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Edinburgh, Scotland, 6/7/10
Back in the summer of 2010 we went to Scotland. That trip was actually the catalyst for this blog; we posted from most of our stops throughout the trip. We had a blast and learned a lot about the country. We also learned a lot about Scotch, whisky without an “e” (whiskey everywhere else has an “e”). While we were in Edinburgh, our first stop, we went into the Royal Mile Whiskies shop in order to get advice and to procure some libations to both enjoy during the balance of our trip and to bring home. The very nice gentleman in the shop suggested we go to a bar down the street where we could enjoy a flight of Scotch (4 different kinds) then return and make an informed purchase. Which is what we did. We came back and told him the one we liked the best and he burst out laughing. We have expensive taste — it was $150. We didn’t buy it. We suggested our second choice, it may have been Glenmorangie, and he refused to sell it to us. He said we could buy it in the states and that it didn’t make sense to lug back a bottle we could buy at home. He was a sensible man. He sold us a bottle of Balblair 97 and we went away happy.
The first (but not the last) distillery we toured was Glenmorangie. It was interesting, we saw cool stuff and learned how Scotch is made, but the highlight was in the tasting room. We had taken the tour with four English gentlemen and while in the tasting room we got to talking. I taught them how American Bourbon is made and they, in return, taught us how to properly drink Scotch, specifically Single Malt Scotch. The secret is to drink it neat (which we knew) and add just a touch of water (which we didn’t). Not a lot is needed, just a few drops, but it’s amazing what a change it makes to the flavor of the dram.
Whisky Cheat Sheet, Edinburgh, Scotland, 6/7/10
Since then I have been enjoying the pleasures of Single Malt Whisky. Not all the time, and not a lot, but regularly. And I’ve started branching out. Up until recently I’ve been enjoying various types of Glenmorangie (which happens to be the best selling single malt in Scotland). If you’ll refer to the photo to the right, taken in the bar I mentioned in Edinburgh where we enjoyed that first flight, you’ll see that Glenmorangie generally falls into the lower right quadrant, Rich & Delicate. While in Scotland I recall enjoying the Talisker (another distillery we toured) and Oban, both of which fall in the opposite quadrant: Light & Smoky. And by Smoky they mean “Peaty” which needs to be experienced rather than described. With that in mind, recently I’ve been (really) enjoying the Laphroaig. Today I bought a bottle of the Ardbeg and thought I’d have a bit of a tasting (see the photo below). I’m not one to go all high-brow with the tastes (no “flavor of nuts with a hint of orange” for me)…it’s either I like it, it’s OK, or I don’t.
So, what’s the verdict? The Balblair was my least favorite, kind of bland to my taste. The Glenmorangie (a 12-year-old aged in part in Sherry casks) is good: light and not liable to overpower. The real winners in my eyes are the over-the-top smoky ones: the Laphroaig and Ardbeg. I’m not yet sure which I like best … I need to go try them again. Right now.
And I’ll be continuing my research in the years to come.
Note from the other drinker: John’s favorites are not mine. I do not like the smoky, peaty ones. At all. They taste, well, like liquid peat. If I have to drink Whisky, I prefer the Rich & Delicate flavors (or flavours, if you will). But really, just give me some rum.
The inspiration for this post, 5/11/13
Our English Tutors, Tain, Scotland, 6/10/10
Where the Magic Happens @ the Talisker Distillery, Skye, Scotland, 6/11/10
A pub in the middle of nowhere, Skye, Scotland, 6/13/10
The Oban Distillery, Oban, Scotland, 6/14/10
Everywhere we walked today, and we walked many miles, we saw flowers. Most of them were tulips, which came as a surprise to us. Our New York friends tell us that they are a common sight here since 9/11 when Denmark gifted them to the city. They certainly provide color to this city and a ready target for my camera.
So here we are in Manhattan enjoying the sights and showing the city to our friends who are here for the first time. The weather is beautiful and the people on the streets are, as always, interesting. I’ll be keeping this short because I’d rather be out and about than typing on an iPad, but here are some shots from yesterday that start to capture this place and the time we’re having.
Last time I talked about what I have. This time it’s how I use this stuff while we’re on the road. The type of trip we’re going to take obviously effects what I take and how I use it. A long weekend visiting family when I know it’s all about being social will usually involve the Point & Shoot and that’s it. If we decide to take a laptop along for other reasons then perhaps I’ll back the photos up to it, but I don’t consider that a requirement. Laptop means weight, as well as cables and chargers to hump around, so for a quick visit I just drop the P&S into the bag with (maybe) a spare battery. Easy-peasy.
For true vacations I bring more gear, both camera stuff and backup equipment. These usually fall into two categories. If we’re taking a car-based trip (like the trip last year to the Southwest or to Scotland a few years back), I’ll bring the 7D, most, if not all, of my lenses, miscellaneous crap and an appropriate bag to shlup it all around in. Sometimes I’ll bring the tripod or monopod if I can find the space in the luggage. I also bring the Garmin GPS. Every morning I start a new track on the Garmin and it’s off we go. I’ll shoot all day and, because we tend to go to “target rich environments,” I may take several hundred shots. When we finally end the day wherever we plan to lay our heads, I back this data up … and I’m a bit anal about this. My view is that we may only pass this way once so I want to ensure that I don’t lose anything. Historically we’ve taken a laptop, currently a Mac Air, along. This allows us the luxury of having a reliable storage location as well as serving as access to the web to update this blog. (Side note: this blog was started when we went to Scotland. Updating was easy pretty much everywhere we went.) I also back up the GPS track to the laptop, but this is a bit over the top, even for me. Once the data is on the laptop, I copy it to an external drive. I now have three copies of everything (originals, laptop, external drive) and I can sleep well that night.
We are currently experimenting with traveling MUCH lighter, particularly when heading to urban locations where we won’t have a car. In this case I take a much smaller bag with only the 10-22mm and 24-105mm lenses (and maybe the 50mm since it weighs next to nothing). Instead of the laptop, we take a mini-iPad which is nice for books and web access but, in my opinion, is woefully lacking for photo storage. I’ve solved this with the Sanho Colorspace Photo Storage Device (PSD). This little gadget rocks. It has card slots for both CF and SD cards. I just slide the cards in, hit a couple of buttons and the shots are sucked up and stored on the internal hard drive. It will even do incremental backups, so no duplicates are created. I can then attach my external drive and create a second copy (backup the backup). If I want to post some shots, I use the wireless dongle to transfer the selected shots to the iPad and use the mobile WordPress app to create a post. Light and compact. Sweet.
That’s the theory anyway. We’ll be testing this whole “travel light” scheme when we head to the island of Manhattan in the near future. Stay tuned for that.
Here are a couple of gratuitous shots, since this IS a photo blog. Concert shots.
RIP Richie Hayward, Little Feat
Orlando, FL, 3/5/06
Cesar Rosas & David Hidalgo, Los Lobos
Denver, CO, 11/2/06
The Nighthawks
Cocoa Beach, FL, 3/10/13
Coco Montoya
Indian Harbor Beach, FL, 2/25/07
My basic kit
Taken with my phone. When you’re taking pictures of your camera gear, you use what’s left over!
OK, so here’s the first in a series of posts that I’ve been meaning to do for awhile. To my wife’s relief, it will be a short series. I thought I’d post on a) what photo gear I travel with, b) how I deal with the photos I take while on the road and c) my process once I get home. See? Short series.
My main camera is the Canon 7D. If we’re going on what is potentially a “once-in-a-lifetime” trip this body is with me. Heavy? Yup. Worth it? Totally. It takes great pictures at a good pixel count and has all of the features that I could reasonably need, including a menu feature that allows me to change settings via the rear display. This feature is nice for this middle-aged photographer because the settings are displayed in a nice large font that does not require me to put on my glasses. It’s the little things in life.
I have finally arrived at what is, for me, a perfect set of lenses. I’m a firm believer in getting a good body and then investing in great glass. My basic walk-about lens is the Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS. On the 7d the focal range translates to about 38-170mm, which is more than adequate for most situations. My long lens is the Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS (effective focal length 112-320mm) and this thing takes gorgeous pictures. I love love love using it for portraits. It’s much lighter and smaller than its close relation, the 70-200f2.8L, but the image stabilization makes it a wash for me. I just wish it wasn’t white; it really stands out. For wide work, mostly landscapes, I use the Canon 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 (effective focal range 16-35mm). Again, beautiful shots. I once rented this lens for an urban photo tour I was taking. When I received it, I took some test shots with it. As I brought them up on the computer Patti walked by, saw them and said “you need that lens.” She bought it for me for Christmas that year. Does she rock, or what? The last lens I own is known as the “nifty 50”: the Canon 50mm f/1.8. Best bang for the buck out there … it’s now about $125, I paid about $70. It’s fast, extremely light and takes nice shots, particularly in low light.
We have a couple of point-and-shoot cameras. We have an Olympus 720SW “waterproof,” which I’m shocked to discover you can still get from Amazon. It takes great photos, even under water. We’ve had it for years, treated it pretty roughly and it keeps on taking nice shots. I can strongly recommend this line of cameras. Last summer we bought the Canon S100 for our trip to the American Southwest. I wanted a P&S that I could have more control over and, after researching the issue, decided on this. Patti ended up taking 900+ shots (and several videos), many of which you simply can’t tell weren’t taken with the DSLR. While limited in many respects, it completely fills the niche I wanted it to.
Two more significant items to mention: the Garmin Dakota 10 GPS & the Sanho Colorspace UDMA 2 Photo Storage Device. I use the Garmin to record my daily movement while on the road and utilize the tracks to tag my photos when I get home. More on this in a later post. The Sanho is my latest addition, allowing me to back up my photos to its drive, to an external hard disk, or even to an iDevice. Again, more on this later.
The rest of the gear in the photo is basic miscellaneous stuff: the Canon 580EX flash, Manfrotto mono-pod, CF cards, spare batteries, filters, cleaning equipment, etc…. I should point out that I do NOT carry all of this crap on every trip. If we’re on a car-based trip, I may bring most, if not all (plus laptops). When we go lighter, to an urban area for example, I carry a subset of what you see.
That’s my stuff. Except for my camera bags. Don’t even get me started on bags.
Outside Bozeman, MT, 6/30/07
Canon 70-200@135mm, f/4@1/125
Bryce Canyon, UT, 7/30/12
Canon 10-22@19mm, f/16@1/320
Catacombs, Paris, Fr, 12/8/05
Canon 50mm, f/2.8@1/30
Sand Hill Crane, Moss Park, Orange County, FL, 11/11/12
We went out last weekend to break in our new travel trailer. We had originally planned to go to Jetty Park in Cape Canaveral three weeks ago, but Tropical Storm/Hurricane Sandy screwed up those plans for us. She ended up screwing a lot of things for a lot of people, so we’re not complaining too much. Instead we headed out to Moss Park, a local favorite of ours. It’s an Orange County park nestled between Lake Hart and Lake Mary Jane with a relatively recently remodeled campground. New, clean bathrooms, spacious sites and wide roads that are very easy to maneuver on. (Unless, of course, you’re having a heart attack. We were camping here last Presidents Day when I was suffering from what turned out to be my “cardiac event”. I could not back my trailer into an extremely wide site to save my life, even with the help of a kind neighbor. Looking back I was certainly “cognitively impaired” from the event…at least more impaired than normal. Feel free to insert jokes here.)
One of the things we like about this place are the critters that stroll through at all hours of the day. Deer, racoons, armadillos, Fox Squirrels and turtles have all made appearances. The most common critter in the campground is a protected bird: the Sand Hill Crane. They are tall, noisy birds that stroll around their habitat like they own the place which, in a sense, they do. They are protected in Florida and it’s common to see road signs warning of their presence and to find traffic stopped, even on major roads, while they stroll across the street. They are everywhere at Moss Park and we have had many experiences with them. (They also serve the function of an alarm clock, honking to each other VERY LOUDLY at dawn.) This trip I put on one of my better lenses and got some very nice shots.
Oh, we also had a nice weekend roughing it with the new trailer. Sitting outside with a beer in my hand watching the NFL on the HD TV mounted on the side of the Winnebago was out of character for me, but certainly appealing in its own way.
PS: Be sure to click on the pictures to look at them full size. A couple of them are pretty cool.
Sand Hill Crane, Moss Park, Orange County, FL, 11/11/12
Sand Hill Crane, Moss Park, Orange County, FL, 11/11/12
Young Buck, Moss Park, Orange County, FL, 11/11/12
Cruising, Moss Park, Orange County, FL, 11/11/12
Roughing It, Moss Park, Orange County, FL, 11/11/12
Capitol Reef National Park, 8/2/12
After finally getting a hot shower, we left Bryce and hit Utah Route 12 for the drive to Torrey and Capitol Reef National Park. This whole leg was a result of research back in Florida. The Rt 12 drive was described as a “must do” by the folks on TripAdvisor and it is easy to see why. It has been designated a “National Scenic Byway” and, even more impressively, an All American Road. We needed to go north anyway in order to get back to Salt Lake City, so this was a no-brainer.
Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, 8/1/12
And what a beautiful drive it was, too. Impressive scenery, some sphincter-tightening moments, a great lunch and some unplanned turn-offs all combined for a very enjoyable day. The first unplanned stop was at the Escalante Petrified Forest State Park (it’s easy to find while traveling north…just hang a left after the Airstream-themed Drive-In/Campground) where we met a very nice young lady who took our entrance fee. Since there was nobody behind us, we spoke for a bit and asked her what else we should see on the way to Torrey. She STRONGLY recommended that we drive down the Burr Trail where, about 11.5 miles in, there was a nice slot canyon we could walk into. We took a hike in the park where Patti saw petrified wood for the first time, then we pressed on. In Boulder, we stopped for a delicious lunch at Hell’s Backbone Grill where they also recommended the Burr Trail. After doing the Anasazi State Park Museum, and getting yet another Burr Trail recommendation, we headed down the Burr Trail Scenic Backway. The narrow, winding road connects Boulder, Utah, to Capitol Reef and continues on to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. We wished we were in our own truck rather than a rental car so that we could keep on going but a segment of it is unpaved. It’s a stunning drive through red canyons and scrub land. We found the slot canyon without a problem, right at 11.5 miles, and got out to explore. It was raining not too far off, though, so we didn’t linger.
Torrey, UT, 8/1/12
We arrived in Torrey with plenty of daylight left, so we ducked into Capitol Reef for a bit. Stopped at the visitor’s center where the ranger told us to check out the petroglyphs that were close by. We got there just as a herd of deer moved through an orchard, complete with a fawn frolicking through the trees. After seeing the glyphs, we headed back to our hotel just outside the park. At dinner that night, Patti got her second “first” of the day when she saw hummingbirds at a feeder just outside the restaurant window. It was pretty spectacular and I got some nice photos and even a movie.
Next morning, our last on the road, we explored Capitol Reef some more, enough to know we need to come back. Lots of beautiful scenery in this lightly visited park. We also got to participate a bit in the park’s 75th birthday celebration (yummy cupcakes), took a scenic hike to Hickman Bridge, picked peaches in one of the orchards (free if eaten there, $1/lb otherwise), bought some delicious pies and preserves (which we’re still enjoying), took many more photos, then headed up the road to Salt Lake City and eventually, home. Road Trip 2012 was over. Bummer.
Slot Canyon, 11.5 miles ESE of Boulder, UT, 8/1/12
Slot Canyon, 11.5 miles ESE of Boulder, UT, 8/1/12
Capitol Reef National Park, 8/1/12
Petroglyphs, Capitol Reef National Park, 8/1/12
Hickmans Bridge, Capitol Reef National Park, 8/2/12
Orchard, Capitol Reef National Park, 8/2/12
Capitol Reef National Park, 8/2/12
When we first started planning this trip, I was pretty excited about visiting Bryce. Photographing the bizarre hoodoos, particularly at sunrise, was another item that was on my must-do list. Plus there were a couple of trails a short walk from the lodge that were within our level of expertise/fitness and crazy beautiful at the same time. Lots to look forward to.
We got to the park after a short and pleasant drive from Zion. It was drizzling when we arrived, so we tried to check in right away, but it was way too early and they told us to return at 4:00. OK, we figured it shouldn’t be too hard to find something to do and we were right. We got our first look at the canyon, and the hoodoos, from Inspiration Point. I’ve gotta tell you, Mother Nature sure is a strange bird. The hoodoos are just indescribable, all shades of oranges, whites, grays. The structures reminded me of those I had seen in caves in Virginia and West Virginia, except under a blue sky instead of a low ceiling. I knew I was going to enjoy photographing this place.
We went on and completely overloaded on the views at Bryce Point, Paria View and Sunset Point before heading back to the lobby a few minutes before 4:00. They made us wait again, which I felt was odd. Finally, at the stroke of 4:00, a nice lady started to check us in and we found out what was up: while upgrading the lodge’s plumbing the workers had busted the water main. No water, no they didn’t know when it would be back on, I’d be happy to get you a bag of ice from the kitchen. On the way to the room I saw a guy obviously opening a buried valve and sure enough we had running water in about an hour. No big deal.
Sunrise Point, BCNP, 7/31/12
The next morning I got up very early in order to shoot the sunrise while Patti elected to remain horizontal. As I was heading towards the door with my gear, the fire alarm went off. Loudly. Patti rolled out of bed, got dressed and joined me to walk to the rim of the canyon on a brisk morning before sunrise. She was thrilled. While waiting for the sun, we finally heard the alarm stop, so Patti retreated to the showers while I shot the amazing sunrise. The colors changed by the moment. That 20 minutes lived up to the anticipation.
After breakfast Patti and I packed up some water and the cameras and walked down the Navajo Loop Trail, through Wall Street and back up the Queen’s Garden Trail. About 3 hours and it also lived up to the hype. The canyon is even more impressive when you’re down in it. We drove the park that afternoon, from Rainbow Point back to the lodge. A couple of adult beverages, a nice dinner and we were ready for a mellow night. I was heading to bed, where Patti was already into her book, when the fire alarm went off. Again. Twenty minutes of standing around outside (at least we had put our clothes on, two British girls were out there in their night gowns wrapped in towels) and we were let back in.
The next morning I quickly discovered that there was no hot water. Great. After a dirty breakfast (we were dirty, not the food), we went back to our room where hot water awaited. To be fair, all of these escapades were a result of a single event, the water main break, and they did give us a break on the bill.
Interestingly, while Bryce easily met all of my high expectations, we would probably prefer to return to either Zion or the North Rim before returning here. This isn’t to knock Bryce in any way. It’s just how much we loved the other two. The reality is, we’ll be back to all of them.
Sunrise, BCNP, 7/31/12
Wall Street, BCNP, 7/31/12
Navajo Loop Trail, BCNP, 7/31/12
Queen Victoria, BCNP, 7/31/12
Queen’s Garden Loop Trail, BCNP, 7/31/12
Natural Bridge, BCNP, 7/31/12
Zion Lodge, ZNP, 7/29/12
After breakfast and a walk out to Bright Angel Point, we hit the road to Zion. After about a 3 hour leisurely drive, including a nice stop for lunch in Kanab, we found ourselves marveling once again at a landscape that was different from what we had seen so far. Shortly after entering the east entrance of the park, we pulled off just before the second of two tunnels and walked the Canyon Overlook Trail to, well, the Canyon Overlook. It was hot but spectacular, with a beautiful panoramic view down Zion Canyon that included the very winding road we were about to drive.
From there we pressed on to the Zion Lodge, which is located in the narrow valley between two towering cliffs. This portion of Zion National Park is so busy that you are only allowed to drive your car in if you are staying at the lodge, and even then you can only drive straight to the lodge. Otherwise, it’s all shuttle bus access. Our cabin was comfortable and the experience was nice, but next time we’ll stay in Springdale which is located just outside the park. More restaurants while still maintaining easy access to the park.
Cowboy Bob, ZNP, 7/29/12
Next morning it was up and out to a horseback ride with Cowboy Bob, and what a character he is. Married 49 years (to an obviously very patient woman), he spent 26 years in the Navy (including 3 tours in Viet Nam on river boats) and the rest of his life being a cowboy. He was very funny, in a bad joke kind of way, and provided us with a very pleasurable 1.5 hour ride to The Court of the Patriarchs. Just beautiful and lots-o-fun. We also met a very nice woman from Philly whose husband and sons were hiking the Narrows.
After our horsey experience, we hopped the shuttle to the end of the line at the Temple of Sinawava and walked up the Riverside Walk. This was as crowded as 5th Avenue at lunch time and, although beautiful, there were just too many damn people. We walked a couple of miles then it was back to the lodge for a cold beer. That evening we took a tour on an open air tram with a guide who was a physicist by training. He was a nice, knowledgeable guy who took us around explaining the valley to us in a way we could understand. I just wish it was in a way I could remember, because most of what he said, but not all, is lost to me now. It was a lot of fun and a very mellow evening.
Next morning we were up early and took a quick walk to the Lower Emerald Pool and got some cool photos from behind the waterfall. Then it was time to leave Zion and head to Bryce. We were pleasantly surprised by Zion. It was the park I had probably prepared for the least and therefore knew the least about, but it’s the one that’s probably near the top of the list to go back to. There’s a lot to do (hike the Narrows, hike to Angels Landing) that we didn’t get a crack at this time. We’ll be back.
View of Zion Canyon from the Canyon Overlook, ZNP, 7/28/12
Moon over The Watchman, ZNP, 7/28/12
Court Of The Patriarchs, ZNP, 7/29/12
The Virgin River, ZNP, 7/29/12
The Lower Emerald Pool, ZNP, 7/30/12
The Altar Of Sacrifice, ZNP, 7/30/12
Cape Final, GCNP, 7/27/12
The North Rim marked the beginning of our taking walks (or hikes, depending upon your definition). Our first night at the lodge, Patti crashed early as a result of taking seasickness pills earlier in the day for our tour of Lake Powell. Never one to miss an opportunity, I walked out to Bright Angel Point in order to shoot the sunset. The pictures were completely worth the effort, but what I hadn’t taken into account was that we were at about 8300 feet, which is about 8290 more than I’m used to. The walk back up to the lodge was an eye opener for me. Surprisingly, that was the only time I was significantly out of breath during this trip. Which is not to say the only time I was out of breath.
The next day we got in the car and checked out, in order, Point Imperial, Cape Royal (which includes Angel’s Window) and a nice hike to Cape Final, followed by some cold beers on the lodge veranda. Since our priorities on this road trip were, in no particular order, to see cool stuff, do some walking/hiking, take beautiful pictures, and relax/not knock ourselves out, this day can be marked as a complete success. This was also the first real test of my recently upgraded cardiovascular system which seemed to pass admirably.
When we got home and I started scrubbing the photos we took, I realized that many of them lend themselves to being cropped into panoramas. Here are some from our time at the North Rim. I’m already looking forward to returning to explore more. We only touched the surface on this trip!
Near the North Rim Lodge, GCNP, 7/26/12
Sunset at the North Rim Lodge, GCNP, 7/26/12
View from Cape Final, GCNP, 7/27/12
Sunset at the North Rim Lodge, GCNP, 7/27/12
Sunset at the North Rim Lodge, GCNP, 7/27/12
The World as We See It 