Glacier National Park

After an amazing time last summer visiting friends from our outdoor school days and hiking like crazy, we couldn't resist another visit to Glacier National Park this summer.  So after being home for less than three weeks from the Alsek trip we loaded all our gear into the Civic and hit the road.  After spending a night near the the amazing Sawtooth's in Idaho, we spent two and a half weeks hiking with friends, photographing, and working with several other California based photographers.


There is something to be said for spending a big chunk of time in a location to really learn the light and where to be in different situations.  Having spent more than a month during the past two summers in Glacier this trip turned out to be amazingly productive for me despite the heavy snow year.  Going-To-The-Sun road actually had its latest opening ever, and several trails I had hoped to shoot from were closed due to snow.

The first couple days this bothered me because I had planned the trip around the typical flower bloom, and had several previsualized images up my sleeve.  At first I really had to focus on changing my attitude and find the "gifts" that were being given me.  As an artist it is SO important to look at your surroundings and follow what gives you passion.  For me it took a stormy sunrise and rainbow at St. Mary Lake that had every other photographer running for cover to get me back on track.

The photographers I worked with had a wonderful time and came home with great images of bears, big horned sheep, wild flowers, and of course Wild Goose Island under a crescent moon.  We all left energized and dreaming of another summer adventure in the Glacier high country when the snows are gone.

Eastern Sierra Article

Hopefully by know everyone knows my love affair with California's Sierra Nevada mountains.  They are a major part of what drew me to California in the first place and what helps to hold me here.  Sierra Heritage just published an article of my hard earned Eastern Sierra shots.  More than one of these photos involved a sub freezing night out under the stars to be ready for sunrise.  There is nothing better than cracking the ice off your sleeping bag as you get up to shoot a sunrise.  Pick up a copy today before they are gone. 

 I'll be teaching a photography workshop this fall in the Eastern Sierra.  So if you want to know where to find some of the amazing locations of the Eastside and improve your photography skills come join me.  October 6-9th 2011. 

Alsek River Shoot

We are back from an amazing summer of photo shoots and adventures.  Jen and I spent nearly two weeks of June on one of the most remote rivers in North America.  We spent twelve days shooting and writing for Yukon Tourism on the Alsek river. 

The Alsek river flows through one of the worlds most glaciated watersheds, and drains the largest non-polar ice cap in the world.  Needless to say we were excited when the trip plans were set in stone and we flew out to Whitehorse to meet the crew.

After a couple days in White Horse helping buy food and load supplies, we headed for the put in at Haines Junction.   We spent the next twelve days negotiating rafts through the wilds of the Yukon, British Columbia, and South East Alaska.  Along with the typical challenges of keeping rafts upright in big water rapids, we also had to make our way through the maze of ice bergs in Lowell Lake and Alsek Lake. 

It was the unique images that I imagined creating as the river passes through two glacial lakes full of ice bergs that originally drew me to the Alsek.

Once the proposed site of a massive copper mine during the early 1990's, the Alsek was listed as one the most threatened rivers in the world.  For many years it was one of the biggest and most well known fights against resource extraction in all of North America, with the Canadian prime minister and Al Gore both running the river to bring attention to the issue.
Thankfully the years of attention and hard work payed off in the creation of a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the world's largest bio-preserve. 

Due to its remoteness the Alsek river sees fewer than 150 people a year, and requires a helicopter portage past the unraftable Turn Back Canyon, and chartered flight at the take out.

After spending nearly two weeks without seeing any sign of other humans, we loaded our boats the last morning in a thick marine fog and made our way to the take out and chartered plane in Dry Bay which is part of Glacier Bay National Park. 

After a trip like the Alsek it is no wonder its a little depressing being back in the office answering emails and sending out photos, but its the office work that allows us such amazing adventures that are "work".  Check back again to find out about the magazine story and slide shows I will be doing from the trip this next year.

Sierra Hot Springs Story

Well all the hard work of soaking in hot springs is finally over and Jen's story and my photos are on news stands right now in the June issue of Sierra Heritage.

Packing for the Alsek River

 

Several people have been asking me what gear I used on the Grand Canyon shoot, and what gear I plan to take on the Alsek.  Of course the number one question is how do you power a D3s, D700, and Olympus E-PL2 for three weeks and 200+ gigs without an outlet.  I hope this helps answer those questions.

Shutterbug Cover Story

Check out the July 2011 issue of Shutterbug Magazine which features my article and photos on rafting the Grand Canyon with a camera.  If you think 21 days on the Colorado river is remote, this summer Jen and I will doing a two week shoot for Yukon Tourism on the Alsek river that involves Grizzly bears, killer Mosquitoes, a helicopter portage and chartered flight to pull off.  You can download a pdf of the story from my website just click on the story.

Holland America Cover

 

A few days ago I found out the one of the world's largest cruse and travel companies wanted to use my image of Denali on the cover of their 2011 Alaska sightseeing tour book.  Its a great honor to have my image chosen over all the other great Alaska work on the market.

Lessons Learned from bad weather

 

Nikon D700, Nikon 70-200 f/2.8, 1/40th, f/11, ISO 400

This past winter I braved the weather in Yosemite with a wonderful group of photographers and came home with some surprisingly stunning images.  Going into the trip I was worried that the weather would mean lots of hours sitting in the lodge waiting for the weather to break.  I prepared several slide-shows and lessons just in case we were lodge-bound for an entire day, but my group was tough.  We photographed closeups in overcast light, grand landscapes with new snow, and oaks during the heavy snowfall itself. 

The lesson I was reminded of during the trip was there is no excuse for not being at a good location when the weather might do something amazing.  I was talking about the old photographers adage of "f/8 and be there" with several of my participants, and it became the de facto mentality for the trip.  Before leaving for the trip I had some people call worried that we might not even get our cameras out for fear of the weather.  But because we knew the weather was going to be a challenge, we all arrived in Yosemite with our rain gear and good attitudes. 

We watched several other photographers give up due to the weather and leave the valley, but our perseverance paid off with many unique images that most photographers drive right by.  The lesson for me was that every weather condition offers amazing photographs if we take the time to wait.  We need only be willing to take what is given to us rather than continuing to look for something we wish was there.


 

Mirror Lockup (back by popular demand)

Nikon D300, Nikon 70-300 ED, f/11, 1/10, ISO 200

I shot this image last summer during a mountaineering trip in the North Cascades.  This image was shot about 25 miles from the nearest road head.  Along with carrying camera equipment we had to carry, ropes, crampons, ice axes, and all necessary food and camping gear for six days.  Thus I was very limited in the photo equipment I was willing to carry on my back.  So I opted to carry a Nikon 16-85 VR, and Nikon 70-300 ED (not the VR version), and my two pound waste high Gitzo carbon fiber tripod. 

Despite the non-pro glass I ended up coming home with several stellar images, including the one above.  Often I am asked by photographers why images shot with their $2000 70-200 zoom lens are not coming out sharp, while I can get good images out of a $150 70-300.  Unknowingly they are asking two separate questions in there statement.  First while at f/4.5 my 70-300 ED is very weak, at f/8 or f/11 it rivals the sharpness of the $2000 lens.  Thus I try to shoot this lens at as close to f/8 as possible to pull out the sharpness.

The second and more important question is "why can't I get sharp images from my 70-200 f/2.8".  The real issue here is not the lens at all, but rather the technique.  While the 70-200's of today are truly amazing, no lens will come out sharp at slower shutter speeds unless it is absolutely rock solid.  But "I have it on a tripod" you may say... Well that is a good step, but it doesn't eliminate the last remaining source of vibration in the system.  It may seem trivial, but at slower shutter speeds when the mirror slaps up right before the shutter opens it sends a vibration through the camera/lens and makes it nearly impossible to capture a sharp image.  While each camera, lens, and tripod combination are slightly different a good rule of thumb is any shutter speed less than about 1/125 down to about 1 second will have this issue.

So if you have been wondering why you don't seem to be getting the image quality you were expecting from your investment at slower shutter speeds, try using the mirror lock up feature on your camera.  Mirror lock-up is one of the most expensive features to include in a camera, but most higher end digital cameras now come with this as a  standard feature.  If your camera does not have this feature you can still hedge your bet by using a solid tripod, a cable release, and trying to avoid the "danger" shutter speeds when possible.  If you must shoot at these slower speeds make several exposures and hopefully one might come out sharper than the rest.  Like everything in photography it is a balance of what we want vs. what we can get away with.  

Adventue or Suicide?

This past weekend I worked with a few mountain biker friends trying to capture some killer images that really tell the story of riding in the Sierra foothills. 

While we got several really stunning images, it was the last jump of the day that really told the story.  It also helped remind all of us that there is a fine line between pushing the envelope and a trip to the ER.

Peter Grubb Hut

This past weekend we did a trip to the Peter Grubb hut with some friends.  For me it was a chance to really test out the Nikon 24-120 f/4 lens and see how I liked using it as my all in one adventure lens.

A couple of us were using the trip as a dry run for a longer Sierra ski/photo trip this spring, so I carried everything including my backpacker guitar.

In keeping with our typical style we didn't leave the trail head till about 4pm, and because we had a four year old on a sled along we didn't make it to the ridge until dark.  Which ended up working out well, because it meant that I had a chance to shoot a few hand held moon photos.

The first night we had the hut to ourselves and had a great time catching up with old friends and singing around the fire.  The next day I slept in because I was getting over a cold.  After a relaxing morning waiting for the the sun to soften the snow.  Four of us strapped on our climbing skins and hiked up one of the flanks of Castle Peak for some turns.  It was supper windy and icy on top, but we had classic spring skiing once we descended from the ridge.

After skiing and some full contact sledding I hiked out to wait for the sunset.  Which again worked out to be one of those times were I was very glad to have VR even on my tiny tripod to counteract the raging wind.  We ended the night with a couple glasses of wine and lots of guitar. 

All in all a great time recharging my personal batteries and doing some photo shoots with some great friends.

Grand Canyon image used by the North American Nature Photography Association

It was an honor the other day to find out that my photo of Elves Chasm was used by the North American Nature Photography Association for their homepage.  This image was in the top group selected during their national photography contest.

Winter Hot Springs

In my continued effort to efforts to create unique hot springs images for an up coming article I photographed some friends at sunrise this past weekend at one of the many Eastern Sierra hot springs.  Having shot lots of other images for the story, I have been trying to find ways to show a complete story.  Having been at this location at sunrise once before I visioned how different it would feel with with fresh snow and a full moon setting over the Sierra. 

Well best laid plaid plans only go so far.  As the date of the photoshoot neared I could tell we were not going to have fresh snow.  After talking with my friends and finding out that despite no new snow the hot springs still had snow surrounding them, I decided to make the 5hr drive for the shoot.  In the space of one hour we captured several new images including the one that I had visualized the previous spring while sitting in the tub with my wife Jen. 

Unexpected Image

I have been working on shooting several specific images for a book project on the Sierra this past year.  As a result I have been keeping track of the when and where the moon will be over specific peaks in the range.  Having been skunked before at Mt. Whitney, I planned a trip with a photographer friend this past week hoping to capture the moon setting over Whitney.  After spending a cold night sleeping under the stars we headed to our pre-scouted location and finally nailed a book worthy Whitney image.



Knowing the Whitney image was in the bag and with a couple days left we decided to try out some other locations on the East Side that were less of a guarantee.  

I find that I spend far more energy scouting and researching locations than I actually spend shooting, but sometimes you have to be willing to throw out your well laid plans if the conditions call for it. 

In the case of this B&W image we scouted the location before dinner, and I went to bed knowing my shot was a horizontal reflection with trees framing the peaks.  After getting frustrated when my horizontal pre-planned image wasn't working out, I gave up and started exploring the cottonwoods on the other side of the pond.  It wasn't till a cloud blocked the sun on the Sierras that I really started seeing my composition.  I quickly rushed back around the pond and shot three frames while the trees were lit, and the background was shadowed.   

I have several other strong images from the session after the clouds cleared, but I just couldn't get away from the drama of light in this one.  I started working the file in my normal color style, but was left unsatisfied.  It wasn't till I was asked for a possible B&W Sierra cover images by a magazine that I began exploring it as a B&W.  As soon as I converted it to B&W I saw the drama of light that the color image was missing.  So I guess the lesson I will take from this is to look at the world as both color and black and white, and not be so hung up on my "style".