When is the next DU photo contest?

[DemoTex]

[Morning Dew]

1. lol. You're going to win.

And thanks for the great dispatches from the tower.


About a hundred years ago ( ok, it was in the 70s ), I had a friend who was a smoke jumper... every year he'd leave Wisconsin and head off to Bend.

[DemoTex]

22. I can't really communicate my respect for Smoke Jumpers.

They are right there with the PJs in the Jolly Greens in Viet Nam. Intensely insane dedication!

A few days ago I listened as a "stick" of SJs jumped in to a fire on the eastern slopes of the Cascades. Safely on the ground, the IC (incident commander or fire commander) called in. She sounded exactly like my 28 year old neice. Well-educated. Softly southern. Professional. You go girl!

Then I forgot about them. Two days later I heard her again, calling for a LAT/LON of the trail-head pick up point for their ten mile hike out! They had dropped in, fought the fire, slept on the ground, eaten MREs (I do that almost every night), and then hiked out in the span of over 48 hours.

[Morning Dew]

36. I lost track of him years ago, but he was a hell of a guy

and completely dedicated to his work.

[sandnsea]

2. Thank You!

You've really landed in a humdinger of a fire season. Thanks for helping keep everyone safe!

Beautiful pics too, btw.

[stevedeshazer]

3. Its over.

You win.

[EFerrari]

4. So pretty.

[TahitiNut]

5. You're in a class by yourself, Mac. Awesome. Especially Nick.

He's wonderful.

[DemoTex]

15. That's the best pic of Nick I have.

It is very difficult to get a good photo of a black dog. Snow makes a good background, or sugar-white beach sand. But red-pink is perfect! His color, I guess.

[Suich]

6. Nice!

I'm still trying to figure out the 4th one!

[DemoTex]

14. The lightning shot?

Lightning strike on Sixteen Butte during the storms of August 2, 2009. Taken through the glass because the wind was blowing so hard I couldn't open the door. Besides, a good lightning shot takes hundreds of frames to get.

[Suich]

21. Yeah, that one!

It looks like the lightning is hitting a big tower like thing...is that part of the reflection? Excellent shot, btw!

I love looking at lightning pics, especially when it just looks like a flash to me, but someone gets of shot of the actual "bolt!"

Is your roof ok? You thought you heard something tear off...

[DemoTex]

23. In your eye, separate the reflections in the window from the distant picture.

No tower. Look for the soft lines of the butte. Like my brother (a radiologist) says: Nature abhors a straight line.

[Suich]

31. Got it!

Thanks for the help! And your brother's! Sometimes it takes me a while.

[DemoTex]

34. Unfortunately, he is usually referring to a FOIR when he says that.

Foreign Object In Rectum. You would not believe what they see in the ER!

[Suich]

35. Oh, jeez...I just googled it.

Your brother must have some interesting tales to tell!



You got a lot of smoke there or are things pretty quiet, for now?

[ColbertWatcher]

7. Love the moon shot! k+r, n/t

[trusty elf]

8. Is that a fire in the first shot?

Yikes!

[DemoTex]

13. Sunset over the Newberry Volcano Rim through storm-splattered lookout tower glass.

The cone in the near-ground is China Hat Butte. The ridge behind China Hat where the sun is glowing is right above the Newberry Caldera. This was taken between two epic thunderstorms on August 2, 2009.

This is an intentionally ironic photo. It speaks to the beauty and violence of nature, depending on how you look at it. First is the violence of the thunderstorm that just passed over and the thunderstorm close behind. Then there is the beauty of what the storms did with the light that night (including the raindrops on the lookout windows). Finally there is the suggestion of the violence of a volcanic eruption. Could this have been similar to the night scene (or day dark-as-night scene) when Newberry last erupted a relatively short 1600 years ago?

[trusty elf]

37. Ok, of course. Now I see what's going on in that photo.

Thanks.

That Barney poke gif is funny!

Here's one of my shrub dissin' pics for you.

[MADem]

9. k and r! nt

[Catshrink]

10. Great photos!

Hope all is well. Nick looks so calm -- my dogs would be hysterical about the lightning!

[DemoTex]

32. Actually, that photo of Nick was taken on our first night here: May 22.

But he handled the big storms of last Sunday well.

[Flying Dream Blues]

11. Beautiful! nt

[subcomhd]

12. good question

MY question is how does one post a photo in a message? BTW - great pics!

[DemoTex]

16. There are probably several ways to post a photo in a DU message.

But here is the very basic Sinatra way (My Way):

1 Right click on photo

2. Click on PROPERTIES

3. Highlight ADDRESS/URL

4. Right click, select COPY

5. Go to the DU post and click PASTE where you want the photo

This does not work all the time, but you will learn how to manipulate photos into a useable form. Keep a file of useable photos and GIFs that you like to use on DU. My DU PICFILE is 8 years old and contains some classics! Some of my favorites:

[subcomhd]

19. thanks, I'll try that

nd I love the pics - and thanks for the trip down memory lane.

[subcomhd]

24. what about a photo from offline - usb memory?

[ManiacJoe]

25. You first need to host them online somewhere.

Then put the URL to the online pic into the message body.

[DemoTex]

27. Yep. PhotoBucket .. FlickR etc.

Out here in the wilderness with my limited broadband, I'm finding FlickR far superior to the Bucket.

[subcomhd]

29. again thanks

I guess I need to go ahead and finally do that.

[subcomhd]

30. and thank you too

[inna]

28. :rofl:!! poor Fergus (or whatever the hapless doggie's name is, i forget! :)

[DemoTex]

33. Barney? Blarmey?

How soon we erase bad memories.

[madmom]

17. Sent this link to my daughter because she is into nature. She said to tell you to

join deviant art, so you can get prints of these photos. People will buy them.

[DemoTex]

20. Thanks, MM!

I emailed a portfolio of photos from the lookout to my USFS boss. He is ecstatic about them. He wants to use them in USFS presentions and publications. I granted him permission as long as the photos are credited to me and bear copyright marks. I'll check out Deviant Art. I also think I will have a book deal or two by the time I leave here in October. But, of course, that ain't really what this is all about. I really dig the job. Really. And they all know it.

[asdjrocky]

18. Way cool. Love the pup, good boy.

[ManiacJoe]

26. Lots of good stuff here!

If you have not made it that far, please join us in the Photography forum.

[Blue_Tires]

38. DemoTex: YOU WIN

especially the top two shots...