Pottering around Hehuanshan (合歡山)

At 3000m high, Huehuanshan offers some fantastic views, plenty of hiking opportunities and, with the winding roads clinging to the mountain slopes, one of the most scenic drive you can wish for. 

Scootering around Hehuanshan area is brilliant. The road is narrow and full of buses and cars stopping for a selfie. Scooter just keeps you moving and getting closer to the scenery. The bending road makes you hum 'Born to be Wild' - till you hit one of the steeper ascents and all of the sudden the power is gone. 125cm scooter, two people and 3000m up - it gets interesting at times. Every now and then we we looked more like a rowing crew on a training machine. To get up it took some coordinated moves like being on a swing: up we go, up we go, up we go....

Read about the trip here. For photo gallery only head here.

LESS = MORE

So many discussion threads on ‘which lens is sharper’. So much GAS. I was there. Owning more syndrome. Going through each and every review and going for the even sharper, newer or more praised lens. Sigmas and Tokinas were becoming obsolete and unloved. Nikkor. Nanocoating. Faster. Sharper. Then the Sigma ART series made a comeback...
More lenses found their way into the bag. In the meantime only a few found their way to eBay. And if they did - it always felt like they were replaced with two pieces of gear. The overall bulk seemed to be increasing, yet many of the pieces were mostly spending their time in the box under the bed.

Being a keen walker and travelling a fair bit, this was not sustainable. I could lug the lenses and the cameras for a day walk. Not a problem. Could, on a push, lug it for a couple of days of walking. Heck, even lugged the 70-200mm f2.8 up the Mueller’s Hut in knee-deep snow. Was it work it? Hell yes!

Although the backpack was bursting out, every time the justification for the effort was the same: maybe there will be something that needs a wide, or long or macro lens. Maybe a stream or waterfall. Or maybe some distant peak…The new lenses always seemed sharper or faster, even though bigger and heavier. Or better in some other way. A Rode mic in case of some video work. Maybe a flash - just in case... But most of the stuff in the box did not quite make its way out. A lot of it just stayed in.

Hoarding.

Salvation came with some common sense starting to filter in (continues here)...