Friday, October 31, 2008

Please excuse our technical difficulties...

Well, the idea of posting by cell phone on the road isn't quite working like I had hoped. It's telling me the "sender's address" is wrong. I don't get that one.

So I made it just over the New Mexico state line up in the upper corner of the Texas panhandle - in 11 hours. Texas is a BIG friggin' state. Gained altitude from 550 feet above sea level to 5050 feet. The drive went by fast, thanks to me taking photos (while driving) pretty much the whole way. It makes the time fly by, but it ends up exhausting me because my attention level is pretty high up there. I continuously scan the horizon and from my 9 o'clock to my 3 o'clock for "interesting-ness" to steal a term from flickr.

Many times I'm not quick enough on the draw - I have to roll down one or both windows (auto/power windows), grab the camera, aim and shoot in a matter of seconds. I have the lens set on manual focus and pegged to infinity to make things simpler. The camera doesn't have time to focus automatically. Zip, and the photo op is 200 yards behind. I don't like to shoot behind myself, because then I have to hold the camera out of the window. Plus, I have to watch out for oncoming traffic if it's a two-lane road. I'm typically driving about 70-75mph - I don't slow down - I don't stop. That's part of the challenge/game.

This is going to sound really stupid, but there is something about putting myself at some level of risk to capture a shot. The Barthe's Punctum is better, richer, somehow - for me anyway - if I understand his theory correctly.

Anyway, here's the best shot of the day. The windmill was pretty far away, so I was zoomed to 200mm, both hands on the camera, driving with my left knee, watching traffic out of my peripheral vision. Oh, this is just north of Vega, Texas, near the Canadian River.

ALX_0249

Test...west Texas...

Sent from my iPhone

Feels good to be on the open road again...

Hook 'em Horns & Happy Halloween!

Hook 'em Horns and Happy Halloween!

Hook 'em Horns and Happy Halloween!

Hook 'em Horns and Happy Halloween!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

The Shining Mountains

SoprisNorthFace

To the shining mountains, to fetch my cache. Up the Colorado, across the flats to the Canadien, along the Santa Fe trail for a stretch, a jog north and up the Purgatoire, north across the San Luis Valley, along the off side of the saquaquachi-pa, up and over the divide at Independence, down into the hole on the Roaring Fork, in the shadow of Sopris, a might south of the Crystal. Although, if the pass is snowed in, I'll take the long way 'round, and look up some of my favorite dancin' girls in Denver.

To fetch my cache, and bring it home.

Don't worry 'bout me, I'll be watchin' my top-knot.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

The Long Road Trip

Testing 123 ... Posting from my cell phone to see how this might
work ... Blogging along the way ...I'm torn between going through
Denver to dance a little tango... or a lonely scenic detour up the
San Luis Valley ...

Monday, October 6, 2008