A JPG and unprocessed RAW file saved on the D70 chip
I was asked if I shot my digital files in RAW or JPG, and how to explain the power of RAW files to a beginner. I remember when I first got my D70 and looked at the RAW files. I thought they looked pretty crummy compared the JPGs. But I knew the "pros" were shooting RAW and I wanted to figure out what I was missing. So I went to work.
Lower Yellowstone Falls
Regardless of the price of gas, visitation at the two biggest NPS units on Highway 89 was at record levels in June.
The USA Today reported that Yellowstone had 612,000 tourist visits in June, while the Arizona Sun Daily said that at the Grand Canyon, "early-summer visitation is up a whopping 15 percent over the same period during each of the previous two years."
It's not clear whether the numbers are due to the low value of the dollar, which is putting many Europeans' dream vacation within their reach. Another factor could be that Americans are choosing the parks instead of more expensive vacations. Either scenario is welcome news for me, since the seven national parks on US 89 are key themes of my book. (The other national parks on Highway 89 are, from south to north: Saguaro, Zion, Bryce, Grand Teton and Glacier.) More visitors means more potential buyers, and that is happy news to report to potential publishers.
Here's a useful tidbit if you are planning a park visit. The National Park Service websites are chock full of information, and you can go directly to a park-specific website by typing www.nps.gov/[park code]. The trick is the code, which follows a popular birders' scheme, and the NPS usage is pretty consistent. If the unit name is one word (Glacier) the code is the first four letters (glac). If two words (Bryce Canyon), it's the first two letters of each word (brca). After two words, it gets a bit dodgy: Sunset Crater Volcanic is "sucr" rather than "sucv," but there aren't so many of those parks and monument. Why not use Google or another search engine? Because so much junk on the internet has been posted about the parks to game the search engines. These commercial webpages outscore the official sites, and I get tired of wading through hotel adverts to find the information I need.
I'm heading to Glacier next week. Even though I spent a month in Montana last summer, almost all of it was under smoky, non-photographable conditions. Daily, I'm checking another great government website, the Inciweb coordinated agency fire report, and so far so good. Going-to-the-Sun Road wasn't completely plowed until July 2, an extraordinarily late opening, because of the snow pack, so hopefully the fires will be few and far away from Glacier this season. The vagaries of nature out of my control. All I can do is get out there, look for the light, and see what I can do with it. So far as I know, there isn't a website updating on light conditions, but I wouldn't put it past the social media start-ups to try. What fun would that be?
Once upon a time, all we had was film, and we had to wind it.
Aphotoeditor wrote a great post about why photographers should blog. I've got a fifth reason: the process of writing for is another method to improve and focus my own photography.
2006 Fairview Pioneer Days Rodeo
It's time to make plans for a uniquely Utah holiday, Pioneer Day, celebrated on July 24. All up and down Highway 89 will be parades, pancake breakfasts, rodeos, and even a demolition derby in Fairview on the 25th, the hottest ticket in town. And the fireworks are as good, if not better, than the 4th of July displays. If you don't want to mess with crowds, Spanish Fork, Marysvale and Panguitch are all planning a good time. Save a slice of pie for me.
Burro and horses about to be gentled by the IWBHA team
As I'm heading out this evening, to traffic school if you must know, a guy in a Comcast uniform raps on the door:
"We are going to be working in your area..." and I think it's a notice that the are going to dig up my streets, yet again. Then he starts his pitch:
"How much are you paying for phone service?"
Me: some ridiculously low number which is probably close to true, but I can't recall exactly and if you are late to traffic school, the instructor doesn't let you in and you have to come back on another day.
Him: "for internet and everything?" and now I realize that he's a salesman, not a lineman. Then he blows it: "We are signing up a lot of people in your neighborhood.."
Dear Comcast guy: I know that's what they teach you in door-to-door salesman school, but it backfires at the palace. I am not a sheep. I don't care what my neighbors are buying. Showing me their completed order slips only annoys me. Would you reveal my order to someone else to make a sale? (answer, duh, yes.)
I'd never experienced this sales approach before I moved to Utah, and I have no explanation for it. Do people really fall for this strategy? I once had a sales pitch for some service (lawn care, curb number painting?) that went along the lines of "your neighborhood services will be consolidated to this date," implying that I had to go along with the herd and they would be along momentarily to collect my credit card data. That didn't work out too well for them.
If you want my currency, put it in writing: the benefits of services offered, and cold hard figures. If you want my trade, you'll send the truck back out to hook me up. Major hint: since we don't look at tv, offering a cable package won't help your cause. Leave my neighbors' business out of it. And when I say I have to go, don't stand on my porch as I'm putting the keys into the car door. It's rude. And I can't be late to traffic school.
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