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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jan 28, 2010 - 02:43am PT
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Another attempt at photographing the Moon and Half-Dome
Ed Hartouni
January 27, 2010
The initial attempt in November didn't pan out... although I did get a rather nice image in the alpine glow of sunset. Recall the TR
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=1023115
That Moon was full on December 2 and there was an outside chance to get the "blue moon" on December 31 but for the storms... no way to get it with Half Dome. To shoot that picture you need to do it the week before the full moon, as the Sun is still up and illuminating everything else around.
So this week was the next attempt, and today was the day for me. The Moon will be full this Saturday, January 30 so time was running out, and the weather windows have been very tight.
My planning provided this schedule, and a position in the meadow to the north of Camp Curry (anyone know what that meadow is called?).
with the Moon visible around 4:15pm. The weather report was for mostly sunny during the day, and mostly cloudy at night. The question what, when did day become night for the weather service?
Driving in I caught views of the Sierra starting at Altamont Pass. I shot down 99 to avoid the ice at Big Oak Flats and Crane Flats... and could see the Sierra, and even spot Half Dome (I believe) around Turlock down until the clouds closed in at Merced. Perhaps next moon will shoot rising over Half Dome from the Central Valley.
Once in the park I met Werner on his way out to check conditions at the Cookie. Lots of snow around. We talked for a bit and then went on our individual missions.
Parking in the Ice Rink parking and walking out into the meadow was more difficult than I imagined it would be. The snow in the meadow is about knee high. Fortunately I heeded Werner's recommendation to wear gaiters and boots, which I had. But post holing for even that little distance on the flat was work.
I stomped out a platform and set up. It was a beautiful day...
and I was taking pictures by 2pm. I had my digital and the film camera loaded with Black and White (Ilford Pan F Plus ASA 50), I also had the Flip Mino HD...
You can see the cloud action...
The clouds blew in from the north-west, would hit Half-Dome, then wrap around the NWFace and exit on the east side.
I was hoping for some great atmospheric effects... but it didn't look promising as the cloud cover was rather thick. Taking a quick "age appropriate" break I shot down on the Merced River, always amazing light in the winter...
I didn't see the Moon rise, too much cloud cover... I thought this was not going to end well for the Moon shots, but I noticed a gap in the cloud cover and at 4:40pm the Moon unveiled
Though I was still shooting around the clouds.. and in deep shadow...
After shooting the roll of B&W and putting the film camera away I continued to snap shots with the digital after setting its ISO to 400.... the alpinglow was marvelous, and the sky so clear the Moon seemed just out of reach.
When I get the B&W film back on Friday I'll post some from that sequence of images. Also I'll post some video tomorrow.
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Cpt0bvi0u5
Trad climber
Merced CA
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Jan 28, 2010 - 03:02am PT
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Good stuff! Cant wait to see more mate
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Route Loser
Trad climber
Lake Almanor/Chico, CA
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Jan 28, 2010 - 03:03am PT
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Stoneman Meadow, I believe? Very nice.
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MH2
climber
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Jan 28, 2010 - 03:20am PT
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Nice!
Should 'conjunction' refer to the joint occurrence of only 2 events?
If we take
In astronomy: The position of two celestial bodies on the celestial sphere when they have the same celestial longitude.
Then we have a conjunction plus Half Dome thrown in for good measure.
Better look up celestial, now. Always learn stuff with Ed.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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Jan 28, 2010 - 03:21am PT
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noyce!
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 28, 2010 - 03:46am PT
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I have always liked time to sit and just watch... and today was wonderful for that, 6 hours alone watching the clouds and light play on granite. I was just an observer waiting to see the magic.
Here is 5 minute of my day today, in real time...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXV3naTIOcM
...the Moon had risen, and was hiding behind those clouds..
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MH2
climber
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Jan 28, 2010 - 04:30am PT
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Here is 5 minute of my day today
That is GREAT!
Real time in more than one sense.
Cured my headache, too.
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Tobia
Social climber
GA
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Jan 28, 2010 - 05:02am PT
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Feels like I was practically there with you via your pictures, thanks.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Jan 28, 2010 - 05:07am PT
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Nice.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Jan 28, 2010 - 08:38am PT
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Magnificent, Ed! Did you get a movie of yourself taking stills?
careful in that Stoneman meadow, they kill hippies there, haha.
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TKingsbury
Trad climber
MT
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Jan 28, 2010 - 09:57am PT
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a beautiful mission ed!
thank you for sharing
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Jan 28, 2010 - 10:06am PT
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Thanks Ed.
Your photography is wonderful!!!!!
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 28, 2010 - 10:40am PT
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he wrote about it in one of his books, Ansel Adams... and it was much discussed recently...
not quite that lucky, but the conditions are rare enough...
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Slakkey
Big Wall climber
From Back to Big Wall Baby
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Jan 28, 2010 - 11:10am PT
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So often the case when we go to Yoesmite we are so focused on climbing. However I often like to take some time and just sit and enjoy the surroundings Very nice TR and some great pictures too.
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Jan 28, 2010 - 11:36am PT
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Great stuff Ed.
Those are beautiful pictures, whether you got "the" shot you are after or not.
Keep at it, you'll get it.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Jan 28, 2010 - 11:59am PT
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nice way to spend a week day
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Double D
climber
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Jan 28, 2010 - 12:08pm PT
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Very cool Ed. Although there is a small element of "luck" involved with good photographs, most of it involves foresight, vision and perseverance which you've dialed in.
Thanks for the post and incredible pictures.
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JOEY.F
Social climber
sebastopol
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Jan 28, 2010 - 12:15pm PT
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Beautiful photos Ed, I can really feel the moment in them.
Superior mental health day tr!
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scottpedition
climber
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Jan 28, 2010 - 12:52pm PT
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Great planning leading up to gorgeous pictures. I'm glad you got away from the hustle-n-bustle for a day to enjoy a quiet, majestic day. Sounds (and looks) wonderful.
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micronut
Trad climber
fresno, ca
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Jan 28, 2010 - 12:55pm PT
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What a way to spend a day. John Muir and Ansel musta done that a thousand times. Just sittin around, watchin the glory unfold. We should all be so fortunate to do it a bit more often. Thanks for the images.
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aguacaliente
climber
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Jan 28, 2010 - 01:00pm PT
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Cool trip and nice pictures. I like the second from last. It can be difficult to bring something new to such a heavily photographed landscape but your report and the pictures and the persistence in not "ideal" conditions do that.
I'm sort of disturbed to learn from the screenshot that Google Earth is tracking Bear #81.34, though. These radio collars are getting out of hand.
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Nate D
climber
San Francisco
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Jan 28, 2010 - 01:10pm PT
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Thank you for sharing!
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Dirka
Trad climber
SF
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Jan 28, 2010 - 01:22pm PT
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Ed is the man! Great pictures. You werent tempted to climb a little bit on all those rocks?
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crunch
Social climber
CO
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Jan 28, 2010 - 02:13pm PT
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Excellent pictures Ed. I love the dramatic clouds and the dark sky.
I stumbled onto a similar set up November 2008. This was taken from the Falls Trail, a few switchbacks up. The clouds refused to move fully out of the way of the moon, and by the time I got to a clear viewpoint it was kinda too late, but that's how it goes sometimes.
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Jingy
Social climber
Nowhere
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Jan 28, 2010 - 03:42pm PT
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Thanks Ed.. Great stuff...
Glad you had a chance to observe.... in peace!!!
Cheers
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Ricky D
Trad climber
Sierra Westside
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Jan 28, 2010 - 09:46pm PT
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Thank you so much Ed - best 10 minutes of the day has made my day.
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Ricardo Cabeza
climber
All Over.
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Jan 28, 2010 - 10:29pm PT
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Thanks, Ed.
Those shots are great, and the historical perspective makes it better!
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 28, 2010 - 11:12pm PT
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thanks for the comments all...
great image crunch! a friend of mine used to say that "90% of life is just showing up" it was great to be there and being forced to capture what was rather than what I thought it would be...
I never got to talk with Ansel Adams, it would have been interesting, perhaps... but when reading his written accounts about visualization I would dissociate it from time. Visualization seemed like such a static process. But as I started to photograph more I realized that I was "visualizing" the image in anticipation of the image... like shooting a climber on a climb I was familiar with, knowing what the sequence of moves would be and waiting to click the shutter until I had the pose I was looking for, without posing the climber. Then doing the same on climbs I hadn't done, but read the move sequence, and waited for the image.
This is such an improvisational process that it took me a while to realize that it happens in almost everything I've been shooting, since I generally shoot in situations where I have little control over the conditions. I can position myself, decide on cropping, decide on exposure, but wait for everything else.
I don't know if that was what Adams was saying, but now after my attempts at repeating some of his images I have a vastly greater appreciation of his ability to visualize the image in time, and the grand improvisations that he performed with nature which resulted in his art.
Like anything else genius, it appears so effortless.
And so it was yesterday, when I was riffing off the weather... it was not effortless, I'm not sure I got to where I wanted to be with it all... but I certainly learned a lot and it was artistically recreational.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 29, 2010 - 11:48pm PT
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Got the roll of black & white back.
The film is Ilford Pan F Plus which has ISO 50, it is a wonderful film... I'm really happy with it. These are all taken with my Nikon FM2N.
Here is a quick first pass... these 8-bit jpegs aren't as rich as the 16-bit tiffs
My actual position was 11S0273348, 4180182, 1211m
lens: Nikkor 50mm f1.4 + Nikon Teleconverter TC-200 2x
filter: Hoya HMC Red (25A)
exposure: f11, 1/2 s
lens: Nikkor 50mm f1.4 + Nikon Teleconverter TC-200 2x
filter: Hoya HMC Yellow (K2) + Skylight (1B)
exposure: f11, 1/8 s
lens: Nikkor 50mm f1.4 + Nikon Teleconverter TC-200 2x
filter: Hoya HMC Yellow (K2) + Skylight (1B)
exposure: f5.6, 1/15 s
lens: Nikkor 50mm f1.4 + Nikon Teleconverter TC-200 2x
filter: Hoya HMC Red (25A)
exposure: f4, 1/15 s
lens: Nikkor 50mm f1.4 + Nikon Teleconverter TC-200 2x
filter: Hoya HMC Red (25A)
exposure: f2.6, 1/15 s
lens: Nikkor 24mm f2.8
filter: Hoya HMC Red (25A)
exposure: f4, 1/15 s
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Double D
climber
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Jan 30, 2010 - 12:35am PT
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Sweet!
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
climber
. . . not !
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Jan 30, 2010 - 01:12pm PT
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That little cloud that gets in-between the porcelain wall/diving board and the face can be nice . I took this from up in the talus below the apron BITD . I only have the contact sheet image now .
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 30, 2010 - 03:02pm PT
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it's fun to learn about how to use the mist and clouds to provide three dimensionality to the images... it greatly enhances the "seeing" aspect of being in the Valley...
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goatboy smellz
climber
लघिमा
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Jan 30, 2010 - 06:40pm PT
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Stellar views Ed!
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CF
climber
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Jan 30, 2010 - 08:24pm PT
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Last nights moon
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 30, 2010 - 08:36pm PT
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pretty CF,
very soft
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john hansen
climber
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Jan 31, 2010 - 02:10pm PT
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Here is one I took at almost the exact same time as Ed,s , 4:47 pm Wednesday Jan 27th from the bridge. the moon was obscured by clouds and farther to the left than from Eds location in the meadow
Got a couple others of the moon over Sentinal Spire I will post later.
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crunch
Social climber
CO
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Jan 31, 2010 - 02:30pm PT
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Love the B&W shots Ed, more atmospheric, more dramatic. B&W #3 is my favorite.
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Slakkey
Big Wall climber
From Back to Big Wall Baby
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Jan 31, 2010 - 02:31pm PT
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I also like the BW shots sweet
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 31, 2010 - 02:58pm PT
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I've been working on printing the B&W shots... so far my favorites (which means I've gotten satisfactory prints) are #1 and #3... #2 doesn't have a lot going on in it, but if you're a climber the entire RNWF is in view, lit by the slanting rays... and #4 has a better Moon then #3, but too much of Half-Dome is obscured to provide the tension between "dark and light" that diagonals down the image from the top right corner to the lower left corner on #3.
...I've got an idea for #5, to crop it vertically, and for #6 where I can do a good job bringing the detail out in the deep shadows of the trees at the bottom of the picture....
Got to go on a suburban hike to acquire more ink...
the film has an unbelievable tonal range... and the 35mm format is blowing up to 12"x18" without much grain...
I'm having a lot of fun with these!
John, I had calculated positions for the Moon rise from Glacier Point Apron, and also from the Wawona Tunnel view, which were too far south for the shot I was looking for... I wasn't sure how well the Stoneman Meadow would be, but given the weather it was a great place....
I'll do some calculations for Feb... I have another photog project in the works anyway...
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
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Jan 31, 2010 - 03:03pm PT
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Wow, John, that's a unique shot!!!!
Nice!~!
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 31, 2010 - 03:37pm PT
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I can't believe Gobee photo-bombed my photo thread!
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 31, 2010 - 11:07pm PT
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After playing around and printing them:
lens: Nikkor 50mm f1.4 + Nikon Teleconverter TC-200 2x
filter: Hoya HMC Red (25A)
exposure: f11, 1/2 s
lens: Nikkor 50mm f1.4 + Nikon Teleconverter TC-200 2x
filter: Hoya HMC Yellow (K2) + Skylight (1B)
exposure: f11, 1/8 s
lens: Nikkor 50mm f1.4 + Nikon Teleconverter TC-200 2x
filter: Hoya HMC Yellow (K2) + Skylight (1B)
exposure: f5.6, 1/15 s
lens: Nikkor 50mm f1.4 + Nikon Teleconverter TC-200 2x
filter: Hoya HMC Red (25A)
exposure: f4, 1/15 s
lens: Nikkor 50mm f1.4 + Nikon Teleconverter TC-200 2x
filter: Hoya HMC Red (25A)
exposure: f2.6, 1/15 s
lens: Nikkor 24mm f2.8
filter: Hoya HMC Red (25A)
exposure: f4, 1/15 s
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justthemaid
climber
Jim Henson's Basement
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Jan 31, 2010 - 11:25pm PT
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Thanks for posting Ed.
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ron gomez
Trad climber
fallbrook,ca
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Great work Ed, some great shots and I envy you being able to do what you do! That Gobee thingamajig???????????????????????????????????????????????????
Peace
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le_bruce
climber
Oakland: what's not to love?
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Just beautiful, thanks so much for sharing this.
I really enjoyed the video.
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nutjob
Trad climber
Berkeley, CA
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Ed, I love how you weave together your analytical and creative sides, joining your mind and your heart to share with us the beauty you see.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Jebus, Ed! How do you find the time to do this, edit your movies and still be a mad scientist?
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 3, 2010 - 02:24am PT
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I'm not climbing... so I've got time (unfortunately)
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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I have always liked time to sit and just watch... and today was wonderful for that, 6 hours alone watching the clouds and light play on granite. I was just an observer waiting to see the magic.
And you say you don't meditate or have a spiritual life?
Don't worry, I won't tell anyone over on the Run to Dugout thread.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 3, 2010 - 03:04pm PT
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I'm not sure I ever said I didn't have a spiritual meditative side of my life...
...I think that is an inference people draw. I liked Karl's observations, but I don't think the outcome will be quite what Karl expects.
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