Wednesday, April 30, 2008

First full day shooting


The jagged mountain at the left in the first image and at the right in the second is Castle Rock.








Several of the mountains along the lake are not named. These mountains rise right up from the Lake, which is less than a half mile wide. They are so big and so close, I can't use my bigger lenses.

A short way north (uplake) from Stehekin the lake ends (at least for now) in a dry river bed. In winter the lake is drained to make capacity for the spring snow melt. For the last several days there has been a strong wind down valley and it lifts the sediment from the lake bed in a mini-dust bowl. The river is starting to rise noticeably, although it is probably somewhat slower than it might have been because it has been relatively cold here.


I was up early this morning photographing Rainbow Falls, a 310 foot waterfall fed by snow melt. Afterward I thought my hands would never warm up.


Mostly I have been going upriver, but I walked downriver this morning on the Lakeshore trail. Some nice shots that I will try for tomorrow.


On May 15, I will be at Stehekin School, giving a photography presentation. It is small school that serves the local community from 1 to 8th grade. The new school house is very nice; the old school house, below, is kept as a museum.












Monday, April 28, 2008

Second day - getting down to work

Updated: 5/31/08

Now have internet access (thank you Vickie and Ron) and all is right with the world.



I am in the Imus cabin. It is less than a quarter mile from the visitors's center, near a lodge with a restaurant and what is essentially a small convenience store. The restaurant is only open for lunch until May 15 (after that breakfast and dinner are available), and is a little expensive to use every day, but is good for a change. The kitchen is fine in the cabin except I always have trouble learning to use electric since I am used to gas.














Got up just after dawn. View from my front porch is awesome. Two hours just shooting the mountains. Came back for breakfast and went out on the Imus trail. Great cascade at Purple Creek and a great little seep between Purple and Imus creeks. Rain did put a damper on things. Saw waterspots on pictures from the Purple Creek cascade. Oh well, planning to go back again anyway.

Time to transfer from cards. Will try to upload pictures for last several days this evening.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Lake Chelan - Almost there

Arrived last night; too tired to post. Everything went great - all flights on time, no luggage delayed. Pleasant ride from Wenatchee to Lake Chelan with a knowledgeable, congenial driver. Inn is simple but pleasant and everyone I have met has been acceptionally helpful. Shopping turned out to be very simple. Safeway was an easy 10 minute walk. Just tell them it is a boat order and they pack it up for you and the ferry service automatically comes to pick it up. Couldn't be simpler. I got a Safeway club card saved almost $30.

On recommendations I ate at La Brisa, a family Mexican restaurant just past the Safeway - good burrito verde. Took a few snapshots of the town and will post later, after I get settled. Excellent omelet this morning included in the price of lodging.

Lake Chelan seems to be a really pleasant place, everyone has great things to say about Stehekin as well. Just a few more hours.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Final packing plan

OK, this is it. Packed a second box mostly filled with my tripod and camera backpack with backup camera and lenses and backup hard drives. Will send both boxes and printer on Sat. - UPS said allow 8 days, so it should get there on time for me to get confirmation before I leave. Will take primary camera and lenses as carryon in regular overnight case and computer in regular briefcase. Will check one bag with extra clothes and anything I can wait a week for if necessary. Coming back, I hope to pack one of the boxes in the checked bag.

4/12/08: The printer and two boxes totaled 105 pounds and cost about $190 to ship including some extra insurance. I should be able to get a tracking number by Monday and can be sure before I leave that necessities are waiting for me when I arrive and not sitting lost and lonely in some airport.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Still more packing, but starting to get a grip

At the airport my camera backpack (LowePro PhotoTrekker AW II) didn't quite squeeze into the box. I probably could have made it, but didn't want to take a chance on damaging anything. I could swear that when I bought it, the specs said it was the largest backpack that was a carryon. Anyway, the lady at the counter said bags needed to be less than 45 inches for the sum of length, width and depth. By my actual measurement it was 46", by official specs even bigger. Oh well, too chicken to take a chance. First line camera gear goes in my carryon luggage; backpack gets shipped via UPS, and I will probably buy a small suitcase, just bigger than carryon to check. If it gets lost, I have a few changes of clothes in the boxes. No more on packing. You are welcome.




This was a 30 second exposure near sunset taken with a neutral density filter at Schoodic during my last residency. The exposue was long enough that you can see a little movement in the moon.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

More packing

This image is from my first Artist-In-Residence at Acadia National Park in Maine. I stayed at the Schoodic Peninsula part of the park, but drove back to the Mt. Dessert Island part of the park for this picture of Jordan Lake.






Did some more packing. Checked at UPS, and was told to allow 8 days for stuff to get to Stehekin. If I send next weekend, I should be able to get confirmation that the boxes with everything from clothing to cameras and tripod arrived before I need to leave.

Heading down to the airport later to confirm there will be no trouble with carrying my camera backpack on board. I may be a little over the top with this concern about getting on the plane, but it seems like every night on the news you see stories of cancelled flights and lost luggage. I really don't want to get to where I a going to take pictures to find that my cameras are still in Detroit. Oh well!!

Double checking my laptop, clearing files, defragging, etc. Thought about getting a new faster laptop for the trip, but since I just got a fast new desktop and will only use the laptop for travel, can't justify. Should probably save the $$$ for D300 or bigger printer for the great landscapes I am going to take : ).

This weekend's (April 4, 2008) Parade magazine. An interesting article by Randy Pausch, a college professor dying of pancreatic cancer. He says always have fun - notable quote: "Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less than you think." I hadn't thought about it quite so directly, but that is in part what this trip is all about. Why wait for retirement, when I might be too decrepit to do things that require a little more stamina. Have fun while you can!

Friday, April 4, 2008

Packing Anxiety

Friday night three weeks before departure.

High anxiety about fogetting something essential that I won't readily be able to replace. Lists, lists and more lists. Because of airplane limits, I am shipping two boxes plus my printer. I trust UPS far more than I trust the airline to get my stuff where it needs to go.

For a city slicker used to the convenience of 3 or 4 supermarkets within 5 minutes, being in Stehekin, WA, accessible only by float plane and ferry (or a very long walk) will probably be very educational. However, I am very heartened by the fact that everyone I have spoken to in connection with this trip has been very helpful and friendly. Special appreciation to the River Walk Inn ( http://www.riverwalkinnchelan.com/rates.html ) that even offered to drive me to the supermarket in Lake Chelan to get groceries and the ferry to Stehekin and gave me a great price on a room.

By the way, the website for North Cascades complex is: http://www.nps.gov/noca/supportyourpark/

Information on Lake Chelan and Stehekin is available at:
http://www.nps.gov/archive/noca/focus/focus.htm

Because my camera and lenses would be financially difficult to replace I checked with my insurance agent to see if they could provide some peace of mind. There is something called personal article insurance that I can get for my cameras and lenses as a rider on homeowners insurance. It will provide full replacement for about $104 a year. Sounds good to me.

More tomorrow on the practicalities of getting ready.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Rich's Artist-In-Residence at North Cascades Complex

The US National Park Service has an "Artist-In-Residence" program at some National Parks. The program recognizes the role that art has played in the establishment of the National Park system. Seeing the work of photographers such as Ansel Adams and many others, Americans recognized the value of protecting special sites and areas for recreation. Approximately 18 parks have the residency programs. Many accomodate just about any type of art, including performance art, music, writing, and of course painting, sketching and photography. To access information on the Artist-In-Residence Program go to http://www.nps.gov/ (the National Park Service) and enter "Artist-In-Residence" in the search block. Can also go to an older list, that may not be current but will list most programs at http://www.nps.gov/archive/volunteer/air.html .

I am a nature photographer. This will be my second Residency, the first being at Acadia National Park. The residency provides living quarters for anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks. The artist is responsible for travel and food and any other expenses. The Artist is expected to provide one or several (depending on the length of the residency) classes, lectures, or interactive experiences, and to provide a piece of art, e.g., in my case a framed photograph for the Park.

This blog is going to serve as my public journal for this adventure, but my hope is that it will also serve as a resource for those who might wish to consider a National Park Service Artist Residency, and will provide some understanding of what to expect specifically at Stehekin.