SGTrekker 10D9N Everest Panorama Trek (17-26 March 2011)

[limwhow]

Anyone buy this during the trip??

Haha... missed it. Otherwise would buy one for Adrian and one for Melvin for good luck! Haha...!

 

[limwhow]

Star Trail Just above Mount Everest and Mount Lhotse

Ladies and Gentlemen...
Please don't laugh at me. I am newbie to Star trail. That morning then I last minute learned how to shoot from vngks, and thanks to Melvin who kept giving me instruction while I shot...
I am using Mac, so don't have Deep Sky Stacker software. So I no choice had to use Photoshop to stack manually.
Sigh... cannot make it. Some more didn't have enough number of hours nor enough darkness to shoot... At 5:15am already started having light contamination from the rising sun already...

To use vngks's words: I gotta go again!

At 5:30am, our other just-woken-up half of the team gathered in the hotel lobby and took their walk with Adrian and Mahesh up to the view point where the initial few crazy fellows had been frozen to death for the past two and a half hours and joined every one for sunrise shoot of Mount Everest.
Every body shoot Mount Everest, I shoot the Mount Everest's neighbour living across the road.
Again, any how shoot and any how hum tum one, this one. Please don't kok kok my head...

 

[campoes]

Hey Guys! Any one have an idea roughly what was the temperature on that early morning?

I remember someone saying it was -4C, not so sure also. But one thing for sure PK bring water bottle and it turned into ice hahahaha :bsmilie:.
I think sherwin and PK take photo of the water (ice) bottle

 

[hahatan]

woah... people... you guys dont sleep?! i was away in the land of smiles for a few days only and now it went up to #600+ posts! awesome energy you have there.

and yes! doc, we would have bought it to increase luck and this time round that luck can also be increased with the introduction of a few auspicious stones and figurines made from temples.


i will try to post some photos online soon after i get some slack from serving the nation... (now where is my maids platoon...)

 

[fatigue]

Star Trail Just above Mount Everest and Mount Lhotse

Ladies and Gentlemen...
Please don't laugh at me. I am newbie to Star trail. That morning then I last minute learned how to shoot from vngks, and thanks to Melvin who kept giving me instruction while I shot...
I am using Mac, so don't have Deep Sky Stacker software. So I no choice had to use Photoshop to stack manually.
Sigh... cannot make it. Some more didn't have enough number of hours nor enough darkness to shoot... At 5:15am already started having light contamination from the rising sun already...

To use vngks's words: I gotta go again!

I heard 1000D is good for astrophotography. hahaha...

 

[limwhow]

I remember someone saying it was -4C, not so sure also. But one thing for sure PK bring water bottle and it turned into ice hahahaha :bsmilie:.
I think sherwin and PK take photo of the water (ice) bottle

Wah... that's a most qualitative way of telling people that it was very very cold.
Sohpeekay's water turned into ice?!
Divinemoment, there is your answer, my good friend!

woah... people... you guys dont sleep?! i was away in the land of smiles for a few days only and now it went up to #600+ posts! awesome energy you have there.

and yes! doc, we would have bought it to increase luck and this time round that luck can also be increased with the introduction of a few auspicious stones and figurines made from temples.


i will try to post some photos online soon after i get some slack from serving the nation... (now where is my maids platoon...)

LOL... You should've employed a whole platoon of Sherpa soldiers to carry your SBO, helmet, Rifles... HAHAHA...!

 

[limwhow]

I heard 1000D is good for astrophotography. hahaha...

Fatigue, Sir!
Reporting for Infra-red duty, Fatigue Sir!

Infrared in Everest Viewpoint

I only used my treasured 535nm Infrared camera a few times. One of the most important times was to have it to shoot sunrise at Mount Everest view point. This was most importantly because I wanted to bring back some memories for myself of Mount Chomolangma and her neighbours in IR at sunrise.
So here are a couple of my IR shots, humbly.

And while we were walking down from the viewpoint, I asked SereneXMM to turn around and did a 535nm IR on her and the surrounding. Noticed the alto-cumulus clouds at the peaks...

Aiyah... I think this picture really siao liao lah... I am sure Fatigue, our Chief IR Engineer, would call me after seeing this picture to reprimand me and ask me to throw away my 535nm... What lousy PP, he would probably say... Waste my precious camera, he would add... LOL....!

 

[hahatan]

limwhow! this star trail is really nice. the mountains were sharp and the trails looks good! Now i see your shots and i feel embarrased to have hide in that little shed with apical to escape from the cold wind chill!

[/QUOTE]

woah.... all the zai one... good shot! vngks!

Well, to be honest, the shot CMI. Light dome clearly to the bottom right and a very bright moon to the right of the pic created some flare.

I gotta go again!!

Stevewhy! you are finally here! we were all waiting for the superb landing video clips that you took on day 3 (ahem) and day 4 landing of the flight(s)!

So sorry Dr. n everyone. You all were at the view point now, I am so slow that I just beginning to post, please pardon this old guy.


#1
View of Kathmandu City.

!

 

[fatigue]

Fatigue, Sir!
Reporting for Infra-red duty, Fatigue Sir!

Infrared in Everest Viewpoint

I only used my treasured 535nm Infrared camera a few times. One of the most important times was to have it to shoot sunrise at Mount Everest view point. This was most importantly because I wanted to bring back some memories for myself of Mount Chomolangma and her neighbours in IR at sunrise.
So here are a couple of my IR shots, humbly.

And while we were walking down from the viewpoint, I asked SereneXMM to turn around and did a 535nm IR on her and the surrounding. Noticed the alto-cumulus clouds at the peaks...

Aiyah... I think this picture really siao liao lah... I am sure Fatigue, our Chief IR Engineer, would call me after seeing this picture to reprimand me and ask me to throw away my 535nm... What lousy PP, he would probably say... Waste my precious camera, he would add... LOL....!

Limwhow, you always have something new, something unique, always wonderful.

 

[limwhow]

Collection of my houses shot

Wah I like this nice little stone house, Ah Wind ah, Ah Wind!
Wind blow also cannot blow the house down yah! Hahaha...!

Cont'l

This one is my favourite house cos see alread means can enter into Sagarmatha National Park and cross to Jorsalle liao! Yeah!

Wah this one so power ah! Mountain also grow from the head of the house yah!

 

[limwhow]

limwhow! this star trail is really nice. the mountains were sharp and the trails looks good! Now i see your shots and i feel embarrased to have hide in that little shed with apical to escape from the cold wind chill!

Thank you yah, Melvin HahaTan!
Aiyo eh... that morning don't know what was with you and Acpical. We all were shooting ok one moment, then the next moment you both fly my aeroplane and rushed into the stone shed (toilet shed) trembling away inside saying cold yah cold... Yah lah... I know it was cold. In fact so cold until water from Sohpeekay's bottle also turned into ice already. It must be quite cold lah... but hey, the cameras were all still mounted steadily on their respective tripods and still waiting for their rightful owners to go and press that wired remote shutter leh... And the cameras hadn't fail yet, and were still all functioning at full capacity leh! Did you all know that!?
Siao one lah, both of you ah...! Hahahaha...!

 

[SgTrekker]

Star Trail Just above Mount Everest and Mount Lhotse

This is one memorable shot Weehow, not many people have done star trails with Everest in the backdrop... think about that! It is one special shot, can almost feel all our sweat and blood going up during the trek in this one shot... i would say it embodifies the essence of the trip

 

[limwhow]

This is one memorable shot Weehow, not many people have done star trails with Everest in the backdrop... think about that! It is one special shot, can almost feel all our sweat and blood going up during the trek in this one shot... i would say it embodifies the essence of the trip

Wah lau eh... Adrian... I am so touched by your words...
I want to cry already now... Woooaaahhh....
Just so to give you a reward for your kind words of encouragement on my maiden attempt at Start Trailing of Everest, I give you my Maiden 535nm IR shot of Sunrise at Chomolangma and Lhotse...

535nm Infrared of Sunrise at Chomolangma & Lhotse

 

[Daoyin]

I agree with Adrian. The star trails with Everest in the background is a good one.

 

[New Kid In Town]

Well, to be honest, the shot CMI. Light dome clearly to the bottom right and a very bright moon to the right of the pic created some flare.

I played around with the shots, stacking and restacking......anyway, you guys be the judge. Ignore the fuzzy mountain to the bottom left. Its the result of star alignment.

I gotta go again!!

That is a really obvious milkyway!! nicely stacked! for the background dome. you could try to use gradient removal which shold be part of the stacking software and for the mountains, they seem to be in pretty high contrast with the background. you can try to crop the stacked version out. select one of ur subframe with nice and sharp mountains and replace it. the photo should look perfectly fine!

 

[vngks]

Star Trail Just above Mount Everest and Mount Lhotse

To use vngks's words: I gotta go again!

Very good effort actually!! Better if you had shot it in Landscape and included more of Polaris, the North Star. You just clipped the central axis of rotation.

Next time, we gotta start shooting stars maybe around 10PM right on till sunrise hahahaha! Star trails will also be longer and nicer.

 

[vngks]

That is a really obvious milkyway!! nicely stacked! for the background dome. you could try to use gradient removal which shold be part of the stacking software and for the mountains, they seem to be in pretty high contrast with the background. you can try to crop the stacked version out. select one of ur subframe with nice and sharp mountains and replace it. the photo should look perfectly fine!

Thanks ZY. I'll try re-processing it again. Cheers.

 

[Dinosour]

Very good effort actually!! Better if you had shot it in Landscape and included more of Polaris, the North Star. You just clipped the central axis of rotation.

Next time, we gotta start shooting stars maybe around 10PM right on till sunrise hahahaha! Star trails will also be longer and nicer.

Agree with vngks, limwhow & the rest...got to go again. This time must include the sleeping bag & camp at the Namche Viewpoint.

 

[ClemC]

I gotta go again!!

To use vngks's words: I gotta go again!

vngks & limwhow - You guys put up two very, very good reasons why I'm seriously considering making a trip!!.. (for the moment.. it is still YES.. and before I change my mind again) ... thinking, thinking..

So sorry Dr. n everyone. You all were at the view point now, I am so slow that I just beginning to post, please pardon this old guy.

Stevewhy.. not a surprise you posting late.. you still got energy to go shoot at Ganbatte Japan Walkabout on Sunday !!!, you the can...

This "old" guy is full of energy and walk fast la.. Good Man!!...

 

[wkcheah]

T R A V E L O G U E

Day 7: Insanely Early Morning Rise to shoot Star Trail, Milky Way and Sunrise with Mount Everest as Background...


... Haha... can see wkcheah smiling happily. Almost everyone else was masked tightly to keep their warm breaths in.

hahaha... you know, that wasn't on the recommended packing list leh.. that's why I didn't have a mask at that time... only in the late morning that I managed to buy one for NPR150..

...
But what I forgot to say was, we were all sort of surprised by the effort needed to take that small morning walk up to the plateau. It was REALLY rather breathless even with a few steps of walk up the steps and the slope. And Melvin was fumbling with his walkie talkie:

"Hello Limwhow, come in... come in..." croaked Melvin over the walkie talkie.​

"Yah, Melvin. Send." Yours truly doing the job of a record photographer as well as signaller.​

"Eh... where are you all huh? I cannot see you all. You all turned right or turned left after our Lodge huh?" Wah lau, Melvin really seh liao...​

"We turned left and walked up. Nah.. I shine my torch light far far for you to see and you follow the light up here."​

"Ah... it's ok Limwhow. You all can leave markings for us so that we can follow the markings up." suggested Melvin over the cold air of the morning.​

My goodness.. I looked around all the members standing there looking at me and could not imagine each of us volunteering to take off our colourful underwear and leave them dangling on the wall of the buildings and the poles of the steps for Melvin to find and to follow.

"Ah... Melvin ah. I think we will wait for you all lah..." I finally managed something.​

Hahaha... this is classic! When Melvin asked for a marker.. all I thought of was how to distinguish a "unique" marker from all the cow and donkey dungs on the ground. Without a torch light, they will all look the same. So, unless one of us take off a jacket or 'underwear' (as limwhow suggested), or tie a bandana on a pole or something, there isn't much of a good way to leave a marker... very funny situation indeed.