All posts by Troy

Only a Short Time to Take it All in?

July 28, 2013 Troy

Finally, our vacation has arrived. Better hurry and pack because the flight is early tomorrow and we need to get going in order to avoid missing the plane. Once you’ve arrived at your destination it’s time to find a hotel and check before deciding which sights to see. It seems that the fast pace at which our lives move, the trips we take have become shorter. How can you take in all of the sights with very little time? With only a few days to relax and see the sights a little planning will help.

It took a little time to make to flight arrangements or a driving plan to arrive at your destination. Doesn’t it make sense to spend a little bit of time to figure out what you want to do and where you want to stay once you’ve arrived at that destination? I understand that it’s no vacation if you have every hour of each day planned. That is not what I’m writing about here. Let me go through an example of planning our adventure to Boston.

Our very first objective was to look over transportation cost to Boston. Since we were leaving from Minnesota and time was a factor flying was determined to be our best choice of getting to Boston. After figuring out we would be flying, it was time to pick the dates.

*Money saving tip: flying on a Tuesday or Wednesday can save a significant amount of money. Often times we save enough money to stay an extra night in a hotel and then some.

I use sites like Expedia and Kayak to find which airlines and which dates are the most affordable. Sometimes I will go directly to the airlines website if I’m trying to use rewards to help reduce our overall flight costs. If you fly frequently enough, signing up for rewards programs either through credit cards and/or the airlines can really help keep costs down especially in these times of higher airfares. Yes, it does require some extra time to sign up for and earn these rewards as well as use these rewards but it can be worth it.

Let me provide and example: on our trip to Boston in 2011 we were able to get 4 airfares from Minneapolis for $500. Without our rewards programs it would have cost us almost $400 per airfare for a total of $1600. That’s over a $1,000 in savings! This required us to use 2 different rewards programs which can be a little tricky when booking the flights if you want to get everybody on the same flight. You need to first check each program and which flights are available through each to find which one match and then go through and book them selecting seats next to each other. This is some of the extra time required to use these programs. For those that are saying sure you could do that in 2011 but costs have gone up since then, We recently booked 4 fares from Minneapolis to Seattle for $500 this summer so it’s still possible.

To Continue Reading for more tips click here….

Photography Experiment, Troy's Blog

JPEG and RAW

July 21, 2013 Troy

Whenever possible I shoot in both RAW and JPEG. This has a couple of advantages for me. First, I can immediately view JPEG on a laptop or tablet to make sure the camera settings are what I’m looking for and to view the images I just took a little faster than bringing up the RAW images. I use the RAW images when I want to edit a photo. Is this necessary? That’s what I wanted to find out by taking a RAW image and a JPEG image of the same shot and see how much of a difference there was in editing it.

The photo above is the original picture as shot by the camera. It’s a little over exposed as I was using a slower shutter speed in an effort to get that silky motion in the water. That’s why this image was chosen. I wanted to see if the RAW image and all its information would provide a better picture after it was edited due to all that information. You can see the edited RAW image below.

I’m certainly no expert at editing photographs but I am attempting to improve in an effort to bring out the beauty hidden in most pictures so that others can get an idea of what that photo was intended to show. After a few tweaks the photo above did not turn out all that bad. The water is still to bright but much of that information was clipped from the photograph making it impossible to retrieve.

This next photograph is the JPEG version of this shot. I attempted to keep as many of the edits the same as possible between these two photos to see how they would turn out. As you can see, there is not much difference between them on this post. I will confess that the JPEG took more time to edit in an attempt to make both pictures look the same. The difference becomes more noticeable at 100% resolution.

Here you can see a portion of the images at full resolution. Can you guess which one is the JPEG and which one is the RAW photograph?

The JPEG version is above and the RAW version is below. At this magnification you can see the RAW version is a little more clean and crisp. Admittedly some of that has to due with the sharpening I applied to each one. The JPEG version likely has a little higher sharpening applied than the RAW version accounting for some of the difference.

My conclusion: JPEG is a perfectly acceptable format when using smaller size images. If I wanted to use a large print of this shot, I would definitely go with the RAW format after editing. To see Peter’s article which is the basis for this post in the photography experiment series, check it out here.

Photography Experiment, Troy's Blog

Chasing Waterfalls

July 13, 2013 Troy

I did it. I went chasing waterfalls. And I did a fairly poor job of it in my opinion. One of Peter’s rules about waterfalls, which you can view here, is to avoid shooting in mid-day. I think every waterfall I photographed was mid day. Unfortunately there were time constraints and photographing waterfalls at another time wasn’t much of an option. This was an attempt to get the silky motion with shutter speeds of 1/10 second but it was just too bright out and I wasn’t able to change the aperture and ISO enough to prevent over exposure. Using editing software I was able to get most of the picture back from being over exposed but the waterfall is still to bright to really get the full effect of motion. You can see the picture before editing below.

When looking at the original, it is surprising how much you can do to improve the photograph.

This next picture was taken using the auto settings on the camera. Since it was so bright out the shutter was able to move fast and essentially stop the water motion. Fortunately there is enough water volume going over this fall that stopping motion works in this case.

Here is perfect opportunity to try the silky motion by slowing down the shutter as the light likely would have allowed for it as well as the lower volume of water cascading over the falls. Unfortunately, this was taken before reading the ‘Shooting Waterfalls’ post by Mr. Carey with a point and shoot camera. Guess I’ll have to try it again another day.

This photo is of Pigeon Falls at the Minnesota – Canada border. Here is another case where silky motion would have been interesting. Although using a slower shutter speed may have altered the rainbow between the falls reducing its effect. Again this picture was taken before reading the waterfalls post and with a point and shoot camera. Hopefully I’ll have another opportunity to photograph these falls. Will the lighting bring the rainbows again next time?

While enjoying a creek I decided to play with a slower shutter in an effort to get the silky motion and this was the best I did. There was no tripod so this was 1/10 second shutter speed while hand holding the camera. In fact none of these waterfall pictures were taken using a tripod. Not bad for holding the camera if you ask me. Taking more time I would set the camera where it would be still and take a longer exposure photo to get even more silky motion.

Definitely room for improvement in shooting waterfalls. I will most likely get the opportunity while visiting Alaska later this summer. I suppose getting out for more practice might be a good idea before then.

Gaining Life Experience, Troy's Blog

Life Experience Through a Plant

June 29, 2013 Troy 2 Comments

The above photo is of a Columbine as photographed in Rocky Mountain National Park. We were taking a family trip there as part of our Monopoly travels to see the Flattop Mountain trail. In addition to seeing this trail there was much else to explore. To get this particular photo I had to climb down a very steep bank. The purpose was to see one of the higher waterfalls in the park. Unfortunately most of these falls were covered from view by trees. Once I got to the river I noticed some of the flowers in the area and took a few pictures. When looking back at this picture I remember the adventures in the Rockies but also enjoying a moment of solitude as the water rushed passed. The rest of the family was not far and were in sight almost the whole time but this was my own little personal experience in the Rockies that not many others get to share.

Below is a picture of another Columbine which I photographed in the bluffs lining the Mississippi River. This was another family adventure where we decided to embark on a 7 mile hike exploring the bluffs. This photo is a reminder to me of the time shared with members of my family and completing the longest hike for our family to date. It also reminds me of some great views of the Mississippi River and surrounding landscapes.

This last Columbine was a Mother’s Day gift to my wife. It is a hybrid that was grown in a greenhouse. Fortunately I have actually been to the greenhouse where it was grown, however it was not purchased there as it is a wholesale greenhouse only. It is a wonderful yearly reminder of why it was added to our landscape.

Each of these Columbines has a unique experience attached to them while all being closely related to one another. One found while exploring in the Rocky Mountains with another discovered on an adventure to the Mississippi River Bluffs and the last one represents the family that goes on these adventures along with the place that family returns to at the end of an adventure. At least for now!

Photography Experiment, Troy's Blog

Rule of Thirds

June 16, 2013 Troy 3 Comments

One of the rules of photography is to place focal points or points of interest into a third of the shot. That is a point where the lines intersect on this grid. For a little more in depth description check this out. The grid above represents a photo divided into sections equaling a third. Many cameras have this grid available for display and I have added this into my display. I enjoy photographing the setting sun (and rising sun if I’m out and about with the camera) so this seemed like a good subject for the thirds experiment. The picture below has the sun centered in the photograph as you can see by the grids. Hmm….interesting.

I really don’t think it is all that bad but then again the subject – setting sun over a lake looks good in just about any picture. Now let’s see what this looks like using the thirds rule. After adding the grids you can see that the sun is in the lower, right third of the picture. I definitely like having more of the colorful sky in the picture but in this case the water could really be shown more, especially with the suns reflection. As is stated in Peter’s post, “The Rule Of Thirds is a handy place to start when trying to figure out how to frame a scene. It’s also a great jumping off place for further experimentation.”

I do think the sun and it’s reflection in the water look better off to one side or the other so let’s keep that part of the photograph at the thirds line. Adding a little more water to the picture and just a little bit less sky gives me a picture that shows the highlights of what I was enjoying that night – water with the suns reflection in the waves, setting sun with so many beautiful colors, and the silhouettes of the surrounding shore contrasting with the sky and water. Yah, keeping the sun to one third of the picture is better than centering it in my opinion.

For those who would like to see this picture without the grids on it, here it is.

Since I really liked the sun reflecting in the water and the transitioning colors of the sky, changing the orientation of the camera offered the opportunity to capture more of both. I still kept the sun on the right third of the picture as you can see by the grid lines. That did it! this shows all of the sun’s reflection in the water and the colors of the sky transitioning from the reds and yellows to the darker blues of the oncoming night sky.

Once again a chance to look at this picture without the grids. If trying to decide which one of these to frame, I’m not sure which one I would choose. Which one would you choose? Why? It would probably depend on where I would hang it or what I was going to do with it.

Photography Experiment, Troy's Blog

Histograms

June 15, 2013 Troy

As I continue to practice with cameras and improve the photos I take, I added the histogram to the rear display to see how the exposure changes with different shots. You may first want to read Peter Carey’s article describing histograms before continuing on with my attempts with it. The photo above was the first picture taken before putting the histogram on the camera display. This was taken using the camera auto settings.

This is the histogram of that photo. The high peak on the left indicates the darks/shadows are being clipped. Ideally the histogram would have the peak towards the center meaning that the sensor was getting as much information as possible. This is a bit of a challenging situation because part of the subject is in the sun while other parts are in the shade which you can see with the over exposed leaves and some dark areas in between the plants. in an effort to maximize the information the sensor is picking up I pointed the camera at the same plants but from different directions as well as changing some of the camera settings.

Focusing on areas of the plants that are in the sun eliminated the darks/shadows clipping as you can see in the histogram below. There aren’t as many over exposed areas in this photo as in the picture above. Both of these photos are using jpegs as taken by the camera. Because they are jpegs the advantage of the histogram still is not as visible.

To get the most out of the information that the camera sensor picks up a RAW image is useful. RAW images store more data maintaining more of the properties of that picture which becomes important when using photo editing software. The photo below is the exact same picture as above but started in the RAW format and processed with an editor. Because I paid attention to the histogram, the camera sensor was able to get more information almost eliminating the over exposed leaves as well as getting a truer color. Also, the shadows provide a little better sense of depth because they where not clipped when taking the picture.

Another little detail that can really help get better pictures in the right situations.

Adventures, Backpacking, Troy's Blog

A Memorial Weekend Hike

June 9, 2013 Troy 2 Comments

During the holiday weekend at the end of May we were camping in the Bluffs near the Mississippi River. Since it was a later spring the water temperatures were colder than usual, it was cloudy and cool so the fishing would likely be slower than we wanted. After a little research we found a couple of trails near by and decided to go for a hike in the bluffs and see if we could find an great view or two.

The forest was so lush and green with a number of beautiful wildflowers beginning to bloom.

This was a 7 mile trail so a little longer hike than we’ve been on before but without any gear should be achievable. Expecting we should be able to hike at a 1.5 mph pace it was expected to take about 4-5 hours total to complete this trail including time to eat and enjoy the views while taking pictures. Past experience taught us to bring along food for a meal as well as a few snacks and water.

As we arrived at the park we found out that this is mostly an ATV trail and very few people actually hike it. As a result the trail was quite muddy in places and we needed to keep a watch for ATV’s as there were many using the trail that weekend. The first half of the trail was lacking much for vistas that we were hoping to see and included a couple of steep hills both up and down to climb. Fortunately the blooming wildflowers and seeing a scarlet tanager made this part of the trail worth the effort. This was the first time I’ve ever seen a scarlet tanager.

Growing a little tired of hiking after walking up the bluff for a second time we were just hoping there were no more major hills to climb down and back up again. Shortly we came upon the first of a couple of locations that over look the Mississippi River and surrounding bluffs. It was at this point we achieved our main goals of this hike which was to see this amazing part of the country from within the top of the bluffs. Here was a view from an area we had not witnessed before.

After taking in the views it was time to head down off the bluffs to the trailhead. If time permits a trip to the locally famous Nelson Cheese Factory for some great ice cream was in order. With that motivation the pace was increased to get back to our cars and head towards our camping location.

For those who are curious, we did make it in time to get our ice cream.

Experiences Gained: Longest hike yet in one day gaining confidence to tackle more difficult hikes on Isle Royale and the Rocky Mountains someday hopefully soon, Saw several scarlet tanagers which are a beautiful, vibrant red bird that migrates to this area for the summer, and enjoyed views of the river and bluffs new to us.

Gaining Life Experience, Troy's Blog

What is Monopoly Traveler About?

June 1, 2013 Troy 1 Comment

Isn’t it obvious? Traveling to the different parks on the National Parks Monopoly Board! Right? Sort of. Travel is one of the ways the objective is accomplished but it is not the main concept of this sight. Our main goal is “gaining life experiences”. This is not highlighted much at all in many of the stories. I hope to correct that with a little identifier on what new experiences occurred in each post.

What is meant by gaining life experiences and why is that important? Life experiences are responsible for who each of us is. Many people may share an experience even though each person has a unique perspective on that experience but no one else in the world has all of the same experiences during a life. It is that whole combination of experiences that help make each one of us an individual like no other. One of the best parts, we get to choose many of our life experiences!

People are very different in how they gain life experience. I like to learn about a lot of different things so I take on a hobby for awhile, learn a lot about it, and then go on to a different hobby. That’s why traveling to different locations fits me. I’ve been to Mazatlan Mexico five times. Mazatlan is a nice place and I really enjoyed it but the last time I was there it was not as stimulating for me because I have experienced it before. I don’t plan to return for awhile if ever. I want to experience some place different. The same thing with cruises. I’ve been on five of them and the last one just wasn’t as much fun. I likely will not go on another one for while (After this summer when we are taking a cruise to Alaska to see Glacier Bay National Park which is on our Monopoly Board).

These are all different ways of gaining life experience making each of us unique. Tough to gain life experience in bed or watching TV. Sure I like to take a break from gaining much experience once and awhile and watch a moving or two and take a nap on a rainy day. Who doesn’t? Accomplishing a something new can be extremely simple such as a walk to a park. You may noticing a bird you haven’t seen before or briefly observing kids playing a game or having a disagreement. BRIEFLY is key here as watching for too long could bring questions from the police. Maybe you see an old friend or meet a new one. All can provide a new experience. In the photo below I had never witnessed hundreds of Robins clustered together like this before. A little research indicated that it is not a rare event further south.

We are in control of how we react to an experience and what we take away from it. Not all life experiences are positive ones. A loved one in the hospital or the passing of a pet. These are still new encounters and add to the total computation of life. Asking a few questions in your own mind or even writing them down helps you understand yourself further. Did you like this experience? Why or why not? What did you take away from it? Did you learn something new about yourself? It’s ok to laugh about having an ah hah moment. I find it very intriguing when I learn something new that I would never have imagined before about myself.

Let me provide a brief example. I don’t recall the exact place and time but I do remember the events and the enlightenment that followed. It had just finished raining and I went outside to work on some of the plants around the house. I’m a horticulturalist, it’s what I do. While walking under some trees I brushed against a branch and water rain over my head. It was just at that moment I realized I don’t like things dripping on my head unless I’m in the shower or swimming. There are more exceptions but in general I don’t like slow dripping liquids. Now it is my choice to not like slow dripping liquids on my head so it is also up to me to change that if I so desired. Not sure how but I’m confident I could. I also don’t know if this has been a life long thing or started recently. That doesn’t really matter to me.

This simple life experience provided insight into me. I learned something and didn’t intend to. We all have this ability. It just takes a conscious effort and willingness to do so. Each little experience leads to a lifetime of knowledge which is why life experience is so valuable and makes you unique.

Family Ramblings, Priorities, Troy's Blog

Inspiration From Zach

May 22, 2013 Troy 3 Comments

I heard Zach Sobiech on the radio last year and was inspired. In brief, he was diagnosed with cancer early in life and given a short time to live. As a parting message he wrote a song which has been doing quite well – it’s called Clouds. This was kind of his way of saying goodbye. Unfortunately Zach passed on May 20,2013.

To see his story watch the video.

There are many stories of kids that are terminally ill and are difficult to understand and accept. There is inspiration in these stories. Inspiration for gratitude. Inspiration for those around you. The biggest piece of inspiration I received from Zach is to live! To me that doesn’t mean living on the edge and skydiving or swimming with the sharks. It means looking back on the day and finding those pieces of joy. Enjoying those your with that day even if they have done things that really irritate you and they do it every day. We all receive unwanted news and get angry or depressed. Feel it, embrace it, and move on. This doesn’t mean do it all in minutes. It could take days, weeks, or even months to move on. Just don’t let if affect you for years and years.

How often do you stop and ask during the day “Am I enjoying this?” It’s a valid question. What is interesting is the answers you begin to give yourself. Why are you or are you not enjoying this right now? Could you be? Should you be? Is there something that needs to be changed? What are the consequences of those changes? You realize you are in control of more than you thought and that can be invigorating.

For me, I enjoy learning and experiencing new things. I change hobbies somewhat frequently. It may be keeping fish for awhile and then moving on to orchids and then photography. With each hobby comes dedication to learning and expenses. Traveling to different destinations is my most impactful hobby. Sometimes those travels are costly and other times they are just a day trip with little cost. Traveling is not just about the destination, it’s about experiences and the people that I get to share those with.

Zach has re-inforced that the things I like to do are ok. It’s alright to keep learning and living. Changing hobbies every 3-5 years has become a little frustrating because of the time, energy, and money I put into them. While I learn a lot, I can never seem to become a master at any of them because I get bored with them. Maybe that’s what I’m really good at, learning. Zach’s message to live reminds me that is what I’m doing and what works for me.