Tuesday, 4 August 2015
Deer Crossing RV Park — San Patricio, New Mexico
Temps: Hi 93F (34C) / Lo 63F (17C)
We would have gone out yesterday to continue our sightseeing with a purpose — the purpose being to continue to test the FujiFilm X-T10 I am considering as a replacement for my DSLR kit. But there was a more important matter that Mui wanted to resolve — resetting the TireTraker system … safety comes before fun. Since replacing the sensor batteries, the monitor was refusing to clear alerts. Determining that the monitor was faulty, TireTraker replaced it … to no avail. So 
troubleshooting the problem with the help of a tech support agent was scheduled for yesterday.
I am happy to report the system is functional again. While we don’t rely entirely on TireTraker for monitoring the tires, it does give us a little more peace of mind and we’re happy that it is working once again.
Postcard from Lake Mescalero.
[The postcard above and the scanned image below are the only ones in this post not taken with the X-T10.]
So we drove to the Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort & Casino (Inn) today instead. We had more blue skies today than yesterday, so the delay worked out to my advantage ;-)
On the way up, we made a short detour to Grindstone Lake. Turns out there isn’t much water in this reservoir lake at the moment — not that it’s stopping anglers from plying their sport. We asked a fisherman if the low water level was normal. “Not,” he said. Apparently the reservoir was emptied to install a liner at Grindstone Dam to minimize leaks. Sounds like a good idea to me ;-)
Driving the short distance back to Carrizo Canyon Road, we continued onto our original destination without taking any photos here.
The Inn is in a beautiful lake and mountain setting on the Mescalero Apache Reservation. The property — which includes a convention center, hotel, casino, golf course, and more — is operated by the tribe.
The Mescalero lived on these lands well before white men came here. They were nomadic hunters and warriors, and by their own admission, the Apaches caused more terror and fear amongst early settlers than any other Native Americans. Considering the white man was trying to takeover their homeland, could they be blamed? But that’s a discussion for another time and place.
If interested in learning more about the Mescalero Apache culture, this link will take you to a pdf file on the Inn’s website.
Frankly, I had not taken the time to research the Inn before going. I was hoping for a quaint place — perhaps a wood structure or at least a building that blended in with the beautiful landscape. That wasn’t the case, but the scenery did not disappoint.
Panorama from the X-T10; stitched in-camera with no intervention on my part.
(typical in such photos where light conditions vary from one side to the other, there
are lines in the image but I softened them in Lightroom 6.1** to get a usable image for the blog.
[** For LR users: an upgrade to 6.1 is necessary to see/process RAF images from the X-T10.]
After parking the car and dallying around the boat rental and zip lining facilities for a bit, we set out to walk around Mescalero Lake. Wanting to keep the sun behind us until we got into the forest on the far side of the lake, we headed to the right from the hotel. Hah!
Today’s wildlife models ...
... don’t need to rent boats to get on the water.
A variety of boats are available for rent for those who want to get out on the water.
Turns out there is an outflow channel at the end of the embankment, with no way to cross to the other side. I take that back. We might have been able to cross over by walking to the main road, but there was a sign prohibiting entry past a certain point. So, we didn’t trespass, and back we went the way we came.
Looking across Mescalero Lake from the embankment.
[heavily cropped panorama from a 3:2 aspect photo.]
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By the time we returned to the resort, the sun was brutal and the breeze that had been keeping us cool had died down. I know that our temps in the high 80F to mid 90F range (31-34C) is nothing compared to the three-digit temps experienced in parts of the country — but hot is hot, and I have a low threshold for heat.
A sculpture featuring Mountain Spirit dancers greets arriving guests.
Instead of walking past the hotel/casino/convention center and the golf course to find the path that goes around the lake, we decided to head indoors to cool off. There was no al fresco dining on the terrace, so we opted to skip having lunch here. After wandering around the lobby and checking out the lovely artwork hanging on the walls, we left to return home.
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The works of artist Phil Choneska.
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The works of artist Jordan T.
Mountain Spirit Dancers (cannot make out the signature of the artist).
The Ts’ Aa’ [Apache for Medicine Basket] fountain is in the lower lobby of the hotel.
The basket is used during the puberty rites ceremony for girls. In the basket
would be herbs, roots, sacred colored paints, pollen bag, tobacco bag,
fire sticks, eagle feather, and the medicine man’s deer hoof rattle …
all part of the Apache universe and symbolize the elements.
[This photo required considerable processing because of the way I took it to
ensure the scenery outside wasn’t washed out; the most challenging photo I’ve
taken with the X-T10. That said, a DSLR photo would have required similar processing.]
We enjoyed our visit to the Inn of the Mountain Gods — with the added benefit that I am now entirely comfortable with the idea of leaving the DSLR equipment behind for our upcoming trip to Europe. If the camera continues (or rather) if I manage to continue to produce photos of this caliber on that trip, it wouldn’t surprise me if I join the ranks of those who have sold their DSLR gear. That decision I don’t have to make until late fall, however. In the meantime, I can delve further into the nitty gritty of the X-T10, including playing with the dynamic range settings and the internal fun filters.
Some thoughts for those who wrote me or left comments on the blog re: my field testing of the camera …
* Today’s photos were taken using Program, Shutter Priority, and Aperture Priority. I found it a lot easier to switch between modes with this camera than I have with my Canon kit — partially because the X-T10 is so much lighter to hold for any length of time while fiddling with settings.
* All exterior photos were taken at ISO 200, the lowest setting available when shooting RAF (Fuji’s RAW format); interior images ranged from 400-1250 ISO. I shot RAF+Jpeg (fine); compared side by side in LR6. Perhaps I’ll be willing to shoot just Jpeg at some point, but I am not there yet.
* Many of the posted photos (here and in the online gallery) are from Jpegs out of the camera … with little more than some cropping, horizon-straightening, and contrast adjustment (more is needed for photos uploaded to the web; but this might not be required once I play with the camera’s settings). I used RAF files for photos cropped extensively (i.e. art images).
* Depth of field is whatever came out of the camera — even in Program AE both lenses (18-55mm kit lens and 55-200mm zoom lens) do a great job with DoF.
* With the floral shots, I played with some of the new brushes in LR6 along the edges of the image, but did not touch the subject — the flower — itself.
* Link to online gallery with photos taken with the camera.
If you have any specific questions about the testing, feel free to drop me a note.
© 2004-2015 Two to Travel's Phaeton Journeys. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.
Looks like your testing is going well, Erin. Thanks for the image details. I do so need to practice with mine more. I tried shooting at the refuge yesterday with Judy and am not as impressed with the results. I am sure it is no doubt photographer error that caused the problems. When out on the road with the camera, I don't have that 300 page book to remind me of what I need to do for certain images. Sigh. Will have to keep working on it. I hope I can begin to get even a little bit close to what you are doing with the X-T10.
ReplyDeleteI hear you on that 300-page manual, Sue. I only have the small user guide, and Mui had to go back for it before we set off on our walk, so I could refer back to it when necessary. The downside to a new model camera is that third-party guides aren't out for it yet. May have to get the book for big brother X-T1 if I want to Fujify myself! Practice makes perfect (or near enough) and that takes time ;-) Have yet to get out to wildlife refuge ... I'm afraid I will miss my DSLR speed too much when I get out to one.
ReplyDeleteIm drooling over your new cam. And Im also impressed with the results of your tests. Ive been wanting to trade in my GH2 but not until we wind down our running around.
ReplyDeleteNe güzel yer, yemyeşil.
ReplyDeleteI think you found a winner there. Beautiful pictures.
ReplyDeleteI think you are in the ranks of a professional photographer! All the photos are outstanding. My favorite is the Medicine basket. The symbolism is so interesting. Did they paint this one? I enlarged it to see if they might have used sweetgrass or some other natural fiber.
ReplyDeleteGreat job Erin. The Inn and Casino are gorgeous.
Marsha, I couldn't get close enough to make sure, but it didn't look woven. They use that lower lobby for weddings I gather ... nice setting.
ReplyDeleteAs usual, your pictures are amazing. I think it is more your eye for the beautiful and unusual than just the camera. :c)
ReplyDeleteReally interesting information about your new camera Erin. The pictures really are very fine. I agree with you about the Apache and what was done to them. The medicine basket fountain is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteYour results with the new camera continue to impress. I think you have a winner.
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited to see that you are testing the new camera. Not to lug all that heavy equipment is sure a reason to think about it....dreaming! I agree with one of the comments, your photos are professional, for sure. You have the ability to capture the soul of what you are shooting.
ReplyDeleteAwesome photos, as always! I am one who has been shooting with a Fuji XT-1 for several months now and my Nikon DSLR has been relegated to the "backup" category with one exception. I am hoping that Fuji will release a longer telephoto as I really miss the extended range beyond 200mm. The Fuji has served as my primary camera on trips to Machu Picchu, the Atacama of Chile and Easter Island and I have been very pleased with the results. Needless to say, the weight and size is a huge benefit too! I think you will find that the Fuji is a keeper.
ReplyDelete