Equipment list overload

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Niko

Kealakekua Bay is a great destination for a variety of reasons. It’s a great snorkel spot, it’s fun on a kayak and you have the chance to see spinner dolphins at play. This photo was taken from the deck of the Hula Kai, a snorkel tour boat we use frequently.

This photo, like many of my wildlife shots, was taken at 300mm. Coincidentally, my max lens is 300mm. This brings me to my next point. I have lens envy.

I have my eyes on a certain “budget” 200-500, and you think that would be an easy enough decision to make. However, somewhere in the process of thinking it through, thinking it through takes over. In my head something like this is happening:

‘but if I get the 200-500 I’m going to need that good tripod, and I can sell my 55-300, but then I’d be missing 55-200… I could find something nice in the 20-100ish range for daily use and replace the kit 18-55. Either way, I’m going to need a new travel bag. I’ve learned that lesson of getting a bag that I quickly outgrow, so I need to think of future needs. At 200mm minimum, I really would like a second body for quick wide shots, like that bear that buzzed us while I was chimping, or the pilot whales. One more prime, but wider than my 50, like a 20. Damn, with all this heavy gear, a nice retro looking Xsomething would be great for stomping around cities with. That other body should be pro level for the water resistance alone… Winning that daily giveaway for that adventure/water camera package would be great, but if it doesn’t happen that will eventually get on the list. Oh, and that bag should hold a laptop too. Oh look! Shiny!”

Half an hour later, my next purchase just turned in to an equipment list that will last for years. It seems like making any one purchase will lead down a slippery slope requiring budgeting and patience. Yep, budgeting and patience… With that in mind, I think I’m good for a while. I’ll upgrade some of the basics now and build up to other items down the line.

But…just to see what it might look like at 500…

 

Damn…

So, how do you all choose what is next on the list? Anything on your list fit the ‘pipe dream’ category?

Posted in General ramblings, On the Big Island | Leave a comment

Learning all the time

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Niko

Does it sometimes seem like you have already woken up at 5:30am, already driven 15 minutes, walked a mile past a gate you had hoped would be unlocked, and already hiked up the tallest, steepest hill you could find for morning light, before finding out you have gunk in your camera? I know what you mean. That can be a little frustrating.

I’m new at this stuff. My checklists and ‘to do’ lists for photo outings are still being formed. Now, checking my gear after a flight is going to be something I do before waking up for a pre-sunrise shoot. Despite the lost shots, I still had a great time above Kua Bay and now I have an excuse to do it again.

Posted in General ramblings, On the Big Island | Leave a comment

A Hipstamatic day in Hawaii

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Niko

This particular morning I decided to only shoot with my phone and the Hipstamatic app. It’s nice to be lazy every once in a while. Normally the phone is only for quick uploads to the interwebs and as a secondary wide lens when I have a big zoom on my Nikon. This day it was all about the lazy.

We showed up, bright and early, to Keauhou Bay to board one of Fair Wind’s snorkel tour boats. When we showed up at the docks, there was a herd of people getting on the one boat we could see. Luckily, our ship, the Hula Kai, was docked just behind FairWind II.

We hit up two snorkel spots. The weather was nice (as always) and the water was very calm. At the second spot, I made my deepest free dive ever recovering a rented snorkel some lady dropped. One of the ship’s crew was just about as surprised as I was when I handed it back up to the boat. I won’t lie, it was one of those dives where the last ten feet or so to the surface gets a little nerve wracking.

Halfway through our second swim, I caught wind of the grill going on the back of the boat. That was a tough decision that lasted all of ten seconds. My stomach had made my decision for me. The burgers (and all the fixins’) were excellent and the meal recharged the group for more swimming before heading back for the day.

On our way back we spot some Pilot Whales in the distance. They come over to investigate us (or at least to investigate the school of feeder fish that are around us). The pilot Whales let us ooo and ahh over them for a while before heading off into the distance.

Halfway home we spy some False Killer Whales that look like they are heading our way. The Captain drops the throttle and the whales come up close and personal. They were very playful and crisscrossed jumped around the boat for quite some time. The beautiful colors, reflections and textures they created as they played were just too cool for words. It was a nice end to a great day on the water.

We make it home in time for a nap, a shower, and a drink on the porch. The sunset, as usual, is beautiful. However, it probably needs it’s own non-Hipstamatic post to do it any justice. We decide on The Kona Brewery for dinner. In Kona, it’s an ono, and the beer selection is great (we’ll save that one for another post).

Well, that was my Hipstamatic kind of day. I have a couple of Hipstamatic galleries that will eventually be put together. Although, there is a lot more stuff on the list before that. Eventually I may even have the basics of flushed out here. One day. One day.

Posted in On the Big Island | Leave a comment

The 63rd Street Farm

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Niko

Let’s take a look at The 63rd Street Farm’s end of the season celebration.  I love picking up our weekly CSA vegetables (on weeks that I remember we have CSA shares…).  Not only do we get fresh, local, organic produce, but there are often local vendors selling their own wears.  Every week is a new experience.  Wine, coffee, music, massages, local artists, you never know what wonderful additions to the farm you will be treated to.

There’s fun to be had for adults, kids, and turkeys (for now at least, maybe not so much next month…for the turkeys). The Laudisio guys were even here today to help bang out some pizzas. Pizza is a weekly affair at The 63rd Street Farm, and worth the trip even if you’re not there to pick up veggies.


So, thanks so much, Brian and Amanda! And thanks to all of the people who put in hard work in the fields to make this happen! I look forward to seeing you all next year and seeing what new fun is in store. Being mainly a carnivore, it’s always fun to get home and google what kind of vegetables are in the bag and try to figure out how to cook them. Don’t forget to sign up soon for CSA shares for next season!





Thanks again! See you next year!

Posted in Around Boulder, Food and drink | Leave a comment

First steps on the Island of If

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Niko

It looks like everything is about ready to go on the blogfront. There’s an impending first step that I need to take. I think I’ve figured out enough of the basics to make this experience as painless as possible, for both you and I.

With skeleton galleries set up on multiple other sites, I have decided to link my photo pages here to those sites (flickr mainly, if I’m good enough you’ll find the others eventually). Let’s let the people who specialize in photos work on my layout while I figure out what all these buttons on this keyboard thingy do. Riveting, I’m sure. Have you added me to your Google Reader page yet? I’ll wait.

Theme, you ask? What’s the theme? Well, that’s an excellent question. Like most things, I think I’m just going to stumble through it. There’s going to be general ramblings, relaxed travelling and travelling ‘like an American’ (thanks Hugo!), adventures with nature and not being eaten by wildlife, food, food and more food, maybe some insight into some of the deeper levels of geekdom, but no theme unless words and pictures alone are considered a theme.

This picture was taken on the entrance stairs of the Isle d’If off the coast of Marseille, France. First steps on the Island of If seems appropriate to me for this initial post. Hope to see you in the courtyard!

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