Castle Rocks, Sequoia National Park

“A Study in Black and White





Spent the day in Sequoia yesterday :)




last edited: 1/03/05 1:38:55 PM”

“WW those are breathtaking. Can I borrow one for my blog?
last edited: 1/03/05 1:40:05 PM”

“Sweet!

B&W photos are so very cool! Thanks for sharing.”

“Spirit Coyote be my guest.”

“i think i just came”

“Cool images Windwalker, Do you do all your photo's on digital? Do you make silver pints of these?”

“Ah, I do miss those mountains!”

“WW, did you shoot black and white or process into black and white? They are phenomenal.”

“flatlander matt- 100% Digital haven't made any silver prints yet. Been using Kodak Professional Endura Metalic paper for some of my B&W prints though.

Karen these were shot in color but there was so little color to these I thought they would look better in B&W I converted them in Photoshop.”

“Very nice, thanks for sharing.”

“Cool shots WW. Did you go on your vacation yet?”

“WW, very good idea. I think that would improve some of my Winterfest shots. I really like the look.”

“Yeah Mike my vacation is over...didn't really get to go anywhere. My Dad passed away just before Christmas so I stayed pretty close to home with my Mom and family. The weather wasn't really cooperating anyway.”

“Sorry to hear about your dad.”

“very nice WW thanks for sharing”

“Later in the day I was following this Bobcat up a drainage trying to get a good shot of her/him when I felt like something was watching me...looked up the hill and saw this little fella watching me...





Never got a really good shot of the Bobcat...just evidence of it's presence.”

“just evidence of it's presence.”
Wind Walker
Still a good picture.

Sorry to hear about your Dad.”

“Very niiice shots! What beautiful places and creatures!”

“Thanks Y'all!”

“Thanks for sharing Windwalker! The buck's horns almost look like a perfect circle... The black and whites with the rock and snow are awesome....”

“great shots michael....how far away were you from the buck and the bobcat??”

“Wonderful pictures WW!!!”

“The bobcat blends with his environment. I'm surprised he let you see him at all.

If I want to put a photo on TT, is there a simple process? I have tried right and left clicking on everything I can see to click on. I'm obviously missing something :(”

“Do you prefer Wind Walker or Michael? I saw someone call you Michael and I don't want to feel that others are part of your inner circle of trust and I'm like waaay outside of it and stuff and calling you some other distant name that's not even really yours if you prefer to be addressed by your real name, if you know whadda mean. I just wanna be plugged in, that's all I'm asking.”

“Just don't call him Sally.

Nice pics Sal......er, Mike”

“Wind Walker, I 'm just curious about the digital. I shoot large format landscapes, but I have a friend who shoots wildlife, 35mm.We have been discussing the digital, anyway . Have you printed any of your shots with a enlarger with a digital head on fiber paper, or seen any of this work. Viewing on a PC it is hard to get a feel of what you are looking at. Your work is some of the best I've seen and I like the fact that you are straight forward about the photo shop work, and the fact that you shoot your wildlife in the wild. Most folks do not realize that most of the wildlife photography that they see today is shot in zoos or studios and then digitally imaged on to a back ground. I think it was Art Wolf who got called on this a few years ago. The printing is what I was wondering about, even in large format if you print on a color base paper it's seems to have a flat look to it. So, I was curious if you had shot a bw and had it printed it, traditionally on graded fiber paper. Again GREAT WORK”

“Hey Buck, I think you could call him anything, just not late for dinner!

Nice Bobcat shot, a rare site indeed!”

“Very nice photos, especially the bobcat!”

“Buck, are you saying you want to be inside the circle of trust? ;)

flatlander matt I have seen some fabulous B&Ws. Most of the printing is done digitally now...even the film based photos are scanned in to digital form and then printed. Check out West Coast ImagingThey could very well be the best in the business. They print digital museum quality selenium toned silver gelatin but it's pretty expensive.”

“Nice! Where were you taking the pictures from? Amphitheater Point by chance?
last edited: 1/04/05 10:54:30 AM”

“I would have to say that bobcats aren't very rare around here where WindWalker and I roam. I see about a dozen a year. They are however difficult to get a picture of before they disappear into the brush!”

“All beautiful Picts WW!
I have always loved black & white mountain photos. Oh how very lucky you were to see a beautiful bobcat..he or she really does blend in well. I have never seen a bobcat..how much do you think he or she weighed? And your picture of the deer is also beautiful.

What a beautiful area..was this a very long hike to get a good look at the castle rocks?
Thank you for sharing
I am so sorry to hear about your Father”

“Nice photos....
I've had some of my color digital photos processed at a professional processer--They printed at 200 dpi for a 16x20-- hardly any grain at all-- and still look like traditional photos....

Of course, I did my own color- boosting and correcting, so the images looked the way I wanted them to....

Haven't tried with B/W yet...It would be interesting to see how they might look vs. the color images.... :-)

That bobcat picture is neat. I think I may have seen one near my house (How big are they?) I could have sworn that I saw a very LARGE cat, with pointed ears once last summer-- It had to be about 2 feet tall.... but Thinkbubelz thought I might be mistaken.... (although we also have 3 deer in our neighborhood that seem to hide in the small patch of wooded area--even thought it's pretty suburban and a lot of hustle and bustle, so who knows?!)

Sorry to hear about your dad....It's very sad to lose a family member around the holidays... :-(”

“Cool site WW, but like you said costly. I use a pro lab from time to time and they use a similar process, drum scanner and so on. The investment into the digital lab is very costly from what I\'ve seen. I turn out a low volume of prints and guess I'm stuck with my trays and drum for now. I use the view camera not as much for the resolution, but to compose the scene and to control the geometry and so forth. I still use a 35mm camera and a 6x7 from time to time, but for what I use them for I think that I will buy a Digital for my next camera.Good luck and I look forward to seeing more of your work.”

“I think I need to offer something...... First, I promise not to get carried away posting mediocre photos. Second, DOUBLE chocolate-covered espresso beans the next time I hike with you if you tell me how to post a picture on TT. Please...... Any takers?”

“wannabp,

The photo has to be on a website. Once there you can copy the URL by right-clicking on the picture, select "Properties" and copying the Address (URL)of the picture. Then use the IMG button on this board, pasting the Address between the two IMG tags..
last edited: 1/04/05 7:41:34 PM”

“Gonzo- about 100-125' or so (400mm lens)

Bearcrossing- True we saw 3 Bobcats on Sunday. I shot Castle rocks from the side of the road. I had pulled over to take a picture of a Red Tail, who imediately flew away. I had a nice view of Castle Rocks...so I decided to explore a little with that 400mm lens.

Maidintahoe- 20-30 Lbs? All tooth and nail :)

Karen- You owe Mike some beans...LOL!

Thanks to you all for the kind words, they are much appreciated.”

“Did it work? And this photo is on topic............ Are these bobcat footprints?

”

“Yikes, it worked, but it's huge. Uh, any suggestions? And I'm serious about are these being maybe bobcat prints. The claws are retracted.

Hikin Mike, I owe you. I take it seriously to repay a debt, so you gotta get well pretty quick and join me on a trail.”

“wannabp, actually the image didn't post. You're seeing it because it's in your cache on your computer. No one else can see it unless they do some other stuff.

Also, someone above mentioned that the photo needs to be on a website. True, but not just any website. For instance, not webshots. Webshots does not allow hot linking. They want you to make a link direct to their site so we have to see all there advertising. That's one of drawbacks to Webshots.

You could make an account with Photobucket (free) which would allow you to post pics here. I know it's kind of confusing.:)”

“Thanks, Rockman. Double chocolate-covered espresso beans for you, somewhere between Kearsarge Pass and the Dow Villa. Yep, it's from Webshots. So, when I get home today, I'll get an account with Photobucket or figure out how to use the free photo storing space I get from Comcast.
Last night, I was working on photos from a weekend with our son and his girlfriend. It occurred to me that taking the film in to be developed cost more money, but way less time. But I am learning and I am getting faster.”

“Wannabp, I'll be looking forward to them beans! I am getting better, maybe at this rate I'll be hiking by summer.

Sorry, I did forget to mention that remote-linking thing. I've got my own site, so that isn't a problem. Matt offers photo albums here. Then you could probably link the photo to a thread. Just another thought.”

“You guys are just messing with me. Can't you see those bobcat prints?”

“Another pic from the same day...
”

“Sorry the picture isn't showing up wannabp. You can see it because it is being cached (sp?) on your computer. Some sites won't allow remote linking, which is what you are doing when you post a picture on another site.

Try opening an album on Matt's site here.”

“Thanks, Hikin Mike. You still get espresso beans :)”

“"Thanks, Hikin Mike. You still get espresso beans :)"



Hey Michael, have you tried your new lense yet? I might be able to afford that camera soon... :)”

“Hikin Mike, once I master photos, I'll try animation. That's one cute guy. Are you thinking of getting a Rebel?”

“Mike which lens ? the 17-40 "L" ? it stays on the camera 75% of the time. The other 25% is divided between the 90mm Macro and the 400mm Telephoto.

If you buy the D-Reb...just get the body I have the 18-55mm lens that usually comes with the camera and I don't use it since I plunked down $650 for the 17-40 "L".
I even have an almost new 58mm Moose Polarizer for that lens too. :)

This was taken with the 17-40 mm just outside my back fence...looking towards the Tule River.
”

“"Those who seek a special place where their photography will come alive are always disappointed unless they already know how to see from the heart." ...Galen Rowell.

"Creative photographs don't originate in the human organ that pumps blood any more than small, wild canines tell space aliens the meaning of life. Yet we can't deny that the metaphorical heart that we associate with love and compassion must be instrinsically connected to original photographic seeing." ...Galen Rowell”