Author Topic: Anza Borrego - Fish Creek, the Wind Caves & Sandstone Canyon - Mar 13, 2011 (Read 31069 times)

FrankB · « **Reply #15 on:** March 18, 2011, 11:58:32 AM »

Quote from: RockinX on March 18, 2011, 10:55:52 AM

And Fred - Uh, yeah, don't hold your breath.

Fred - Google can be your friend. Remember, nothing ever really goes away on the internet.

boomer818 · « **Reply #16 on:** March 19, 2011, 07:18:12 PM »

Wow great pictures, I think the one of the pie is my fave...

Impact619 · « **Reply #17 on:** March 21, 2011, 12:18:38 AM »

OK, finally got my pics sorted out... let's see if I can get some of 'em posted. First I need to see if Facebook is a valid image source! ; )

(Nada on the Facebook.... gonna try Option 2...

) Yes, this works!

First, the little gathering we had before Marshann and I struck out on our own.

Marshann leading the way up the trail...

Very dusty, no doubt!

Ruger exploring around for some wildlife to chase.

OK, let's see if these work. If they look OK on my end, I'll leave 'em until someone else confirms they can see them as well, before wasting any more time posting images that don't work... ; )

-T-

Impact619 · « **Reply #18 on:** March 21, 2011, 12:53:59 AM »

OK, let's get a few more posted... see if we can get to the interesting ones.

At about this point I really started hoping that this WOULDN'T be the moment that a bunch of that rock up above decided to break loose! ; )

One of our last little blasts of sunshine for the day.

Was pretty happy with this angle... took several minutes to get the truck this (relatively) dust-free for these shots!

Pretty good comparison of 'before vs. after'. Each of our trucks is a little bit of each... mine is 'After' because it's never, but 'Before' by still being all stock!

More to come...

Impact619 · « **Reply #19 on:** March 21, 2011, 02:01:34 AM »

OK, switching to Notepad and will try to type the remainder and copy and paste in one shot. Navigating around in the little text window in the forum itself once you have more than 10 or 20 lines of text got annoying pretty quick!

Marshann's Machine'... I also got a lot of very similar shots to what she got while we were parked at this spot, so I'll avoid posting the 'duplicates'.

Another good comparision.

Yes, your eyes do NOT decieve... that is a HONDA FIT, parked at the 'parking area' for the Wind Caves... that thing somehow managed to bump and bounce up the same trail we had just rolled up! This was definitely an "I am so really NOT a badass" moment for me!

Marshann got a kick out of it as well!

Opting not to hike to the Wind Caves, we proceed further up the dusty trail, as the light begins to fade.

At this point we've now returned back down to the Wind Caves trailhead, and while Marshann sets up our 'picnic', I break out the gear and start experimenting.

Pretty cool light overall... still too much light in the sky to see any stars, at least facing west.

Pretty much the most useful feature of the roof lights... they look cool in photos! ; )

Taken with Marshann's help. Really glad that all that time spent in the tanning beds is really paying off... : O

Stars really starting to come in now. Switched away from using the flashes to 'Painting with Light', using Marshann's big spot light. More of this technique to follow.

Trying some longer exposures and seeing if just the ambient moonlight will do the trick. Not working so well.

Lights on!

Switching directions to try the other angle... Marshann finshing packing up her truck, and Ruger 'supervising'... : )

Cel phone Droid Light to light up the truck during the long exposure, and let the stars come in.

Back to 'Painting with Light'... lighting up the hillside in the back.

One last angle of my truck this direction, getting Orion in the frame as well. Possibly my favorite shot of the day!

Now back the other way with more light painting... the dust really seemed to stick to where I'd wiped it all off earlier. : /

And back to both trucks... for a last few shots.

Light painting always makes every frame look unique.

...and back down the trail to wrap up the evening! Thanks again, Marshann, for the company, the food, and the photo assistance! ; )

FrankB · « **Reply #20 on:** March 21, 2011, 08:26:26 AM »

Some great shots there Thomas. I like the night shots. That one using the Droid turned out especially nice.

As for the Honda Fit - the rangers do tell people that the trail as far as the Wind Caves is passable by all types of vehicles. This year I have noticed a few rockier spots in it than in prior years (it used to be very smooth to about there - it changes every season). Back in late January I was coming back down Fish Creek from Sandstone and took the detour through Loop Wash. It's a lot rockier in places - nothing big or that would require 4Lo, but still several sections of nothing but rocks. We followed a lone Honda Element through there. He had to back up and try again in a few spots, but he got through. I didn't get close enough to see if it was one of the AWD models. Whatever it was, they do ride pretty low.

Impact619 · « **Reply #21 on:** March 21, 2011, 04:57:12 PM »

Thanks Frank!

Ah, ok... yeah, that first part of the trail was definitely tame by 4WD standards, but I still wouldn't have thought to drive it in a regular 2wd car, expecially one that low to the ground. Then again, it's also light, so maybe it isn't as likely to sink! ; )

We definitely encountered some stuff futher up the trail that a capable offroad vehicle was required for... still a bit of a head-turner to see that thing sitting there! : )

-T-

RockinX · « **Reply #22 on:** March 21, 2011, 06:48:10 PM »

Wow! You really got those stars Thomas! The picture with the Orion is definitely a money shot along with the dust-free pic of your X. Those are some great pictures. You even got me in action.... that's so cool! I like the progression of the lighting in the shots starting from dark to everything being lit up. And painting the landscape added a whole new dimension. Really nice!

Oh, and the picture where you say the dust stuck to where you had previosuly wiped your truck down .... didn't we agree that that effect occurred through intended refraction, contrasty, or from just being a little too close to Area 51?

Impact619 · « **Reply #23 on:** March 21, 2011, 07:03:58 PM »

Glad you like, Marshann!

I'll PM you the link to the source gallery, where you can grab them... there's more than what I posted here, and also let me know if you'd like higher-res versions of the shots of your truck. Can send you those as well, once I generate them.

The one with Orion took me a little time to dial in... to get the stars to really pop but not brighten the dusty truck too much...

And yes, that's right... all of those reasons you mention above! ; )

RockinX · « **Reply #24 on:** March 22, 2011, 08:40:36 PM »

I switched out the photos I previously posted and replaced them with pictures using my standard auto fix editing program. And ah, okay, I get it. If you insert a picture that is too large, it cuts off part of the picture. So smaller pictures it is.

Thomas, I sent you a PM with a link to the original untouched photos I took, which were not many. The original size is 2848 x 4288, although not taken in RAW. If you have any trouble downloading them, please let me know. You will see that they need a lot of touch up, but I thought the original unedited photos would give you a better starting point.

Thank you for the offer to send me the link to your source gallery. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I would love the higher-res versions whenever you get a chance. I still can't believe you were able to capture all those stars. Those are about the best pictures of my truck that I have seen. However, I noticed that my truck has the "stink bug" look in a couple of the photos. Maybe I can pretend that the rear was sitting on a higher incline.

Thanks again Thomas!

Impact619 · « **Reply #25 on:** March 23, 2011, 12:14:47 AM »

Thanks! Was just about to check the PM...

Could have been my tilt of the camera... I am notorious for NOT shooting with a level camera... ; )

justin4x4 · « **Reply #26 on:** March 23, 2011, 03:46:37 PM »

Been pretty busy so haven't had time to post these pictures until now.

Otherwise, we had a really fun time on the trip! Looking forward to do more in the future again

Here are some shots: