I’m back at the cabin to spend the week and a half of vacation that I have. To be honest, I’m still not sure what to do with all that time because of the conditions (those being, no autumn colours). But in the very least, I have a comfortable couch to sit on… no TV or Internet, but some DVDs. I’ll manage.
When it was time to decide what to do with the day’s hike, I ruled out everything with water. It’s very windy and overcast so the peaks were out of the question as well. The obvious thing that remained was ravines – time to check out the Evagraven ravine that I have spoken of rather dismissingly this summer.
Although it was supposed to be overcast, the sun made some welcome appearances on occasion. As I was looking down on the ravine, I saw a yellow rowan that was lit up in the distance and it attracted me like a moth to a flame, because it was really the only tree with any colour on it. While I was walking down to it, I got a good look at the ravine and I had to admit that maybe I’ve been overly harsh on Evagraven. The sheer size of it makes it interesting and the photo opportunities are not as hard to find as I had experienced on previous visits. On the other hand, it’s been many years since my last visit and I’ve learned a few things since then… things like using a wideangle lens, for example! I’m still having a blast with the Tokina and it’s pretty much permanently set on 16mm and I’m already wishing I would’ve gotten something wider.
On the way back, I stopped at the little brook and finally checked if I could use any filters with the Tokina. I had high hopes about the Cokin B/Y polarising filter and sure enough, it works! Since it’s made for the filter holder, it has a square shape and because the filter element itself is round, it leaves me generous corners for holding the filter. I can then place it against the petals (the built-in glare guard) of the lens without needing to worry about scratching either the lens or the filter. The crop factor of the camera allows me to use the filter like this even at 16mm without any dark corners. I also have a normal Cokin polariser but for some reason it has a round shape which makes it harder to hold properly and it’s also too small to be safely placed against the petals because there is no margin of error between the edge of the filter and the petals. Slip it one mm in any direction and there’s a risk it will touch the front element of the lens. So I have to settle with the B/Y filter but it’s better than nothing, especially this autumn because the golden end of the filter can add a touch of colour to an otherwise colourless scenery!