Went on a short hike today and my body was aching from riding my bicycle. Might be time to sell the bicycle?
Ordered a new lens today. Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED-IF AF-S DX. It’s an old one. Should be coming later this week.
Free puppies! Looks like they have some pit in them. Oh no! Good luck fellows!
Tennessee has so many hidden gems to discover and I’ve become greedy and I want to keep them a secret. Lots of people are moving to Tennessee and the parks are becoming overcrowded. So grab a map and start exploring!
Well my hiking camera is definitely the Nikon D40 and I’m starting to really like the Nikon 18-55mm VR. It really is a great lens like Ken Rockwell has stated a long time ago. Light and inexpensive these days.
I was thinking about drinking some of this water at a different location in this area. Near the cabin in the picture above, but I am not sure how clean the water really is? The water comes from limestone caves and caverns below the surface. Bats live there, so I had that on my mind.
This first photo is a reflection off the water that I inverted.
Some geese have returned early it seems.
The geese below are synchronized.
Lots of rain the past week in Cumberland county, Tennessee.
My equipment for the day was the Nikon D40 and the Nikon 18-55mm VR lens. Now in a previous article I wrote my distain for the Nikon 18-55mm VR lens. But my back/spine has a different opinion and sometimes that opinion decides what camera and lens goes on the hike.
So I park my truck and put on my early winter hat. Check my gear for a slow two hour hike. The first place I go is a short walk to a very nice deck overlooking Obed River. The river is moving fast this time of year!
Then I proceeded to walk down a trail toward the bridge that crosses the Obed river. Sometimes you can catch some folks in kayaks running the rapids.
So maybe my opinion of the Nikon 18-55mm 1: 3.5-5.6G VR AF-S DX is a little better this time around. Now you are not going to get the colors of these photos, unless you play with the saturation and white balance in post-editing! This is a cheap lens for under 50 bucks these days and just a beater to tramp around the woods with. Have fun and don’t sweat the small stuff!!!
The biggest hazard with ice is getting cracked on the head, when the temperature starts heating up.
Check that tree above! Hanging over the lip of the cliff!
Proceeding down the mountain you come across an area that is popular with rock climbers.
Get smacked on the head with a big ice rock and you die in heaven!
Experience the Obed in Tennessee! Smell you later!!!
I took a day trip to the Hiwassee wildlife refuge in Tennessee. My camera gear was the Nikon D70, Nikon 70-210mm f/4-5.6 and a tripod.
I read about the sandhill cranes at the Hiwassee wildlife refuge. Apple maps got me in the vicinity and then I spotted a boat ramp from afar. There were some observation decks to overlook the broken bottles, trash and sandhill cranes. Seems I need to return with a garbage bag and leave the camera at home. Some lady had her dog unleashed chasing the sandhill cranes. Nice.
The old Buddha proverb that says, ” the best camera is the one you have.” So I was kinda impressed when I looked at the photos on my computer and even had one printed out poster size (20″x30″) and hanging on my wall now.
Probably my biggest complaint about the Nikon D70 is the small lcd screen, which makes it hard to see if the exposure is correct. But the white balance is pretty damn good where you don’t have to adjust it. So you take your chances with gut instinct and experience, like the old film days. Is it okay to complain about a camera that was introduced in 2004?
I probably have less than 100 dollars in this old kit. Fun.
Now do i wish they all could be California girls? Yes! Do I lust to be able to zoom-in with built in stabilization on a 15 thousand dollar lens? Yes! Plus the latest Nikon camera, kevlar kayak and a polkadot Subaru? Yes!
Which brings me to that song:
Well, East Coast girls are hip
I really dig those styles they wear
And the Southern girls with the way they talk
They knock me out when I’m down there
The Midwest farmer’s daughters
Really make you feel alright
And the Northern girls with the way they kiss
They keep their boyfriends warm at night….
