23 September 2009

I'm NOT a photographer, so a big thanks to CameraBag Desktop

Some lovely friends of mine at Nevercenter just released CameraBag Desktop for Mac. I do not profess to be any kind of photographer/artist of the camera, but I think this program helped me make some of my highly mediocre point-and-shoot photos look pretty darned good.

Judge for yourself.

NB: this is best viewed at my actual blog. If you are reading in Google Reader, click here.











08 September 2009

Hiking Post #5: Half Dome!

Yosemite Part II

On my second full day on vacation, five of us headed out to tackle Yosemite's most challenging day hike: Half Dome. You can read more about the hike here. It is long, hard, and we started at 5 in the morning to beat the heat and get down at a reasonable hour.

Here we can see the sun coming up on the lovely mountains surrounding us.

The beginning of the hike boasts some beautiful waterfalls and some intense stairs. Then it flattens out for a while as you hike on part of the John Muir Trail. As you continue to climb through the forest, the trees thin and eventually you end up above the tree line. To get to the top of the dome, you have to pull yourself almost straight up over bear rock on a series of cables bolted into the granite. Here they are from far away:

You can see a few people making their way up in between two thin lines. And here Ronika is, celebrating the danger we are about to undertake:

After a brutal climb, we all made it to the top. Here I am excited about my triumph. You can see the rest of the valley, far below me in the background.
The day ended up lasting about 20 hours, but we all made it back in one piece. Eventually. Half Dome the second time was just as beautiful. And, for me, significantly easier than the first time a year ago. I will credit the marathon training for that.

Hiking #4: 4-Mile Trail

Yosemite Part I:

Our family, together for the first time since Rachel and Will's nuptuals, spent five days in one of my favorite places: Yosemite. On my first full day there, all seven of us did the Four Mile Trail, including my wonderful parents. You can click on the link for more extensive information about the trail, but briefly, it goes from the Valley Floor to the top of Glacier Point. Suffice it to say, it was not an easy hike. We all made it to the top, and got to partake in the amazing view.
Part of the hiking crew takes a break on the trail.

A view of Half Dome from the trail on the way up.

The view from Glacier Point. Spectacular.

Our dirty feet at the end of the hike. Yosemite is seriously dusty!