Tag Archives: Rokinon 12mm f/2

Architecture, Travel, Urban

First Day in Austin, Texas

Having just arrived in Austin, Texas yesterday afternoon, my wife and I have been trying to see as much as we can during our short stay here.  Our first stop was a quick walk around the Driskill Hotel to take a closer look at the historic interior.  The woodwork and stained glass of the interior is a sight to behold.

The next day we started out in the morning and eventually hiked almost 15 miles around the city.  Our first point of interest was Barton Springs Pool.  It was a few miles from our hotel, but it was a nice walk following the many walking trails in the city.  Unfortunately, the pool was closed since there has been so much rain and it was flooded.

After walking from the Pool area, we ventured to the Zilker Botanical Garden and strolled around their gardens.  From there, we headed back into downtown.  Some of the walking trails were submerged from the flooding and closed down.

After stopping by Whole Foods for some lunch, we continued north to the graffiti wall’s of the Hope Outdoor Gallery.  There is some very impressive work there and it is constantly changing, as artists are there daily updating the walls.  Once we left that, we toured the State Capitol building and strolled down some of the boardwalk’s next to the river.

It was a long day with many miles of walking, but the sights were worth it and I am looking forward to exploring tomorrow.

Landscapes, Nature

An Evening at Cooper’s Rock State Park, WV

It has been a busy few weeks for my family and I and I’ve been needing some down time in nature.  The weather was about perfect, so after work I packed up a camera bag and my mountain bike and off I went to Cooper’s Rock State Park in West Virginia.  Once I arrived I started off with some light mountain biking since the light was much to harsh.  I rode some miles and then put the bike away so I could just trek around.  Once the sun started to go down, the light changed and everything looked so much better.

The evening was fantastic and just what I needed to clear my head.  The biking was fun, using my new Peak Design Everyday Messenger 13 bag was fantastic and the sunset over the gorge was splendid.

Landscapes, Nature

On the bike in the woods

The weather was cloudy with chances of rain, but that didn’t dissuade me from loading up my mountain bike and a backpack full of camera kit and heading out into the woods.  Wanting to spend as much time pedaling as photographing, I opted to drive to the Jonathan Run trailhead in Ohiopyle.  This trail is about a mile and a half long and runs to the main biking trail.  Almost to the main trail, another trail branches off called Sugar Run.  Both of these trails are mostly nice singletrack with some sprinkling of technical rocky sections, some nice flowy up and downs along with a few climbing sections.  The scenery is top notch and there was no one around.  I saw a single group of hikers all 3 hours I was on the trail.

Since we’ve had some rain the past few days and I was in the woods, the camera and tripod came along for the ride.  I brought only a prime lens kit which consisted of a 12mm, 23mm, 35mm and my 56mm.  The most used was my 12mm and 56mm.  Having only primes was a nice change of pace and made me think more about the shots I wanted and the angles.  I brought a variable neutral density filter and a circular polarizer as well to help with the colors and exposure times.  All in all, it was a great morning of riding and picture taking.