Finding True North with Troop #118

Today  Brownie Troop #118 found their 'True North' (as well as their magnetic norths!). The girls gazed at  the compasses which they held with their winter-gloved hands. Patrick guided the troop and  taught the group about true north, magnetic north and how to read maps on Near Island.

The Brownies pulled out their compasses and oriented their  maps correctly to learn where THEY were on the map.  The marked trail, road and topo lines were all clues. Today was the first  day working with the group on  trail navigation. (Thank you to Philip Tscherisch with Island Trails Network on obtaining the maps for us!)

We hiked on Near Island, starting at the Rotary Park trail, going out to the South End point on Near Island and then back to Rotary Park. The weather was a balmy low 40's and the sun was out-so lovely!

At the half way point we stopped for hot cocoa and some sitting time. During the course of the 2 mile walk, the girls were troopers-they jumped and ran along and caught with their friends. The group was very curious about where they were on the maps and we checked in with them several times along the way to have them guess our location so they could see if they were accurate. 

There were lots of parents along for the afternoon as well and it was fun for us to catch up! Grown up fun time hiking in the sun. 

(I"m not one to normally be boastful about my husband, but once every 10 years I think I'm allowed.

 I was so proud and thrilled to have Patrick along today as a Brownie Dad. He is so energetic about helping and teaching the girls. We came upon several people along the trail today, and he would tell the strangers so proudly, "this is a girl scout Brownie Troop, and I'm a brownie troop dad."All of us adults learned so much about compasses, trails, etc as well. Having him alongside me has made being a Brownie Troop leader that much more fun! Thank you to my rock-star Brownie-dad husband!)

Fellow Brownie leaders, Alexis and Kathy,  at the hike rest stop

Patrick teaching the girls about maps. 

Trekking along with maps in hand. 

fabulous evening light for the hike

along the beach

up to the point on near island

through the forest

snack time soon!

hot cocoa

enjoying time with friends

walking home

Zoya

My Favorite Photos from 2013

I enjoy photography, and lately I've been checking out the 'Kodiak Camera Club' Facebook page for ideas.  I highly recommend that you visit the website  (click here). There are some beautiful photographs on there.  But looking at all the photos I am also disturbed by a few trends that I see in current photography.

First of all, where are all the people?  Practically all the photographs are landscapes or animal pictures.  Perhaps this is because the website is oriented towards Kodiak photography, and the best thing about Kodiak is our landscapes and animals.  Maybe if the newspaper or wedding/party photographers put more photos on the page this would change.  

Still when I took photography classes in college it was all about people photography on the streets and 'catching the decisive moment' a la Cartier Bresson.  I like the photo I took above backstage at the Nutcracker because the graininess, contrast and mood remind me of a black and white Robert Frank photograph. Not that I'll ever come close to the real deal.  Ever see the one he took of the bored girl operating the elevator?  That is my favorite Robert Frank photograph. (click here for an awesome story about the photograph).

The other current photography trend that I find disturbing is the garish use of saturation and color shifts.    Basically people are doing too much 'photoshopping'.  I do touch up my pictures in both photoshop and iphoto but I try to return a photo to what it really looked like.  I try not to overdo it.  The photo below of an archaeologically excavated housepit with mountains and reflections behind it is an example of mine where I overdid it a bit with the photoshopping - note that the color saturation is a little over the top.  I stand by all the others - within the frame that is what it looked like.

Generally, I try to the let the composition and natural shadows, colors, reflections etc make the picture.  I think landscape photography is actually pretty easy.  Afterall, nothing is moving!  Basically, it is just up to the photographer to get the exposure and composition right.  The hardest part is getting it right before the light changes.  And light changes far more slowly than people move.

My final pet peeve is that it seems current photographers tend to emphasize technique rather than composition to get a good photo.  On the Kodiak Camera Club webpage there are numerous tripod supported night shots.  Everybody seems to be using slow shutter speeds to get cool effects.  And they certainly do achieve some spectacular images.  But my favorite images are still the ones with inherent good composition.  

I still remember my photography teacher, way back in the 1980s, who emphasized composition over everything.  He always said that while sepia or selenium toning (the 'photoshop' of 1980s black and white photography) might make a photo look interesting.  A well-toned badly composed photograph is still a bad photograph.  I really don't think anything has changed all that much.

So check out what I consider my best photographic images from the past year, and let me know what you think.  Patrick

Chirikof lupin and archaeological field camp

Kodiak's windturbines at sunrise

I took this one of surfers out at Narrow Cape from a long way away and then cropped it to create a pleasing composition

My favorite animal photo - a Chirikof Ground Squirrel

A 400 year-old Alutiiq house after archaeological excavation

View at dawn from our archaeological field camp last summer at Old harbor

Another view from the Old Harbor field camp at dawn

A blown out dandelion blossom up close

Stuey showing off no hands on an Afognak zipline

Pauls Lake sunrise and moonset

Hawaii Panoramics

My first task after getting back from a trip is stitching all the panoramics I took together in photoshop. After a long archaeological survey through scenic country this can be a LOT of pan stitching.  It's a pain to do, but I find if I don't do it right away that they never get done.

The good part is that I get to relive the trip and find out what panoramics 'worked' and which did not.  I am always surprised by a few images I did not expect to work out, and there are also always few that don't work out as expected.  On this trip I had high hopes for a few of the sunrise and sunset pictures but the sea ended up warped in them. 

The unexpectedly good pan is the one of the porch.  I created it from five vertically oriented pictures.  I wish I had done the same for a view of 'baby beach'.  All of my beach pans had problems created a nicely curved beach, and I think the fix would have been more pictures breaking up the curve so to speak.  This technique also worked for the top picture of Waimea Canyon.  Patrick

Favorite spot on vacation - the porch

Waimea Canyon - deep canyon for such a small island

Catamaran scene and the Na Pali Coast

Another favorite spot - baby beach

Rainbow over baby beach

Sponge Bob Square Pants!

2 Stueys at Baby beach

Wedding on the beach just after sunset

Last Days

We pretty much stayed at the rental for the last 2 days of our trip.  The weather was a bit unsettled and the surf in front built up dramatically.  The waves were too big for snorkeling, and I think the water clarity would have been bad anyway.  So we hung out on the porch and went swimming at 'baby' beach.

The surf might have been a bit too high outside or some other critters too, and Nora and Stuey were delighted to find 2 sea turtles hanging out in the minuscule but protected lagoon in front of 'baby' beach.    We generally gave them a lot of room, but I will admit I did go close for just a few underwater pictures.  They did not seem to care at all and just moseyed around and vary occasionally stuck their heads up above the water.

For our last dinner we cooked up a steak and large chunk of ono on the grill.  It is very sad that it all has to end.

Still I can't wait to get back to skiing and we all miss Tank and Jake.  It is time to go home.  Patrick

Nora's sand sculpture - 'the sun'

The view from our seat at a restaurant on the penultimate night of our stay

The Turtle with Stuey in the background

The Porch by 'Baby Beach'

One evening we looked down at the 'baby beach' and discovered a wedding in progress!

My favorite spot on this Hawaiian vacation has the been the porch of our rented house.  Incredible view out over the ocean and there is the constant roar of the surf for a soundtrack.

The porch is covered so it does not get too hot in the sun and it stays dry during the sudden downpours.  If I feel a need for heat - I go to the 'baby' beach.  If I feel a need to cool off - I go snorkeling, or hang on the deck.  The porch is a GREAT place to eat dinner and hang out with the family.

 All the ingredients for a great vacation are on or around the porch.  All the little side trips were just good gravy for an immensely satisfying and rejuvenating family vacation.

Patrick

Polly and John admiring the sunset and the moment. 

Everyone 'capturing' the sunset - the new norm for the digital age.

Scenic underwater shot from Polly's camera

While my camera my have lost its underwater capabilities my sister Polly's camera did not.  I went for a snorkel with her and John on the reef in front of the rental and she captured the requisite underwater turtle shot.

The turtle and I

We were a little worried about this restaurant and almost left before getting served.   Lucky we didn't - the Hawaiian Poki and Fish tacos were the best of the trip.

Catamaran Trip

The day started with Stuey exclaiming "This is like fireworks!" and ended with Nora saying, "That was the worst day of my life". Two very different experiences of a daytime catamaran adventure.

The Northern Star is a catamaran tour boat which takes eager tourists like ourselves out to the reaches of Kauai shoreline-most of which is only accessible by boat. Many of the cliffs we ventured by have been seen in scenes of famous movies including Jurassic Park.

The day was moderately windy which provided for some rough, "fun" boating...but not for Nora. She was very insistent about going on the trip, even though she knew she would get seasick. She took dramamine which helped make her woozy and not care as much, but she was still quite queasy. Fortunately she never had to "speak to the seals", so to speak (my dad used that as code language for barfing over the edge).

The trip yesterday made my soft spot for catamaran rides even softer. Sitting on the trampolines in the warm air while the boat glides over the water feeds my soul. It was fun to share the experience with Stuey yesterday, as that was his first catamaran trip. He smiled so big as the boat hit waves as well as watching the large numbers of dolphins and whales.

The cliffs and scenics on the far shore of Kauai were so spectacular....hard to describe in words. The coast is so rugged and jagged that no roads go there. No wonder it is perfect for filming movies such as Jurrassic park!

Zoya

Stuey took this picture of porpoises with his little point and shoot

Another picture by Stuey of a cave along the Na Pali coast

The beginning of the trip. 

Nora slept most of the trip curled up in the fetal position. 

The spectacular Kauai coast-line. 

The Scene on the Northern Star. 

Wildlife of the Brazilian sorts in the background...

Riding the trampoline during the big seas-so fun to enjoy the seas from this perspective!

One of the few moments when Nora wasn't seasick. 

Stuey riding the trampoline!