The Great Outdoor Photo Contest

I just entered two photos in The Great Outdoor Photo Contest contest being put on by National Geographic Traveler. I entered the amateur division with the grand prize being a trip to Hawaii. The first round of judging is going to be based on 33% Creativity, 34% Sense of Place and 33% Capture the Moment.

Moon over Rio Pacuare, Costa Rica

I entered this picture in the SCENICS OF THE NATURAL WORLD category because of the cool atmosphere and light. I think you can feel the sub tropical humidity with the fog in the background and the water has a cool look and texture. The flaw in this picture is that I shot it at the wrong ISO. I had it set the camera at an ISO of 400, if I had shot it correctly at ISO 100 there would have been a lot less noise in the picture. Anne like the noise though, she thinks it adds something to the picture and maybe it does.

Perfect conditions in Colorado

I entered this one in the OUTDOOR SPORTS AND ACTIVITIES category, of all the sports shots I have taken, I liked this one was one of the best. I was torn because I really wanted to use a kayaking shot but I really did not have anything that matched the creativity and feeling that this picture generates. I took this picture with my new Christmas Superwide angle lens that everyone helped me get and I am sure the judges will appreciate the grand vista in the background and the Anne action in the foreground. Technically this was not an easy shot being that the sun light coming from behind Anne, yet I think I did a reasonable job as she is not a silhouette as it could easily have been. The flaw of course is the lens flare that falls right on her shoulder. That happens easily with super wide angle lens when you point the camera off angle at a light source.

I don't really stand much of a chance however, check out the latest entries and you will see the types of photos being entered. They are very good, here is the link: Latest Entries

Here are some of the other pictures that I like but that I did not enter, mainly because you have to pay $12 for each photo that you enter.

I think the action and creativity in this kayaking shot are good as it looks like the person taking the photo is about to get wet (which he did and the camera as well) but there is little else to interest the viewer.

I really liked this picture of Tom, he is obviously out of balance and the scenery in the background is stunning. The only reason Anne's picture won out over this one was the orange boundary line that I found a little distracting. This one did make the poster though, yeah Tom!

I am not sure where I would have entered this picture but I like the feeling and mood of the silhouetted surfer against this spectacular sunset. I ended up not liking it because of the other swimmers in the water. If he had been alone it would have been perfect. I could have taken the trouble to photoshop the people in the water out but in the end I did not think it was worth the effort.

I will let you all know how it goes, they will announce a winner by the end of the month.

Chris

Zeitgeist, an intersting conspiracy movie

Have you all seen this video yet? Not that I am a conspiracy nut but some of the questions raised in this video do merit some thought. It is long but check it out when you are bored and want to watch something. I think the most interesting part of this is the central banking system, I am going to have to ask Peter about that one.

Videos

I have produced many videos of friends and adventures over the years, I will begin posting those videos on this blog so that they will be easy to find. Here is one of my paddling favorites, check it out.

Sex Wax and Saltwater

Before I could ride this micro wave with my wife, I had to swallow a few gallons of sea water, get churned on the sea bed many times and bang my head on my surf board more than once. All I can say about surfing is that it is one of the toughest sports I have ever tried to learn. Waves, sand and fiberglass are not gentle on beginners and while I envisioned myself riding the waves with grace, power and speed, the reality was littered with pain, frustration and a lot of water up my nose. Until next time, when I am sure that I will not be "hanging ten" as they say.

Scary Drive home

It was a slippery drive home on Friday, I was surprise that the icy conditions persisted well south of Roanoke. In the end it took us an hour and half longer than usual but the reunion with our warm house was a good one, until Anne discovered that I had inadvertently turned off the power to both our freezers. The smell emanating from the freezer inside the house was not friendly at all. Even now, two days later and despite a pan full of odor eating cat litter and little pots of ground coffee scattered inside the fridge, the rotten smell still persists. The freezer that was outside fared better as it was colder. I figure that we lost about $150 dollars worth of good meats, including some great wild boar roast that I was looking forward to. Still we are alive and well.

What I learned in Monte Verde

Sunset from the Monte Verde

It turned out to be cold up in Monte Verde, situated as it is high in the mountains of Costa Rica. This did not seem to affect the incredibly variety of birds that flock here for shelter, food and a nice view. Here are some of the facts that I learned here:

A Motmot

1. Motmot is a cool name for a bird

A Queztal posing

2. Queztals really are pretty when you get to see them, they seem to have a complex about there beauty as they are very shy and hard to see.

Stone Gargoyle guarding Hotel Vonda Vella

Our room at the Vonda Vella Hotel

3. If I planted my own coffee plantation it would take four years before I could enjoy my very own version of heavenly java in a cup.

Steve enjoying the fruits of Don Julios labor of love

Local kids summer job picking coffee

4. Working at a coffee plantation would not be very locarative, picking a 24 pound basket of coffee beans earns you exactly one dollar. A good picker can fill ten baskets in a day.

Second Honeymoon in Tortuguero

Relaxing at the Mawamba Lodge

Anne and I spent a couple of days off at Mawamba Lodge in Northeastern part of Costa Rica. There is a large National park there that is just full of wildlife. We went on a tour and reaquinted ourselves with all the different types of monkeys in Costa Rica. There were Howler monkeys, Spider monkeys and Whitefaced Capuchin monkeys and we saw them all up in the trees here.

Awesome sunsets

Howler monkey eating lunch

Nice inviting pool on at the Hotel

A huge Rhino beetle

A Jesus Christ lizard, they walk on water

More Howler monkeys in the trees

It was a great vacation, we got to see a new area of Costa Rica that we had not seen before and it is just teeming with wildlife. There where way too many tourists there but there is a reason for that. Now we are back in San Jose to begin our two week adventure with Wofford College. More updates coming, stay tuned.

Chris

Adventures with Jay Trimble

Anne and Jay

Anne't trip with Jay was full of some great paddling and colorful Costa Rican wildlife. Jays warm up run was on the Rio Balsa, Jay had not paddled in two years and this proved to be the perfect river to get back into paddling with fun wave trains and surfing holes.

Jay getting back into surfing on the Rio Balsa

We made a short side trip to a place with a beautiful view of a waterfall. The birds here were just incredible, I saw at least five new species of birds that I had not seen after coming to Costa Rica for eight years.

Emerald Toucanett

A resting Iguana

A Barret


Anne dealing with the Confusing wall shot of the Serapique

We then went down the Rio Serapique where Jay's nemesis rapid, Confusion made for some excitement. The next day we went to the Rio Pejibeye, one of my most favorite rivers in all of Coata Rica. It was just a beautiful day and a great finalle to Jays trip.

Jay on the crystal clear Rio Pefibeye

A visit to the Beach

We spent our last day in Panama at a wonderful beach about an hours drive from the city of David. The sand was black and hot and there was virtually no one else on the beach.

We enjoyed a nice lunch in the perfect on shore breeze.

We then flew my awesome kite in the stiff afternoon breeze. This kite is two meters long and flying it in the heavy wind is a great workout. If you are looking for a great toy grown up toy for the beach this is it. Unfortunately they are no longer making the kites for sale, but the makers of the Wind Dancer have made public the manufacturing plans for the kite so you can have one made or make it yourself. Click here for more information and details about this kite.

Getting a good work out from my Wind Dancer 3000

We then headed back to David and boarded the afternoon flight back to Panama City. Very smooth flight back to the city were we found a Sushi restaurant and enjoyed the evening in the big city.

We wanted to thank Robin and John for being such gracious hosts, it was an incredible visit to Panama and well worth the effort to get here. Of course it was also really nice to connect with Kara again. She is doing great by the way, she is going to work one more year as a Chef for the yachts and then move back to Panama and open a restaurant of her own. I look forward to my next visit to Panama when I will be able to lounge in Kara's new restaurant and see how Ema and Read further take over the the Miller house hold.

Stay tuned for our Costa Rica adventures coming up next.

Chris

Panamaian Animal Shelter

Anne went paddling today and I had to stay home and read my book and listen to music, worse things have happened to me. So I walked to town to check my email as the power was out at John and Robins house. The wind has been ferocious in the last couple of days so it was no surprise. Robin and I also paid a visit to a local animal rehab shelter, there was a cute baby howler monkey that was very friendly with Robin as you can see.

















































We were allowed into the cages of a few of the animals, that was pretty cool. This Cappuchin monkey was also very friendly and really cute.
We capped the evening at the Sanchezs house where Kara cheffed up some incredible Paella and home made Churrus, a classic Panamanian dessert. All in all another great day here in Panama.

Spending the day with the Millers

Little Emma

Today was a relaxing day spent with the family. The weather today was filled with rain and incredible gusts of wind that threatened to tear off the roof. So I spent the day photographing the children as they played. Emma is already a little model, she was more than happy to smile and ham it up for the camera while Read on the other hand could care less about the camera and was hard to pin down. I finally did get to a couple of him with his moms help.

Read Miller

John and Robin have some beautifully cute kids.

Chris

Hiking Las Quetzalis trail

Hiking the verdant forests of National Park Volcan Baru

Our adventure today was to hike the ten kilometer trail from Boquete to Cero Punta that crosses the shoulder of the Volcano Baru. The sun was shining when we left town but quickly disappeared and replaced with the light chilly rain Panamainian's call Baha Reque.

A stair master workout

Hiking in a rain forest is a wet experience but it is not usually cold, today however the wind was howling and temperature must have been hovering in the upper 50's, which was quiet cold when you are wet and dressed for more tropical temperatures.

A wall of green

Shortly after I took this picture of an amazing wall of verdant rainforest, Anne spotted what would be the highlight of the trip, seeing a rare Quetzal. This was an incredible and special sighting as these birds are rare and seeing one anywhere is just awesome. I thought for sure there was no way we would see any wildlife because of the rain but sure enough, Anne heard it singing and found it up in the tree.

A rare Quetzal

My only disappointment was the poor lighting, if the sun had been out I could have gotten a $400 calendar shot, now I will just have to keep hunting.

As always we had a good time with old friends, reliving old stories and making new ones, which is what life is all about after all. Thanks to John, Robin and Kara for sharing laughter, adventure and making life memorable.