Glacier National Park Chat

A little while ago outside my apartment.

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-g6J ... P-1920.mp4

The snowstorm was a "bust" in Kalispell. Not long after I posted those pics above it began to rain!
So I'm glad I covered my windshield because it would have been an icy mess if I hadn't.
Very little snowfall here or in the park around Apgar. Not enough to cover the ground.
Check the web cams.
However, it is cold and windy. Airport is 23F and windy from the NE. Wind Chill is 10F

Headed out that way anyhow. It's better than staying home. I'll see what I can get with my new 12mm lens on my a6000.
Looks like the road is closed at Lake McDonald Lodge right now. Might be icy past the lodge.
Later

pete

I watched some videos by these Ukrainian gals last night. What a HOOT.
Here's one of a number of clips where they show what's in their backpacks.
Don't worry when you see the opening, it's actually pretty G-rated. The have to swim the river several times but they keep it pretty clean.
It's a stealth hike through the forbidden zone around Chernobyl. Actually kind of interesting.
Turn on subtitles unless you speak Russian.

The channel is:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTV72w ... VihQCZA6mQ

Not much happening out at Lake McDonald.
Rather chilly with a stiff wind from the NNE; note the chop on the lake.
After these two shots my fingers were freezing. So I came home.

One of my favorite "dead trees"
ISO 200 f8 at 1/90sec with 12mm lens


I would have liked to have taken more time with this shot but my fingers were NUMB! and so I bailed to go home.
Yeah, I know, I'm a candy ass
The wet rocks are a lot more "photogenic" than the dry ones above.
I'm thinking of bringing a "tank sprayer" with me next time to wet the rocks.
The dead tree pic would look much better with wet rocks, don't ya think?
ISO 200 f8 at 1/125 second


Gonna go watch a couple more episodes starring Lyudmila and Svetlana.
Deciphering the Russian translation in the subtitles is interesting.
Like instead of finding some "chanterelles", they met some chanterelles. That kind of threw me.
They even put their dosimeter on the chanterelles before eating.

pete

Mat board cutting board and work table in my tiny apartment.
Shipping charges for bigger prints surprised me!

Damn......the picture I find interesting is that pile of great and large photos sitting on the floor. Jealous.

Sometimes it's hard to battle the wind, particularly when it's cold.

Jay (that looks like a nice matt cutter) W

Pete, I can’t even pick just one to comment on because they are all amazing. But if I had to pick one, it’s that leaf image. Maybe it stands out to me because it’s so different from your usual landscapes. I love the expansive mountain views, but the up close detailed shots are also quite impressive. I hope the weather cooperates so you can keep on getting out there and showing us some more of your beautiful images.

Thanks all for the compliments!!
I'll try to get out there as often as I can for more pics.
Too bad the East side is closed.
Saw this a few minutes ago on the St Mary web cam.


I saw a big herd of elk on the way home over on a farm in Columbia Heights.
They were on the west side of MT206 a few miles north of MT206 and MT35 intersection.
There was a NICE 6 point bull laying down in the middle of the herd. Too much traffic to stop for a pic

later and thanks again
pete

More light now. Nice herd!

The elk herd was still around late this afternoon. Pretty nice herd.

The weather around here has been pretty lousy lately for photos.
Here in the Flathead it has been a mix of rain and snow, barely an inch on the ground at my place.
The sky was blue with nice white clouds in the valley when I left home around 2:30 so I thought there might be a good sunset.

However, nearing CFalls, I could see the darker clouds were already banking up against the Divide with the next approaching weather front.
Lots more snow in the park than here at home.
Liz and Katherine, two of my favorite rangers, were at the gate.

Walking down to the lake at the lodge, my picnic table "snow gauge" indicated about 8" out there.
A short break in the cloud bank to the west allowed a brief moment of strong low angle sunlight for this shot.
Once the gap in the clouds closed the light was gone, so I left for home.


There was another break in the clouds by the time I arrived at the "framing tree" beach so I stopped for a look.


I got these two shots before the clouds moved in again.
The sky looks nice looking east, but when the thick clouds in the west blocked the sun, the light went really flat and the sky grey.


The "framing tree" has been getting beat up recently. I don't know if it's visitors or weather. I suspect the former.
I liked this shot. Nice light on the clouds and reflected in the lake.

Well, cloudy weather is great weather for B&W, just sayin'. But I hear ya if it's windy. It's not much fun to take pictures in the wind.

I'm kind of surprised that the park has that much snow. We've also had snow, but warm weather has eroded it away. it's still hanging on up north.

No sign of Bonnie and Clyde?

Jay

Jay w wrote: ↑Mon Nov 16, 2020 9:02 pm Well, cloudy weather is great weather for B&W, just sayin'. But I hear ya if it's windy. It's not much fun to take pictures in the wind.

Yeah, I know I should try doing some B&W. I have some images now that might look good converted. Do you shoot diffently for B&W? Like exposure wise?

I'm kind of surprised that the park has that much snow. We've also had snow, but warm weather has eroded it away. it's still hanging on up north.

We've had some decent snow out away from the valley. I was out today on the North Fork Road. It was warmish and light rain so that'll knock it down some. Still a good start for winter!

No sign of Bonnie and Clyde?

No Clyde but Bonnie is around. She is very skittish but she clearly knows both my truck(Jaybird) by sight and me.
Pay close attention to the video near the end as I start around the lake just before Sprague Creek CG.
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-jBF ... b-1920.mp4

Jay

pete

Here is more than you want to know about my new a6400 which will arrive Tuesday afternoon
I was wrong in the video clip. The a6600 is the newest of Sony's APS-C cameras. The two big differences imo are the the 5 point in body image stabilization and the LCD that articulates better. I can live without either. Image stabilization isn't a big deal if shooting from a tripod, but the articulating LCD would really be nice--my a77m2 has one. There's virtually no difference between the a6400 and a6600 when shooting still pics--which is my primary interest. The a6400 will shoot 4k video and that's "good nuff" for my needs.
https://www.sony.com/electronics/interc ... ifications

Pete, I was going to say that Jaybird looked lonely in that shot of it in the parking lot. At least Bonnie is still around. You continue to be an inspiration as you venture out in freezing weather to keep the rest of us tuned into GNP when we are not there.

davidwayne wrote: ↑Tue Nov 17, 2020 6:39 pm Pete, I was going to say that Jaybird looked lonely in that shot of it in the parking lot. At least Bonnie is still around. You continue to be an inspiration as you venture out in freezing weather to keep the rest of us tuned into GNP when we are not there.

Hey David!

Naw, Jaybird ain't lonely. He and I love it when the park is relatively deserted, especially after the chaos this summer.
Yup, Bonnie is still around but she is very nervous and shy. She wasn't nearly so shy when Clyde was with her.
Hopefully over time she'll become more confident around me.
I'm very careful about approaching her and back off immediately if she gets fidgety.
It may get easier as winter comes on and there are even fewer people around. We'll see.

I'll try to get out and around as much as I can. As soon as there's enough snow, I'll get my snowshoes and skis out.
I need the practice skiing. We had almost no snow last year down at the lower elevations.
Other than a little bit on the WF Golf course, I'm not competent skiing on hilly terrain yet.
Skiing will enable me to get to more places than snowshoeing.
So I'm waiting on snow for now

later and thanks

pete

"Boss Lady" told me I could display some of my images in the two casinos I work for after Thanksgiving.
The following videos are descriptions of five of the panographic images I'll show. I'll also have some smaller images as well.
Yeah the videos are a bit over the top but I was anxious to try out my new camera.
I shot the videos at home so the lighting etc. isn't great but you'll get the idea.
Feel free to let me know what you think about them.







pete

You have really posted some beautiful photos! My favorites are the one from Piegan and the one of Hidden Lake from Dragons Tail. I would give wall space to either one of those. I really enjoy seeing what you are photographing!