Below you'll find a list of all posts from 2010
Mt. Alice, Seward, Alaska.
The mountains around Seward still have heavy amounts of snow, but down low, most of it is gone and green leaves are just beginning to emerge from a largely brown landscape. As I sit here right now watching a heavy rain come down, it is hard to believe that in just over a month the brown landscape will be transformed to this! The transformation that takes place during the change of seasons never ceases to amaze me.
Desert Bighorn statues, Borrego Springs, California.
I would like to say that I captured some wonderful interaction between Bighorns in killer light – but, these are just two of the many full sized metal statues that can be found throughout the Borrego Springs area.
Nothing too exciting going on here right now – we are spending a lot of time in the office editing, keywording and adjusting photos from our last trip, like this one. I will likely share a few more in the days to come.
A whimbrel working the shoreline in a light rain, Seward, Alaska.
Yesterday morning, seven whimbrels landed briefly in our front yard. Yesterday evening I went out and worked the coast for a bit and wouldn’t you know it, found a group of seven whimbrels! This photo is of one of them as I laid still in the rain and mud. Later that evening, as I began to drive back to the house I spotted a group of – you guessed it, seven whimbrels flying overhead and off into the distance to the north.
Coincidence, or was I seeing the same birds each time? As I thanked them and bid them a farewell, my simple, fairy tale mind likes to think it was the same birds each time. 🙂
Sabino Canyon, near Tucson, Arizona and about 45 minutes before a dark hike down this same hillside.
Ron Richins asked this great question recently:
I just saw your last post about SabinoCanyon. I also saw your post awhile ago about Tower Arch. The one thing they have in common is that you hiked out in the dark from each location. Do you have a lot of experience doing this, and does it get easier the more you do it? I’ve only done a few hikes after dark, and they can be quite unnerving. I wonder if you could share some tips about hiking prudently after dark. A headlamp’s a must, but beyond that, what else do you do? Do you follow tracks left by a GPS? Or, am I just letting fear rule me more than reason? This might make for an interesting blog post.
Actually, I don’t do too much hiking in the dark especially in Alaska. Last summer I actually spent one night only a mile from my home in a tent rather then hike through a pitch dark bear infested forest. 🙂 There are enough bears around here already – but at night, it seems like every dark stump turns into a bear!
It was in Colorado and Rocky Mountain National Park that I really began doing dark hikes. There, spending the night wasn’t an option because of restrictions, permits etc., so long hikes in the dark was the only way to be at many locations for sunrise or sunset. It was easy down there thanks to well marked, well worn trails. It worked out so well, that I began doing it in other areas – places like Moab and Tucson like you observed.
So here are some observations:
– Be extra observant for visual clues, junctions etc. Even familiar trails look very different in the dark. It much, much easier to get lost or miss a trail in the darkness. Reliable visual references such as mountains and other land features are often impossible to see in the dark.
– Dark hiking is slow. Even though it seems like I’m hiking really fast, I’m not! Allow extra time even on a trail you are familiar – like 25% extra time.
– A headlamp is a must. Unlike a flashlight, a headlamp keeps both hands free, and always places the beam of light exactly where you are looking – which is where you want it!
– I use an old Petzl. During my last visit to REI I was really tempted to purchase this much brighter version:
Petzl Tactkka Plus LED headlamp The thing I really like about the Tactikka Plus is the red filter which allows you to maintain your night vision. I think that feature would be wonderful for night photography – star trails and northern lights. Keeping your night vision while still having enough light to set up the camera would be a huge benefit.
– Be sure your headlamps batteries are charged or fresh.
– I carry a small can of bear spray. I don’t remember where I bought this small can of spray – I think it might have been at a Bass Pro Shop. I wouldn’t want such a small can in Alaska, but in the Southwest where I’m more concerned about mountain lions and people, I think it is a great size.
– I make sure I know where I’m going. I carefully look over maps and have a good feel for distances between junctions, directions etc. I haven’t used my GPS on a night hike, but it probably isn’t a bad idea. It would have been nice for our hike out from Tower Arch in Arches because the distance between cairns was greater then our light beam. Fortunately on that hike I wasn’t alone. I had Janine stop at the last cairn with her lamp, while I hiked out until I could find the next pile of rocks, then she could hike back toward my light and we repeated. It was slow, but safe – especially given the steepness of the final hill. A GPS cookie trail would have come in handy.
– Go with a friend. Not only is it safer like in the situation above, but it also makes it more fun and less spooky. If I’m talking with someone then my mind is less likely to turn every stump into a monster like my mind does when I’m alone!
– Be extra prepared. I usually bring an extra shell or jacket, trail bars and water just in case I have to wait until morning to find my way.
I know what you are saying about how unnerving it can be when hiking in the dark – it is for me as well. But, it does seem to get easier the more I do it. I don’t think I will ever get to the level of comfort as I found in a young couple from South Africa. I was camped late one summer night on the edge of the Harding Icefield in Alaska. At 1:00 a.m in the total darkness they showed up without even a flashlight. There are so many bears on that trail during the day, I can’t imagine making that long hike in the dark. When I asked them about it the next day they just shrugged it off like it was nothing.
Dark conditions like this scene from Seward earlier this winter is one time I can be "fooled" by the back of the camera preview.
Samantha Orchard provided me this Ask Ron question:
Do you check the in-camera histogram and/or the overexposure warning
option (blinking pixels) after you take a photograph? Or do you just look
at the image on the screen to determine if you need to use exposure
compensation, take exposure-bracketed shots, or otherwise re-adjust your
camera settings when you try the shot again?
Great question. I set my camera to blink when there are flashing highlights – a camera setting available on many cameras. Looking for “blinkies” is one of the first things I will do when evaluating an exposure as this represents lost data. If I need to, I can usually recover detail in an underexposed area, but never in an overexposed “blinker”.
But, I try to always look at the histogram making sure the “mountain” of data isn’t getting cut off by being too far to the right (overexposed), or too far to the left (underexposed).
If I don’t look at the historgram and just judge exposure by how the image on the LCD looks, I find that I will often underexpose the photo when I’m working in dark conditions, presumably because the screen appears so bright compared to my dark surroundings. Likewise, if it is really bright out I have trouble seeing the image on the back of the camera unless it is overexposed – so I find I tend to overexpose. With the histogram I get a more objective measure of exposure – one that isn’t influenced by the viewing conditions.
If you have any questions about photography / locations etc., then you might want to check out Ask Ron.
Gallery wrapped canvas print of the Copper River Delta, Chugach National Forrest, Alaska.
I am very, very honored to have an image selected for the Alaska Art Bank. The State of Alaska hasn’t added to their art collection since 2001, and only selected 17 pieces of art out of 556 entries from 110 Alaskan artists! I am so proud to be included among such a small group of artists.
I captured this photo a couple of years ago from a helicopter with the door removed. I have shot from helicopters many times in Alaska and California – it is a blast!
We don’t offer canvas wraps on our on-line shopping cart, but have had a number of people special order them – they turn our great, and are ready for hanging.
A break in the stormy weather last night over Resurrection Bay, Seward, Alaska.
When we left the desert, someone made the comment about looking forward to seeing more images from our home / office – well, here is anther look at that ever changing, amazing view! This is a view I never get tired of looking at.
It was a year ago where I did a post after discovering the fun one item at a time outdoor gear website Steep and Cheap. I did a follow up post months later where I shared a little page I created for Janine and a few friends listing the numerous daily outdoor gear deals.
As time went on, I began to see some potential in the outdoor gear website. Since we already were paying for our own server, it would be easy to expand the website. Problem is, I prefer spending my time outdoors behind a camera, and not indoors in front of a computer screen. So we decided to hire Digital West Media – these are the folks behind the wonderful website Desert USA.
Well long story short, the crew at Digital West Media were wonderful to work with and did a fantastic job! Check it out: Outdoor-Gear-Deals.com
Ocotillo in bloom two weeks ago in Anza Borrego Desert State Park, California.
Ironically, I did a better job of keeping up with the photo blog while on the road. Seems like we have been really busy since we have returned home with different business opportunities and general catching up – but, I’m not complaining!
I might not post every week day like I normally do over the next few weeks, but I do have a long list of topics, and a couple of great ask Ron topics, so do stay tuned!
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