And a couple of days after, actually!
I was running around Eastern and Central Washington state. The area is noted for the aftereffects of colossal flooding between 10-15,000 years ago when a huge glacial lake repeatedly melted and flooded the countryside, which was already pretty heavily affected by vulcanism. I was fascinated by the after-effects!
This boulder (which later split in half) rode the flood encased in an iceberg till it settled down 100-plus miles from where it started. Huge thing now sitting in a farmer's field! Of course, the best part is the way the local high school kids have vandalized it!
Before the flooding, these polygonal basaltic columns formed as volcanic basalt cooled down. These are perhaps 12 inches or a little less (that's about 1/3 meter for you metric folks!) on a side. These are similar to the Giant's Causeway in Great Britain.
I found these basalt columns especially intriguing, and sought out a particular huge set:
These pentagonal columns are huge, about two feet on a side, and short enough that you can use them for a chair as Brad Pitt is doing here. The angle I could get with my camera on tripod (and self-timer) wasn't high enough to show the shape off as well as I'd like, alas. Oh wait, that isn't Brad Pitt, it is me! Understandable mistake! <heh heh>
Mike's Memorial Day Weekend
Moderators: rjlittlefield, ChrisR, Chris S., Pau
- Mike B in OKlahoma
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Mike's Memorial Day Weekend
Mike Broderick
Oklahoma City, OK, USA
Constructive critiques of my pictures, and reposts in this forum for purposes of critique are welcome
"I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul....My mandate includes weird bugs."
--Calvin
Oklahoma City, OK, USA
Constructive critiques of my pictures, and reposts in this forum for purposes of critique are welcome
"I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul....My mandate includes weird bugs."
--Calvin
- rjlittlefield
- Site Admin
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Thanks for the photos, Mike!
This is fascinating country.
For more info, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missoula_Floods and its references, especially http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/projects/geoweb ... lands0.HTM .
--Rik
This is fascinating country.
For more info, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missoula_Floods and its references, especially http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/projects/geoweb ... lands0.HTM .
--Rik
So Mike...where'd the 15,000 yr. old nice set of wheels wash up from...hmmm?
Yeah I knew all along that was not Brad Pitt. Brad would not be caught in those "loud" trousers!
Nice series of images there Mike, interesting. By the way those trousers are okay for out in the field, just kidding. Don't wear them to a dinner party though.
Yeah I knew all along that was not Brad Pitt. Brad would not be caught in those "loud" trousers!
Nice series of images there Mike, interesting. By the way those trousers are okay for out in the field, just kidding. Don't wear them to a dinner party though.
- Mike B in OKlahoma
- Posts: 1048
- Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2006 10:32 pm
- Location: Oklahoma City
The wheels were entombed in the ice....Unlike the cheesy mockup you see on the tv show, this is Fred Flintstone's REAL car! :-)Ken Ramos wrote:So Mike...where'd the 15,000 yr. old nice set of wheels wash up from...hmmm?
Yeah I knew all along that was not Brad Pitt. Brad would not be caught in those "loud" trousers!
Nice series of images there Mike, interesting. By the way those trousers are okay for out in the field, just kidding. Don't wear them to a dinner party though.
Hey, those pants are Bass Pro's finest--They insist on putting that fakey too-small camoflage pattern on everything. Pretty good pants, other than the pattern, though.
Mike Broderick
Oklahoma City, OK, USA
Constructive critiques of my pictures, and reposts in this forum for purposes of critique are welcome
"I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul....My mandate includes weird bugs."
--Calvin
Oklahoma City, OK, USA
Constructive critiques of my pictures, and reposts in this forum for purposes of critique are welcome
"I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul....My mandate includes weird bugs."
--Calvin
- Mike B in OKlahoma
- Posts: 1048
- Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2006 10:32 pm
- Location: Oklahoma City
I didn't shoot any closeups of lichens, now that you mentioned it. Though I did consciously think to use them to add color to some of my basalt column shots. I was so intrigued by the columns that the lichens just paled in comparison. One of the negatives of shooting this stuff is that the rock is a rather dull color, and I tended to view the lichens as a way to jazz up the rock, rather than an end in themselves.Ken Ramos wrote:You know I just noticed...those rocks are covered in lichens. To bad you didn't shoot any or did you? Oh well, lichens are not really all that photogenic unless you happen across the brightly colored ones.
In Southwest Oklahoma, we have quite a bit of fairly colorful granite with interesting lichen on it that I ought to shoot in closeup more often. As it happens, my first attempt at macro was shooting some of this lichen with a 100-400 lens and a closeup diopter, and the focusing (or lack thereof, actually) was so awful it put me off trying macro again for literally a year....Maybe that's why I've avoided it since!
Mike Broderick
Oklahoma City, OK, USA
Constructive critiques of my pictures, and reposts in this forum for purposes of critique are welcome
"I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul....My mandate includes weird bugs."
--Calvin
Oklahoma City, OK, USA
Constructive critiques of my pictures, and reposts in this forum for purposes of critique are welcome
"I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul....My mandate includes weird bugs."
--Calvin