thomas_jakubowski

Mark,

While living and working in Idaho three years ago, one of my goals that year was to go cross-country skiing with friends in Yellowstone, taking photos while there. The evening before, I went to a party where friends told me of their experience the previous weekend.

They had rented a snow-mobile ($100/day) and rented special snowsuits ($50/each). When they finally reached Old Faithful Geiser 31 miles later, they were greeted by "...one thousand other smoke-spitters..."

I spent the next morning sleeping in at my apartment. I didn't go skiing there.

Tom Jakubowski

Anthony,

I "discovered" some very nice stock of greeting card folders and appropriately sized envelopes at Arvey, a Chicago printers' supply firm that probably has marketing channels elsewhere in the US.

The stock that I buy is called "Marble Panel Folders." The only reference about its source is "Brilliant by Williamhouse, SKU 29291." It comes in three or four muted colors, each sheet contains two folders. So long as a I can produce a color image 4 inches by 2 and three fourths and positioned exactly (MS Publisher), the result is a very pleasing note card. This worked OK on my Canon 4100 printer, and superb on my Epson 1270 printer.

I haven't found an outside box with the appropriate dimensions, but the sets that I've sold were bundled with pink or red ribbons.

Hope this helps.

Tom Jakubowski

Mark,

There are no good answers to your questions. These digital cameras use chips and hard-coded software from several different manufactures. These chips may, or may not, be standardized across the different companies. In any case, spectral response is not static.

This situation is analogous to 35mm film and cameras used in the 40's and 50's: each film was different in spectral response, and there was large batch-to-batch variablity there as well.

My only advice is to try it, see if you like it, and tell the rest of us about it.

Tom Jakubowski

Mark,

Having completed my graduate education at the University of Arizona in Tucson, I can tell you that this city boy was in for some surprises when it came to water. The city and county highway departments which put up the signs "DIP" and "do not cross when flooded" in the arroyas really mean it. I tried to cross Speedway Blvd with only a couple of inches flowing across the pavement, and was lucky to come out of it with the lower interior of my car soaked in muddy water.

It is near impossible to determine how bad the arroyo flood will be because the water may be coming from twenty miles away. Heed the warning signs in July, August, and into mid-September. This holds true for northern as well as southern Arizona.

I'm planning a trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks

after Labor Day, and would appreciate some advice regarding the

dangers posed by the forest fires in SW Montana.

Having lived in Idaho for a short time recently, I know where I want

to do my photography; Northern Idaho (Salmon and Bitteroot NF's) are

not interesting now. Is it just plain dumb to put myself in harm's

way? What's the prospect for fires in Yellowstone and Grand Tetons

NP's this season?

What about the Canyonlands in Southeast Utah?

Any advice?

Tom Jakubowski

Steve,

If you are younger than 25 yrs, I can understand all your chasing around. The truth be told, relax and enjoy your trip. Drive to Superior, AZ, instead, and visit the Boyce Thompson Botanic Gardens. Lots of picture material in a short time. Another possibility is Sedona, AZ. Really wonderful shots of huge red mountains and green vegetation.

If you still insist on the Grand Canyon, limit your activities to the South Rim; the North Rim is another 250 miles (one way), and probably will not be open until sometime in April. I preferred driving AZ route 180 northwest of Flagstaff. Check in at the Ranger Station ASAP; they can tell you quickly what's do-able and what isn't. If you routinely compete in IronMan events while packing all your photographic gear, then allowing a full day's hike in and out of the canyon MAY be do-able.

Sunrises are spectacular from the South Rim; just make sure everything is ready, because once you blink, it's over. The further east you go along the rim road, the better; most tourists position themselves on a outcrop about 1-2 miles east of the lodges. Inquire locally for more secluded spots. Be prepared for lots of reddish orange casts to the west and very sharp shadows during sunrise. I wasn't prepared for it, and lost a grand opportunity to experiment.

Depending on time of month, you might want to try your hand at astrophotography if you have a very stable tripod and long lenses. There's plenty of heaven to see if the moon is in its darkest phase; the Grand Canyon is generally considered to be the darkest spot on the North American Continent at no moon. Even with a full moon, you may be able to position yourself so that you can shoot under moonlight. Lots of possibilities. Bring along different sets of UV/Haze filters and a good polarizing filter - if there is dust in the air, you will need them to bring more clarity and drama to your photos.

El Tovar Hotel is the premium lodging property on the rim, with Bright Angel Lodge a distant second, but on the rim as well. Don't expect a swimming pool at either. Breakfasts at El Tovar are expensive but wonderful. The concierge may even hook you up with one or two people looking for that "different shot."

You can probably tell from my writing that I loved it there. I lived in Tucson for 18 months many moons ago, and would go back in a heartbeat if an income opportunity presented itself.

Luck with your plans !!

For those of you contemplating Yellowstone in Winter:

Sometime between the second and third week in March, the park closes to all traffic, snowmobiles and arctic cats included, in anticipation of spring thaws. Three years ago, I didn't think that thaws were on the way in March, but both Yellowstone and Grand Tetons were closed. It was a disappointment to me.

Inquire locally before you go.

TJ

Naperville

Dan,

Addendum to the above.

Believe it or not, US copyright law is written to benefit the individual. This came out of a course on IP I took at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, CO.

I recommend one of the books: "Patent It Yourself," I don't remember the author as I keep the book at home.

Dan,

Having managed a portfolio of intellectual property recently (patent, patents pending, design patents, copyrights, trademarks), I can write that, when your job with the firm is to produce this IP, there's little question about who owns what. It is reasonable for your employer to demand that you assign the IP over to them.

Beyond that, it becomes ugly. Frequently, you may be asked to assign any IP automatically at the time of first employment. This is a negotiable consideration, regardless of how you or your future employer feel about it. There are perfectly good reasons not to sign such an agreement.

You make take a photo on your lunch hour, paying for your own equipment and processing, entrance fee to the site, etc. In theory, that image is yours. If you happen to win an award for that photo, your employer may attempt to gain control over that property (prestige, glamour, whatever), claiming that your were using a company vehicle while taking the photo.

The hidden agenda is that your employer's legal staff knows full well that the cost of litigation far exceeds your own resources to protect that property. The company can gain significant benefit for little cost. At this point, you will find out who your friends are.

Your best recourse is to apply for copyright as soon as possible. It will cost a modest sum (last I recall it was $30) for your submission to the Library of Congress. You are on much firmer ground as a holder of the copyright, unless there was obvious intent to deceive.

Good luck to you !!

TJ

If anybody wants side-by-side photo comparisons between this lamp with no filter and this lamp with an 80A (blue) filter, please respond and I will send it to you via e-mail attachment.

Regards,

Tom J

Dip,

Having lived in Southeast Idaho, a mere 110 miles from the West Yellowstone entrance, I can tell you that it is still cold. Idaho Falls is at 4500 ft / 1500 m elevation, and the park itself is at 7500-8000 ft. There is still snow. If you are of the more adventurous type, try this backroads entrance (the nature and landscape photos I took during this adventure became popular greeting cards among my friends):

Find Ashton, ID and travel east on ID 47 several miles. Go east on Marysville road until you reach Cave Falls road. If you haven't wimped out at this point, go east some more and you will find "Kodak Moments" aplenty. This is bear country, so do be careful. Remember to pay your entrance fee ($20).

Grand Tetons NP is next door, so plan on going there as well. Our favorite was the ferry on Jenny lake - the water is so clear that you can see numerous trout ignoring the popcorn that tourists have tossed.

Have a wonderful trip!

Of course! Flowers photographed in my studio during the winter.

TJ

Does anybody know which filter to use with daylight film and a light

source that is nominally rated at 3000K? A quick glance at Kodak's

Wratten Web site indicated an 82A filter for an incandescent source.

My source is a special "warm" fluorescent light that I use to help

combat seasonal affective disorder. It's here, paid for, it works for

SAD, what else can I do with it?

Dan,

Forgot to mention: the mirror lens was engineered for use as a macro lens as well as long-distance. I take photos of objects as close as 8 foot away.

Regards,

TJ

Dan,

I purchased a ProMaster 500 mm mirror lens (f/8) (Schmidt-Cassegraine)last summer for use on an Olympus OM-1n camera; the photos that it help me to produce sold for $100 each at my very first photo exhibition. This lens let me take pictures like nothing I have produced before.

Let's get some things straight. This lens is hard to use, primarily because it is a fixed f-stop; exposure is controlled solely through shutter speed. Focusing is an issue too, because the depth-of-field is narrow; also, you need a tripod to stabilize things.

So much for the bad news. Because I have something of a background in optics, I recognized that reflective lens systems are devoid of chromatic and spheric abberations, neatly side-stepping these very important refractive optics issues. Light reflects off only two surfaces, then goes on to the imaging optics (1 or 2 refractive lenses).

On the other hand, a typical refractive lens of such long focal length may involve 15-20 elements, each with its own coating(s). Light travels through these lenses, through each coating, and the light hitting the film ultimately has been refracted 30 - 40 times. That's why these lenses cost so much; they must be engineered to minimize (minimize, not eliminate) chromatic and spherical abberations. And lets not forget about the light loss going through so many elements and surfaces.

I LOVE this lens. Everybody told me not to buy it because it was so hard to use. OK, everybody is entitled to their opinion. The trick here was to use that narrow depth of field to my advantage. Only the subject of interest was in focus; everyting in back or in front of it was highly blurred. The blurring gave an aura of mystery to each photo. That's why people were willing to buy them from me to hang on their walls.

I can only tell you that when I showed my photos to others (photographers as well as lay folk), the responses ranged from "...Oh my..." to gasps of disbelief. I'm not joking about this. It was quite rewarding to see these responses - it made all the hard work worth while.

Regards,

TJ

The North Rim is closed, but I don't know if the Park Service closes it, or it is simply impassable. It is a rough drive, but you will see more of the real canyon if you can make it there.

The South Rim is actually pretty nice as well. I was there a few years back in late December and had no trouble booking a room at the El Tovar Lodge - the premium hotel there.

There usually is snow on the South Rim, so photo opportunities will be there for the picking. Dawn and Dusk were especially nice. I only wish I could go visit there again. There's a general store there where you can pick up supplies - it's more like a Safeway or Jewel or Smiths or Albertsons.

You also might want to try the diagonal road going northwest from Flagstaff. It's shorter, you go through national forest, and there is even a ski mountain somewhere along the way.

Good luck

tj

Randy,

Having lived in Southeast Idaho recently, both Yellowstone and Grand Tetons were daytrips for me. If you do travel in January, make sure you are dressed warmly, because it does get quite cold. The humidity is low, but there is still a danger of lens fog-up.

I wanted to go cross country-skiing while there, but friends advised me that snowmobile is the only way. That's the route they took (out of West Yellowstone, MT) and were apalled to see about 1000 snowmobiles clustered around Old Faithful. If you are still game, go during an off-day (no holidays). You can rent these machines, along with heavy parkas and pants, for about $100-150 per day. Go with a friend (significant other, hopefully), because it gets lonely there quickly. By the way, Yellowstone closes down to ALL traffic sometime in early March.

You might want to try X-country skiing at nearby Harriman (Idaho) State Park, just south of Island park. That was my favorite spot, because some of the streams and waters do not freeze. THIS IS A GREAT BIRDWATCHING AND PHOTOGRAPHING RESERVE. Bring your own skis, either rented in West Yellowstone, or in Idaho Falls (about 75 miles south). I fell in love with this place during my first ski trip there. Again, go with a partner - these places are no place to be should trouble arise.

Having lived in southeast Idaho for a year - 1997 - visits to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons were day trips for me. I had cycled both parks - Yellowstone was better than Grand Tetons.

Early to Mid-June is still cold; there's still considerable snow in the high country, and it won't melt until sometime after the fourth of July.

There's a "back entrance" to Yellowstone from the Idaho side. Check a good map and you will see a county road going east from Ashton, Idaho toward Wyoming. The pavement turns to oiled stone, then to ruts with puddles. I made it through with my '89 Toyota Camry. I won't tell you where the "Kodak Moments" are, you'll know when you see them. It's bear country, so be careful.

Harriman State Park, in Idaho toward the Montana state line, offers very pleasant surroundings with: cycling, horseback riding, world class salmon fishing, and photography delights - part of Harriman is a nature reserve. Bring mosquito repellent Just a little to the east are Upper and Lower Falls, a rustic preserve with flora and fauna if you are willing to scout-about and wait for good shots. Landscapes and closeup, you have them there.

There's another wildlife sanctuary about 30 miles north of Idaho Falls on I-15. I don't remember the name, but believe me, you will spend much of your time looking at less-commonly observed birds.

So why am I not in Idaho anymore? My family was back home, and I got homesick.

Would love to get back for a mini-vacation there.

Regards,

Tom J

Why doesn't anybody discuss mirror lenses? I purchased one this summer (500 mm), it definitely requires a tripod, and focusing is critical because of the narrow depth. Not for everybody.

On the plus side, at my very first photo exhibit, I sold $300 of my flower pictures, and people are asking for more. I think this positive side far outweighs the negatives, because it made me think twice, even three times about composition, exposure, and focus. Because I believe in starting with good material, there was very little done in the way of reprocessing the fine prints that people purchased from me.

Flat flowers? Not hardly! Excitement and emotion? Oh, yes!

Peter,

I have an optics background, so making my most recent selection of a lens was based on cold physics. I purchased a mirror lens (Schmidt_Cassegrain). 500 mm. $250.

Here's what I didn't get:

1. chromatic and spherical aberration - reflective optics by definition do not carry the same baggage as refractive optics.

2. bulk and length: the lens weighs in at about 10 ounces, and is about 6 inches long. there's no need to counterbalance a camera with 20 inches of lens while sitting on a tripod. Believe me, this lens was easy to carry and to change.

3. Poor Photographs: By definition, these lenses have only a small depth of field. For example, the Promaster I purchased has only about = inch at 12 feet. This could be considered a (fatal) flaw, but I used it to my advantage. I do flower photography, and was able to come up with shots as never before. Flower is in focus, foreground and background completely out of focus, and now I have prize-winning photos that started out as mere photographic studies.

4. Poorly lit/exposed photos: This particular model has a diameter of 3.5 in for the primary mirror. That alone pulls in plenty of light.

Caveats:

This lens has a fixed focal length, which means that you cannot use a camera body that offers autofocus. It also means that you control your exposure by modifying exposure time. My experience has been with an Olympus OM-1 camera. Once I mastered the focusing of this camera/lens combination, I produced photos so impressive that my wife actually wants them hanging on the living room walls!

I spent a recent year living in Southeast Idaho - Idaho Falls - and "discovered" a backdoor route into Yellowstone National Parm (you could probably reach Grand Tetons on this route, but I haven't tried it).

Drive up US Route 20 north to Ashton, ID, go east on one of the major roads - you'll need a road atlas - and you will find driving a real challenge; at least I did, but then I only had an old toyota camry. The paved road turns to oiled rock then to dirt track. As you cross over into Wyoming, the pavement turns to smooth asphalt, and you will see a small 3x5 ft. sign welcoming you to Yellowstone. Better pay your fee, because every once in a while the ranger comes to collect. The trip was difficult, but then the rewards were high as well.

THIS IS BEAR COUNTRY, SO IT'S BEST TO BE WARY.

There are plenty of snowmobile trails in this area, so if it's winter when you come (starts sometime in November) you'll need to rent one.