By Ted Grussing
… it’s always a sweet day when you have final glide back to the field and arrive with lots of extra altitude …above the cowling on the right is Big Park and the Village of Oak Creek trailing up and to the left Jacks Canyon and Pine Valley and just above the cowling on the right is Verde Valley School. Cathedral Rock is left of center and Red Rock Crossing just to the left and a little below that. The populated area to the left is the Chapel area and below the feathered prop is part of the Loop Area. Left edge center is the airport up on the mesa. My heading is pretty much to the E and maybe a few degrees to the N of E.
A good day today … winds still up, but they should be quieting down today and I’m planning an early morning flight up to the Grand Canyon and perhaps Lake Powell on Friday. The Little Colorado River has a zero water flow at Cameron and Blue Springs is dumping the usual 220 cubic feet per second into the river bed about 10 miles or so up from the Confluence so the water should be a beautiful turquoise color. I’m starting to carry two cameras with me … learned a long time ago that anything over 200mm lenses are a waste … thinking of taking the 100mm macro lens on the 6D along as it is a nice light weight full frame combo that will reach down the mile and a half into the canyon from the minimum altitude I can fly up there; the 24-70 on the 5DsR for the broader airscapes. The detail I am getting with the 5DsR in aerial work is nothing short of amazing. Think I may drop down low over Coal Canyon on the way back and try shooting it too. Anyhow that is the plan for Friday … tomorrow morning it is down to Phoenix to pick up a friend at the airport and a pleasant day somewhat unplanned. I like those kind of days.
Espresso in four hours … Yes! An incentive to keep breathing … Jogi is planning on getting into roasting too and she says that the Colombian Mercedes ML coffee I sent her is much better than her favorite coffee from Zumbach’s Gourmet Coffee in New Canaan … talk to Jon Burman at Burman Coffee … 608.831.9247 or log on to their website at: www.burmanncoffee.com Not sure, but think I have been roasting my own for about seven years now … always fresh roast premium coffee unlike what you buy in the stores or the mostly over roasted coffee in boutique stores.
Smile … this is the moment and day you are living … what a totally cool thing that is!!!
Cheers
Ted
Sleep sweetly now that the gates of the crimson night are closed,
and leave tomorrow’s struggle for tomorrow;
The earth is peaceful, only the stars and still moon are abroad, and they wage no war.
— Max Ehrmann
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The easiest way to reach Mr. Grussing is by email: ted@tedgrussing.com
In addition to sales of photographs already taken Ted does special shoots for patrons on request and also does air-to-air photography for those who want photographs of their airplanes in flight. All special photographic sessions are billed on an hourly basis.
Ted also does one-on-one workshops for those interested in learning the techniques he uses. By special arrangement Ted will do one-on-one aerial photography workshops which will include actual photo sessions in the air.
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