Z Above the Clouds; A trip to ASPEN
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From: Mile High City
Z Above the Clouds; A trip to ASPEN
This past weekend marked my first trip to Aspen, Colorado. The fall colors took us almost by surprise...and what a surprise it was! I took nearly 400 pictures over 2 days and wanted to share a few (!) of them with you.
From Denver, Aspen can either be reached via I-70 (the main highway) or via Independence Pass, a breathtakingly beautiful passage that puts one at the top of the world and offers some of the most spectacular views imaginable. The curves themselves are immensely enjoyable in a car that seems to have been made for them, the Z.
The drive is treacherous even on good days. You find yourself at 12,000 feet on a single lane road each way with a wall of jagged rocks on one side and a steep drop-off at the other, WITHOUT a railing! Then there are portions where there is only ONE lane for BOTH sides of traffic, and that too, around a curve. You will see a pic of that below too. Making a turn there is a leap of faith.
On our way there (Saturday) the weather was anything but cooperative. Needless to say, my massive 4-hour detail job the night before went to complete waste 30 minutes after leaving home. At 9,500 feet and above, rain turned into snow which was heavy in spots. With my "summer only" tires, I had to tread with extreme caution. Below 9,000 feet though, it was all sunny and beautiful.
The tallest point of Independence Pass is the great Continental Divide at over 12,000 feet. There, we drove through a raging blizzard. I had to slow the camera's shutter speed way down just to get a few half-decent shots. Road was icy and slick with upto 3 inches of slush in places, as you will see below. I have included shots of the nav display to give you an idea of varying altitude.
On our way back on Sunday though, there was nary a cloud in sight! Spectacular weather all the way home!
Here are the pics:
Curves, anyone?
The girl in that red Chevy was taking pictures of the Z.
From Denver, Aspen can either be reached via I-70 (the main highway) or via Independence Pass, a breathtakingly beautiful passage that puts one at the top of the world and offers some of the most spectacular views imaginable. The curves themselves are immensely enjoyable in a car that seems to have been made for them, the Z.
The drive is treacherous even on good days. You find yourself at 12,000 feet on a single lane road each way with a wall of jagged rocks on one side and a steep drop-off at the other, WITHOUT a railing! Then there are portions where there is only ONE lane for BOTH sides of traffic, and that too, around a curve. You will see a pic of that below too. Making a turn there is a leap of faith.
On our way there (Saturday) the weather was anything but cooperative. Needless to say, my massive 4-hour detail job the night before went to complete waste 30 minutes after leaving home. At 9,500 feet and above, rain turned into snow which was heavy in spots. With my "summer only" tires, I had to tread with extreme caution. Below 9,000 feet though, it was all sunny and beautiful.
The tallest point of Independence Pass is the great Continental Divide at over 12,000 feet. There, we drove through a raging blizzard. I had to slow the camera's shutter speed way down just to get a few half-decent shots. Road was icy and slick with upto 3 inches of slush in places, as you will see below. I have included shots of the nav display to give you an idea of varying altitude.
On our way back on Sunday though, there was nary a cloud in sight! Spectacular weather all the way home!
Here are the pics:
Curves, anyone?
The girl in that red Chevy was taking pictures of the Z.
Last edited by usmanasif; Sep 20, 2006 at 10:25 PM.
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Thanks all! Yes, Photoshop was used on each of these pix, but not for the color/b&w effect. It was only to resize them (originals were massive at full-res 6MP), correct contrast levels, and remove unwanted clutter like other cars on the road (in 2 pics), and power lines in pic#19.
The color/b&w was the handy work of my camera. It has a Color Accent setting which allows you to choose any color in your viewfinder before releasing the shutter. The resulting pic has only that color shown and the rest is all b&w. Earlier, I used to do it Photoshop, but that of course is more cumbersome.
Yes, I actually got them there too. The only difference is the new open 'O' Nismo logo. And I guess the mats' design was changed for this year.
The color/b&w was the handy work of my camera. It has a Color Accent setting which allows you to choose any color in your viewfinder before releasing the shutter. The resulting pic has only that color shown and the rest is all b&w. Earlier, I used to do it Photoshop, but that of course is more cumbersome.
Originally Posted by dro916
Nice pics!
On your list of parts, it says "Nismo floormats (new logo)." What does that look like? Same as the ones available on mynismo.com?
On your list of parts, it says "Nismo floormats (new logo)." What does that look like? Same as the ones available on mynismo.com?
Originally Posted by usmanasif
The color/b&w was the handy work of my camera. It has a Color Accent setting which allows you to choose any color in your viewfinder before releasing the shutter. The resulting pic has only that color shown and the rest is all b&w. Earlier, I used to do it Photoshop, but that of course is more cumbersome.
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From: Mile High City
Originally Posted by mahont
Amazing shots and sweet PS work. Sweet looking Z too. Are you waiting for a front lip to come out or are you keeping it like that? Let us see a pic of the new Nismo floormats. Please 
Yes, I am waiting for the Nismo front lip to be released for the '06, or any decent one for that matter. I don't really like the INGS.I will take and post a pic of the mats this evening.
