time for a...

...change?

Stories of the last week and a half

* Flat-mate Tom left.

* I continued to not work...

* I also continued to run up the local mountain-track (deep cove), steadily improving my times.

* I finally saw another film at the theatre - thought 'tree of life' would at least be interesting... sadly, it wasn't.

* it started to rain again

* I got fairly depressed

* I watched a lot of TV on my computer - a season of 'Game of Thrones', and the whole 'studio 60 on the sunset strip'
- add this to: the Star wars prequels (utterly horrible, they really don't age well!), Liar liar, Paperback hero, Paul, A few good Men
- and in the weeks before: the fountain, the emperors new groove, 9 seasons of Red Dwarf, 2 seasons of Sports night, and of course, Tron Legacy - you can see how I've been spending my insomniactic-nights.

* I was offered a couple of films in Brisbane... and strongly considered returning...

...'till friday morning. Within 2 hrs - my life was given a sharp-poke for the better.

I'm not going to Jinx it by giving any details just yet - but I should be able to tell you more this-time next week.

If all goes well, I'll be in another time-zone, and on another coast; doing what I came here to do :)

let's just skip to the photos, eh?



first-up: Rainy-hike to Lynn-peak with a new friend Lindsay.


Just love this shot - don't really know why, but it certainly captures the atmosphere of the weather...





Lindsay looks up at the path





more atmospherics





rain+trails=mud-puddles





I do love the terrain over here - it's steep, yet gentle (kinda springy in places)





the "view" on our saturday rain-hike...





wooohoooo, we hit the snow-line.





moody-creek



2nd batch of photos.

Testing out my new camera (bought a D7000 today), by hiking up the local Mt Seymour on a path to "dog" mountain *(huh)


planning the route via an awesome web-site with very-well-laid-out-details...





solo-hike = self-portraits





this hike was 99% in the snow (I say snow - but it's more like spring melt/slush; with potential leg-snapping holes punching through to creek-beds)





as difficult as it was to hike in - it was also fun (slush-sliding on the way down) - I did however learn my lesson, pack the bloody gaiters next-time - water-proof boots aren't water-proof when snow gets in via your socks...





yup - the bridge is passable... just.





going up





...and I've reached the top.






looking back at the western end of the city





pretty-view





to the east, Mt Baker (washington state, USA)





Mossy-rocks at the top





looking homeward (2nd narrows bridge is always an easy landmark)





Love the clouds here





not exactly an effective wind-farm (I think it's some tourist attraction viewing platform thingy - hoping that the turbine makes it carbon neutral?)





city-view





I'm guessing this is the centre of the "peak"





exposed tree-roots





pretty-creek





pretty-reflections





moss-tree-snow...





made it out, and by the looks of it there's still 2m of base in some places...





chairlifts are so sad when they're not being lifted...





yes... it's a mystery-chair





warning - Bears - do-not-feed-them!

So how is the new toy; and why did I finally decide to up-grade?

Back in January, I purchased a D3100 for the 12-day mega-ski-sightseeing-trip

It's shockingly light, and made some AMAZING photos - but there are a few issues.

1 - it doesn't exposure bracket.

that's about it.

I've been getting into HDR photography, and although a single shot RAW can be processed pretty well (check-out my photos from the last few months), it's certainly better to use multiple exposures.

The D3100 is very good for a beginner, and highly capable as a travel camera (glad I wasn't lugging around a bigger one in europe); but I've had my eye on the D7000 since it came out, and felt it was time.

after a few minutes use - I can tell that it's a perfect fit for me.

Very fast, intuitive controls (much closer to my old D50, which I loved), exceptional picture quality, and it even Auto-focuses my ultra-wide lens (which the D3100 sadly wouldn't).

sure - it's a little heavier, and larger... but I'm truly happy (and the shutter-sound... it's bliss)

anyone want a near-new D3100 body with 2 batteries? $350+shipping. (currently retails for around $500 with one batt)

ok. that about wraps it up for the moment.

see y'all later.

Ian