Ok, somehow that little hike up the ridge at 9,500 feet on Saturday kicked my butt. My little walks at lunchtime may not be cutting it. The fact that I didn't eat anything for a couple of hours after that near vertical ascent of what felt like 1000 feet followed by a break-neck descent back to the car after the first sound of thunder may have contributed to the sore legs. In the end, it was all worth it and I'm going to have another go at it, next time prepared with plenty of water and food.
After the rain storm, which turned into a hail storm for a while as well, I stopped at the last little ridge that looks back toward Guardsman Pass. The hail stopped, for the most part, and I was amazed to see a rather impressive rainbow form. This was enough to stop a couple of cars that drove by while I was here, literally, in the middle of the road.
55mm, 1/60 second, f11, ISO 200. Lesson learned: step down to f16 next time. The mountains are a little softer than they should be. Ever since I learned that most lenses are sharpest somewhere between f8 and f11, I've been a little reluctant to use f16. That may be true but one must play the game of compromises when looking to get a great shot. And, after all, Ansel would've shot at f64. I'm over it now.
great catch!
i didn't know that about lenses - between what stops they lose sharpness.
Posted by: r-dean | September 22, 2008 at 05:29 PM
Wowza. That's a keeper.
Posted by: Sijbrich | September 22, 2008 at 07:14 PM