Lost Maples State Natural Area - Fall 2006

[pentaxtexas]

New to this forum. Not to photography. Thought I'd bring out all the stops for my first impression.

Lost Maples State Natural Area near Vanderpool, Texas. November 11th, 2006. Pentax K100D with a smc P-DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 kit lens.

Bigtooth Maple along Can Creek, East Trail; 18mm, 1/60s, f/6.3, ISO 200:



Bigtooth Maples along Can Creek, East Trail; 50mm, 1/80s, f/6.3, ISO 200:



Leaves of Bigtooth Maples along East Trail: 33mm, 1/60s, f/6.3, ISO 200:



Bigtooth Maples and Ball Moss on the East Trail; 50mm, 1/125s, f/6.3, ISO 200:



Bigtooth Maples along East Trail; unknown:



Row of Bigtooth Maples along Can Creek; 18mm, 1/50s, f/9.0, ISO 200:



Bigtooth Maples along Hale Hollow Creek; 18mm, 1/30s, f/11.0, ISO 400:



Bigtooth Maple beside West Trail; 18mm, 1/60s, f/6.3, ISO 400:



Bigtooth Maples along Can Creek, East Trail; 18mm, 1/60s, f/6.3, ISO 200:

[Shed Hunter]

Fantastic shots. I'v been there 4 times and have never gotten good shots of the maples. Congradulations. And some people say the Pentax kit lens is not very good. Hah! I also shoot pentax, for about 30 years and have a collection of good lenses. How about you? I use the DS. How do you like the D100 with antishake?
SH

[pentaxtexas]

I've been there 4 times, too. And this was the only time I really happened to get good shots. You have to go early to get good shots in the color season, otherwise it's way too crowded.

This camera is very nice, totally satisfied with the pictures, and the SR allows me to handhold shots down to 1/20s. Never heard any bad comments about the kit lens, all I read is about how it's the best 18-55mm out there.

As of right now I only have three lenses and two SLRs, the K100D and the K1000, and the 18-55mm, a SMCP-M 50mm f/2 (the kit lens for the K1000) and a Sears Multi Coated Auto 70-210 (re-badged Vivitar I believe). Looking into getting two M42-mount lenses, the SMC Takumar 50mm f/1.4 and the S-M-C Takumar 300mm f/4.

[ttusa]

#2 is my favorite-welcome!

[TXhummer2]

Hi neighbor! Welcome, Matthew!

[pentaxtexas]

Hello, Harris? Where do you live in the bungling metropolis of Leander? I'm actually in Leander by mailing address only, as Blockhouse is official neither part of Leander or Cedar Park, just WilCo.

Moving to 10 acres 7 miles west of Liberty Hill soon, though. Then I'll be in paradise. ;)

[TXhummer2]

Blockhouse is across my back fence, so I am in Leander proper!

[pentaxtexas]

What's the name of that subdivision again?

Back to the real subject, how do you like the photos?

[TXhummer2]

Ridgewood South

Composition and subject are super! (resized this small could stand slightly more sharpening)

[pentaxtexas]

They're links to larger images.

Thanks Harris.

By the way, thanks too Therese.

[SilverShooter]

I was in the park a few week earlier, and got almost nothing. I did get a sense of the area, and the potential. You got the shots. I started photography with a Yashica from a pawn shop, and then moved on to a Miranda, then a Pentax. Pentax will alway have a sweet spot in my heart. It was the first really good SLR I owned. I think I even still have the plumber's license that comes with those early screw in Takumar lenses (before the "K" mount).

Steve

[pentaxtexas]

Well, Steve, this was in autumn, the best season for photography at Lost Maples, and in the very early morning hours, probably no later than 7-8 AM. No one else there except for serious photographers and birders.

But if you want a parking spot at Lost Maples in autumn, come earlier than 11 AM, because they'll sometimes close down the park because of the number of people. Also, last year just happened to be a very good foliage year. (It looks like this year might too.)

And if you miss the Bigtooth Maples, there's always the Texas Oaks!

[SilverShooter]

I think I was just too early for the best color. (What I meant to say was that I was just a few weeks earlier than you were. I was there this past fall.) We saw a few scattered trees with good color, but no larger groups as in your shots. I usually try for early sunlight myself. Since my trip to Lost Maples was a scouting trip, I was later in the day. The park is basically a canyon (sort of running north to south) if I remember properly. It wasn't clear to me that you could get the best light on any of the scenes I saw. Of course when you're there you can always come up with a good scene given enough time. I did see the crowds build while I was there. The camp ground was packed. It's a beautiful drive to get to the park from the east, which makes the trip even more enjoyable.

[pentaxtexas]

Steve, yeah, it's two main canyons, the western one is along Can Creek, with a small canyon that holds what I believe is Little Can Creek, and the eastern canyon is that of the Sabinal River, the headwaters of which are in the park.

There's three trails, the East, West, and Maple Trails. Incidentally, I didn't find the Maple Trail to be that photogenic, both due to the large amounts of people on it later in the day, but also due to the fact that none of the trees near trail received much in the way of direct light during the golden hours of the morning and late afternoon. If you really want to get out and "see the scenery" without many people, I'd recommend the West Trail. Actually, along or near the West Trail was where I took most of the photos.

Here's a map (for everyone):

Lost Maples SNA

[Roy]

Nice series! Makes me want to go and add to the overloaded crowds in the fall.