Category: Nikon

The Space Shuttle Endeavor’s Ferryflight

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Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

The decommissioned Space Shuttle  Endeavour made  the last leg of her tour across the United States in the San Francisco Bay area. I headed north to Mountain View, CA to catch a glimpse of her.
After leaving San Francisco she headed south to Moffet Field.

I first spotted her as she was flying over the big hanger at Moffet Field.

There were quite a few folks here with me, but not the 1000’s of people who were over at Moffet Field.

The traffic on the freeway beside this building crawled and stalled. The Highway Patrol came by with a bull-horn warning people on the freeway not to pull over and to

keep moving or face a fine and ticket. The little dirt lots around this building filled up with spectators.

It was really neat to see her fly by. The crowd cheered! I got goosebumps. What a wonderful history she’s had, and the shuttle program has been a remarkable accomplishment in the history of our Space Program. It is sad to see it end. I hope the Space Program continues on its journey with new adventures and exciting discoveries in the future.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 70-300mm VR| Hand-held

A Morning Classic

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A Morning Classic, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

Oatmeal. I love it topped with sweet rivers of melted brown sugar, and berries or raisins. It warms me inside and out, and sticks with me for hours. I eat breakfast everyday. Do you? I am amazed at how many people don’t.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 35mm @f2| 1/25 s| ISO 500| Manual Priority| Hand-held

3,186 seconds under Heaven

Posted in Astrophotograhpy, California, hikes, Landscapes, Nature, Nikon, Photography, TravelTagged , , , , , , , 1 Comment
3186 seconds under Heaven, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

That little bit of mist on the lake was cool. It would come and go all the while my companions and I shot here. While shooting on the other side of the lake an hour before we heard a pack of coyotes howling and yipping in the distance. While shooting these star trails something caught my eye moving just to the left on the shore. I thought it was a coyote and in the dark you know how your eyes play tricks on you right…well thankfully it was a only a lone Doe walking by.
I wondered why she was alone and not already fast asleep safely in her den at that hour.
Her belly looked a little large so my thought was she was pregnant. I couldn’t get a shot of her it was too dark… and I admit it I darted behind Enrico when I first caught sight of her in the dark. 🙂 Yes, my instinct is flight not fight.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 24mm @ 3.2| 54 frames at 59 s 1 frame 33s| ISO 320| Manual Priority| Tripod

Alpine Glow on Cathedral Peaks and Echo Peaks

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Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.


Myself and 7 other members of a Meet-up group I’m in backpacked to Upper Cathedral Lake in Yosemite Wilderness. for an overnight photography adventure.  It’s a 3.5 mile hike starting at 8500 ft, and topping out at 9500ft. I took my Garmin for the stats, but haven’t uploaded it yet.
My legs are dead tired after hauling my body plus 20+ pound pack up there, but it was so worth it!
It’s gorgeous up here. We lucked out it was too cool for mosquitoes. I didn’t get eaten alive at all. There were only a few other campers up here making it really enjoyable considering it was a major holiday week-end in the United States, and the valley was packed with people.

 

After picking a site to set up our base camp we set up our tents then grabbed our camera equipment  and trekked over to the south side of the lake to shoot the sunset. We didn’t get any color in the sky as it stayed flat all afternoon and evening, but the Alpine Glow on the mountain peaks was lovely.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 24mm @f9| 1/20s| ISO 200| Manual Priority| Tripod| 5 frame panorama

Birthday feast.

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Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac

Heman asked me if I would make his favorite entree: lasagna, and his favorite cake; Marble for his birthday. There was no way I would ever refuse. So I spent the day cooking and baking.

I started the red meat sauce first. Once that was simmering I started on the cake:

No one was here to lick the spoon, beaters, or bowl

After I mixed up the yellow cake I held some back to add the chocolate for the marbling.

Once the cake layers cooled I was ready to assemble the two layers, and frost it.

It turned out light, with a wonderful crumb, and very moist.

We like this cake chilled so straight to the frig it went. The red meat sauce was finished so I could assemble the lasagna next.

I use ground beef, a wee bit of ground pork, and 3 cheeses to make this dish. Here’s the second layer.

The house smelled wonderful today  and I was really hungry by the time it came bubbling out of the oven,

I served the lasagna with a green salad, garlic bread, and a table Cabernet by BV Coastal Estates,

Heman loved it, and no one left hungry. I think I’ll leave the clean up for a bit and go take a walk. I’m stuffed!

Nikon D700| Nikkor 28-105mm f3.5-4.5 micro

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Crater Lake in early May

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Crater Lake in early May, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

While in OR this past May we were only an 1.5 hours drive from Crater Lake so we spent our last afternoon and evening here. The weather and scenery didn’t disappoint.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 24mm @f16| 1/125second| ISO 200| Manual Priority| Tripod| 4 frame Pano stitched in CS6

For the historians:
The lake was formed after the collapse of an ancient volcano, posthumously named Mount Mazama. This volcano violently erupted approximately 7,700 years ago. That eruption was 42 times as powerful as the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens. The basin or caldera was formed after the top 5,000 feet of the volcano collapsed. Subsequent lava flows sealed the bottom, allowing the caldera to fill with approximately 4.6 trillion gallons of water from rainfall and snow melt, to create the seventh deepest lake in the world at 1,932 feet.

Rolling mountains, volcanic peaks, and evergreen forests surround this enormous, high Cascade Range lake, recognized worldwide as a scenic wonder. On summer days, neither words or photographs can capture Crater Lake’s remarkable blueness. For much of the year, usually October to July at higher elevations, a thick blanket of snow encircles the lake. Snowfall provides most of the park’s annual 66 inches of precipitation.

Crater Lake rarely freezes over completely; it last did in 1949. Heat from the summer sun stored in the immense body of water retards ice formation throughout the winter. On the earth clock, natural forces only recently constructed this landscape. Lava flows first formed a high plateau base on which explosive eruptions then built the Cascade volcanoes. Humans probably witnessed the cataclysmic eruption of Mount Mazama about 7,700 years ago.
~Crater Lake National Park Service