The Big Photography Thread

[Brettymike]

^^^ Excellent photo's going on people.

I really enjoyed that desert adventure Ken , I love deserts - as long as I'm not stranded and thirsty .

Love those Prague pics xxKnuckles.

 

Brett

[KenElevenShadows]

Thanks!!!! Thankfully, we were not stranded or thirsty!!! I took a bunch of snacks and lunch and a gallon of water. Here's what's weird, though. The guy who was leading the tour never drank water. Not once. We were gone for hours, and not once. He also walked very fast. That's really saying something since people are always complaining about me walking too fast on hikes. I could keep up with him, but it was past that sort of natural walking speed that we all seem to innately have when hiking. There were some other organizers on the hike, so it's not as if we would be lost if we didn't keep up with him. Anyway, a fascinating guy who disappears out into the desert for 2-4 weeks straight.

 

http://www.elevenshadows.com/travels/joshuatree-2014-08-lisalaura-milkywayphotos/images-joshuatree-2014-08-milkyway/4911kenlee_joshuatree2014-08-30-2304-20sf28iso4000-balancingrockmilkyway-flat.jpg

 

Since I'm here, I'll post another photo of Joshua Tree, this one much more recent.

 

This is a fantastic balancing rock formation in the California desert. I light painted the rocks to make it appear as if there were a campfire below. All the color light work was done during the exposure, and is not a Photoshop creation.

[Brettymike]

Unbelievable Ken! , was that guy Native American Indian by any chance?? , or was he some kind of earth visitor? .

About 12 of us did 1/2 dozen 10-12 klm hikes last year along the rugged coastline tracks , and we were constantly sipping H2O to survive.

That guy must be a machine.

(another great photo Ken!)

 

Brett

[xKnuckles]

Thanks very much Brett!

[xKnuckles]

I love this Joshua tree photo Ken! Really stunning.

 

Interesting to hear about your guide. Maybe there are people who need a lot less water - although it seems incredible. Are you sure he didn't have some bottles stashed in his hat and a clear straw? ....or maybe he smoked camel cigarettes? ....

[xKnuckles]

Ooooooh........ I have just discovered that they make all sorts of lenses which you can used with an iPhone. I was wondering if any of you had any experience of using any of them and would be able to recommend one?

[KenElevenShadows]

Unbelievable Ken! , was that guy Native American Indian by any chance?? , or was he some kind of earth visitor? .

About 12 of us did 1/2 dozen 10-12 klm hikes last year along the rugged coastline tracks , and we were constantly sipping H2O to survive.

That guy must be a machine.

(another great photo Ken!)

 

I love this Joshua tree photo Ken! Really stunning.

 

Interesting to hear about your guide. Maybe there are people who need a lot less water - although it seems incredible. Are you sure he didn't have some bottles stashed in his hat and a clear straw? ....or maybe he smoked camel cigarettes? ....

 

 

Thanks for your kind words.

 

He was European-American, Caucasian, white, whatever you wish to say, with the last name of "Wheeler". And I believe he was of this earth, but I can't be absolutely certain. We started out the trip with someone asking, "Where's your water?" I think he answered, "In my truck." He carried no food or water with him, and the rangers or volunteers that accompanied us said that he does that all the time. They also mentioned that he was known for walking really fast. They were not kidding.

 

Me? I drank pretty much the entire gallon I brought with me. It was about an 8m/13km round trip. I drink to obviously stay hydrated, but also, I can't help but think that the water weighs a lot, and it's easier to carry it in my body. I had some "regular" bottles, but carried much of it in Platypus bottles, which compress down to almost nothing, taking up almost no space.

 

He was a geologist, and was super knowledgeable about all sorts of things that I found fascinating. I'm not very scientific and don't have the greatest memory, but he described, among other things, the continents coming together numerous times throughout earth's existence. I had only previously heard of Pangaea, so to discover that this had occurred numerous times was surprising. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercontinent

 

And he also mentioned stories about the prospector Cary, who built the "castle", why flowers in the desert appear to be more vivid in color (I don't remember the reason), survival in the desert, and a bunch of other stuff. He was also quite funny.

[Brettymike]

Thanks Ken , that guy's Incredible! , must has been awesome to meet and walk and talk with him.

That guy knows water is heavy to carry while hiking , and it's a real pain in the nuts actually (would be great to walk naked carrying nothing - one day ).

I have been told earth is heading for it's 6th nuclear wipeout.

 

Brett

[KenElevenShadows]

Thanks, Brett.

 

I'd like to now feature a little-known people that you guys might find interesting. This is a small part of a trip to the Indian Himalayas that I took in summer 2013 (http://www.elevenshadows.com/travels/india2013-himalayas/).

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Himalayas in India, summer 2013:

The tiny village of Dah is accessible from the road only by footpath, largely isolated from the rest of the world, its Aryan inhabitants seeking to keep their culture distinct. At a population of 4000, the people the Ladakhis call the Brokpas are one of the smallest ethnic groups in the world, and speak a dialect that they call Miramo, which according to a book by Breton Schwarzenbach, has "strong Indo-European roots".

 

They also have their own animist religion called "Bon-Cho", where they worship elemental spirits, mixed with Tibetan Buddhism. Some theorize that the people are descendants of Alexander the Great's invading army, but no one actually seem to know their origins. DNA testing is apparently still inconclusive, although I'm not sure how or why.

 

And some German women have sought the men for their pure Aryan seed. While some of the men may happily oblige them, it's frowned upon by village elders and the Indian Army (this area requires a permit to enter).

 

The stop for Dah is in the middle of the road, with no discernible buildings or signs, just a path. One then walks to the mountain side of the road, away from the Indus, taking a trail for approximately 10-15 min uphill. On the left, with no visible sign, is the Skybapa Guest House, run by a very nice guy named Lundhup Dorjey. His guest house is charming if crude, with three rooms on the top roof, and darker rooms at the bottom with bathrooms and a bucket shower on the ground floor as well. As there are no restaurants in Dah, we eat at the guest house. Lundhup prepared rice, dal, turnip, and spinach, which was rather welcome since we were all quite hungry. He also has a large mulberry tree, which I haven't seen since childhood, and makes mulberry jam.

 

~~~~~

http://www.elevenshadows.com/travels/india2013-himalayas/images/partone-begtodahhanu/9614kenlee_india-dahladakh-aryan-portraitheaddress.jpg

Many of the older women wear "mew-tew-toh", the flowers stitched on the top of their hats, a beautiful contrast to the green fields that they are often seen working in as one walks through the valley. These are apparently traditional, and I saw a couple of the men wearing them too, although theirs are not nearly so flamboyant or Frida Kahloesque. According to Breton's book, a noted Ladakhi historian named Sonam Phuntsog says that the flowers are a sort of offering to the village's protector spirits playing an essential role in Bon-chos, the Aryan's elemental and animistic religion.

 

~~~~~

http://www.elevenshadows.com/travels/india2013-himalayas/images/partone-begtodahhanu/9671kenlee_india-dahladakh-aryan-portrait.jpg

Another villager from Dah. He later drove us to another village so we could walk around a landslide that was blocking the road. When we saw it, it was still actively falling and therefore rather dangerous to cross. We had heard this landslide while at Skybapa Guest House, an enormous thundering sound that filled the air.

 

~~~~

 

http://www.elevenshadows.com/travels/india2013-himalayas/images/partone-begtodahhanu/9625kenlee_india-dahladakh-aryan-womanheaddress.jpg

Many of the older women wear "mew-tew-toh", the flowers stitched on the top of their hats, a beautiful contrast to the green fields that they are often seen working in as one walks through the valley. These are apparently traditional, and I saw a couple of the men wearing them too, although theirs are not nearly so flamboyant or Frida Kahloesque. According to Breton's book, A noted Ladakhi historian named Sonam Phuntsog says that the flowers are a sort of offering to the village's protector spirits playing an essential role in Bon-chos, the Aryan's elemental and animistic religion.

 

~~~~

 

http://www.elevenshadows.com/travels/india2013-himalayas/images/partone-begtodahhanu/9606kenlee_india-dahladakh-aryan-portrait.jpg

A woman from the village of Dah. There were less people in the village than usual because many had gone for Buddhist teachings at Lamayuru Monastery. We had driven past this earlier in the day, seeing the enormous colorful festival, the crowds, the people giving teachings on loudspeakers, and the pilgrims arriving on the tops of buses.

 

~~~~~

 

http://www.elevenshadows.com/travels/india2013-himalayas/images/partone-begtodahhanu/9610kenlee_india-dahladakh-aryan-portrait.jpg

Three village boys.

 

~~~~~

 

http://www.elevenshadows.com/travels/india2013-himalayas/images/partwo-dahhanu-kashmir-delhi/0129kenlee_india-dahladakh-portraitman-aryan.jpg

 

How Dah Village Was Settled: An Oral History:

Lundhup told us of a story of one of the early migrations which tells about three brothers, Dulo, Melo, and Galo (Vohra 1982:74-75) and how the valley was settled 800-1000 years ago. I found this story in detail in "An Ethnography: The Buddhist Dards of Ladakh" by Rohit Vohra, 1989 (Skydie Brown International, publishers). 800-1000 years ago, the Raja of Gilgit forbade the killing of animals and the use of flesh, so the three brothers went looking for land outside the jurisdiction. When there, they killed a goat at Dah. They removed their shoes to relax, and as in those days people wore straw inside their shoes, as they removed them, some grains fell out.

 

Back in Gilgit, they often thought about their new land where there were plenty of wildlife, and set out again to Dah (the book calls it mDa-'brog). Upon reaching the area they had last relaxed, they found a crop in full growth that was ready to be harvested, and decided that they should settle this fertile land.

 

They also realized that it would be difficult for their families to live outside the jurisdiction of the Raja, so they schemed, and then dressed themselves as beggars to return to Gilgit to begin their plans.

 

However, they were caught and brought before the Raja, where they were recognized by the minstrel in the assembly. They were asked to dance, and in the confusion of the dance brought on by the youngest, who was dancing in a manner that involved pushing and confusion, managed to escaped, eventually escaping with their families. The brothers brought with them a stick of still-green Chang-ma, a stick of Stag-pa (birch wood), and the last a bow and arrow.

 

They eventually arrived at Dah, and planted the Chang-ma stick. The Stag-pa stick was planted to establish the settlement on the other side of the stream. They began cultivating the land but needed to dig a canal. They had no tools, and deliberated about this The youngest brother decided that wherever they shot an arrow is where they would begin digging a canal. From an elevated area called Changlota, the eldest brother shot the arrow, which hit a rock and made a hole from where water sprang out. This area exists today, and the canal actually emerges from there. They used a wooden space to dig, and the horns of a goat to remove stones to irrigate the land, establishing the Dah settlement.

 

This is a story that has been preserved and passed down through word of mouth.

 

~~~~~

 

http://www.elevenshadows.com/travels/india2013-himalayas/images/partone-begtodahhanu/startrails-dahvillage-131m-30sf28iso200-700px2.jpg

After eating dinner, everyone eventually retired for the evening. And even though there was basically a giant full moon out, I wanted to stay outside on the roof, where our rooms were and hang out in the quiet of the valley. That is the window and door of my room in the photo.

 

I was keeping my travel journal on my netbook, and that evening wrote:

"Right now, I am writing this outside while looking at the virtually full moon shining down in the valley. It is warm. I am happy. I am also taking some night sky photos from the roof of the guest house, including some north-facing star trails photos. I am staying up late, as it is now 11:10 pm, and it is only now starting to get a bit chilly. I am clicking away, trying for an extra long star trails, which I began at 9:37 pm and is still going because I restarted the camera as soon as it got to its Continuous Burst limit of 100, so these star trails will probably be 100 minutes long if there is not too large of a gap from when I restarted, and if the woman who shined the flashlight in the camera did not do too much damage. At any rate, the valley is growing noticeably darker as the moon is sinking lower in the horizon. It will be interesting to see how many more stars will be visible after the moon goes behind the mountains, which create a narrow valley."

 

The entire trip to the Himalayas of India are here:

http://www.elevenshadows.com/travels/india2013-himalayas/

[Brettymike]

Awesome Himalayas portfolio Ken!!^^^ , German women turn up you say?!,hmmm...I look quite different to the Aryan men , I don't think I could pull off a convincing disguise - unless we do it in the dark!;-) .

 

Brett

[KenElevenShadows]

Thanks.

 

I think you need to move there and adopt the ways of the Aryans, and the rest will follow.

 

 

http://i01.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v0/1905432231_1/2014-hot-World-Cup-Sexy-Print-One-Piece-Swimming-Suits-High-Waisted-font-b-sport-b.jpg

[KenElevenShadows]

Is this going to be a viable alternative to Photoshop, which is currently an expensive subscription model?

 

http://www.creativebloq.com/computer-arts/first-real-alternative-photoshop-launched-and-its-free-21514137

[KenElevenShadows]

Alright KCers, it is not a rumor. The Nikon D810, made especially for astrophotography, officially exists. It has Long Exposure mode, where you can set it for up to 15 minutes instead of 30 seconds, something that's always irked me. And I would hope they created a better internal intervalometer than the POS that usually comes with Nikon DSLRs.

 

And it has something called Virtual Exposure Preview. It says it helps you frame and focus when in BULB or Time Mode. I'll be curious to find out more about this.

 

"Its IR filter is optimized for H-alpha red tones, resulting in four times greater sensitivity to the 656 nm wavelength than a standard DSLR. Celestial objects like emission nebulae can be captured in staggering detail by the 36.3-megapixel full-frame CMOS image sensor, which has no optical low-pass filter for even greater resolution."

 

US$3800 list, but we'll see what it discounts for. The "general use" D810 sells for about US$3000.

 

http://www.nikonusa.com/en/Nikon-Products/Product/dslr-cameras/D810A.html?cid=web-0209-D810a

[Theo Verelst]

You got some nice Jew pictures now, Ken ?

[KenElevenShadows]

http://images.sodahead.com/polls/000927249/bunny_answer_3_xlarge.jpeg

 

Will this do?

 

 

[KenElevenShadows]

Perhaps this will offer a beautiful counterbalance to the German women photos....gorgeous Israeli women. I've traveled extensively and seen a lot of different travelers. And there's no doubt to me that Israeli women are some of the most beautiful I've seen.

 

http://www.newyorkdailysun.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/beautiful_israeli_women_11.jpg

 

http://forward.com/workspace/assets/images/articles/beautyqueen.jpg

 

 

 

[Theo Verelst]

Beautiful.

[Brettymike]

Perhaps this will offer a beautiful counterbalance to the German women photos....gorgeous Israeli women. I've traveled extensively and seen a lot of different travelers. And there's no doubt to me that Israeli women are some of the most beautiful I've seen.

 

http://www.newyorkdailysun.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/beautiful_israeli_women_11.jpg

 

http://forward.com/workspace/assets/images/articles/beautyqueen.jpg

 

 

 

Absolutely Ken! , you take awesome photo's whatever the subject , and I see they are very happy and relaxed near you .

 

Brett

[RichieP_MechE]

Hey hey hey, Mike Martin has the photo of the day on Shutterbug.com

Check it out!

 

Congrats Mike!

[KenElevenShadows]

That's awesome! Congrats, Mike!!!!!!

[wjwilcox]

No women. No snow. No stars. Whole lotta dirt.

 

Open space by wjw0608, on Flickr

 

More open space by wjw0608, on Flickr

[Mike Martin]

Hey hey hey, Mike Martin has the photo of the day on Shutterbug.com

Check it out!

 

Congrats Mike!

 

That's awesome! Congrats, Mike!!!!!!

 

Thank you very much! That was a big surprise for me today. I was traveling and in many meetings so I missed the email from Shutterbug until near the end of the day. Totally surprised.

 

Here was the sunset view from my hotel tonight - overlooking LAX.

 

Sunset Reflection by Mike M Martin, on Flickr

[Pale]

I really like the sunset! I see that the lights have starburst effect.... it was taken with small aperture and long exposure?

 

 

Here's one I took recently after coming back from a gig. It was taken at 1am and the temperature was subzero, but the fog and the light looked great, so I parked my car and went under the bridge to take a few shots. I froze my ass, and I was constantly looking behind my back (spending time under bridges at 1am never seems like a good idea)

 

[/url]

[Brettymike]

^^^That is a very unusual and interesting photo , and I was wondering what the hell it was! .

 

I love your wide open spaces photo's Bill!.

 

Way to go Mike!

 

Brett

[Theo Verelst]

Are all these pictures made by the posters themselves ? Most are, for sure, but...

 

T.

[KenElevenShadows]

Are all these pictures made by the posters themselves ? Most are, for sure, but...

 

T.

 

I believe every photo I've posted with the exception of the jokes have been mine.

 

So for example, the photos of the German and Israeli women and the Jewish rabbit were not mine. I know that's disappointing.

 

Mine will always have either kenleephotography.com or elevenshadows.com watermarks if I took them. And definitely, all the night sky, Milky Way, light painting, and long exposure photos are things I take on a regular basis. So are travel photos. So all the portraits of the Aryan people in the Dah region of the Himalayas are all mine as well.

[Theo Verelst]

Well, I don't take them as jokes, but I get the point. It could've been you didn't publish to your server but to other sites!

 

I'm done with photo's for now, nice stories.

 

T.

[KenElevenShadows]

Thanks! And you know what I mean about the photos. It was more of a humorous response to the conversation at hand! Thanks for your kind words.

[Brettymike]

My hobbie I love as much as music , and more .... my Father made me my first toy one when I was about 5 years old and I was hooked . Today I love making and installing these for people (when I finally get an order) .....

 

Trademe windmill 12 blade pic 1 by brettymike, on Flickr

 

Trademe windmill 12 blade pic 2. by brettymike, on Flickr

 

I designed and built this cool weathervane for some staunch , heavy folks last year great fun! .....

 

SAM_0846 by brettymike, on Flickr

[KenElevenShadows]

Very very nice.