An Unusual Experience

Every once in a while you experience something that is unusual and memorable, and such was the case on a recent camping trip.

We spent a week over Thanksgiving with lots of friends and our RVs, camping in the mountainous wilderness north of the old western town of Wickenburg, Arizona. 

During the day we rode our all terrain vehicles, exploring the unknown; old deserted gold, silver, and copper mines.  We have even found graves out in the middle of nowhere.

So, let’s get to the unusual.  We are riding along in a river bed and I see someone walking toward us in the distance.  Now keep in mind that we are miles from any campsite and I’m wondering what this person is up to.

As we get closer we see that it’s a woman and she is hiking with three friends.  A llama, a donkey, and her dog.  What a site!  So we pulled up and got acquainted. (Click on photos for larger view.)

The dog, a miniature collie, immediately treats us like long lost buddies, and the llama and donkey are equally as friendly. We had a great time getting to know all four of these characters.

Here, “Angel” is telling Diane that they have walked for miles and is ready to be back home as she is carrying all the supplies.  This woman must have been in good shape because they had already gone 5 miles and had more than that to hike a circle route to get back to camp.

 

The donkey drank out of Diane’s hand and they also had a good talk.  This guy was just too cute.

Well, after a while we mounted up and rode off, only to look back and see this group hiking off in the distance.

You just never know when you’ll have an unusual experience and this  will go in the books as one of them!

iPhone Photography

The world of photography has changed drastically since the advent of the digital age.  Gone are the days of spending your cash on film and developing.  You’ll also remember that picking up your order after processing you were often disappointed in the results of your photos.

Digital cameras did away with all this.  You can see instant results and take as many shots as you wish without spending additional cash.

In the last few years even simple pocket cameras have become very sophisticated offering lots of cool features and producing wonderful photos.

With the release of the iPhone 4, iPhone photography gradually became popular.  Some of your “top notch” professional photographers are taking photos with this camera with some amazing results.  Now with the release of the iPhone 4s, sporting an 8MB camera, the fun is even better!

Recently I came across a telephoto lens for my 4s.  Telephoto lens on an iPhone?  Sounds ridiculous and that was my thought when I first saw it on the Internet.

In a local ad I saw this lens on sale for $24.99, and I thought why not try it, might be fun.  I was pleasantly surprised by the results, especially at such an inexpensive price!

The lens comes with a special protective cover for the iPhone so that the lens can be attached.  It’s a 2 second operation to do this.  A small tri-pod is even included.

I took the lens out of the box, snapped on the cover, and walked outside to the front porch where I snapped this picture looking up the street.

Then I attached the telephoto lens, which you can do blindfolded, and took another shot standing in the same spot.

I was very pleasantly surprised by the results of this 8X zoom lens.  (You may click on the photos for a larger view.)

Both photos were enhanced using Paint Shop Pro X4 and Topaz Filters, but that didn’t change the fact that this little lens did a very decent job.

The nice thing about this lens is that it is only 3” long and can be carried in your pocket.  And, of course the beauty of your iPhone is that you always have a camera with you!

If you shoot photos with your iPhone, you’ll definitely want to add “Camera +” to your phone.  This app will let you shoot with constant light, or flash, shoot with amazing burst rates, set the focus and exposure points, edit your photos, and send them to email, instant messages, Facebook, Twitter, and more.

Just more fun in the digital age of photography!

Have fun with your picture taking.  Here’s my final word on this:

“Your birth certificate proves that you were born.  Your death certificate proves that you died, and your photos prove that you LIVED!