Tilt shift photography was only the field using shift lens with 35mm film camera before. but not anymore!!! It is so easy to make from regular picture with photo editing software. This will be great application to focus specific object or just fun to see looks miniature model. Here is some test images.

St. Mary’s community and school!

Yakutsk, Siberia!

Cabin, car works great! (photo: A. Hachinohe)

Small valley itself is not exciting, but if the small object (this case cable lift) is in there. it looks much better. (photo: A. Hachinohe)

Kaktovik village, I focus to the school (blue roof). (photo: I. Yuguchi)

Valdez boat harbor, this technique is good for very complicated object!

University of Alaska Fairbanks west ridge. Building is favorable for this! (photo: A. Hachinohe)

House as well! (photo: A. Hachinohe)

North Slope Oil field, I try to focus pingo (right side of pad), but not quite good as building! (photo: I. Yuguchi)

I had a quick day trip for Anchorage today to attend teachers workshop at Chugach School District. Chugach School District is one of the successful education district and also have home schooling program. Nice to see teachers from Prince William Sounds area!!

I flew in 45 minuts flight from Fairbanks in the morning.

UAF Geophysical Institute crew made nice setting up workshop, of course we enjoy lunch and dinner at Anchorage before catching up mid night flight!!

I am one of the lucky guys in the University. Because I can see Denali (Mt.Mackinley) from my office window!! I did bring in the telescope in my office and attached retro Nikon 35mm camera. Whenever the beautiful viewing days, I took picture of Denali.

Usually, mountains are more visible and beautiful during winter. Especially Denali is 163 miles away from here.

During first week of February, Sun is set just at the Denali! Also we can see strong wind blown surface snow around summit.

Dear Science Teachers and Principals,

Thank you for supporting our program. Hopefully, you are having a great winter!
Here is a recent update of our program:

1. We have 161 schools in our network now and already finish originally planed boreholes, frost tubes locations. However, I got 26’ twin engine aluminum boat in Sitka!! I will establish frost tube at all of the Southeast Alaskan communities (red dots) in this summer (May-June)!! This expand over 200 communities in our network.

2.  The time is approaching to deliver our information to the communities. We are working 400 pages full color magazine type (easy reading, but a lot of information in it!) resource book called “Temperature Book (T-book)”. This will cover many topics about permafrost, seasonal frost.  You too can be a permafrost expert after reading this! More detail, check our web site www.uaf.edu/permafrost. Also we need nice old village picture for this.

3. Kilimanjaro expedition was successfully complicated! We went up with 2 great Alaskan teachers and 4 students (2 from Africa, and 2 from Alaska) age 13-20 years old. They are great motivated students and wonderful time! I really enjoy it. We dag additional 2 holes install dataloggers and five boreholes retrieved data including summit (19000ft) glacier site. Also short movie is following links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWm-tSLmL-Q (youtube)

4. For frost tube schools, it is nice to check your frost depth before holiday season starting! If you have a chance to check frost tube, please e-mail me the depth of frost and snow depth. I will update at your school data in our web page. Protocol and worksheet is available from web site.

5. Are you interested in learning more about permafrost and climate change? Sign up to field test an online interactive professional development course for secondary teachers. The project is funded by NASA and created by the UAF Geophysical Institute. Classroom resources include interactive online activities and science lessons aligned to state and national standards. Learn how to use NASA resources, Google Earth, and ImageJ to study Alaska’s climate and permafrost. Field testing begins in mid October 2010. Stipends will be provided. Teacher input required. Hurry, space is limited. Contact: Sam Norlin (907) 474-5318 / cryosphere@gi.alaska.edu <http://cryosphere@gi.alaska.edu/>  are interested in participating in this unique opportunity. See www.CryosphericConnection.org <http://www.cryosphericconnection.org/>   to learn more about the program.
6. “Tunnel Man Episode 5 (The great Journey)” is start filming. This will be a last episode and going to big filming, CG & editing work (using 5-7 songs, on location in the Tanzania lift valley, Peruvian Andes, Mongolia, Tibet as well as Alaskan communities!), however, we try to finish this coming spring! Movie trailer will be coming soon!!

Again, thank you for your participants.
Have a nice Holydays!

I am way back to Alaska now. It’s getting colder, wetter, less day light every stop changing airplane…Today,  I introduce top 3 Mexican cuisine I ate during this trip! Oh, sorry I made you getting hungry again!?

Number 1: Mole The sauce is most popular in the central and southern regions of the country. All mole preparations begin with one or more types of chili pepper. Other ingredients can include black pepper, axiote, guaje (Leucaena leucocephala)), cumin, cloves, anise, tomatoes, tomatillos, garlic, sesame seeds, dried fruit, hoja santa and many others.  Chocolate is added at the end of cooking!!

Number 2: Blue corn tortilla with huitlacoche This is all scratched dish beside of road! She make and cook it when people order Blue tortilla (see inside bucket! full of doug). This is so fresh and quick!! huitlacoche is a disease of maize caused by the pathogenic plant fungus Ustilago maydis. But this is delicious mushroom. we ate it with cheese filling in the blue tortilla!!

Number 3: Pozole is a ritually significant, traditional pre-Columbian soup or stew from Mexico. Pozole was mentioned in Fray Bernardino de Sahagún‘s “General History of the Things of New Spain” circa 1500 C.E.. It is made from nixtamalized cacahuazintle corn, with meat, usually pork, chicken, turkey, pork rinds, sardine, chili pepper, and other seasonings and garnish. Vegetarian and vegan versions also exist.

I got a day off in Mexico city! We were back to town last night, then drinking a lot and sleeping good on bed, trying to fill in last few days of missing!). It’s beautiful blue sky in this morning. I am ready to enjoy one free day! UNAM physical geography Professor Lawrencio takes us to the Teotihuacán site. Teotihuacán is pre-hispanic city (200BC- its fall sometime between the 7th and 8th centuries). The reason of the collapsing is unknown but one of the recent hypotheses is droughts. Many many things are still unknown here, like science people believe we know almost but isn’t…

When I climb one of the pyramid, this is it! temperature and wind make just right harmony. I wish I can stay here being like silent prayer or Zen master several hours without noise. I feel almost sure I can talk with them…

I think almost all of the ruins are NOT excavated yet and should be something underneath!!

Even here! these pingo like small mounds ( a lot!) are all small pyramids, over 1000 years of time made covering completely vegetated and waiting for new discoveries.

You see foundation of the pyramid  on right picture.

Beautiful paintings are found at some of the successful excavated site.

Big stone on the step!? Everything must have reason…

Meteorological station is on the top of old pyramid !?

After the Teotihuacan ancient town, I am going to modern Mexico city center to eat and talk with old friend. It was nice last day in Mexico!

Last two days, we went Itaccíhuatl and trying to drill permafrost. Itaccíhuatl is third highest mountain but it is the highest mountain in none active volcano in Mexico. This means less heat flow than the other higher volcanos.

Somebody walking just before ground freezing! this small foot step making giant Mexican permafrost!

This mission was operated by the eight men from Mexico, Spain and me.

This is Younger Dryas moraine, almost reached tree line. Oh, it looks polygons on top…

This is the snow rose (Eryngium Monocephalum) we do not like… very spiky, making bloody skin!!

You see this spiky plant everywhere about 4100-4250m. I like to go up higher!!

We can see glacier, summit…

Drill site is just below the glacier, where glacier was covered 1970s.

Drill operation was not great! It was super difficult time for me. New air charger works good though. We drill until sunset, and start morning. it’s making me completely exhort. I stay in sleeping bag 7 to 7 (sunset to sunrise).

Beautiful sunset with our cabin (4700m). It seems we cannot see sunset at clear sky here.

The way back, everybody very tired, drilling, no water, tight sleeping space…But we did install temperature sensors and datalogger!

We stayed near Amecameca last night. Amecameca sounds Hawaiian name to me, this is pre Spanish native town. Small and charming I like very much! Best part is… we can see mountains from town. We plan to climb Popocatepetl volcano today for download some data and climatizing body for tomorrow’s climbing. Popocatepetl is active volcano, last big eruption is 2002. So most of the summit part is closed today. We could up highest point around 4500m.

We did quick stop at Amecameca for breakfast “Tamale”. I never ate such nice Tamale before!! I feel totally different food I used to eat same name of this food in US! also cheap! 8 pesos (50cents) per tamale!!

After power up by yummy breakfast, we climbed. Slope was kind north facing slope, snow is remaining most of the part. but snow was soft and no slip at all.

From the Popocatepetl, nice view of Itaccíhuatl, which we will go up tomorrow!

we were back to town in the late afternoon. The way back, we stop nice Mexican snack place!

This area, tortilla is blue color!!! all hand made food!!

At the evening, we stop by Amecameca again, we saw beautiful mountains (left Itaccíhuatl, right popocatepetl).

Since arriving 4 am this morning, it was long day! BUT all of happening were great and fun! After the good meeting at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM). I visit Japanese school in Mexico City. My old collage time friend is working at there. I have a time to talk tropical permafrost at there in Japanese. Students are polite and extremely good manner.

Then we were leaving big city to the mountain. The end of the day, of course we had a great dinner!!!!!

I arrived Mexico City 4am in the morning! It’s only 2hour 45 minute flight from Los Angeles. But  atmosphere is big difference!! also altitude (over 2000m above sea level) makes cooler than LA. 11 dC  out side…

City itself located on the huge lava plateau that why elevation is so high. When I visit Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM), we saw many lava field that occurred only 2000 years ago! at that time, old city was destroy by this.

This permafrost drilling project is leading University of Madrid (Spain), UNAM, and UAF joint project. We will leave for mountain tonight! stay tune more picture!!