Winter Solstice Sunrise

For the past four years I have made the early morning trip to photograph the sunrise through the arch at Buzzard Roost.  This year it was very clear and cold and I was there alone this time.  I was there a few day before scouting around to see how the area and the roads were.  No matter how many time I have been there, at night it is very easy to get turned around on the roads leading up to the parking area.  I have my GPS if I get lost, but it is fun to try to remember the way without technology.  I think I like the previous years image better, but this years image is one shot from the camera and processed in Lightroom 2.6.  I am still learning Lightroom and hope to master it next year.  I will post more images as time permits.  Happy Holidays! Click on image to see a larger image.

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Boxley Valley

Boxley Valley
Originally uploaded by bmwrider.

A few weeks back I had returned from another shoot and decided to drop by the Boxley Valley to see what was there. The Clouds were calling to me and I just had to photograph the valley.
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Haw Creek Falls by moonlight.

Bob Laster, Mike Cooper, and I headed to Haw Creek Falls last night to photograph the falls by moonlight.  We had made an eariler attempt to capture this image this year, but the weather did not want to play with us.  Last night we had to wait around for about 3 hours for the moon to rise where we wanted it too.  I will have to go back and try this again another time.

Haw Creek Falls by moonlight.

"Rite in the Rain" notebook review

I am working on a review of the "Rite in the Rain" all-weather pocket notebook.  I used these in Alaska when I was at McNeil River and worked very good.  The one thing I did not like was the way the pen would skip across the paper.  I Have used six pens for the test to see which one works the best.  Here is a list of the pens I chose:

1. "Write in the Rain" Pen
2. BIC - Mark It Ultra Fine Pen
3. Sharpie Ink Pen
4. Pentel Permaroller Gold
5. Space Pen
6. Delta Elite ball point pen

I did not have a Sharpie Fine Point pen to try, I may wait till I get that pen, before I finish my test.  So far the Bic Mark-It pen writes the best on the waterproof paper.  We will se how it does when water is thrown on the page.  What I am looking to do with this test is:

1. Which pen writes the best on the waterproof paper?
2. Does it hold up to the water test?
3. Does it smear while it is wet?
4. Which one is easiest to read?

That's the test in a nutshell, so I should finish this test some time this week and I will post the results.

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Arkansas Specific link

I will add more links as I get a chance to the new Arkansas Specific area I have created as well as gear tests and reviews.  I hope this will add to the value of the web site as well as get some information out to the hikers and photographers wanting to explore Arkansas.  Be sure to buy Tim's Hiking Guides as well as Waterfall Guidebooks.  He has worked hard to get this information to us and they are a great value for the money.

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