Category Archive: United States

1,909 miles, 102 hours — Part 4

It’s been a while, so if anyone needs a refresher, Parts 1, 2, and 3 are HERE, HERE, and HERE. BUT . . . since it’s a rare reader indeed who follows links, a quick recap:

  1. Original plan: Chicago, north through Wisconsin, across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, down to the Lower Peninsula, through Indiana, and home.
  2. Modification 1: North to the Lower Peninsula, up to the Upper Peninsula, back down to visit friends, down through Indiana, and home.
  3. Modification 2: 1,909 miles from home to as far North as Whitefish Point in the U. P. and back home in 102 hours.

This post, then, is about September 19th, 2022.

Them who read the previous posts know today’s travels start Traverse City. It would end nearly 385 miles later in Michigan City, which, oddly enough, is in Indiana.

We’d originally planned a stopover at the Air Zoo, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, but with most of the trip already modified beyond recognition, we decided to get home as fast as possible. The 20th of September would see us getting home in the early afternoon, thus — as the title says — completing the 1,909 mile trip in 102 hours.

For some reason, some of the photos are loading slowly, and I don’t know if that’s WP or SmugMug’s fault, but if I mention something and you don’t see it, try refreshing the screen. Like, for instance, the following map.

September 19, 2022 driving route

That’s the route, and what follows are the photos . . . by the way, as before, some of the gallery’s photos appear to be duplicates because after snapping a photo with the D7500, I often would bring out the Note 20 and capture the same scene.

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1,909 miles, 102 hours — Part 3

It’s been a while, so if anyone needs a refresher, Parts 1 and 2 are HERE and HERE. BUT . . . since it’s a rare reader indeed who follows links, a quick recap:

  1. Original plan: Chicago, north through Wisconsin, across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, down to the Lower Peninsula, through Indiana, and home.
  2. Modification 1: North to the Lower Peninsula, up to the Upper Peninsula, back down to visit friends, down through Indiana, and home.
  3. Modification 2: 1,909 miles from home to as far North as Whitefish Point in the U. P. and back home in 102 hours.

This post, then, is about September 18th, 2022. Them who read the previous posts know today’s travels start at the Ojibway Hotel in Sault St. Marie (The Soo). It would end nearly 300 miles later in Traverse City, MI. We’d originally planned a stopover at Tahquamenon Falls, but based on the accelerated schedule, we decided to skip Michigan’s largest falls (upper and lower) and its tannins-tainted waters.

For some reason, some of the photos are loading slowly, and I don’t know if that’s WP or SmugMug’s fault, but if I mention something and you don’t see it, try refreshing the screen. Like, for instance, the following map.

That’s the route, and what follows are the photos . . .

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1,909 miles, 102 hours — Part 2

It might surprise readers to learn that although it says “Part 2”, we’re still on the same day . . . Saturday, September 17. You should, of course, read Part 1 if you missed it, otherwise, the following sentence might not make sense.

We left Machilimackinac State Park and headed to the McGulpin Point Lighthouse.

As mentioned before, the image has been edited using DxO ViewPoint 3.0. I use the program to remove the distortion from photos taken with ultra-wide lenses. For instance, take note of where the grass begins and how close it is to the lighthouse.

Unprocessed photo taken while standing on the grass portion next to the building.
The same photo with a perspective adjustment.
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1,909 miles, 102 hours — Part 1

So, a few weeks ago, we planned a road trip . . . a big circle tour up to Chicago to visit my family, then North through Wisconsin and into Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We’d not been up there for . . . well, at least 20 years, but likely longer.

From there, we’d drop down through Mackinaw City, follow Michigan’s western shore, end up at some friend’s place for a few days before continuing South, and a few days later get back home.

That was the plan . . . but two days before we were scheduled to leave, we heard the bad news that one of our nephews might have COVID and Strep. Luckily, it turned out to be only Strep, but by then, we had nixed the Chicago visit and going up through Wisconsin.

The first photo of the trip . . . reminded me of the Push Me Pull Me.
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Grizzly and Cubs Variations and Give Us a Title Reminder

For them not interested in reading, you can see the photos in THIS<<link SmugMug Gallery.  

For a SmugMug slideshow, click HERE<<link. When you click the link, it will open in a new window, and you have two options:
1) Manually scroll through the photos by clicking the “<” and “>” symbols to the left or right of the photos.
2) There’s a PLAY/PAUSE button at the top-left of the screen with the transition set at about 5 seconds. Note: clicking the PLAY arrow will run a full-screen slideshow. You can then still use the”<” and “>” symbols to the left or right of the photos (this will pause the slideshow).

If you want the full experience, keep reading.

Yellowstone June 2015

When I composed the last post, I forgot to include some of the artsified versions of the grizzly and her cubs.

And, I figure I would remind readers to visit THIS<<link post and leave their suggestion for a title.

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Yellowstone 2015 – Grizzly and Cubs

For them not interested in reading, you can see the photos in THIS<<link SmugMug Gallery.  

For a SmugMug slideshow, click HERE<<link. When you click the link, it will open in a new window, and you have two options:
1) Manually scroll through the photos by clicking the “<” and “>” symbols to the left or right of the photos.
2) There’s a PLAY/PAUSE button at the top-left of the screen with the transition set at about 5 seconds. Note: clicking the PLAY arrow will run a full-screen slideshow. You can then still use the”<” and “>” symbols to the left or right of the photos (this will pause the slideshow).

If you want the full experience, keep reading.

In June of 2015, we took a drive to Yellowstone, our favorite National Park. Late one evening, in poor lighting, we were lucky to watch a grizzly and her cubs foraging for food.

I first mentioned the encounter in THIS post, and at the time I said it was late, the lighting was bad, and I had to shoot at a high ISO (2500 and above). Meaning, the photos were grainy, soft, and of low quality. The photo I shared in that post was one I tweaked and worked on to “make better” and still wasn’t very good.

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The SDS Challenge — Last “Envy” Voting Reminder in monochome

Can you believe it’s been almost four weeks? That’s right; you have less than two days before the voting closes. I wouldn’t wait until the turkey is in the oven, but that’s up to you.

If you are new to the SDS Challenge, a little background.

Three writers will each write one story a month going down the list of deadly sins. The stories can be anywhere from 666 words to 6,666 words in length, although those numbers are not set in stone. If ambitious, the writers will provide accompanying graphics. These stories will not be anonymous because some writers may want to use the same characters for each story and write a series — or book — encompassing all seven sins. Finally, interpretation of the titular sin is up to the writer. Meaning, each ‘sin’ can take multiple forms.

Disclaimer: The writing challenge has no restrictions and the stories will likely span a wide gamut of genres. The majority of the stories fall in the PG-rating range with a few perhaps pushing into the soft R-rating. Some readers might find a few of the stories disturbing because of the topics, language, and/or plot points, and if so, stop reading and move on.

If you want to read the Seven Deadly Sins submissions for the Sin of Envy, and then vote, your gateway is THIS POST <<link. There, you’ll find links to each of the three stories and a poll for you to vote after you finish them (if you be so moved).

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Fresh Photos from Cache River Watershed

For them not interested in reading, you can see the photos in THIS<<link SmugMug Gallery.  

For a SmugMug slideshow click HERE<<link. When you click the link, it will open in a new window and you have two options:
1) Manually scroll through the photos by clicking the “<” and “>” symbols to the left or right of the photos.
2) There’s a PLAY/PAUSE button at the top-left of the screen with the transition set at about 5 seconds. Note: clicking the PLAY arrow will run a full-screen slideshow. You can then still use the”<” and “>” symbols to the left or right of the photos as this will pause the slideshow.

If you want the full experience, keep reading.

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

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Fifth “Z” stories voting reminder . . . and Yellowstone ago artsified

The “Z” stories voting block is progressing at a decent clip . . . but it could do much better. Unfortunately, this is the last chance for the voting to smash previous records. That’s right . . . it’s now or never.

And you, yes, YOU, can be a part of it and help us reach that goal! I don’t mean just reading and voting for the stories, but also pushing them onto friends and family (presuming you have friends and family who like to read). I mean, it’s not that much of a commitment (for them or you) since this is the last group of stories. Still, I get people may be busy hiding or hunting eggs and stuff, so do if you can, but don’t feel bad if you can’t (or, don’t want to).

Just know that if you’ve been a loyal reader of our offerings and someone who votes, you have the writer’s unending gratitude.

The links to this last trio of stories and the poll for voting for “Alphabet Challenge Z-Stories” are HERE(link). Votes will be accepted until  Noon (Central Time) on Thursday, April 8th, 2021. That means you have less than five days left.

For many people I know, today is kind of special. Whatever celebration you might be having — even if it’s just to enjoy being alive — I hope it is a grand day.

. . . I should probably express that more often since it’s my desire for readers and non-readers alike regardless of which day it is.

But, seeing as today is a holiday for some, I thought I would do a quick reminder post, and what better way to do “quick” than take previous photos and artsify them? That’s right; there is no better way. 

All of the photos are treated with Topaz Restyle, Topaz Impression, and framed using Topaz Studio.

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Fourth “Z” stories voting reminder . . . and Yellowstone ago

The “Z” stories voting undergoes bursts of activity and — since this is the last of the stories — I figure I would do a bit more reminding and prodding. You know, to maybe have this last block smash the previous voting records.

And you, yes, YOU, can be a part of it and help us reach that goal! I don’t mean just reading and voting for the stories, but also pushing them onto friends and family (presuming you have friends and family who like to read). I mean, it’s not that much of a commitment (for them or you) since this is the last group of stories. Still, I get people may be busy hiding or hunting eggs and stuff, so do if you can, but don’t feel bad if you can’t (or, don’t want to).

Just know that if you’ve been a loyal reader of our offerings and someone who votes, you have the writer’s unending gratitude.

The links to this last trio of stories and the poll for voting for “Alphabet Challenge Z-Stories” are HERE(link). Votes will be accepted until  Noon (Central Time) on Thursday, April 8th, 2021. That means you have less than five days left.

Yellowstone NP is (so far) our favorite National Park. I mean, there may be parks out there we’ve not seen and that would supplant Yellowstone’s lofty position, but they have a lot to live up to. 

I mean, Yellowstone has the views, the animals, the mountains, and valleys . . . and then there are the geothermal features.

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Luminar AI 1.2 — Sky Replacement

My usual litany when I’ve been gone for a while goes something like this: sorry I’ve not been around much, but stuff be happening that precludes me from being more involved with the blog or the blogosphere in general.

Well, this is one of them times when the usual litany is applicable. Still, even when doing other things, I occasionally need to step away from “stuff” and dip my toe back into what relaxes me, namely, playing with photographs and posting them.

JPG output from Lightroom using “Auto” adjustments of the original RAW photo.

That’s a shot from the Rocky Mountains National Park, taken during a visit in July of 2010. The camera is the Nikon D200, and the lens is the Sigma 10-20mm f/4.0-5.6 at 13mm zoom (19.5mm effective). In fact, all the photos are shot with that camera/lens combination with the effective zoom ranging from 15mm to 30mm.
 

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Reworked Coyote Photos — 001

For them not interested in reading, you can see the photos in THIS<<link SmugMug Gallery.  

For a SmugMug slideshow, click HERE<<link. When you click the link, it will open in a new window, and you have two options:
1) Manually scroll through the photos by clicking the “<” and “>” symbols to the left or right of the photos.
2) There’s a PLAY/PAUSE button at the bottom-left of the screen with the transition set at about 5 seconds. Note: clicking the PLAY arrow will run a full-screen slideshow. You can then still use the”<” and “>” symbols to the left or right of the photos (this will pause the slideshow).

If you want the full experience, keep reading.

That coyote was photographed at Little Big Horn — yes, that Little Big Horn — with my Nikon D100 and Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR lens.

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Artified photos and another “T” stories voting reminder

In four days, the Alphabet Challenge “T” Stories voting round will end. I post the reminders because there have been late-round voting surges which seem tied to the deadline approaching . . . probably people who enjoy the thrill of working to a deadline.

. . . although this isn’t really work, or shouldn’t be . . . .

If you’re a reader of our stories and someone who votes, thank you in advance for casting a vote for your favorite of the three. Links to the stories and the poll for voting for “Alphabet Challenge T-Stories” are HERE(link) Votes will be accepted until noon, Chicago time, on November 27th.

As usual, let me know if something goes wrong with the voting . . . and today I decided to process a few more Nikon D100 photos, but transitioning from flowers to other stuff.

Those look like Black-eyed Susan flowers but they’re actually a wildflower that looks similar. Or, maybe they are Black-eyed Susan from seeds that had been blown into a natural setting. We’ll never know.

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