Little friend we met on the way home.
Night shot of a monument. At the time, I didn't even see that sign in front of the monument, because it was so dark.
The moon, with my new telephoto lens! (Now when am I going to get that telescope?) This is actually a cropped image.
Sunset outside Sedona. Try to ignore the spot in the top-middle of the picture. It's a spot on my lens, and is on all my photos :(
Road Trip!
Okay, so now for the good stuff. Ryan and I finally found a camera store that has a decent selection of equipment on Wednesday. Apparently there's only two good camera stores in the state. So on Wednesday I bought a circular polarizing filter, but we inadvertantly got a taste of their lens selection. So we went back on Friday after work... and we both kinda bought lenses. Ryan bought a cool Sigma telephoto 70-300mm lens with macro mode, and I bought a Nikkor 70-210mm telephoto, which may or may not have macro. Mine was used, so I'll have to read up on it online. But I got $50 off the labelled price, so I'm quite happy. And it takes great pictures, so I'm incredibly happy with it. It's a solid piece of machinery.
So what do you do when you have new photography equipment? You drive 6 hours to Monument Valley! We left around 4:30 or so, driving through Sedona where we took some sunset pictures. We made it to Monument Valley after midnight, so we decided to take some night photos and not get a hotel. Around 3am, the worst happened: my camera battery died! Ryan reminded me to bring the charger, but I had notwhere to plug it in. So we drove around lovely Kayenta (the city closest to Monument Valley), looking for a 24-hour Walmart.
Now here's a note about Kayenta. If you can avoid it, you probably should. I've never been to a city that has wild, mangey dogs wandering around everywhere. The gas station, the hotels, the shopping mall. Oh, and we saw tumbleweed outside the city. Definitely not a good sign.
Anyway, we eventually just went to the hotel and asked them to charge the battery for 15 minutes, which they did. Then we burned rubber back to Monument Valley and managed to catch sunrise, though it wasn't quite as impressive as the pictures we had seen. There's probably a better vantage point inside the park, but we were tired and grumpy at that point. Around 6:30am we managed to find a small bit of shade under a tree, so we parked the car and fell asleep.
The blazing heat of the sun woke us up at 9:30am, so we made our way home, going through Sunset Crater National Monument. It was pretty cool seeing all the pumice, but the pictures didn't really turn out. Anyway, we made it home in the evening and crashed shortly thereafter.
The moral of the story: new lens = good, Monument Valley = pretty good, Kayenta = back away slowly. Next week we plan on going to the Grand Canyon, so plenty more opportunity for photos.
So what do you do when you have new photography equipment? You drive 6 hours to Monument Valley! We left around 4:30 or so, driving through Sedona where we took some sunset pictures. We made it to Monument Valley after midnight, so we decided to take some night photos and not get a hotel. Around 3am, the worst happened: my camera battery died! Ryan reminded me to bring the charger, but I had notwhere to plug it in. So we drove around lovely Kayenta (the city closest to Monument Valley), looking for a 24-hour Walmart.
Now here's a note about Kayenta. If you can avoid it, you probably should. I've never been to a city that has wild, mangey dogs wandering around everywhere. The gas station, the hotels, the shopping mall. Oh, and we saw tumbleweed outside the city. Definitely not a good sign.
Anyway, we eventually just went to the hotel and asked them to charge the battery for 15 minutes, which they did. Then we burned rubber back to Monument Valley and managed to catch sunrise, though it wasn't quite as impressive as the pictures we had seen. There's probably a better vantage point inside the park, but we were tired and grumpy at that point. Around 6:30am we managed to find a small bit of shade under a tree, so we parked the car and fell asleep.
The blazing heat of the sun woke us up at 9:30am, so we made our way home, going through Sunset Crater National Monument. It was pretty cool seeing all the pumice, but the pictures didn't really turn out. Anyway, we made it home in the evening and crashed shortly thereafter.
The moral of the story: new lens = good, Monument Valley = pretty good, Kayenta = back away slowly. Next week we plan on going to the Grand Canyon, so plenty more opportunity for photos.
The trip so far...
Ok, so I figured I should let people know how my trip has been going so far.
I left for Phoenix last Monday in the morning. It was my first flight since I was 10, and my first alone. The customs people were kind enough to assist me by rooting through my bags and then performing a quick but thorough body examination. I really appreciate their straight-to-business, you-look-like-a-terrorist attitude; it really made the whole experience complete. The flight was fine, and I made it to Phoenix on time, where Ryan picked me up at the airport.
So what is life in Phoenix like? I'm not sure. I don't like going outside, because it's so hot! The first few days it went above 40 centigrade! The apartment we're staying in is quite nice: air-conditioning (thank god!), pool (with a mini-beach), and two whirlpools. I'll post pictures once I take some.
The first night we went out to dinner with some collegues. The beer here is awful. Although I have had some since that is better. After dinner, Ryan and I went to the outskirts of the city and did some night photography. We got some really nice pictures, and I'll post them shortly.
Otherwise I haven't done too much (besides this weekend, but that's another post). I may check out Phoenix-proper (I'm in Chandler actually), but I've heard it's rather dull. So I think I may just enjoy the pool instead :)
I left for Phoenix last Monday in the morning. It was my first flight since I was 10, and my first alone. The customs people were kind enough to assist me by rooting through my bags and then performing a quick but thorough body examination. I really appreciate their straight-to-business, you-look-like-a-terrorist attitude; it really made the whole experience complete. The flight was fine, and I made it to Phoenix on time, where Ryan picked me up at the airport.
So what is life in Phoenix like? I'm not sure. I don't like going outside, because it's so hot! The first few days it went above 40 centigrade! The apartment we're staying in is quite nice: air-conditioning (thank god!), pool (with a mini-beach), and two whirlpools. I'll post pictures once I take some.
The first night we went out to dinner with some collegues. The beer here is awful. Although I have had some since that is better. After dinner, Ryan and I went to the outskirts of the city and did some night photography. We got some really nice pictures, and I'll post them shortly.
Otherwise I haven't done too much (besides this weekend, but that's another post). I may check out Phoenix-proper (I'm in Chandler actually), but I've heard it's rather dull. So I think I may just enjoy the pool instead :)
Weekend Update
Ok, so I'm in Arizona now, but I thought I should post about my weekend first. Carolyn and I went to Ottawa for the Tulip Festival, and it was... well, rainy and yucky. But it was actually nice on the Saturday morning when we went to view the flowers, so I got some pictures. Otherwise, we just hung out in Ottawa with friends, and on the way back home we fed the bunnies at the Big Apple farm.
T-9 hours
I'm all packed and ready to go. My flight for Phoenix, AZ leaves in abound 9 hours. I should get to bed, but I'm a little nervous.
I had a good weekend in Ottawa, though I am still sick. I will post pictures later this week. And I will let you know when I arrive in Arizona.
Wish me luck.
I had a good weekend in Ottawa, though I am still sick. I will post pictures later this week. And I will let you know when I arrive in Arizona.
Wish me luck.
So it's official...
I'm flying to Arizona on Monday for 3 weeks! I have the e-ticket in front of me, so the flight has been booked. I'm so excited! Ryan and I have been discussing a visit to the Grand Canyon. But there's also so many other things to see in Arizona. Monument Valley looks amazing too. Good thing I have two weekends, one of which will be a long weekend, thanks to Memorial Day in the US. I'll be returning home on Friday, June 10th.
Weekend update
I played soccer on Friday for the first time in a very long time (and probably for the third time ever). It was cold and blustery day, and the squad was tired and disheartened... but we played anyway... "the game must go on", they said. So we gritted our teeth and stood our ground on the dampened field that day. The threatening clouds and biting wind weren't going to scare us away.
Anyhoo, I played about 20 minutes on defense, and I didn't screw up very much so I was quite pleased. Unfortunately I injured my thigh, so I couldn't play the rest of the game... actually, I didn't so much as injure my thigh, and aggravate a pre-existing injury that I had sustained while tying my shoe that week. Needless to say, I haven't been very active over the last 10 years, and it shows.
After the game we (Carolyn and I) scrambled home for some last-minute tidying before her birthday party. The party went well, and everyone was impressed with our apartment. I will post pictures soon, because we are getting closer to having everything unpacked.
On Saturday we went to IKEA and bought yet more shelves. Damn those Swedes and their affordable furniture. In the evening we went to the Three Kretans, a Greek restaurant, with Carolyn's family. I highly recommend the restaurant to those in the KW-area.
But the BEST part of the weekend was that on Friday I was able to rid myself of that evil 24x7 support pager I had been carrying for the previous week. I do not look forward to seeing it again, though I will have it for two weeks in July and once again in August. *sigh*
Oh, and I should be going to Arizona next week. This time I mean it. Seriously. I think.
Anyhoo, I played about 20 minutes on defense, and I didn't screw up very much so I was quite pleased. Unfortunately I injured my thigh, so I couldn't play the rest of the game... actually, I didn't so much as injure my thigh, and aggravate a pre-existing injury that I had sustained while tying my shoe that week. Needless to say, I haven't been very active over the last 10 years, and it shows.
After the game we (Carolyn and I) scrambled home for some last-minute tidying before her birthday party. The party went well, and everyone was impressed with our apartment. I will post pictures soon, because we are getting closer to having everything unpacked.
On Saturday we went to IKEA and bought yet more shelves. Damn those Swedes and their affordable furniture. In the evening we went to the Three Kretans, a Greek restaurant, with Carolyn's family. I highly recommend the restaurant to those in the KW-area.
But the BEST part of the weekend was that on Friday I was able to rid myself of that evil 24x7 support pager I had been carrying for the previous week. I do not look forward to seeing it again, though I will have it for two weeks in July and once again in August. *sigh*
Oh, and I should be going to Arizona next week. This time I mean it. Seriously. I think.
What's going on?!?
Hello,
If you've made it here, then I must have told you about it. Why have I switched URLs? Basically, my blog is no longer public domain, so only my close friends and family (and family of friends... hello Wightmans!) can read it. So please don't link to my blog on your webpages or blogs.
Thanks!
If you've made it here, then I must have told you about it. Why have I switched URLs? Basically, my blog is no longer public domain, so only my close friends and family (and family of friends... hello Wightmans!) can read it. So please don't link to my blog on your webpages or blogs.
Thanks!
