Yosemite: what a great event!

[Nikolai]

I didn't have any bandwidth to postprocess and upload anything from my trip yet, but I would like to express my utmost gratitude to Andy, Smugmug, Marc and all the dgrinners which made this event a once in a lifetime experience. It was fun, it was great, it was educational, it was fulfilling.. Meet, shoot, eat, learn - it was awesome..

Pikchas are coming. I only wonder how the viewers will be able to withstand 30+ copies of the same great view..:-)

[wxwax]

Good question!

Nikolai, it was a honor to meet you.

Folks, this man came up to SF to be a tour guide/driver for Michiel de Brieder and me. He went out of his way to get us shots of the GG Bridge. On Thursday night, they're heading back to their motel, for a solid four hours of sleep before hitting the road to Yosemite, when his car dies in the middle of the very busy Highway 101. It takes a cop to bump them to the side of the freeway.

In the morning, Nik goes out to his dead car, to find a window smashed and the car pilfered by a thief. Talk about bad luck. Then he finds out he needs a new alternator, which on his vehicle is a major job.

And yet, undeterred, he shows up late Friday night, with maybe an hour or two of sleep under his belt, ready to shoot the heck out of Yosemite.

My hat's off to you, Nikolai. :bow

[jwear]

and to add to this Nik is a great guy with an attitude to match ,all this trouble and he stays happy .With only a few hrs sleep my coffee maker started and the noise it makes shot him out of bed on Sat . :D Nik did get some great shots that I know from looking at them in the evening .I will second Niks thoughts on the trip it was in so many words FANTASTIC -- great folks and I am glad I had the chance to go .

[ginger_55]

HEHE, line the 30 same great copies all together.

I just read that you are a real trooper. You are certainly a very good photographer, I am looking fwd to your photos.

ginger

[Nikolai]

Good question!

Nikolai, it was a honor to meet you.

Folks, this man came up to SF to be a tour guide/driver for Michiel de Brieder and me. He went out of his way to get us shots of the GG Bridge. On Thursday night, they're heading back to their motel, for a solid four hours of sleep before hitting the road to Yosemite, when his car dies in the middle of the very busy Highway 101. It takes a cop to bump them to the side of the freeway.

In the morning, Nik goes out to his dead car, to find a window smashed and the car pilfered by a thief. Talk about bad luck. Then he finds out he needs a new alternator, which on his vehicle is a major job.

And yet, undeterred, he shows up late Friday night, with maybe an hour or two of sleep under his belt, ready to shoot the heck out of Yosemite.

My hat's off to you, Nikolai. :bowBoth honor and pleasure were definitely mutual. You guys were a great company to talk, shoot and drink with! I learned a lot from each of you!
:beer

[Nikolai]

and to add to this Nik is a great guy with an attitude to match ,all this trouble and he stays happy .With only a few hrs sleep my coffee maker started and the noise it makes shot him out of bed on Sat . :D Nik did get some great shots that I know from looking at them in the evening .I will second Niks thoughts on the trip it was in so many words FANTASTIC -- great folks and I am glad I had the chance to go .
I was afraid my snoring would be much worse than your coffee maker:-)
It was a pleasure to meet you and share a room with you!
I'm waiting for you to upload those bear shots you and Ed took:-)
And don't forget to send me your account info for your S*E license!

[Nikolai]

HEHE, line the 30 same great copies all together.

I just read that you are a real trooper. You are certainly a very good photographer, I am looking fwd to your photos.

ginger
Both guys were overpraising my very decent capabilities. It was simply the fact that I was permanently drunk since Wednesday night (thanks, Sid!:-) that made me look happy, take crazy shots and not pay attention to traffic laws, broken cars and other petty things..:-)

Cheers!:1drink

[aero-nut]

Nik,

You are too humble. It was definitely an honor to meet you and chat with you over the weekend. You have a great enthusiasm for this thing we call photography, even after a 2 hour shuttle bus ride with standing room only. :D I am looking forward to seeing your pics.


Definitely an awesome event... I would also like to send my thanks to Andy and the whole dgrin team. I hope everyone got home safely and without incident. I was very cool hanging out with you all, learning everything I could fit into my head. You all are extraordinary people and amazing photographers.

Now if only I can go try to process the pics I took before they self destruct. :huh

[Michiel de Brieder]

:clap go Nik, go Nik, go Nik :clap
You were an excellent companion in the 3rd lane of highway 101 heading south :D Thanks for the good time and the great rides! Nect time in SF we'll shoot your car at GG :wink

Cheers mate and thanks to everyone at Yosemite, I had a great time and I can't wait to see my shots at home!

[GREAPER]

I know I enjoyed the entire trip and as I expected, the highlight was not the wonderful photo opps. It was meeting so many of the people that make this forum a great place to hang out and make Smugmug a great company to deal with.

Thanks to Baldy, Andy and all of the folks at Smugmug that helped make it happen. Thanks to all of the Dgrinners that were able to make the trip.

Everyone I met was fun to be around and a pleasure to talk to. It was an amazing time and I will say this. When there is another trip, If you didn't get to go this time, make it a point to go.

[Nikolai]

I know I enjoyed the entire trip and as I expected, the highlight was not the wonderful photo opps. It was meeting so many of the people that make this forum a great place to hang out and make Smugmug a great company to deal with.

Thanks to Baldy, Andy and all of the folks at Smugmug that helped make it happen. Thanks to all of the Dgrinners that were able to make the trip.

Everyone I met was fun to be around and a pleasure to talk to. It was an amazing time and I will say this. When there is another trip, If you didn't get to go this time, make it a point to go.
Well said!

And in case you didn't know - the plans for the next ones are already in motion - and it's gonna be


:drums




http://nik.smugmug.com/photos/21712499-L.jpg

ZYON !
(the first free city out of the Matrix:-)

Hope to see you all there!

[Nikolai]

Nik,
You are too humble. It was definitely an honor to meet you and chat with you over the weekend. You have a great enthusiasm for this thing we call photography, even after a 2 hour shuttle bus ride with standing room only. :D I am looking forward to seeing your pics.

I doozed on that bus for at least two full lapses out of 10 it did:-)
And you guys were definitely fun to be with!

Cheers!:1drink

[Nikolai]

:clap go Nik, go Nik, go Nik :clap
You were an excellent companion in the 3rd lane of highway 101 heading south :D Thanks for the good time and the great rides! Nect time in SF we'll shoot your car at GG :wink

Cheers mate and thanks to everyone at Yosemite, I had a great time and I can't wait to see my shots at home!We were heading with Michiel towards our Motel 6 in Belmont and were almost there when all of a sudden car started loosing the speed, all the dashboard lights went nuts - and in 5-10 seconds we were sitting ducks amidst SF highway traffic (they drive 75-80 mph, you know:-). I was never so glad to see the CHP lights behind us in my entire life.

It was amazing watching you shoot! Thanks a lot!
:beer