The Way I See It

Friday, February 26, 2010

I walked up the backside of Cowles Mountain this morning, partly to test further the Panasonic Lumix camera and also to see if I could keep up with Ed and Stephen. The camera performed well, as you will see if you check the BLOG; and I performed well enough to get back to the car at the same time the two younger men did. I continue to be surprised and pleased with the camera, especially with it’s lens. The 12 times optical zoom is unreal. I was able to get clear shots from a great distance. Cowles Mountain rises midway between Mission Valley and El Cajon Valley. Even with some haze today, I was able to get the fairly decent image of downtown San Diego above. I also got images of the more distant mountains to the east. From the top of the mountain the little camera brought in Ed’s house almost as if I had been Across the way on a nearby hill. My hat’s off to the engineers and others at Panasonic for producing such a marvel.

Of course, I’ll haul the heavier Nikons around whenever I’m trying to get the clearest and best shots possible; but when I’m hiking up a mountain, I’ll probably leave the big cameras at home and carry the small one on my belt.

Lake Murray lies between Cowles Mountain and Interstate 8. If you Click on the image to see it bigger, you'll be able to make out the Navy's place on San Diego Bay, the Bay south of Coronado Bridge, the Silver Strand between the bay and the ocean, and in the distance one of the Coronado Islands. Although the islands appear to be due west of San Diego, they belong to Mexico.

Cowles Mountain is part of the Mission Trails Regional Park in Mission Gorge. Some of yesterday's pictures were taken from back deck of the park museum pictured here.