August was a shitty month, lots had happened, but I’m glad that things are working out fine. I wasn’t in the mood to update the blog during August for sure. September is the travelling month, and I camped for 7 days at the Yellowstone and the Grand Teton National Park. It was one of the shortest trips I’ve ever taken but, it was definitely rewarding and I had taken countless beautiful pictures. Here is how it went….

It’s the end of the third day.. I’m laying in my tent typing on the iPhone trying to write my journal.. Where do I start. Flying from Vancouver to Salt Lake City was easy. The flight from SLC to West Yellowstone was a small propellor jet (wasn’t surprised) and it delayed for an hour. The West Yellowstone airport was tiny! and old. The baggage pick up area was just a tiny metallic platform where the ground people would unload the bagages onto a trailer and then bring them to the platform… it was literally 30 meters from the plane, kind of hilarious. Renting the car was super east though, got a mid size Chevolet, very clean and stuff.

Day 1
I drove to the Marketplace in W Yellowstone to load up a bunch of can foods, and water, just in case. Entrance to the park was really close by, less then 10 minutes away. Paid the entrance fee of $25 and the cashier said not too many people stick around for 7 days.. I drove straight to Norris, got my campsite registered (self register), set up the tent, and drove away. I passed by the Gibbon Falls, checked out the Artist Paint Pot Trail (with some really cool venting bubbling mud pools) and the Roaring Mountain. I went to the Norris Geyser Basin, super cool looking vents right from the ground! and there were abundant of them, some were blue, some green, some filled with mud and bubbling… it’s just crazy. At the end of the day I hiked up this pretty brutal trail called the Monument Geyser Basin Trail which was a 30 minutes constant, steep uphill climb. I wasn’t even sure how I was able to make it but it was welllllll worth the effort! At the top there was a huge area full of venting steam holes of different sizes, and the best part is that I got to actually walk on them and touch the boiling water! It wasn’t very hot actually, lol. Out of surprise there was another guy there, with his guitar, enjoying the solitude. This made my day.

Day 2
I checked out the Mammoth Hot Spring geyser area, walked along the upper and lower terrace loops, and saw tons and tons of very interesting white terraces containing different colors of water. Steam vents were everywhere, it’s like boiling water not in a kettle but on the ground, very interesting. It was an hour there and then I rushed to Tower campground hoping to get a site for the night, as it was already 2 pm. I was super lucky to get a site (there were only 32 of them!) Got my tent set up, and rushed to my next attraction which was the Tower Fall. Pretty impressive but nothing too crazy. Drove along the 7-mile dirt road called Blacktail Plateau Drive which was a waste of time, and thrn checked out the Petrified Tree which was anothet good waste of time. Drove down to the Canyon Village for some gift shopping and stuff. Went back to the Tower campground for the night.

Day 3
Didn’t have a very good sleep, got up at 6 to wash up and prepare, and had my usual canned sardine for breakfast. Got to the Mount Washburn trailhead, it was a 10 minutes unpaved, rough ride. Put my sunscreen on, filled up water bottle, and there I go. I was able to see the peak (end point) not too long from where I started, but it was crazy uphill! Took me at least 2 hrs to get up, luckily it wasn’t too hot and it was breezy. Along the way I spotted butterflies, chimpmonks, and tons of birds. At the peak there was an observatory deck, and some educational materials. Surprisingly after myself there were people keep coming up..! at least 10 groups of people other then myself. The view was of course stunning, although it would have been better if I came up an hour later so that the yellowstone grand canyon is more lit up. Getting down was BRUTAL! My toes really hurt and I actually had to stop a couple times just to give my feet a rest. In fact the hike was a little too much for my body and I have been feeling light headed for the entire day. After that I took a detour to the Canyon Village, got my lunch( sandwich) and drink, and an orange. Sent my postcard, and left for the main attractions. I checked out all of the view points on the North and South Rim Roads: Inspiration Point, Artists Point, Grand Canyon, Lower and Upper falls… etc. Not too many people around so It was really awesome and I was able go proceed swiftly. Not feeling too well, I decided go head down to Bridge Bay where I’ll be coping for the night. On the way I passed by Haden Valley and there where tonssss of Bisons around! It was kind of like being in Africa watching games. Some of them were trying to cross the road and it caused huge traffic jam. Nevertheless I stopped for a few times and got some decent pictures and videos of them. Got to the camp site finally, had to drive 5km North to Fishing Bay to shower (first shower in three days!) and drove back. Super stressed and tired, I really am hoping for a good sleep.. and no bears. Oh I spotted bears today from a distance, there were groups of people stopping by the road and Of course I had to get off he car. Thanks to my long zoom lens I was able go get a few good shots.

Day 4
Had no sleep last night because of the uneven ground I set up my tent on and during the night I was constantly sliding down. I didn’t even know how I managed to stay awake until 6am.. Got up and washed up and packed my tent. Worst thing was that there was a really bad cramp on my right knee, and I had trouble walking. It was probably because of the extreme hike I had yesterday, as I had similar experience back when I hiked in Utah. Luckily the pain went away in the afternoon. Hay fever was bugging me quite a bit today, not too bad but enough for me to have to keep a couple sheets of tissue paper in my pocket. I head up to the Hayden Valley and as expected, tons of Bisons again and they were crossing the road causing traffic, just like yesterday. Saw the valley in morning light, it was peaceful and magical. The Yellowstone Lake was equally awesome, with steam coming up from the surface of the water. I pulled aside and took a quick nap since I was feeling really tired. After that I checked out the Mud Volcano area, giant steam vents with boiling mud; and Sulfur Caldron which has boiling acidic water that can melt your shoes. I like the mud volcano especially the Black Dragon’s Caldron where boiling steam escapes from a cavern making roaring, deep sound, really cool. I then had some lame can food for lunch, and then headed for the West Thumb Geyser Basin. Upon entering there were pools of sky-blue colored pools of water and, not far from that I saw for the first time one of those ‘colorful’ springs that Yellowstone is known for. Really cool, rainbow colors, and luckily I brought my polarizing filter with me cause without it I won’t be able to capture the true colors of the springs. Headed back to Grant Village where I’ve set up my tent at noon (finally a really nice, leveled site) and I’m done for the day. Oh before that I dropped by the Yellowstone General Store to get some more gifts and stuff.

Day 5
I had some good rest finally! Although it was freezing cold (below zero) and I almost caught cold when I got out of the sleeping bag (or maybe I already did?!) I had to tighten up the portion of the mummy sleeping bag so that only my eyes and nose is exposed. Got up around 7am, washed up in the extreme morning coldness, had my canned fish for breakfast, and headed towards Old Faithful. I’m now sitting besides the Lonestar Geyser after a 45 minutes easy hike. According to the guy I bumped into along the way the geyser erupted at 8:08am so I will have to wait until 11am to see it erupts again (it does it every 3 hours) and it’s 10:34am right now. I was able to catch the eruption! I was almost going to leave but somehow I decided to stick around for another 10 minutes and it paid off - it was about 9 minutes late. Super impressive 50 feet water shooting out of the main hole and some smaller holes.. and the sound of the pressure and steam was crazy. This has to be the highlight of the trip. I stuck around for a while and walked another 45 min back to the parking lot. My hay fever got a lot worse, I was literally sneezing and running nose nonstop I couldn’t even get out of the car when I got to the Old Faithful area. Somehow I managed to check out the general store, got a box of Clariton which sort of helped for then next 2 hours. The Visitor Centre was pretty nice, tons of exhibits and I watched a 15 min video there (intro to YS). I spent the next 2 hours wandering around the 50+ geysers along the trails next to the visitor centre. So many people..this has to be the most popular destination for visitors. I skipped the Old Faithful Geyser since the ranger predicts that it won’t erupt until an hour later. I was lucky enough to catch the eruption for the Grand Geyser though! Which was predicted to erupt “between 1pm and 5pm” so I considered myself super lucky. Loved the Morning Glory Pool at the end of the trail, super colorful and I think this is the one that they use for the postcards. Still sneezing crazily but I sill managed to check out the Black Sand Basin area. Nothing too impressive but I like the huge Sunset Lake spring and the Emerald Pool, they are both huge and equally colorful. I couldn’t do it anymore and had to make it back to Grant Village campsite…

Day 6
Had an okay sleep, more like half asleep. Got up around 7am, had a chat with a guy in the washroom and he said I look great, I said he looks great too and he said he looks like a monkey. People here are really nice, especially the older folks, 99% are nice. I did met some racist-ish older people that didn’t really seem to want to talk to you. Generally the park is filled with older couples or single old men(55+), very few young couples(mostly 30+) and almost none of the 20’s except for some Asian students. I wonder what makes older people come here. Most of them are super healthy I’ve even seen an old guy riding up the Signal Mountain Road Which is a steep, long uphill and he was like riding in air. Anyway after breakfast (chocolate muffin I got few days ago), I hit south to the Grand Teton National Park for my 1-Day Trip. First I had to get to the Colter Bay Campground to get a camp site. Got there at 9 and I’ve got a really cool site! Super private albeit a little far away between the parking spot and the actual site. Got my tent set up real quick and headed to the Colter Bay general store for some fridge magnets and souvenirs. Really nice and cozy store, with a proper(finally) supermarket next door so I had to stock up dinner and drinks. Headed towards Signal Mountain next which was a slow and windy 20 minutes drive. The view up there was awesome, a super enormous valley with some trees here and there, very scenic. I then drove to a couple lookouts including the Cathedral Lookout which has a pretty good view of the Teton mountain ranges. The park is pretty much all about these mountains, with various viewpoints throughout the park. It was a little cloudy so the Teton Mountain was in a shadow, but I still got some good shots of Mt Moran and the other few. Drove down further south to the South Jenny Lake where I paid $10 to take a shuttle boat ride across the lake. Hiked up half a mile uphill to see the Hidden Falls, which in fact was pretty hidden. I was feeling pretty weak and annoyed because of my already so after that I took the boat ride back. Drove to a few more viewpoints. The Snake River Lookout was kind of cool, although it was gloomy and also you don’t get a perfect view of the river, unlike the Grand Viewpoint in Yellowstone where you can have an awesome view of the yellowstone river. I called it a day and headed back to the campsite. It’a raining right now, I can hear every droplet very clearly as it hits my tent fly. I guess I should go to sleep.

Day 7
Had an okay sleep, not quite enough but it was alright, I can have all the sleep I want tonight. I wasn’t really sure how i was going to spend the day cause I have to fly out at 5:39pm, so I sort of go as I see fit. I started off driving back North to Old Faithful. Checked out the Black Sand Basin once again in case the Emerald Pool looks better, and it sort of did. Drove further up to see the Biscuit Basin and it’s got some huge geysers as well. Nothing beats the Midway Geyser Basin where the Grand Prisima Geyser was - world’s largest geyser and it was hugeee and super colorful. Insanely cool, and there were some Japanese film crew shooting there with 3D cameras. I took so many shots there literally used up most of my SD card storage. Checked out the Firepot Paint Point, another mud pot but it was huge. Drove along the Canyon Mountain Drive, kind of cool with a river and some nice and tall canyon walls but nothing compared to the ones in Zion NP. I think that’s pretty much it, kind of a relaxing day (I was on my flip flops for the entire time) so my feet are happy. Nice and cool too and the sun kind of warms me up, super nice weather for strolling along these amazing geysers. I consider myself lucky enough to be able to see most if not all of the colorful geysers under direct sunlight, as without proper lighting the colors won’t show up and you get a dull and boring picture. Had canned spaghetti and breakfast and lunch and an orange as desert. Got to the West Yellowstone Airport around 4:15pm, returned the car and that concludes my day. Right now I’m in the sky flying towards Salt Lake City, and then another 2 hrs of flight, followed by another 2.5 hrs drive back home…that’s the price to pay for all the fun I had, I guess. Small price though.

Wishes:

Got a folding bicycle couple days ago for $140, brand new with 6 speeds. I was hesitate to buy as it was apparently 100% China designed and made but due to the rad price I went for it. I got all the screws tightened, got taillamp, headlamp, a bell at dollar store and a helmet from Costco. It was super nice today so I took on my first ride all the way down to Steveston. It was a little scary at first with the cars and other bicycles flew by but I got the hang of it in no time. I couldn’t believe that I didn’t have a bicycle for the past 10 years (I had one but parents brought it with them when they went back to Hong Kong), I was really missing out. Not only it’s a great exercise plus you get to see all kinds of things that you don’t normally see. The entire world seems to be running at a slower pace, and I got to see things like, people relaxing at their patio, single men and women who park their cars along Dyke road that seem to lookas if they’re having a hard time in their lives (or maybe they were out just to relax, who knows), huge cargo ships passing by, ducks and birds having fun in the glittering water, old couples holding hands walking down the road…etc. That is another side of the world that I don’t often get to see, but now I realize that I can see it everyday if I want to and it’s really easy. I brought my Olympus OM-1n SLR with me, stopped by the water a couple times to take some shots of the drift woods and the glittering water. My life isn’t progressing very smoothly but I know that it’s not the end of the world and all I have to do is to live life happily and enjoy it while I still have it.

On another note, my M-Audio Firewire 410’s delivered however the installation fucked up the settings in Logic 9. I spent 2 hours messing with it still couldn’t get it to send MIDI signals to my keyboard correctly. I’ve just uninstalled Logic 9 and see if it’s going to help. This really sucks.

It’s really been a while since I last spent time on actually learning how to use Photoshop. While fighting off the damned allergy and sinus issues, I managed to finished the entire book of 旅人的攝影, written by a Korean photographer whose ambicious in travelling around the world just like me. A lot of his tips are stuff that I already knew but it was good to have a reassurnace on my existing knowledge on certain things. He mentioned that when you want to take the best, competition-ready photographs, you need to travel alone, which I definitely agree. Also learned a lot about packing camera gears for a trip, framing, flash…etc. I started on another book called Photoshop 神迷目眩のPS寫真編修技, written by a Hong Kong photographer. It’s got tons of tutorials on how to edit/improve photos of girls, mainly beautify faces and add special efffects. I found one of the tutorials super useful and cool:

• You can paint your own eyeshadows with the “Overlay” color blend mode. Later I found online that the “Soft Light” and “Color” color blend mode also works magic.
• The eyeshadow should cover most of the top part of the eye, not touching the eyebrow, and extends a little over towards the tip of the eye (away from center).
• Paint eyeliner with the “Burn” tool - just do it around the top and bottom of the eye.
• Get eyelashes brushes at http://www.obsidiandawn.com/eyelashes-photoshop-gimp-brushes

I’ve also learned about “Adjustment Layers”, something seems to be super important and popular in PS although I’ve never worked with them before, what a shame. Basically it allows you to apply the common adjustment in a non-destructive way, as a layer (it even has its own layer mask!). One of the other cool thing is the “Fill Layer”, which is basically a layer that you can fill with a solid color, and what’s cool about it is that you can choose the color blend mode of “Color” and select a color say orange, and it’ll become a “warming” filter for the image.

Photoshop is so cool, I’m going to have to download CS5 soon and try out this “Context Aware” feature, which is suppose to be able to remove unwanted object with a click of a button.

On another note, I’ve finally named my inner ceo and submitted my requests! 16 pages of requests, hopefully they will get approved and worked on!

Bought this magazine today while I was doing grocery. I almost never buy magazines off the shelf, no $ and they usually are crap full of ads and spam and price lists. Okay this one is super cool, I knew it after flipping through 3-4 pages. Tons of very useful tips, for a variety of situations. Easy to follow, and the images the author’s taken were exquisite - the kind of images that I’d like to learn to take. Minimal ads too. At $11 I think it’s a no-brainer. I buy 2-3 magazines a year, I guess this is going to be the first one for 2011. It’s thick probably going to take me a month to finish reading it with my busy schedule. I’ll probably bring it with me when I fly to Hong Kong next month. It makes me happy when I see good books that I like and are hugely beneficial to my skills, AND easy to read. Thanks to whoever that wrote it.

I got this new McDonald’s buttermilk sausage and egg breakfast muffin for free with their promotion. I wanted to like it but I couldn’t, it just sucked. The bread/cookie could be tasty on its own but not when it’s bundled with the sausage and egg - super dry, mushy, made me super thirsty, and I almost couldn’t finish it cuz it was just too dry. Felt even worse than eating a raw potato. I doubt it will be a success, it sucks too bad.

I saw the first ever posting of the E-5 on Ebay today! Sent an email to the seller asking if he can upgrade the shipping to one/two day expedited just so I can get the camera in time for Africa. Very scared now that someone will buy it before the seller responses….

I cancelled my order for the E-5 on Vistek.ca as they couldn’t give me an exact date that they’re going to receive the camera. The web sales girl was the lamest person I ever talked to - she sounded totally uncare, with a really dead voice. I totally don’t want to deal with them anymore. Glad that I cancelled it.

Finally got this lens. $900USD from ebay. Made in Japan. Been wanting this lens for the past 1.5 years but couldn’t justify the price. Well I wasn’t really that much into “bokeh” and fixed primes, not until lately I started to care more about image qualities. Does every photographer eventually ditches their zooms and opt for the primes? I still love my zoom lenses but maybe one day, I’ll be doing all primes, who knows.

Anyway the lens is heavy - weights about the same as my 12-60mm zoom, kind of crazy. I took it out for some sample shots, so far so good, except that the auto-focus is kind of slow and sometimes it’s not quite accurate. There could be a learning curve for this lens, afterall it’s no fun being able to utilize its best right up front. The bokeh is amazing! In fact the aperture is a little “too big” during the day, when it’s really bright doing f/1.4 requires a shutter speed of > 1/8000 sec! This lens’s opened up a brand new world to me and I can just imagine the variety of pics that I can take using it.