Learning Curve

Posted on November 11, 2014November 11, 2014 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

Maybe I should call this post “be careful what you wish for”.

After I had been using my D3000 camera for about a year I began to get a little frustrated with its limitations. Oh there were ways to work around them but I came down with a bad case of camera lust.

At the time Ritz Camera was still around and I spent some time playing with a Nikon D7000. It seemed to have what I wanted. It could be set to automatically bracket for HDR and it had a place for a manual remote trigger. Those were the 2 biggies I was interested in at the time.

But time passes and I never seemed to get the money together. Then Ritz closed. More time passed and I spotted the D7100. I didn’t run into much buzz about the D7000 any more so I began researching the 7100. I wanted it it but there is something to be said for wanting things from afar.

The opportunity arose this weekend for me to pick up the D7100 for a very reasonable price and I jumped on it. I couldn’t wait to get it home and charge up the batteries.

By the time the first battery was charged it was dark so I plunked myself in my recliner with the camera to play. The first thing that threw me a curve was that I was taking pictures but nothing showed up on the live view.

I thought I was doing something wrong. Now if I had looked in the instruction manual I would have seen (in about 5 minutes or less) that to view the photos you need to push a little arrow and Voila! there they are.

Now I went searching for the histograms and (Shame on me) a way to get out of auto. The dial was 2 tiered and I had no idea what those choices were!

My oh my it will be awhile before I’m as comfortable with this baby as I was with my old entry level D3000. I have my work cut out for me.

By the end of the 2nd day I had managed to get all my settings in the camera and managed to get to the aperture and shutter modes so I am making progress but it still feels a bit like a struggle.

Practice Shot of Rocky taken from across the livingroom

Like I said, be careful what you wish for. I’m going to have quite a learning curve on this one!

It’s a Cat’s Life~No Words Needed

Posted on August 17, 2014August 17, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Cades Cove, Worth a Return trip?

Posted on June 8, 2014June 8, 2014 by Dusty Roads

After my disappointing experience on the train I wanted to cheer myself back up. The rain had finally passed and the sun had come out. The lovely clouds that form in the valleys had dissipated by the time I retrieved my car and started back to Gatlinburg so I made the return trip through Newfound Gap without lingering. As a result I was nearing the fork to Cades Cove while the sun was just dipping down toward the horizon. Do I take a drive through or not??? I decided that yes, I wanted one more visit.

It was later than my last trip so the shadows were longer in the fields and down right dark in the wooded areas. No bear this time but the deer were very active,

At first I thought this one was a fawn with spots but it was really just the way its winter coat was shedding.

This one is more like I’m used to seeing deer…in the woods, not the open meadows. I think it’s one of my favorite pictures.

This one was taken in the woods right next to the car! It was so dark the picture almost didn’t come out. As it is there’s not much color to be seen.

The males don’t seem as skittish as our local bucks. They are right out by the road.

Glad I stopped.

The View from the Train

Posted on June 7, 2014June 7, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Once I moved to the open air car I had a chance of getting a few pictures. Good thing because I get very grumpy when I can’t take pictures!

I got the train going around a curve

Another of the train going around the curve.

Lake Fontana

The Trestle Bridge

Train going around a curve.

Back of the train coming around the curve. See the little red caboose.

Lots of foliage.

Roaring Fork

Posted on June 5, 2014June 5, 2014 by Dusty Roads

The drive back from the Cataloochee was a challenge. At least I didn’t meet any cars as I wound my way back out the 11 + miles of twisty dirt roads. The GPS gets really mixed up in the mountains. At one point I was on a narrow paved road where the curves turned back on themselves so tightly that the GPS thought I’d stopped moving! But eventually I came out just above Gatlinburg. One minute I had no idea where I was and the next I was looking a the BBQ restaurant where I’d had dinner the night before! What a full day of adventure!

The next morning wasn’t quite as promising. Dark rain clouds were threatening and the weather report placed the possibility of rain at 60%. I decided to take advantage of the diffused lighting to look for some of the waterfalls in the area. Just outside of Gatlinburg center is the Roaring Fork area.

Take a left at the light near the Space Needle then a couple of blocks down you’ll find the sign for Roaring Fork on the right. Brace yourself. It’s another narrow, one lane road. Roaring Fork is known for gushing mountain streams, historic buildings and waterfalls. This is where you find the trailhead for the Trillium Gap Trail and Grotto Falls. The trail passes behind the falls and is said to be a fairly easy hike.

I drove the one-way Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail twice trying to find a place to park to get to the Trillium Gap trail but it was packed. The only parking was over 1/2 mile down a hill from the trailhead. Then you had a 1.5 mile hike to get to the falls. I was disappointed. I really wanted to visit Grotto Falls. Everyone talks about it which is probably why there were so many people there even with rain threatening. I just didn’t feel my back would hold up to the hike especially when you added on the extra distance just to get to the trail head from the parking spot. I had hoped visiting before the main tourist season and a rainy day would mean fewer people but apparently not.

That disappointment aside this is a great little road. The stream than follows the road or vice versa is lively and gives many opportunities for photos. It crisscrosses back and forth from left to right and back with little one lane bridges providing passage for the cars.

Near the end of the drive is a waterfall called Place of a Thousand Drips. This is known as a “wet weather” waterfall. During stormy weather this waterfall is said to be dramatic. Since it was only threatening to rain it had only moderate flow when I was there. Another visitor said the area had experienced a very dry spring as well. Even so, the Place of A Thousand Drips is a really nice waterfall.