blaine not brain

Went for a short little outing this afternoon. The Setogawa Valley is not very far from my place but like most scenic areas takes more than enough time to get to. I wasn't surprised to see people living in the area this time. I've almost come to expect people living in the most inconvenient and out of the way places. The funny thing is that if people truly want to be away from others they always end up huddling together with other houses that are usually only meters apart. Somewhat ironic isn't it?

The sun was behind the hills for the most part and the valley was cast in shadows. This is a terrible situation for photos. The more I go out to take pictures the more I realize that getting good pictures is one part luck and one part having great light. I gave in last night and bought a small tripod I can fit inside my backpack but extends to about 4 feet. I also got a wired remote control so I can do some long night exposures. I didn't get the wireless one because I will more than likely be behind the camera and the sensor for the wireless is on the front. I plan to head up into the mountains some evening and maybe do a 30 minute or hour exposure of the sky. I'm hoping to get some great star streaks with the mountains in the foreground.

Here are two pictures from today and I might add a few others later if they look all right. The first is just a regular non hdr exposure and the second is hdr. Enjoy.