doug andrews

Ellis,

I'm new to Lightrroom and I don't see where there is an option to set Clarity at +10 or choose either a Portrait Sharpening setting or Landscape Sharpening whre creating a Development preset. All I can do is check the box for Clarity and Sharpening. Obviously I'm missing something.

Andrews Bald does have some nice azalea on it, but propbably won't be until well into May before they start blooming at that altitude. Check out the Elkmont area. That area has quite a few old summer cottages in it assuming the park service hasn't knocked them all down. Also check out the Roaring Fork area just outside Gatlinburg.

The park is open 365 days a year. However, not all facilities and roads are open 365 days a year. Trail Ridge Road doesn't open until Memorial Day Weekend. In early May, the lower valleys and parks (Moraigne and Horseshoe) will be starting to green up. Still early for wildflowers. Wouldn't be surprised if Bear Lake still has ice on it. All but the lower trails will be snow bound. Probably the snow will be so packed from winter hiking that they'll be icy.

 

You could always head south to Colorado Springs and photograph Garden of the Gods park. Or you could head out to the Pawnee Grasslands in NE Colorado and photograph the Pawnee Buttes. It'll be greener there than in RMNP.

"Unless you plan to have one for each activity"

 

Ummmm, thats exactly what the original poster is seeking to do.

Given these two statements by the original poster:

"....I'm looking for a head to use with it (Manfrotto 3001BN tripod) when hiking, backpacking, traveling."

"...the BH-40 put it's outside of my price range..."

 

Why anyone would recommend the BH-55 or the Arca Swiss Z1 is beyond me. Seems to me the BH-55 and Arca Swiss Z1 is complete overkill in both the needs and price consideration of the original poster.

 

Jarred, check out the Kirk BH-3 ballhead. Its about the equivalent of the RRS BH-40, but much cheaper.

I shoot landscapes 99% of the time. The superior AF, high frame rate and high ISO capabilities on the D300 aren't something that prompts me to upgrade. However, those feature definitely make the D300 a significant improvement over the D200. Personnaly, I'm waiting for a higher MP full frame camera from Nikon before seriously considering an upgrade.

I own and regularly use a Nikon D200 and a Fuji GW 670III. The best of both worlds. I shoot primarily landscapes. Even when using my D200, I don't rattle of hundreds of shots per outing like most people do. On average maybe 30-50 digital shots and 3-5 shots with my MF camera. I just have a very slow and deliberate style. So for me, the cost benefit with digital of shooting massive amounts of shots compared to film isn't that important a factor compared to being able to absolutely nail the exposure via the histogram while I'm out there. I would be extremely unhappy if I had to choose between just one.

I own a Kirk BH-1 and my experience is similar to Ryan Taylor.

I own the Slingshot 200 and love it. Not familiar with your tripod setup, but I have a lightweight hiking tripod and I just don't feel good attaching it to the Slingshot. I have the same concern as you, the loop holder doesn't seem to really be meant to carry a tripod. It is wonderfully easy to access a camera. You do have to be more careful when changing lenses. I've used mine enough now that I have the padded inserts set such that I can completely unzip it to swap lenses and filters and stuff. I'm still careful when doing this cause spills can and do happen. I've worn mine for several hours on several mile hikes and it has been very comfortable. Haven't worn it all day as you plan on doing though. To me the convenience of not having to take the Slingshot completely off to get to everything I'm carrying is worth the price of not being able to attach my tripod.

 

My gear includes a Nikon D200 w/ L-plate, 18-35mm, 50mm, sometimes a Fuji GW 670III medium format camera (have to remove the 50mm lens when carrying this camera), several filters including polarizers, GNDs, GND holder, lens hoods, Petzl headlamp, remote cable releases, pocket knife, microfiber cloth, small anti-static cleaning brush, small Giotto Rocket Blower, spare battery, extra CF cards, and a bandana. My hiking tripod is a Slik Pro 340DX with a Kirk BH-1 ballhead.

Just a correction. The Bison rut occurs in August and will be over by mid-September. However, the Elk rut should be just beginning by then.

I live in Colorado and when I used Provia 100F, it definitely needed an 81A and sometimes an 81B filter when shot at high altitude. IMHO, Provia 100F has an affinity for blue and this really shows up at altitude. I would leave the 81A filter on all the time with this film. An 81A filter would also be a good idea with Velvia 100F in the instances you mentioned (shade and cloudy). If you don't want to worry about color shifts at all, shoot with Astia. It scans like a dream and you can then adjust contrast, saturation, etc. to your liking later in Photoshop.

Quick access with that much gear in the Slingshot 200 ain't gonna happen. I can get my D200 with 18-35mm lens, a Fuji GW670, a 50mm, and filters. It's absolutely stuffed and doesn't allow for quick access for everything, but I don't like carrying my Nature Trekker (which includes my 80-200mm lens and all the other odds and ends I use infrequently) for dayhikes. The 300 would hold the stuff you listed better.

I've been using a Slingshot 200 for a year now and have never had what Mitch is describing happen. I suppose its possible, but you'd have to help the contents fall out. And you could always re-arrange the dividers if you feel a spill may occur.

I've only been to Glen Canyon/Lake Powell area once and that was on a drive fron Kanab, UT to Page AZ. Still, I thought the photo opportunities on that stretch of drive were nice. If you've never been to the area, I believe just about anywhere could keep you occupied for a day.<div></div>

Hmmm. I use PSP 9 and I've never had this problem. I'd be interested to here some solutions for future reference.

I also have the 50mm f1.8 made in China. Works wonderfully and is sharp as a tack. Just get the lens and let the snobs worry about where it was manufactured.

Well I just successfully placed an order for an extra battery from B&H. However there are closed until the 15th, so it won't ship for another week. I've waited this long for an extra battery, what's one more week. Just glad they got'em in stock finally.

Actually Moab is only about 1.5 hours from Grand Junction.

Garden Rose<div></div>

3 days. Jeez, thats hardly worth the effort of driving from Chicago. On top of that, you are gonna spend about 75% of your time in the car if you wanna do sunrise in Grand Teton and then drive to Yellowstone (and back) each day. Seriously, either spend all of your time in Grand Teton or all in Yellowstone.

 

If you insist on trying to kill two birds (and yourself) with one stone, Flagg Ranch is located just south of the South Entrance to Yellowstone. From here you're at least 30-45 minutes from the Oxbow Bend area in Grand Teton (closest good sunrise spot) and the Old Faithful area in Yellowstone. Better call'em now to see if they have any openings for this September.

If its truly a once in a lifetime trip, then I'd definitely consider Kent Staubus' list very seriously.

I agree with Brett. I shoot landscapes with both Velvia and Astia, but use them according to the conditions. One of the reasons being how well each films scan. For scenes with strong light and lots of contrast I use Astia. For scenes in overcast light and low contrast, I use Velvia. Generally speaking though, I get much nicer scans from Astia than Velvia. And the Astia scans are much easier to fine tune the saturation, color cast, contrast, etc. than Velvia scans. Astia has just about become my go to landscape slide film.

I have a Lowepro Slingshot 200 which I really like when I just want to carry a few items around.

I have a regular coated Heliopan polarizer for all my 77mm front thread lenses (which the Nikkor 18-35mm lens is). Works like a charm and doesn't vignette. However I can't use it in conjunction with any other filter because it will vignette. If you can afford it, get a slim filter. I highly recommend Heliopan follwed by B+W brand filters.

I had this exact problem with my Scan Dual IV. I sent it back to Minolta and it still had the same problem. Frustrating to say the least. I discovered that I had to have the scanner plugged into its own USB port. It didn't like sharing a USB hub with other devices. Once I plugged into a dedicated USB port on my computer, the focus feature worked fine.