We took it easy this morning. I had my normal breakfast, then worked up a blog entry. We left around 10:35 and ...

Walked down to the boat ramp and then through to the primitive camping area to the north. We came back along the main road and picked up several chilies along the road that were in good condition for J to photograph later. They must have fallen off of a truck — this area, and Hatch in particular, is a big chili growing area.

We returned to the RV around 11:30. I installed new mats on the house steps of the RV. We had had similar ones there before, but they were brown/gray and didn't cover enough of the step. The new black mats cover the steps better, and the color looks much better!

I had lunch around 12:15. The new EarthGrains Jewish Rye bread has a very odd taste/smell — almost like it has fermented a bit. :( After showering, I looked into light stands and the possibility of using music stands. The cheaper music stands I found didn't go much over 48" (1.2m) high, so that would really limit lighting options. I found someone on eBay who is selling some inexpensive 6' 6" (2m) light stands that look like they will be quite sufficient to hold just a hot-shoe flash. I resumed downselecting images from Homer, Alaska, in Capture One (C1) after taking a hiatus.

I went out around 4:45 to photograph the sunset. The color in the clouds to the east and over Caballo Lake lit up nicely (left). I was able to use my new Lee Filters Foundation Kit and Lee Filters 4x6" (100x150mm) 2-stop graduated neutral density filter with a soft transition. Boy, is the Foundation Kit nice! It was so nice to slip the filter in it, and then have both hands free to change exposure! Most "serious" photographers have the notion that "real photographers" don't use such filter holders. In fact, while I was Denali National Park on August 26, 2009, the leader of a photo tour asked one of his participants, who was acting as a prop in one of his images, to "take the training wheels off" of his lens, referring to his filter holder.
I would like to debunk the notion that filter holders are for beginners and not-so-serious photographers. While it's possible to hold a graduated neutral density filter in front of your lens, I see several advantages to using a filter holder:

1. If you're holding a filter in front of a zoom lens where the filter ring moves in and out, you won't inadvertently change the zoom, and likely also the focus, while taking an exposure.
2. It's a lot easier to take a long exposure (like 30 seconds or two minutes) because you don't have to hold the filter in place.
3. It's much easier to change exposures without altering the position of the graduated neutral density filter.
4. With digital capture, it's a lot easier to fine tune the position of the graduated neutral density filter because you can adjust it up or down or rotate it slightly after checking the LCD.
5. It's much easier to stack a square solid neutral density filter and a graduated neutral density filter because you don't have to hold both filters at the same time.

While there are some advantages of not using a filter holder, like less weight and expense and the ability to move a graduated neutral density filter while taking an exposure, the benefits of using a filter holder for most situations are compelling for me.

The really intense color formed on the clouds to the west, and unfortunately, a line of telephone poles limited my compositions. I zoomed in on areas of intense color with interesting shapes (left).

I came back in the RV around 5:30, downloaded the images I just took, and downselected them in Capture One (C1).

We had dinner around 6:30 of Bertolli Oven Bake Lasagna and J's Bean Salad. It was the first time we've had that lasagna, and it was tasty.

After dinner I processed two images for the blog, then started to work up a blog entry. I looked into more flash stuff, and saw that the seller of the 6' 6" (2m) light stands also has some better looking 7' 6" (2.3m) light stands.