Alpine Tundra Vegetation of Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) has a lot vegetation and wild life to offer. However above 11,000 or 11,500 feet ASL, we are above the tree line and all the vegetation will give way to the Tundra. Thats the only kind of plant life that grows in these High Altitudes. The word Tundra itself means "Land of No Trees"

Tundra is subject to extreme weather of freezing temperature, high altitude winds, long periods of snow cover etc. During June to August the Tundra blooms and there is a wide variety of flowers.

Tundra grows at a very slow rate of less than an inch over 20 years. It would take hundreds of years for the Tundra to grow back when damaged. Visitors to the park are required to stay on established trails to avoid damage to the Tundra. However every time I have been to the park, I can see people running around, taking shortcuts, posting for photos etc inside the Tundra vegetation. When you bring children to the park, its your responsibility to educate them on the importance of the delicate environment they are in. What you see in this picture is Tundra vegetation at around 12500 feet ASL. the damage done by walking over them would take several years to heal due to the harsh environment and the slow growth rate of the plant. Damaging the Tundra could cost you a hefty Fine

I am told that there are over 330 variety of Alpine Tundra in the rockies. The best way to have an up close look is to take the Trail Ridge Road inside the RMNP. Please make sure that you educate your group regarding the importance of preserving the Tundra vegetation. Enjoy them from a safe Distance and Dont allow the children to run about on them. Summer time is a good time to visit this place if you want to see the Tundra Bloom. But the season is short and probaly somewhere around June. Please make sure to call the Park authorities and check before planning your trip.

For further reading:
http://www.nps.gov/archive/romo/visit/weather/scenicdrives.html
http://www.us-parks.com/rocky/scenic_drives.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tundra

Tips on Low Light Photography - part II

Garden Of Gods, 1805 N 30th Street (at Gateway Rd.)
Colorado Springs, CO 80904

www.gardenofgods.com

Garden of Gods features some amazing red rock formations in the state. This is a free for all park that offers unpaved hiking paths, interesting challenges for rock climbers, sandstone formations, a wonderful view of Pikes Peak, etc. To make interesting photographs you need to visit this place early before sunrise or during late evenings. This time was my second visit here and i reached there almost around sunset time. The picture above was taken after sunset.

Tech info on the Photo:

Camera:	Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi
Exposure:	0.6 sec (3/5)
Aperture:	f/22
Focal Length:	18 mm
ISO Speed:	400
Exposure Bias:	0/3 EV

Here are some more tips to keep in mind while taking photos in low light.

1) I almost always use a tripod. This was already mentioned in the first part of this series but i cant stress this enough. This is the single most important factor in low light shooting.

2) Mirror Lockup. (MLU) . In canon SLR cameras like the rebel series, its available under custom functions. enabling this helps prevent some vibrations caused by the mirror lifting up when shutter is pressed.

3) Remote Cable release This is a very valuable tool. This will help prevent camera shake when u actually press the shutter. Since the switch is connected to the camera using a cable or in some cases Infra Red rays, the shake caused while pressing the shutter button will not transfer over to the camera.

The remote cable release is also very useful for taking Bulb exposures. (Bulb exposures are custom long exposures that is accessible through the manual mode. Basically you can keep the shutter open as long as you want by keeping the shutter button pressed.

More to follow... keep checking
Arun (www.asasidh.com)

Low Light shooting Tips - Old Abandoned wood house near MOAB,Utah

This picture is featured at Deviant Art

On our way to MOAB Utah, we stopped to fuel and get snacks. It was evening time and I noticed this old wood house by the side of the gas station. Shot with a canon 18-55 USM at 55mm. Color and level adjusted in Adobe Lightroom.

Tips for low light shooting
Shooting under low light can be quite challenging. Tripod is a must to capture all the magic and glow in the sky and the surroundings. This time was able to support my hands on rails near the gas station. This gave me enough support to capture this shot without the need for a tripod. Always remember that when u shoot handled using a non image stabilized lens, you need to make sure that the shutter speed is at least one stop more than the focal length you are shooting at. Please consider the field-of-view multiplication factor (1.6x for APSC Canon, 1.5x for Nikon cropped models) when you calculate the effective focal length. I was short of time here and quickly took this shot. It was framed loosely and finally cropped later in post processing to give a more pleasing layout.