Sunday, September 27, 2009

Fin de Semana ... Parks

Really nice weekend. Mellow Friday off with Care. Rode 80+ miles out to Purcellville and back; Care partnered through to Ashburn. Saturday, last U19 race of season, Juniors' Day Out. Awesome squad swept most categories (overlooking our champion's crash with 100 meters to go). Pic of the big guns below.



Avery (above, far right) built up his new 54 cm team frame (upsize from 48). He's had a good year and next year, racing age 16, will be awesome. Probably national championships, with a number of teammates. Sunday slept in (to 6:30 AM), meandered through WashPost and Times, a few cups of coffee. Dickered with Ethiopia healthcare press release and such. After lunch tuned in Ken Burns' "National Parks: America's Best Idea" on hi-def. Extraordinary!

Burns is a great photographer. The national park (and John Muir) story is compelling. Today's chapter featured Yosemite and Yellowstone, places I could return to again and again (if only I had time). (I remember backpacking through Lamar Valley with my sister when I was 15, and later showing my children and Care.) High mountains, rivers, trees do much for me.

Here's a recent shot of Rocky Mountain National Park; we may visit in a couple weeks when we see Nate.



Stirred by Burns, I hopped on my bike and headed to the national park closest to my house, the C&O towpath (Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park), rode out to Great Falls National Park (Maryland), rode back streets home through Potomac Palisades and Arlington. It was raining a little when I left, then the sun came out, so the water and trees had that luxurious warm hue and mist. No camera on the ride.

Saturday, took a few pics of 15-18 year old race and crowd candids, posted here. In Oregon I did a no-no, quickly changing lenses at a wine party. Got some dust and fiber on the CCD (sensor). As a result, many of the subsequent images had to be retouched to clear the junk, slows down post processing and frustrating. A week ago, I dropped my 5D at ProPhoto -- 1902 Eye Street, NW -- for a sensor and lens cleaning. Very pleased with results -- don't have to spend 10 minutes retouching a landscape with a black strand and freckles ruining the sky.

Also this weekend I threw up some old shots from Nate's graduation and Care's recent work trip to Italy. (She took the G10 and it worked pretty well -- middle shot below.) As my technique settles down I'm finding myself trying to find more avant-garde shots and processing. I like the good fellow pictured at bottom.

Busy week ahead. Cheers.







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