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| Mount Athabasca |
Has been a long time since I wrote on this cumbersum piece of equipment. Using the cell phone is just so much easier as I now take most photos with the phone too. I took some pictures with my Nikon camera in the last few days, so I download them off the SD card onto my laptop, and now this is how I'll produce todays blog.
One thing I notice right away is no prompts for words, or emoticons, or emoji's 👦 If I want them here I have to prompt myself.
Like much we get used to as our technical advancments change how we operate, we just don't know how we have changed how we do things, until we take a step back. Is a good education doing this, almost feels like going to a rotary dial phone after using a push button one for a long time.
I'll move on.
Going on our trip this time I said to Polly I wanted to take the camera out of hiding and keep it close, as there will be times I will use it. That didn't happen untill we got to Jasper.
We pulled into Wilcox Creek Campsite after a somewhat long day traveling, and picked our site and setup. After a short time I took a walk with Bosco as per usual. I met the neighbours, and had a yak with them, then the next neighbour, who I had met while filling out our slip for paying for the campsite. Then a little further down the road I met a couple guys that tell me the beautiful mountian I had stopped to admire was what they were going to climb, starting out at 1:30am.
Well that kinda set me back, just the thought of starting out then makes me thing, holly crap, I would not be up for that. They told me they have 2 guides, and they told them that they expect to make the sumit at about 7am. Was hard for me to believe they would start then, dark and just not my cup of tea. I love early mornings, but at 10pm I'm not to good for much anymore LOL.
After a little more talk I tell them I'll photograph them as they walk across the ridge, and see what I can get. I have a 300mm lens so should be able to get some kind of image that we could make out of them on top. They like the idea of this and tell me they expect to be back by noon or so, and I let them know we will be outta here by then, so I give them my cell# and ask them to send a text then we would be connected. We part company as they have to go to sleep. Just as we are saying bye, a girl pops outta the tent, I say Hi, and I walk away. As I do I hear them telling her that I will be taking the pictures in the morning. They all sound happy at this thought.
I tell Polly when I get home, and she is also surprised at 1:30am start hike time. I now have a project.
I get the Tripod out from under the back seat and dust it off, haven't used this in like, gee 3 years I guess. I get the camera out of the cupboard and make sure its working ok. Setting up the tripod, I remember much of my training from the days in the camera club in Ladysmith. I notice the dust is thick on the tripod. After I extend it, and level it I attach the tripod connector to the camera, and make sure it's tight. Then I snap the camera on the tripod, and set it up to shoot the exact spot on the mountian where he told me they would walk. I try the remote but dead battery, darn it'll be hard to get a clear steady shot now.
I take a few shots, and see how it might look, not sure how much detail I will get, but will get up and try. I leave the tripod setup for the morning, and we have another good dinner. I'm such a lucky man, Polly's always got a plan for dinner. Polly asks if I'm leaving it outside set up, "Yep I am" going to be ready. We play cards and then we're tired from the drive, we get to sleep early.
6am Polly wakes and says, Hey Brent I think its 7am. Up I get not wanting to miss them, and look at the time as I get coffee on, I have some time before they will be there. I feel kinda tired still, but ok.
I start taking a few pictures between 6:30 and 7, making sure I get them as they start the ridge. By 7:15 I think I might not be able to see them, 7:27 I caught my first sight of them. I was happy I didn't miss them, they were about 1/2 way along the ridge.
Now I snap offten, and try to keep it still as I shoot. I shoot about 200 photos, and try to keep shooting a little each time as they progress up the ridge to the top. When they stop it looks like its not the top, but must have been the highest point.
They now stay in one place for just about 1/2 hour, then the assend along the ridge, and I take shots again as the hike down.
Was fun to do, and didn't know till I loaded to the laptop how the pics turned out. Not as good as I hoped, but not bad. I looked close, and some I'm sure they could tell who was who, and what was going on in each photo. One photo a couple jumped up and hugged, I thought that was very cool to capture, as I really couldn't tell untill I saw the photos on the laptop.
So I edited the best I had, by croping, and hoped I got the best. Was a fun project I didn't know I would be doing. Using my camera again, and setting up the tripod, and just pulling together all I knew to achieve something nice. Was fun.
I sent the photos, and one special one where two were jumping up for a hug, that was so unexpected. Was nice to get an emotional photo from such a distance, even if not clear.
I asked Andrew if they could send a couple of there shots from on top to me, and he said when he got home he would. He asked for a full size Hug Photo. Made me happy to know I caught something special. What a sap hey, well thats me 😊
Jasper was really Awsome, and Wilcox Creek campsite was a great place to stay. Playing cards with Polly that night was great too, she won once in rummy and I beat her next game, we have yet to play the rubber. Polly finnished her book, I took some pictures. We both are doing just what we want as we travel through this life together.
Love this life we chose more every day.
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