Sometimes Things Don't Go According to Plan
My hope was to present a kick ass landscape photo of the low valley fog from about 3000’ above sea level last week. I got up nice and early, but it wasn’t early enough. You see, I’m kinda fat and slow. And even though I have reasonable endurance and a fair share of pluck, waking up at 5:00 AM at 700’ ASL to drive to 2,000’ ASL (15 minutes) and then to hike to 3,200’ ASL by 6:21 AM (sunrise) simply wasn’t a reality. I have learned. I am better for it, and I need to get faster and wake up earlier.
When we arrived at the top of Spruce Peak, we were greeted with a faint view of what could be. If the high clouds just lifted a bit, this could be awesome. I grabbed a quick hand shot of it.
you can almost make out a decent picture…
Of course, as I was setting up the tripod and mounting the camera, WHOOSH! Hello fog.
fek
We wandered down to the pond on the ridge to see if anything was better… not much.
meh
Sometimes what you go out looking for isn’t what you windup finding. I had my heart set on a cool high up landscape. Honestly, I knew I wasn’t going to get that before I even left the car. But going out anyway, and not bagging the trip or finding something easier or quicker gave me some of the better photos I’ve ever taken. Enter the Coonhound.
“aww shucks, me?” Miss G
While there was no love off in the distance, G was especially docile and cooperative (probably owing to the 5AM wake up call). This led to some of the only tack sharp photos I have ever gotten of her. Photographing a dog ain’t easy. Doing it while they are leashed to you is harder. Photographing a Coonhound while leashed is damn near impossible. I’m starting to figure out where I need to be to photograph her snout on (waaaay friggin closer and at f/4 or higher), and the results are making me just freakin happy.
We made some changes to our photography setup and are trying some new things here at Wandering Hounds Central. It’s nothing big. We’re still using an awesome 5 year old camera and one prime lens (anyone who wants to buy me a Fuji 16mm f/1.4 or an X-T3 is more than welcome to). But we are playing with a neat new strap setup from Peak Design and I just downloaded a 30 day trial of CaptureOne. Maybe there will be a few things hanging out in the gear tab in a couple of weeks! It’s been quiet down there.
I also need to figure out what to do with this thing…
Seriously… inquiring minds want to know.
Until then, enjoy a dog who has realized that her stick of choice was not something she could move. She wisely decided to enjoy it in place.