Like much of United States, Utah has been in a blustery weather pattern lately with winter storm after storm laying down some much needed snowpack. Thursday afternoon the storms began to clear out, and I noticed this view as I was out getting my mail.

I decided to grab my camera and thought this was the perfect opportunity to try out my new lens, a Nikkor 80-400mm zoom, that I purchased around New Years to replace my dead Sigma super telephoto zoom that bit the dust recently.

To make this shot I set up my tripod in our backyard looking east toward the mountain. This is the first real photograph I have taken with my new lens. This shot was taken at with the Nikkor lens at 330mm at f22 @ 1/640 second at ISO 250. I now feel much better about my purchase.

I bought my old Sigma 170-500 f5.6-6.3 back in 2003 when I was still shooting film. At that time it was mounted to a Nikon N80 camera. I decided upon the Sigma simply because I wanted a super telephoto for wildlife and could not afford a Nikkor at the time. How can I complain when she lasted over 17 years? I had it looked at by a local camera repair shop, and they are fairly sure the electronics have failed. It physically stops down, but then when you snap the shutter, it is overexposing significantly – even worse at longer zoom lengths.

Now if you know me, you know I am not super keen on change, especially with something like an old standby lens. But, I bit the bullet and went for the new Nikkor as I shoot wildlife on a semi-regular basis. Although this Nikkor 80-400 mm is a little shorter at its max focal length, I think it is still a good choice over a fixed focal 500mm, and it was nearly $1000 less expensive! That helps – a lot!

I ponied up for a 1.75 x teleconverter, so with that plus the 1.5 factor on my DX sensor D500 body, I can go find some bison again. Anyway, here are a couple of more shots of the general mountain with my new lens.

Mount Timpanogos was named after a local native tribe, the Timpanogots, who inhabited this area about 1400 AD. It rises over 7000 feet (2133 meters) above the valley floor, and even has a small permanent snow field (locally called a glacier) tucked into its northeast facing slopes. (It is technically not a glacier, as glaciers move down slope and sluff off ice chunks. It is, however, a glacial remnant.) Locally it is also known as the “sleeping princess” after an ancient Timpanogots “Romeo and Juliet” type tale. Here is story from the Timpanogos Cave National Monument.

“Mount Timpanogos overlooks Utah Valley as the dominate peak in the region. Standing at 11,752 ft in elevation, the second highest mountain in Utah’s Wasatch Range has long beckoned area residents to explain their relationship with the majestic peak. Early residents such as the Timpanogots Ute tribe who lived in the surrounding valleys from A.D. 1400, to modern folks have kept legends of Timpanogos alive through storytelling, publishing, and ensuring the tales are heard by the next generation.

At least twelve recorded versions of the Legend of Timpanogos exist today. Though the legends vary, most explain the curious outline of a woman that can be seen in the peaks of Mount Timpanogos, or the origin of the “Great Heart,” a large stalactite found in the Timpanogos Cave System. The story generally opens with a scene of a struggling people in the midst of drought, lacking food and hope. In Romeo and Juliet fashion, our main characters are introduced, commonly as Red Eagle or Timpanac the Indian warrior and Utahna or Ucanogas the Indian princess.

Red Eagle desires the beautiful Utahna, and (depending on the version) will either achieve a great feat or lead her to believe he is a god in order to take her as a wife. Meanwhile, Utahna is either pursued by many for marriage, or chosen to present herself as a sacrifice to appease the gods and end the drought. The two become great lovers, but jealousy of others or Utahna’s revelation that Red Eagle is not a god ends their happiness. The tale may end as jealous warriors ambush Red Eagle on Mount Timpanogos, causing him to fall to his death, and remain immortalized as the beautiful Emerald Lake. Utahna is so distraught at this news, she lies down on the mountain top and dies, hence the outline of a woman can be seen today.

So, not a bad bit of history and photography all from my backyard – well, with the help of my Nikkor telephoto. If you would like to see some other view of the mountain, check out this link.

I really appreciate the opportunity to post this here, and thank you so much for visiting my blog. Stay safe and stay sane my friends.