Sunrise, Sunset, and Everything in Between

It's been a while since my last blog post, partly because I've been away in Canada for a little while, and partly because I've been busy playing around with the new camera I just got. I dearly loved my old Olympus E-620, but it was crippled by glitches and three years of heavy use, and about to bite the dust. So, finally, I bit the dust and bought a new camera, the Olympus OM-D (for anyone who's curious). I could write paragraphs upon paragraphs about how I feel about my new baby, but, put succinctly, IT'S $%#&ING AWESOME. I'm officially in love. 

UPDATE: For everyone  (okay, so probably like two people, ever) who's actually interested in my technical thoughts on the camera, I've posted them on a camera-geek forum here. 


Wednesday was my last day off for a week, so I decided to spend nearly the whole day out taking pictures. Needless to say, it was a really good day. I'd hiked the Sand Meadows again a few days before that, and decided that the top had the perfect vista for sunrise pictures. So, I dragged myself out of bed at 5:30 in the morning, and hiked up the sand cliff in the dark to see what it would be like. It was misty down below, but when I got to the top I realized that I was too far up to really have a good view of the mist. Plus, there was a bank of clouds on the eastern horizon, so I wouldn't be able to get any really good sunrise shots.

Most disappointing. Still, it's a pretty darn good view, don't you think?

 So, I hemmed and hawed for a while, and eventually decided to descend once more, and take my chances in the valley below. Would the sunset have been pretty if I'd stayed up on the dunetop? Probably. But, well, it was decent below, too.

It was, well, passable.

OKAY FINE, IT WAS AWESOME.

 There's something really magical about the sun breaking through the mist in the early morning, that even the best photos can't completely express. 

Though, admittedly, the magic is slightly diminished when an angry truck driver yells at you to stay off the shoulder.

Some unnamed lake by M-22

And by unnamed I mean I don't know its name.

Fearless Traveler

After going home and sleeping a couple hours, I went into Traverse City, partly to pick up some books at the library, and partly to try out the new portrait lens I got with my camera. I'm mainly a nature photographer nowadays, and street photography is something pretty new for me. I don't consider myself a very good street photography, and taking pictures of people is kind of outside my comfort zone. Still, it's fun to get outside my comfort zone, and I might be doing more of it this summer.

DUUUUUUUUDE

Too... Much... Food...

Evil Eye

Curls

The winner (right) and runner-up (left) for today's best-dressed award.

Unimpressed

And then, for sunset, I hiked Sugarloaf Mountain with a friend to watch the sunset. I didn't take too many photos, because it was mainly a social outing, but it was still a wonderful way to end the day.

Life is good.