewhat dependent on the direction of

exposure and the degree of polarization), and take your exposure.

I also use a Fuji 645Zi and found using the polarizer was almost always

unecessary or had a garish effect since I shoot a lot at high altitude. I use it

rarely and so taking a few moments to fiddle with the polarizer is not that big a

problem. The key thing is to remember to set at least exposure compensation

and bracket exposures. Polarizers at maximum effect block about 2 stops of

light.

The mamiya 7 polarizing device is an expensive mechanical solution that

although more efficient and accurate than the workaround I suggest, is not

worth the expense of switching camera systems, imo. There are, however,

plenty of other reasons to upgrade to a Mamiya 7 :)

If I had a few spare thousands of dollars, I would trade in my 645Zi in a

hearbeat. But the kids have to eat, darn it.

All you can do is to put yourself in the right place at the right time of day and

hope for great light. The picture should be planned before you set out to take

it. This requires scouting the location, checking the weather, knowing the time

of sunrise/sunset/moonrise/moonset at your location, etc. Some professional

landscape photographers strive to make only 2-6 outstanding images a year,

but spend lots of time scouting locations, checking the astronomical tables,

waiting for the right time of year, and then waiting on location for the right light.

Sometimes you get lucky and conditions are good for photography, but most

of the time conditions just won't cooperate with your schedule. Research and

planning in advance will maximize the potential of your photography time.

There is no such thing as saving time in landscape photography. It is all about

using the time you have wisely. The image should be imagined before

captured by your camera. From time to time a great image will simply present

itself, but more often than not, great images will require significant amounts of

preparation.

Happy shooting!

The aspens in the canyons of the Eastern Sierra mountains are very colorful

in late Sept - early October. Good locations are found from Bishop northward

in the Sabrina lakes basin above Bishop canyon, the lakes along Rock Creek

west of Tom's place, McGee creek, Convict Lake, Lundy Lake, etc. But you

have to time your visit perfectly. Fall is a short season in the sierra.

I use a tripod almost all the time (landscapes are my main subject), but have

successfully hand-held people and street shots as low as 1/45. 1/60 works

very well if I concentrate on good technique. It is important to note that the

autofocus can be a little slow, pressing the shutter half-way sets not only the

exposure but also the focus distance, so pointing and shooting can result in

focus errors if you simply fire the shutter without pausing half-way. Make sure

to get a focus lock. As mentioned, it should be easy to tell motion blur from a

focus problem. I use Zi with ISO 100 film hand-held in bright light with little

difficulty. I also do not think tthe 'slow' lens is a problem since I usually want

more dof than F5.6 - 6.9 provides. Certainly using 400 speed film will help

hand-holding. I use Provia 400 from time to time.

I agree with all of the above. In addition, Arches can be very very hot in July

and August. If you are camping that is something to consider carefully.

Campsites may be hard to find at the single campgound during July and

August. If you are staying in nearby Moab the heat will be something you can

escape at night and during mid-day.

All things considered, avoid the peak tourist and heat season if possible, but

don't miss an opportunity to go soon. Arches is an amazing place. I think

entirely too much emphasis is placed on photographing the 'icons' and not

enough time spent simply appreciating the flamboyantly colored desert

environment. My next trip to Arches will probably be in the late fall or winter to

avoid the heat and crowds and increase the chances of interesting weather.

Having made the 30 mile drive numerous times north to the bridge from

Menlo Park I can attest to the fickle nature of the weather and light conditions

at the GGB.

My inclination for this type of shot would be late afternoons tp sunset from

mid-summer on when the hot central valley creates a heat-sink that draws in

cools air straight through the Golden Gate with its accompanying fog. I like the

sunset light on the bridge when viewed from the Marin headlands better than

AM shots. But you never really know what sort of conditions you will have until

you get there. This shot is similar to what you are seeking from Lincoln Blvd

above Baker Beach at sunset in early January 2003:<div></div>

I am not going to comment on where you should stay so much as to

emphasize some of the logistical problems you will face. The Eastern Sierra is

a BIG place. Lone Pine to Bishop is only 58 miles driving distance, so it looks

like only an hour from door to photo location. BUT, as soon as you start up the

side canyons to predetermined spots you will need at least another hour or

more, especially if you plan to hike in any distance. You need to plan ahead

to have any hope of being in the right place at the right time, and even then

conditions will almost certainly not be ideal. All you can do is place yourself in

the right location at the right time of day and hope for the best.

I agree with the comment above that suggests not investing too much time at

Mono Lake. It is more than 120 miles from Lone Pine, greater than 60 miles

for Bishop, and you need to be at South Tufa at least an hour before sunrise

to find a good location. There are better places to spend your valuable time

since it is so far away from your intended sleeping locations and is likely to

disappoint.

The key locations I would concentrate on for your short trip would be

1. The Eastern face of the Sierras from the canyons and lakes near Bishop

2. The Alabama Hills on Movie road from the Mt. Whitney Portal road out of

Lone Pine, and

3. The Bristlecone Pine forest accessed from Big Pine just south of Bishop.

The Bristlecones are directly above Bishop, but you get there via a round-

about route from Big Pine, east to Westgard Pass, and then due north along

the spine of the White Mountains. The most direct route is straight up Silver

canyon road from Bishop, It is only 15 miles via that route, but will require

4WD, high clearance, low range transmission, really really good tires, lots of

bravery or sheer stupidity (interchangeable), and possibly an tire patch kit and

inflation pump. I mention it only because I was dumb enough to drive it a

couple of days ago and found it passable. But do not attempt this road in a

passenger car or SUV without a low range.

You will find lots of great opportunities up RT 168 west up Bishop canyon

(including Lake Sabrina, North, and South Lakes). Rock Creek Canyon (and

lake) a little farther north is also good, continuing north is McGee Creek

Canyon (my favorite), and still farther north is Convict Lake. . Shoot all of

these areas at Sunrise for the dramatic light on the Eastern escarpment of the

Sierra at dawn. I would suggest camping near any of these locations, or

spending the night at Bishop for reasonable travel times.

You can access the Alabama Hills relatively easily quickly from Bishop, but

make sure you know ahead where you want to shoot. Movie road is several

miles long and has many unmarked side roads leading into these wonderful

rock formations. Also drive farther up the Whitney Portal road to the end at

above 9000' for views back down the Owens valley.

The Bristlecone pine forest is a must see place in my opinion, but I just

returned from a 5 day shoot there and the glow of the place is still in me. It is

not just the trees that are interesting but also the dramatic difference between

the White Mountains range and the Sierra. You will see many fantastic views

of the Eastern Sierra all the way from Whitney to far North of Bishop. The view

of the Palisade glaciers above Big Pine is wonderful from many spots along

White Mountain road. As for the Ancient Ones, the lower Schulman grove of

trees is about 24 miles above Lone Pine, all paved roads. Because of the

steep climb to above 10,000 feet, expect that trip to take about an hour from

Big Pine (15 miles south of Bishop). The higher and more dramatic Patriarch

grove is another 12 miles along a very rough dirt road. 4WD not necessary,

but good tires and some willingness to rock and roll will help:) The

Bristlecones can be wonderful at sunrise and sunset, but not all bristlecones

are good at both sunrise and sunset. Most of the trees are good at only one

time or the other. Some are not in the light until 2 hours post sunrise, and

others go into shadow 2 hours before. This is a big place and you really need

some time to explore before you start shooting, especially if you want to find

the good light. The paved access, developed trails, and nature center make

the lower Schulman grove a must see and a good mid-day excursion. If you

have the right vehicle, the best trees are in the Patriarch grove or along that

road. Ditto for the best views of the Eastern Sierra. But you need to be plan

ahead for some significant travel times.

So I guess I would stay at Bishop for the whole trip if you don't want to camp

closer to any single location. The Alabama hills at sunrise returning north to

spend the afternoon in the White Mountains would make a good long day.

Remember these trees are all above 10,000 feet to you may experience some

trouble breathing. Take along lots of water and plan on spending some time

up there to seek out good subjects and compositions and pray for good light.

Spend another day or two exploring the canyons from Bishop north and you

will have seen many of the key locations and discovered the infinite

possiblities and infinite time that you could spend photographing in the

Eastern Sierra.

Lastly, sunrise is currently at about 5:30 AM and sunset after 8 PM, making for

some short nights if you shoot both sunset and sunrise locations and have

significant travel times. Both Bishop and Lone Pine are interesting places to

visit, just remember that although they are only an hour apart, all the great

locations are probably AT LEAST another hour away.

Have a great trip. Plan well and be prepared and hopefully you will be

rewarded with great light! Have fun.

National park dog policy is very restrictive if you travel with a canine

companion of any size. No dogs allowed outside of paved areas and

campgrounds and then only while leashed. As mentioned, National Forests

are much more dog friendly, although generally leashes are required as per

whatever state/county law may apply. Areas designated as Wilderness are

off-limits to dogs with no exceptions because of concern for native wildlife. I

think this concern is well-meaning, but founded on the assumption that every

dog is going to run amok killing everything in site. Of course in some places, it

is the dogs that might be on the dinner menu. Coyotes and mountain lions like

the taste of dog.

I always take my dog with me on photographic trips, but sometimes he has to

stay in my vehicle for a while. I do admit letting him off leash under voice

control in many areas but I am almost always breaking some Federal, State,

or County law.

It is my opinion that these anti-dog restrictions have gone too far in many

places, and leave no room for properly trained animals who are little threat to

the environment, or anyone else. I personally think HORSES create an

environmental problem on the ground wherever they are allowed, and they

are allowed many places dogs are not.

Good luck.

Comparing our images I notice that you have captured the trail of not just one,

but rather TWO k-rats traveling along the same path. Where was this photo

taken exactly?

These tracks are very common around the Eureka dunes. I am pretty sure

they are Kangaroo rat trails. If you look carefully you can see the tail drag

marks in places. These tracks are found all over the lower dunes close to the

surrounding desert where the kangaroo rats make their burrows.

I took a similar picture of the same sort of tracks and dune ripples in January.

Yours photo is much better. Nice image!<div></div>

You lost me there. Since the camera will only accept a max ISO of 1600, when

your shoot with ISO 3200 film your readings should always be a full stop

overexposed, not underexposed. You would normally have to pull process, or

use exposure compensation because the meter will be calibrated for an ISO

one stop too low.

In any event, my Zi metering seems dead-on through several thousand

exposures using ISO50-400 slide films. Exposure compensation is easy on

this camera ( (+/- three stops) so experiment a little and you will have an easy

work-around assuming the meter really is off.

Having been to the Bishop area twice in the past couple of months, I can

confirm a major snowpack in the Sierra's. Mt. Whitney and other areas with

access from side roads off 395 into the mountains are closed due to snow.

The Bishop creek road up into the Sabrina Basin is also closed for the winter.

The Alabama Hills (off the Whitney Portal access road in Lone Pine) are snow

free and very photogenic in the mornings with the snow covered mountains

as back-drop to the West.

Since you are coming from So. Cal I would strongly suggest spending a day

or so in Death Valley since it is only a 4-5 hour drive away. Take highway 5 to

14 to 395 North just like going to Bishop, but turn off on highway 190 at

Olancha, or continue 30 miles North to Lone Pine and the Alabama hills, and

then head down the East side of Owens lake back down to highway 190 and

into Death Valley over Townes Pass. From LA it is around 300 miles to Death

Valley. I missed the wildflower bloom two weeks ago, but due to recent rains,

it is looking very promising for lots of flower blooms in mid March in Death

Valley.

After exploring DV for a couple of days (or weeks) you can head north through

Bishop, making the return journey via the long drive along the Eastern Sierra

to return to the Bay area via Tahoe, or head back South and return via the

Tehachapi Pass (rt 58) or via my personal choice, the Walker Pass (rt 178)

through some nice Joshua tree groves. Have fun!

Carry chains on 395 north of Bishop! It is still winter up there.

I did it in early January in well under two hours from SP Wells to

the Grandstand. The unpaved part can be done in an hour or a

little more. Allow at least two hours depending on your vehicle

and motivation. More time to drive to the south end of the playa

and walk out to find some interesting rocks.

I drive an old Ford Explorer 4-wheel drive that I don't mind

pushing hard on the washboards, so 25-35 miles an hour works

well most of the time. Slower speeds are terribly uncomfortable. I

will note that the washboard situation on the racetrack approach

road was very bad just after New Year. I would not have wanted

to drive it in a small sedan, but there was nothing about the road

itself that required a high clearence 4WD.

Current conditions: I just returned from DV last night after

camping for several wonderful days at the Eureka Dunes. It has

been raining quite a bit at the higher elevations. I would expect

the racetrack playa to be very wet right now.

To everyone: Please don't walk on the wet playa. Your footprints

will last for years just like the "Fuck Mondale" graffiti left long ago

by some inconsiderate sob.

Almost all unpaved access roads to classic scenic sites are

currently CLOSED (2.26.04) due to ice and snow (hence my

return home). If your are going in the next few days, expect

closures of Dantes, Aguerrberry Pt, Artists pallete, West side

road and associated canyons, Titus canyon, Charcoal kilns,

Skiddo, North and South Saline valley roads, etc. There has

been a large amount of rain and snow at higher elevations and

there are large washouts that road crews are cleaning up on

route 190 on the descent to StovePipe Wells. The park service is

very conservative about road closures. Expect a lot of them in the

next couple of weeks.

I'm leaving for Death Valley early tomorrow morning. I plan to

camp and photograph in that area for the next several days

including the New Year's Morning's Sunrise.

Have New Year and Good Light to all.

The shutter may need a CLA at around 5000 (or more)

exposures. That camera has lots of useful life left. I bought mine

new at B&H last year for more than twice the price you mention. I

think you have a very good price. EBAY prices for the 645Zi and

the larger 690 rangefinders are currently in the $600-900 range

depending on condition and sellers rep. It sounds like a good

deal to me.

Travis, there is a difference between disagreeing with another's

opinion, and attacking the man (or the woman). The POW in

question was supposed to induce discussion, and it succeeded

spectacularly well, although the discussion is apparently not

quite like that expected. I have learned a lot from reading the

responses in that thread and have enjoyed it more than most

POW discussions.

There are obviously at least two diametrically opposed positions

on the originality issue in regards to landscapes of 'familiar'

locations, but I do not see the 'pack' you allude to, no dominant

position. I see a lot of reasonable people disagreeing on

reasonable grounds. The forum adminstration seems to only get

involved if one's opinions start to be of a personal, rather than a

rational nature. No one is picking on anyone. We have all simply

agreed to disagree, and have tried to explain why.

Mary, thank-you for your time, effort, and good will.

You can not force the built-in flash to fire in program mode if the

background is light enough to make the camera think it needs

no flash. There is no way to force flash in full-auto mode.

However, tt will Always fire in aperture, a-synch, and manual

modes if the flash is popped-up. Your minimum shutter speed

using the built-in flash is limited 1/45. F-stop will depend on film

speed.

For the built-in flash, the guide number is 12 for ISO100, 24 for

ISO 400.

Farthest flash distance at ISO 100 is 2.7 meters with lens at

55mm and 1.7M at zoomed to 90mm. Farthest flash with ISO

400 film is 5.3 meters with the lens at 55mm and 3.5 meters at

90mm.

The manual warns of using other makers external flash units

with a signal pin which can apparently get stuck in the hot shoe.

Use external flash units in manual mode. The shutter speed is

not limited to 1/45 sec which may result in long exposures. Do

not use built-in and external flash units together. Fuji

recommends its own flash unit, the strobe GA which will allow

operation in auto mode. When ISO 100 film is used and aperture

to F8, you can take pictures in automatic exposure mode.