We’re leaving tomorrow for a family vacation in Europe. We’ll be eight days on the River Rhein with a little extra time at the start and the the end. And yes, I’m taking my camera with me.

There’s something I’ve been puzzling about for a long time.  So I finally decided to check it out and share the results with you.  I wanted to know the relationship between the camera’s built-in light meter and the histogram.  OK, sounds geeky so what exactly am I talking about and why do I care?

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Well, no shooting with the new toy yesterday or today.  As I haven’t given up my day job yet it’s necessary to get some consulting hours in to bring home the bacon.  Besides, the client is happer when I pay some attention to them.  However, the RRS L bracket came today.  So I’ll be able to attach the camera to the tripod without having to use the long lens – always a good thing to be able to do.

But this weekend is going to be very exciting.  First of all, it’s the 1st Annual Joshua Tree Gathering, open to anyone who owns a camera and isn’t afraid to use it.  See the post.  But I’m going to attempt a series of sunrise shots from first light to the sun fully up.  The thing that makes this interesting is I’m going to attempt to do this as  360 degree panorama.  I hope I don’t have to add HDR to the mix.  Arg!

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We had some more good rain this weekend.  It was a huge storm but most of the precipitation came down up north.  The Sierra got as much as 10 feet of snow!  The state really needs it.

The aftermath in the Santiago Fire burn area relates to the green grass that is growing in profusion all over the hills.  Well, “all over” is something of an overstatement and here’s the interesting observation.  Where there was grass before the fire, these areas are covered in lush, vibrant green.  But where there was chaparral before the fire the ground is bare.  I suppose that makes sense.  That seems to be one of those things where when you know the answer, the answer is pretty obvious.

If you haven’t seen the photo journal of the days of the fire, click here.

The first annual Joshua Tree Gathering is scheduled for January 18th through January 20th in Joshua Tree National Park.  We welcome photographers of all levels of ability.  If you’re interested, leave me a comment to this post.

It shipped yesterday, my new Canon 1Ds Mark III.  I should get it next Wednesday.  Stay tuned for first impressions.  The excitement is running high.

My brother, Roger, just launched his own blog yesterday.  I added his site to the Glogroll and will be adding an RSS feed.  I encourage you to check it out at RogerNordstromPhoto.blogspot.com.  He also has a very nice website with some of his amazing work.  You’ll want to check that out also at RogerNordstromPhoto.com.  You’ll love his work.

 Welcome Roger.

Last night we got the BLOG up and running, customized to some extent and connected to the main Nordstrom Fine Art Landscape Photography website.  Also got the first article published.  Today I figure out how to add photographs to the article.

I spent every night this past week working on Virgin River and the Watchman, a photograph that I shot in Zion National Park last month.  I’d work on in till nearly midnight and be pretty excited.  I’d place a print on the dining room table and the next morning I wouldn’t like it.  But I only made one change yesterday.  Haven’t looked at it again this morning but it’s probably pretty close.  Of course, that’s what I’ve been saying for a week now.  But this time I think it really is.