Iron_Dreamer

No pics this time, Ed... But it was some proper fun!

There will be more to come tomorrow once I am home. I hate editing photos on this crappy laptop screen.

Long live the man, the myth, the legend...the one and only Gene!

Using Vicki's portable coffee cup on the plane now. Too bad the TSA is not a fan of coffee grinders on the aircraft or the whole set could have gone to my benefit tonight.

There really wasn't any dragging required. Mos was certainly an upgrade from the last such experience (in LA). Very good value (assuming you didn't buy the whole store . Now time to wait for the inevitable release of the Headamp Venus.

Last man left typing, apparently. See you all tomorrow!

Welcome to Virgin Airlines!

Heading out to the airport now!

Well I'm in Marin, just minutes from Mayberry, getting ready to jet off with Grahame in the morning. See you peeps in Florida! I have a D700 / 50 1.4 / 15 fisheye / 150 macro / 24-120 zoom / sb 400 in the camera bag, so I am pretty set for most stuff I can that I'd want to shoot, FWIW. Yeah gene, just toss that 'pod in the trunk of your car, I might have you haul it out if I see a need.

Wow, the excitement is building! A bit of work to finish off tomorrow morning and I am off to Grahame's to begin this epic.

Ditto, Happy Birthday Gene! See ya in a week.

One week and counting! Boy, am I psyched!

I just hate the fact that they couldn't even come up with their own ideas (based on what I saw in the commercial) and are content to just rehash what (real) Top Gear has already done. At this point my attitude is good riddance, the less they sully the name (and logo, and format, and ideas, and ....) of Top Gear, the better.

Have a great Birthday, JP#s!

More or less. When your baseline is the JH13, it's hard to get too enthusiastic about most headphones.

Moon Audio had a pair at RMAF. I though they sounded pretty solid, nothing glaringly wrong. I don't know that the price is justified, but I only had a short listen. They certainly seemed promising as far as closed headphones go, and better than any other closed Beyers without a doubt.

The 35/2 does seem to be one of the favored Zeiss primes along with the 21 and 100MP. At least the night shot you posted, seems to have issues more to due with exposure and harsh lighting, than anything to do with the lens.

I could easily make you one appropriately sized for your desktop. Just PM me your email and preferred resolution. Glad to see my photography somehow reflects my musical preferences

I imagine that Grahame and I probably will get in around 9pm or so, factoring in picking up the car and the drive from MCO. I was going to talk to him about this also, probably for Monday, since Grahame and I have to drive back to Orlando to fly out anyway. Sounds like a good recipe to me! Did not know that Wayne. All the more reason for Matt and I to go hijack it.

I'm sure we can figure something out

I'm currently using a Photoclam PC40 with a Kirk L-Plate for my D700. Both work great, I have no complaints. I would definitely look at Photoclam as an optimal value in this arena. Giottos does have some cheaper heads that use the Arca system (I used to use the MH1300), but the ballheads aren't as smooth moving as the Photoclam, and have more sag when tightening them up (important for telephoto or macro shots). Same goes for the Benro B-# series. You can certainly get by with such heads, but you might be annoyed from time to time. Photoclam is the cheapest high quality ballhead solution I've found. Generally, a custom camera plate will stay on the camera better. The small, square "starter" plates that are included with many heads are better suited to going on the feet of telephoto lenses, as on a camera body they tend to rotate, and need frequent tightening. Of course an L-plate is the ultimate solution, allowing easy movement from landscape to portrait orientation, but it is generally a luxury, and don't sweat it if you can't afford it at the beginning.

Thanks for the nice comments everyone. I was certainly having the time of my life out there. Of course, now I just want to set the compass back to Utah again! So many great places I didn't get to. Good thing I've got a lot of years ahead of me. I don't think it's the same place. I think you were here and I was here. I almost went to Red Rock Canyon when in Vegas in September, but just didn't have the time. I won't miss it next time, and I'd really like to hike Mt. Charleston as well.

Ideological zealotry?

As some or many of you may know, I decided to turn a visit to last month's Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in Denver into a week-plus epic road trip through the southwest. While I certainly couldn't visit every amazing place this part of the country has to offer, that didn't stop me from trying at a breakneck pace. To my delight, I found more amazing sights than I ever could have imagined, including many excellent surprises. Here is a collection of photos from the journey. Of course, there are many more, but this felt like an appropriate representation. From Cali to Denver: Just outside an I-70 rest stop, Central Utah A chilly morning in Maroon Bells, near Aspen, Colorado... ...and the local moose, my only company that morning Independence Pass Road above Aspen, over 12,000ft An amusing ode in one of Colorado's highest cities Climbing some rock, again above 12,000ft, this time in Rocky Mountain National Park Mt. Chapin and quaking Aspen, Rocky Mountain National Park A quaint stream just off a busy road, Rocky Mountain National Park Moonlight hiking with Justin on Colorado Mines Peak above Empire, Colorado Looking down at Berthoud Pass Road And now the way back! Sandstone walls of Arches National Park glistening in the moonlight First light on the aptly named Landscape Arch And a hiker finds the breathtakingly perched Partition Arch The White Rim of the Green River Canyon, Canyonlands National park Sun setting over Schafer Canyon, Canyonlands National park Morning Sun bestowed on the Capitol Gorge, Capitol Reef National Park Mile after mile of this displaced earth splits Utah in Capitol Reef National Park Meadows of quaking Aspen dotted Boulder Mountain, Utah And the nearby Grand Staircase holds countless acres of remarkable rock The hoodoos of Bryce Canyon National Park make it a popular destination: The deep color of Zion Canyon towers in the early dawn hours And Zion National Park's distinctive colored peaks rise into the morning clouds Seeming impossible colors rise from the desert floor in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada Amazingly, this little-known wonder is less than an hour's drive from the Vegas Strip:

The van it should be, then! Rubbish to drive, but then again, I'm sure Orlando to Tampa isn't exactly the PCH.