A TRIP TO THE WETLANDS

Testing out my new Olympus Evolt E-510 SLR camera at the local beaver hangout, just before sunset. Unfortunately, the beavers did not appear to be home.

Juvenile Teal Duck:

Great Blue Heron:


Female Mallard Duck:


I'm still getting used to all the various settings in manual mode, but so far I am very happy with the photos.

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ARROYO SECO

What follows are some pictures from my recent trip to Arroyo Seco, California. This style of camping is what I would call "luxury primitive," meaning that I slept in a sleeping bag inside of a tent (and there were latrines nearby). No pad or pillow, but that didn't get in the way of a couple good nights of sleep. My brother and I spent the days exploring, snapping pictures, and fishing. The evenings consisted of gathering firewood, cooking dinner, and relaxing with cold beer in hand. We roasted our corn in the shuck, directly over the flames, allowing the outside to blacken. When it was thoroughly singed, we moved the ears into indirect heat and left on for about 45 minutes. We both agreed that it was the most phenomenal corn we'd ever tasted. Butter and salt/pepper seemed only to tame the corn's already perfect flavor. In conjunction with a ground beef/baked beans combo and perfectly grilled hotdogs, camp dinner turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip. We were skunked at the nearby fishing lake, but it was a pleasure just to enjoy the beautiful scenery. These photos were taken with my little Panasonic Lumix DMC-15 point-and-shoot:

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