Big Cottonwood Canyon, originally uploaded by flahute.

Fun with Photoshop … image taken 12/14/2008 in Big Cottonwood Canyon.

Yesterday’s storm which hadn’t completely blown over yet this morning, dropped about 15-inches of fresh snow up Big Cottonwood Canyon (and probably a little more in Little Cottonwood Canyon), so I finally headed up to get in my first turns of the season.

Solitude Mountain Resort still isn’t completely open, as the coverage is still a little thin, but there was enough snow for the resort to open the Powderhorn lift today … this helped my decision, since if I’m going to be stuck on the frontside, I didn’t really feel like skiing mid-mountain lifts all day.

Had some problems with my boots on the first run … but some buckle adjustments let my feet settle in after the third or fourth run of the day.

I kept the day relatively short, since today was really a bit more about shaking out the legs and equipment than really getting in some good runs, but I did get a few … Moonbeam Express and Apex Express about 4 times each, then Powderhorn for the last two runs of my day. Conditions are still sketchy off the groomers, but

Weather was cloudy up there most of the morning, although the sun did start peeking out about 1:30 or so.

On the way back down the canyon, I stopped and grabbed a few quick photos on the new Canon PowerShot G10, I got a few weeks ago.

Still trying to figure out a lot of its features. It’s definitely bigger and bulkier than my last Powershot, but not nearly as big as my Nikon DSLR kit, but it’s a nice little camera that does let you capture some great images.

NEW NIKON D60 DIGITAL SLR CAMERA MAKES CAPTURING BEAUTIFUL PICTURES FUN AND EASY

MELVILLE, N.Y. (Jan. 28, 2008) – Nikon, Inc., today introduced the new D60 Digital SLR camera, shipping standard with an AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens, which provides consumers with stunning picture quality and versatility in an easy-to-use, compact camera design.  The D60 joins Nikon’s award-winning line of D-series digital SLR cameras and shares a form factor similar to the D40 – Nikon’s smallest D-SLR camera ever. With 10.2 effective megapixels and a wealth of innovative and user-friendly features, the D60 enables both photo enthusiasts and those new to digital SLR photography to capture incredible images like never before.

Figures this would come out a month after I bought I my D80 … but on the other hand; since the D60 is just an upgraded D40x, then I wouldn’t be able to use my older Nikon AF lenses on this body.

But for someone looking to step-up from a digital point-and-shoot camera, this should be a good entry into the DSLR market, with the same image quality as the D80 or D200, but a much lower price.

Picked up a new toy on Friday evening; and spent a good chunk of Saturday reading manuals. It’s definitely (and quite obviously) more complicated than my point and shoot, but also more so than my old Nikon N4004 35mm film camera.

Current lenses are my old AF Nikkor 50mm f1.8 prime, an old AF Nikkor 35-80mm f4-5.6 zoom, and the AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G zoom that came with the camera. On order is an AF-S Nikkor 55-200 f4-5.6G zoom, which should be at the store in the next couple of days.

It’s going to be a lot of fun learning how to use this to it’s fullest capabilities …

Went to a party on Friday night downtown, and drank way too much wine; my glass just never seemed to get empty. Had to get a ride home from a good friend, and then had to figure out how to get back downtown yesterday to pick up the Trooper; especially since I’m planning on skiing today, and my skis were locked up in the back.

The hangover wasn’t too bad … not much of a headache at all, but my stomach was pretty funky for a huge chunk of the morning … I don’t know if it was the wine, or the burrito and tacos I ate for dinner on Friday before going to the party. Since my original plan for getting back downtown didn’t happen, it looked like I was going to have to ride my bike, which I wasn’t really looking forward to considering my tummy situation.

Thankfully, Kim called to ask if she could drop by the apartment to drop off some of our old Christmas tree ornaments (which reminds me that I need to go pick up either a very small live potted tree, or some sort of ornament tree. Since she was heading downtown after to help another friend of hers who recently lost his father, I bummed a lift with her, which worked out well.

Now … off to take a shower, get some more coffee, eat breakfast, and get ready to head up Big to Solitude.

Once upon a time, I fancied myself as an aspiring photographer … in addition to the stuff that I currently have posted on Flickr, I used to shoot film at clubs in San Francisco.

Some of those photos can be seen here.

Black and white photos, primarily, generally at night, with very fast film, using only ambient lighting. I gave it up because it became too expensive to process all the film, and I never learned how to do my own developing (nor had the cash to set-up a darkroom).

For years, I’ve been wanting to get a Digital SLR, but the expense has been extremely difficult to justify, although prices are starting to come down. The 10.2MP Nikon D40x is available for about $700 with a basic 35-80mm lens, and for about $500-550 for a body only. Since my film camera is a Nikon, my lenses should be interchangeable.

Since I’m not a pro, I think the D40x would suit my purposes, but if there is anyone out there has more knowledge they could impart, I would love to get your insight.