Los Alamos, New Mexico. 2006. Click to enlarge (13.5 Mb!)
A couple of weekends back, I woke up early around 5:00am (never happens usually!). With nothing else to do, I picked up my camera and tripod to shoot some pictures. Walking across a trail, I came across this view. It was not a clear morning and the lighting was difficult. But this one shot was not bad. These mountains were created by magma flowing out of the Jemez volcano and by years of wind and water erosion. Gases venting out of the magma would explain the holes in the mountain sides. Before their extermination started, native Indians used to live inside these holes.
posted by littlecow at
11:01 AM
14 Comments:
Sami, awesome photo. What struck me most is how ``level'' the photo is. Does your tripod come with some sort of spirit level, or did you do the straightening when you created the panorama (assuming you stitched several photos to get this one).
@v_madhu: Thanks! Ahem, it is most interesting that you should ask this question about the tripod - the very same device we bought in Ithaca five years ago from J. C. Penny right before the new york trip!
Do you also remember that late night before the 2000 new year when we were loitering around the mountains near cornell, came to a beautifully decorated house, stood and took pictures, when a man from the house came out with a shot-gun and we ran for our lives? Do you remember that we went back after a short run to pick up something we left behind? It is the very same tripod! We were, of course, spirited but my tripod was not.
I adjusted the rotation plane parallel to the horizon. The error was about 0.5 degrees which was corrected using photoshop...
Btw, I did notice the influence of latex in writing ``level". Happy thesis typing! :)
@rhythm: Yes. There was still some snow left when I took this picture. It is a composite of about 8 images (there were 10 in all but I had to discard 2)...
No... a remote was, thankfully, not required. Why is it that people have a tendency to remember and remind all the dubious things I have done but not the good, happy, nice things?! Argh, what friends I have I say...
:D
@rhythm: I was at the end of a cliff. Using a remote might not be a wise option!
That house is a part of a backup-airport... or it could be some waste processing plant.
@incredibly beautiful.. waking up early is always useful :) Btw when I enlarge it to full..and the scroll..reminds me of your grandcanyon video :)
on similar note..boston has most beautiful sunsets!! except I always seem to be in my car when this happens.. :( Have to catch it on camera before it ends..
Dear ligne,
We usually use "@" followed by a person's name to address that person. Now with that in mind, please read your comment above once again. Perhaps, it was a freudian slip, in which case, I must tell you, at the risk of enormous self-deprecation, that you have a very poor taste. :)
But clever as I am, I did understand what you really meant, and why, thank you very much!
That brings us to the point of the grand canyon videos. Pray, where did your deep and contemplative mind see images like these in that grand canyon video? And did I even show you fellows that video or is it some figment of your ripe imagination?
In the matter of the setting sun, I was driving in Santa Fe the other evening and saw a spectacular sunset - it was brilliant. But I was on the phone with M and was searching for the store on the left, all the while monitoring any cop activity. To top it all, I did not have a camera. So that snap has to wait. As for Boston, I suppose the river makes it pretty, eh?
Dude, awesome pic... As madhu put it, the awesomeness of the pic lies in the fact that you got the tripod to be as close to horizontal as one would like... My trysts with the tripod so far have lacked spirit because of the very same flaw of not being on the level with the very mote of dust we call earth....
It conveys serenity and grandeur simultaneously. Excellent picture.
@
@b-a-l: I dont think the non-level thing should really have much of an effect on the photos. Reduce the zoom so that you can cut the top and bottom portions off. Making panos is quite error tolerant in that respect. Start by taking two-photo panos so that you know how much overlap you should put and then move to the level thing.
@atma_tripta: Thank you! That morning was pretty nice. Usually, the deserts represent activity for me (contrary to popular opinion as it might be)... perhaps, its the struggle for survival, to find food that makes it dramatic. But it did look quite serene that foggy morning. The grandeur certainly is there!
Awesome pic. Sadly, i don't know much about photography except whther I like it or not , so can't add much to the intellectual photo-convo going on :)
@kumari: Thanks! Most of it is friendly banter: some of them are teasing me on a certain dubious story I was associated with in champaign. :D and I am teasing some of them with their slips in memories and words. Join in, write something random and it will work out just fine... :)
ps: All you need to take good photographs is a decent camera and loads of enthu. So pick up your camera and go hunting!
@bala :
now I got it right..you must see..it was just a slip of mind..nothing freudian in it :)
I meant the video where A says " dekho kitni gahari khayee hai." I have seen it several times btw..
And yep the river does make it pretty here in Boston... and so does the sea..a wide angle camera or telephoto lens would be very much useful..
@ligne: Need I elaborate on the disappointment caused?! Or should I say that I am glad you dont have a poor taste?!
Of course, now I remember! I have those videos still with me and some more... :)
Go for a $1000 digital camera... or remind people that your birthday is near - all you need is 20 good friends that can put up $50 each...
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