link to my smugmug pics

[mike_c]

Hi all--

I hope it's OK to post this here-- I'm new to this group.

Here is a link to my Smugmug galleries: https://mcamann.smugmug.com/. Here's a pic from earlier this spring, at Cadiz Dunes in Mojave Trails.



I've had a lifelong interest in photography but haven't had good equipment for most of my adult life. All the photos in the current galleries were shot with low end digital point and shoot cameras, like an old Nikon Coolpix with fewer pixels than a modern smart phone and a Canon Powershot SX500IS. I'm about to up my game though-- my new Nikon DSLR is scheduled for delivery tomorrow. Yay! I'm really excited!

[elleng]

1. Welcome!

We're open-opportunity viewers!

This is lovely!

[ManiacJoe]

2. Good work there! Welcome to the group.

Love the reds and the weather:


If you are going Nikon with your DSLR, go on over to Nikonians.org . Lots of friendly, knowledgeable people to help you get the most out of your Nikon.

[mike_c]

3. thanks for the advice....

I will do that!

[Adsos Letter]

4. Which Nikon did you order?

Love the shot in your OP. I head over to Anza-Borrego and Glamis every chance I get.

[mike_c]

5. Nikon d7200...

Last edited Mon May 23, 2016, 02:21 AM - Edit history (2)

...with Tokina AT-X 12-28mm f/4, NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8, and NIKKOR 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR. Right now I'm mostly interested in landscape photography. Maybe some wildlife, but really I'm a big landscape nerd. I learned what little I know about photography with a fully manual (and mechanical) Olympus OM-1 nearly 40 years ago. I literally wore that camera out. Haven't shot with anything comparable since.

Gawd I love the Mojave! I live on the North Coast in California though, so I need to learn to photograph the ocean, sloughs, and forests.

[Adsos Letter]

8. You'll like that 35mm Nikkor

Let us know what you think about the Tokina, and the Nikkor 55-300mm. I have the 35mm and a Tokina 11-16mm, and both of them get lots of use.

[Blue_In_AK]

10. Where on the north coast?

I lived in Bolinas many years ago. I love that part of California.

[mike_c]

11. northern Humboldt county...

...near Humboldt Bay.

[Blue_In_AK]

13. Beautiful country up there.

You are lucky.

[Callalily]

6. Beautiful photos! (EOM)

[Mira]

7. Congratulation to you on your new gear and to us

for you coming and bringing such wonderful photographs. Please stay. Welcome!

[Blue_In_AK]

9. Lovely photos, Mike,

And congrats on the new camera. I love the pictures of the desert. It's so different from what we see here.

How do you like your teardrop? We just bought one this past winter but haven't had the chance to spend the night in it yet. We took it out a couple weeks ago, but got rained out. We're planning a camping trip next week after the holiday. (Retirement is absolutely the best thing.).

[mike_c]

12. we love it....

We use it a lot. I built it so everything is pretty much how we like it. There are pics of it up on Smugmug at the link in the OP. We pull it with a 4x4 Ranger. It will go anywhere the Ranger will. The original impetus to build was that after years of road trip camping, we were tired of setting up camp and repacking daily. Now we just stop somewhere nice, level the trailer, pop open the galley, open the folding chairs, and unlock the cabin doors. Instant camp.

[Blue_In_AK]

14. It's uncanny how alike we are.

We also drive a Ford Ranger and decided to get the teardrop after many years of tent camping. At our age (almost 70), it just got to be too much of a hassle setting up and tearing down. Our teardrop isn't as custom as yours, but I think we're going to really like it. It's a Little Guy five-wide that we bought down in Eugene last winter and had shipped up here.


Here we are right before the deluge.




Here's one with the truck.

[mike_c]

15. you're going to love it....

When we take ours to Alaska we're going to need one of those popup bug rooms, LOL.

[Blue_In_AK]

16. The pop-up bug room is the bomb.

This one is pretty easy to assemble and does a great job keeping the mosquitoes out and also keeping you dry if it's raining. When we went to Portage, I think I probably could have handled the rain (it's camping in Alaska, after all), but it was kind of chilly, too, and just not what we had in mind. Next week looks good, and we're going Monday evening when everyone else is coming back. Most of the campgrounds aren't terribly crowded here during the week, but holiday weekends like this one will be a madhouse. Especially because I think fishing season is starting, too, and everyone will be after the kings.

Are you planning an Alaskan trip soon? Have you been here before?

[mike_c]

18. not for another couple of years....

We'll likely retire in two years. Then we'll begin more ambitious trips.

[mnhtnbb]

17. Love looking at all your shots

got a laugh, too, out of your campsite near Raton, NM.

My son and his partner are currently on a cross country road trip--from home in Cary, NC to CA and back--
but Raton is in the family trip history. When my boys were young my husband used to take them
on "great adventures" for 10-14 days in the summer. He was a general aviation pilot and they'd do
trips in a small plane. One such trip involved visiting Raton and Roswell, NM.

You have some really nice shots of beautiful country.

I have a nephew who lives in Ft. Collins who has climbed every one of the 14'ers in Colorado. He recently started a photography business.

Welcome to the group!