Rally III Revisited

[GT38]

We're half-way between Rallies! As we await details on Rally IV, it's a good time to look back on Rally III and remember what an incredible event it was - thank you DBK and everyone else involved in putting it all together! For those of you who are gluttons for photographic punishment, I've posted 1,300+ photos on Picasa beginning with pre-rally events in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area. http://picasaweb.google.com/FordGTRally3.GT38 (Picasa lists the albums in reverse chronological order - I can't change that.)

Some recent threads have discussed how much fun it is to get out on a drive with other GTs, and so far Rally III was the granddaddy of them all. We had 25+ on the drive to Las Vegas, and I don't think I could ever get more than 19 of them in one photo! The garage at Mandalay Bay often had 100+ GTs at any given time, and when we left for an event the sound was incredible (Dave, how many GTs were there?). The Shelby Tour/Ring of Fire, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Death Valley events all had massive amounts of GTs in action. The icing on the cake is that the people involved are the greatest folks you'll ever meet!

For those who were there, here's a jog to your memory. For those who are considering Rally IV, here's a taste of what it will be like! :cheers

 

[B O N Y]

Great pics as always Dick....
One question, at Tim's shindig, what is in the box that you gents are viewing?
Thanks for posting.

 

[GT38]

One question, at Tim's shindig, what is in the box that you gents are viewing?

Daniel, that's a GT's fuel tank. I don't know who's car it's out of, but it was removed at Power Ford in Scottsdale because of a problem that could not be fixed. It was cut open by Ford, and gives a really good look at exactly why most of the components are not serviceable once the tank is sealed up. I don't know who brought the tank to Tim's, but perhaps he could follow up with more details if he sees this post. I know that Rich (GT Tech) can fill in some details.

 

[tmcphail]

Great memories !

 

[dbk]

Those are some seriously great pictures. Thanks for putting those up. I think the one day I counted in the garage we had 126 GT's.

 

[skyrex]

Great Pics!!

I was ecstatic driving with two other GT's last Thursday. I figure I need to take baby steps with this. I am moving to 8 GT's on Tuesday, maybe followed up by quite a few more on the SoCal GT run if the date change holds. Don't know if I am ready to graduate to the level of GT nirvana in your pics album. :lol :cheers

 

[AtomicGT]

What road and where is the first image from? Driving to the Rally or during hte rally?

 

[JBG]

Dick

Thanks for sharing :thumbsup

John

 

[GT38]

What road and where is the first image from? Driving to the Rally or during hte rally?

That's a very good question, Atomic, and reminds me that I didn't mention in the first post that many of the photos are "geotagged".

That particular photo was taken on the way to the Rally, just south of Flagstaff, AZ on northbound I-17. It's this photo in the Picasa album: http://picasaweb.google.com/FordGTRally3.GT38/PhoenixToLasVegas#5304683239788005922

If you click on the above link you'll see a small map on the right side of the photo showing the exact location as determined by the camera's GPS receiver. If you click "View Album Map" (just below the little map), it will pull up a large Google Map showing the location of all the GPS tagged photos in that particular album. In the upper right, you can select the background - Map, Satellite, or Terrain. If you click on a thumbnail on the left side, it will highlight that photo's location on the map. You can also click on "View in Google Earth" (also upper right), and it will show the photo locations in Google Earth. I hope this explanation helps - it's really a pretty slick feature.

Let me answer some inevitable hardware/software questions this will now generate about how I got the GPS position on the photos. The camera used is a Nikon D3 (for camera freaks, with two different lenses; an AF-S Nikkor 28-70mm f2.8, and an AF-S VR-Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8). The GPS is a Garmin Geko 301 mounted to the camera with a Red Hen Systems DX-GPS adaptor. It writes Latitude-Longditude, magnetic heading, and elevation above sea level (no speed information) to each photo's EXIF file. When I post the photos online, Picasa automatically reads the Lat-Long and generates the position on the map - the position is not my estimate, but is where the GPS says I am. It's a pretty idiot-proof system which is extremely easy to use. The hardest part is remembering to turn it on! The receiver is sensitive enough that even in a closed car I can normally pick up at least a 2-D, and usually a 3-D position. Unfortunately,the Red Hen works only with certain Nikon camera models (I know it works with the D2X, too), and not at all with any other manufacturers such as Canon - don't ask me why, because I don't know! There are other geotagging systems out there for various cameras, but fewer than you might think. Some of them are a royal pain in the butt to use. I believe that some cell phone cameras have geotagging capability, but I've never used any of them. For anyone interested in more info, I suggest a Google search on geotagging (or similar related terms), or go to your camera manufacturer's web site to see what's available.

 

[AtomicGT]

GT38, you ROCK, thanks for the tech info, I use Canon D5 Mark II and it has nothing like RedHen.

Absolutely super image of the I-17 run. And people think Arizona is a desert! Most excellent!:thumbsup

 

[Triheart7]

Nice pictures, plus I loved the GPS feature.

 

[fjpikul]

Wow, excellent.

 

[DanM]

GPS Tagging photos

Apple just release a new version of I Life which includes a new version of I Photo which does the same mapping as picasa for the mac. Is also includes a facial recognition software that allows you to identify a face and then it organizes all files by that face. All Iphones have GPS tagging and will map the same in either software. I was just looking for a new camera with this feature so when I go to Europe I do not have to keep notes where I take the pictures. Thanks for the info, I will have to try Nikon

 

[GT38]

Apple just release a new version of I Life which includes a new version of I Photo which does the same mapping as picasa for the mac. Is also includes a facial recognition software that allows you to identify a face and then it organizes all files by that face. All Iphones have GPS tagging and will map the same in either software. I was just looking for a new camera with this feature so when I go to Europe I do not have to keep notes where I take the pictures. Thanks for the info, I will have to try Nikon

Glad to hear the the iPhone info - hope to see more of this! If you're considering a GPS compatible Nikon SLR, here are some things to consider:

Con: The D3 and D3X are heavy, and the FX sensor is more prone to collecting dust than the DX sensor in the D2X - the problem is manageable but sometimes frustrating. The D700 has a self-cleaning sensor, as do some other FX cameras like the Canon 5D MKII. The D3 and D3X do not self-clean, which is really strange.

Pro: The low-light capability of the D3X, D3 and D700 is amazing - perfect photos in dark European cathedrals without a tripod or a flash. The ISO goes to 25,600, but it's noticabley grainy above 6400. I seldom need more than 3200, but it's nice to have when you do need it. The D3X and D3 have two CF card slots (D700 has just one slot) - I use two 32GB cards and set it to write the file to both cards - instant backup, which is a real time saver when traveling.

Red Hen has another system called Blue2Can, which receives a signal from a bluetooth-enabled GPS that you carry nearby. The DX-GPS (which I use) mounts on the hot-shoe, so if you want to use flash and GPS at the same time you have have a separate mounting shoe. The Blue2Can solves that problem, but you loose heading information (which way the camera is pointed), and I've heard that the camera strap can snag and pop the Blue2Can off the camera. I believe the D700 is compatible with either Red Hen system, but you should check with the folks at Red Hen - I called them before deciding to buy, and they were very helpful.

 

[GTNJ]

POST MORE PICTURES PLEASE

Very nice ................. good memories ...Thank you




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[roketman]

Dougie ,SEND VIDEO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!