Dan's North American Journey

[04 Rocko Taco]

Pooh Saan. Southeast Asian Cuisine, and from what I hear, its pretty decent Dan, should have stopped in.

[Seanz0rz]

thai food rocks!

[Crinale]

thai food rocks!

Agreed 100% One of my favorites

[DHC6twinotter]

Huh...I should have tried it. Name didn't sound very appetizing, but I guess that's because I read it wrong. I prefer Chinese or Filipino food over Thai, but Thai food is pretty good too.

Shane, that picture of the warehouse looks much better. I realized I didn't edit the warehouse picture I uploaded, and after a bit of manipulation, it did turn out much nicer. That being said, it seems to me that a good photographer shouldn't have to do any kind of post editing. I'd like to get to the point where my photos are good enough to post without any editing. I dunno...maybe I'm expecting too much.

Right now, I'm at the I90 visitor center in Wyoming, about 10 miles from the SD border. I'm heading west to Devil's Tower, then back into Wyoming and up into North Dakota. I'll stay up there for a bit, then probably take Highway 2 west to Glacier and Waterton Lakes in Canada.

But for now, I'll try to get you all a bit more caught up on where I've been.

[DHC6twinotter]

Post 7: Nebraska

So, as I type this, I'm listening to a Rapid City rock station. The DJ forgot to turn off his mic as the song is playing, and right now I'm listing to the Eagles with the melodious sounds of the DJ hacking and blowing his nose in the background. What a hoot.

Anyways, as my poor effort to keep you all updated proceeds, this post will highlight what I did in Nebraska.

My 88 year old grandmother lives in Nebraska, and we had sort of a mini family reunion. I also had the clutch replaced at a local shop. Nothing too exciting for you all I suppose, so here are some other highlights of the trip:

Spent Indepedence Day in Lincoln. After a day at the Omaha Zoo with my nephew and niece (5 and 7), nobody felt like going anywhere. We sat out on the driveway and watched the neighbors shoot of their fireworks. It turned out really awesome, and I've never seen so many fireworks! Fireworks were going off all around us for hours on both the 3rd and 4th. It was insane.


Fireworks over Lincoln

My uncle and I drove out to the farm where he and my mom grew up. Right now it's all bean fields, but my grandparents used it as an apiary when they lived there.


Farmhouse where mom grew up.

We also ran up the road a bit to check out my Grandpa's old bee truck.


Grandpa's 1945 Ford 2 ton truck with wheelbase stretch

It's a 1945 Ford 2 ton truck. It has a flathead V8, 4 spd manual trans, and 2 speed rear axle. My grandfather had the frame and wheelbase stretched shortly after he bought the truck new in '45. He also had an auxiliary fuel tank, which was nothing more than a barrel strapped to the driver's side. He used it to haul his bees around, but he stopped migrating with the bees shortly after he bought the truck. The truck broke down, and he gave it to the neighbor in '77. It's been sitting in the garage since. Everybody is pretty adamant about it being a '45, but from the little research I've done, the 2 ton trucks weren't out till '46, so I dunno.

Anyways, the reason I'm telling you all this is because this may be my truck once I settle down. I can get the truck free, but I've got to decide if I want or can restore it.

While in Nebraska, I also stopped by the Strategic Air and Space Museum. If you like old bombers, this is the museum to to go. They have rare aircraft like the B-36, B-29, B-47, B-58, B-1B, SR-71, and many more. I just went to see the B-36 mostly.


Two of the four turbojet engines and intakes for three of the six 28 cylinder "corncob" radial engines used on the B-36


Three of the six pusher props on the B-36


You know you're in the midwest when you see this:


But if you're confused what pop is, some places have a sign like this:

[Crinale]

Looks like you are still having a good time Dan! Wish I could make that trip..

And about the photo editing, every professional/high level amateur photographer I know spends a lot of time editing to make the pictures perfect. Also Digi-cams are notorious for not exactly accurate color reproduction, and every camera is different, so editing can bring the photos back to realism.

[Obi..]

..it seems to me that a good photographer shouldn't have to do any kind of post editing. I'd like to get to the point where my photos are good enough to post without any editing. I dunno...maybe I'm expecting too much.

Yeah...

..industry secret here, nobody cops to editing. I can prove it, check out Mr.Dodgy Rock-n-Roll Photography. Neil may not admit it but I know he's one of the best I have ever met and even he "tweaks things a little".

Cool pics from S.A.C. Museum! My Father was in SAC/MAC, I'll pass those onto him.

[04 Rocko Taco]

Good times Dan. I know I loved the Glacier/Waterton area when I was there years ago.

Keep up the pics! If you need anything sent your way and are in one place long enough, let me know!

[Obi..]

Ditto that. When you leave So-Cal to head to the Washington Lego deal I got your back if you need a spot to fix whatcha may break.

[Robinhood4x4]

Cool pics and great write up.

Most good pictures aren't straight from the camera so don't feel bad about photoshopping them. Even Ansel Adams was known for "photoshopping" his pictures, except back then it was all done in the dark room.

You're doing good in that you're not using a flash indoors. I'm of the theory that natural light is better unless you have a good external flash.

My monitor is semi calibrated (calibrated, but about a year ago) so maybe it's my monitor, but shane's editing looks a little over saturated to me. The warehouse pic looks to be a tad on the green side.

Your horizons are pretty level so that's good.

The fireworks pic needs a little bit longer exposure so the light trails are longer.

Read a book called Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. Best book I've ever read on photography.

Anyway, keep it up.