I just got back today from a week long trip to Idaho to visit my parents for Christmas. No, I am not from there originally, they moved there in October 2008 when my father got a job there. I’ve now been there in December for the last three years and it’s always fun…partially because of the family and partially because being able to look around and see snow-capped mountains wherever you turn your head is a stark contrast to the flatlands of Indiana.
Though I live in one of Indianapolis’ northern suburbs, driving 20 minutes in any direction puts you precisely in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Despite this, being in a valley surrounded by mountains, I was amazed at just how big the sky is out there. The prairies full of sagebrush stretch a few dozen miles between the foothills that surround the Snake River Valley.
My dad is trying to get into photography after many years away from it. He still owns the fully manual 35mm Olympus OM-1 he bought in 1973 (I have the same camera myself and used it through photo classes back in 1998). Moving into the digital realm is a little different but at least those film days gave him a firm understanding of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO so he’s ahead of most people.
He and I went out at about 7am on Christmas Eve morning with the sole intent of shooting some sunrises. The refraction off the mountains makes for some ridiculously brilliant colors…it’s the best light show there is. We then went to an “interpretive lookout”, the name of which escapes me right now but it had an astounding panoramic view…so I shot whatever I could and pared them down later. Haters be damned, the “spray and pray” method works sometimes.
Anyway, here’s some of what we’ve got, starting with what may be one of my favorite photos I’ve ever taken.
Nikon D3100
ISO 100
F/14 1/10s
18-55mm VR @ 18mm
Nikon D3100
ISO 100
f/11 1/60s
18-55mm VR @ 24mm
Nikon D3100
ISO 100
F/5.6 1/200s
18-55mm VR @ 42mm
Nikon D3100
ISO 100
F/16 1/320s
18-55mm VR @ 52mm
Check out the rest of them at the Flickr set. There are plenty more photos, I’ll be posting more as I get them sorted.
