January 26th, 2012
I try a ton of new software as it comes out, either for reviews in articles I write or because something looks really good. Topaz Adjust 5 is better than just good, it is fantastic! This plugin offers a variety of actions and effects, but what I really like is the effect it has on my landscape shots.
Here is an example. This image was taken last week in Yellowstone. We had a lot of overcast skies, so there wasn’t much contrast and pop to the images. I ran the ‘heavy grunge’ HDR effect on this shot, and one click I had a much nicer image (the image at top). This program is inexpensive, and a great way to spice up your image with one click. I also use Alien Skin Exposure 3 to add effects. My favorite is their Velvia action.
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January 23rd, 2012
Winter in Yellowstone is one of my favorite places. The crowds are gone, the landscape is serene, and snow hangs in the trees. Some years we have average snow levels on this workshop, …and then there was this year.
We arrived with scattered snow showers and some sun, and left 6 days later with 3 feet or more of snow on the ground. Roads closed, avalanches fell, and the shooting was fantastic! While it would have been nice to have had more sun, I always look at “bad weather as good weather” when it comes to photography. We were presented with a unique shooting situation, and the participants capitalized on the situation.
We found a dead elk in the river, which attracted a lot of predators including eagles, wolves and this coyote. The coyote swam the Firehole River multiple times, and was very comfortable with photographers nearby. Our group created incredible coyote images!
A few tips on winter shooting. 1) Autofocus will not work in blowing snow, expect to use manual focus. 2) Lens hoods are critical in keeping snow from accumulating on your front glass, use them. 3) Grabber heat packs keep fingers and toes warm. 4) Lenses squeak when it gets below zero, but work just fine. 5) Push your histogram to the right to capture white snow, not gray snow.
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January 11th, 2012
Sometimes it is good just to turn off the phone and disconnect from WiFi. Mission accomplished. I just returned from St. John in the Virgin Islands, this trip was part vacation and part work. I shot a few stories while I was here, including a really fun surfer portrait that will be in an upcoming issue of Light It magazine, stay tuned!
The colors are hard to imagine in this area, a tapestry of aquas and greens. And the clouds are always interesting as well and help fill in the skies. I use a Singh-Ray LB Color Polarizer regularly, and it really helps the colors pop in scenes like this. This filter is both polarizer and enhancing filter, and my go-to polarizing filter.
This filter also helps eliminate water glare. Scenes like this really come to life using this filter.
I was also using my AquaTech housing for my D300s and 24-70mm lens. This housing lets me use longer lenses since they make ports for lens like the 24-70mm. Another thing I really like about this housing is it is much smaller than many dive housings, much easier to carry it on the plane. This sea turtle swam underneath as I was snorkeling, but my longer lens allowed me to get a close shot.
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December 31st, 2011
2011 was a great year for us, lots of interesting assignments, great workshops around the globe, and the release of my first book, Adventure Sports Photography, Creating Dramatic Images in Wild Places. I always like to look back on my favorite images of the year and see what was working, what I learned, and what I still needed to work on in my photography. Photography is an evolving process, both in learning and style. That is what drives photographers, the desire to always create something new and different. Complacency creates mediocrity.
My year started off with a 5000 mile road trip shooting an assignment for Nikon. I covered 8 states photographing a wide variety of adventure sports including rock climbing, mnt biking, running, surfing, snowshoeing and skiing. During a break in the surfing action, I set up my 74″ foot Octabank and snapped a few portraits of surfers. I’m not usually a big fan of symmetrical compositions, but I really liked this image and the moody clouds in the background. One big simple light, a good pose and expression, and an interesting background all came together.
My next assignment came from Scott Kelby to shoot some wild and fun winter sports images for a training video for Kelby Training. We shot a wide variety of images including sequence shots of incredible jumps. Hard to beat photographing this activity on a prefect sunny blue bird day in Colorado.
I shoot a wide variety of images from portraits to sports to landscapes. I returned to Yellowstone in winter for my 5th year of teaching a workshop (sold out every year!). Winter is magical in Yellowstone; the amazing ice crystals and snow formations that drape the trees in the geyser basins never stop amazing me. This shot was at Black Sand Basin.
This was the year of shooting for my book, and experimenting with new technology and technique. I did extensive testing of Pocket Wizard’s Hypersync which allowed me to shoot my Elinchrom Ranger packs at 1/8000 of second, unheard performance until this technology came into the picture. I combined this ability with new gear by Aquatech that allowed me to shoot underwater high speed sync photography using my Ranger. This image represented a new frontier in adventure sports photography for me. And thanks to Patrick (the kayaker) who can surf a kayak with more precision in a raging hole than anyone I know.
I continued to experiment with lighting and pushing technique into new directions. With the help of Manfrotto and Elinchrom, I fine tuned my ‘vertical studio’ to shoot edgy rock climbing images up on the face. I returned to Sinks Canyon to create this shot with some NOLS instructors. I worked in the field for NOLS for many years, and it was great to go back to see old friends and familiar crags.
What does 2012 have in store for me? Lot’s of new and exciting projects are in the works! I’m going to start off 2012 shooting an assignment in the Virgin Islands next week…things are off to a good start!
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December 28th, 2011
If you are an iPad user, check out the lastest issue of Light It magazine. My friend and fellow photographer Steve Glass took this image of me photographing a climber near Fort Collins. We did this shoot for the magazine to demonstrate my ‘vertical studio’ lighting technique for creating edgy climbing photos.
Light It offers a wealth of lighting tips in each issue, everything from speedlight technique to large strobe setups. If you are interested in learning more lighting techniques, take a peek at this online magazine.
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December 19th, 2011
Thanks to everyone for all the positive feedback on my book! It is great to see this book at the bookstores and online after putting a lot of work into it. Since it is the holiday shopping season, you now can get a great deal on my book at Peachpit. Go here to order my book, and at step 3 in checkout enter FALLPHOTO and you will get 35% off! Time to fill those stockings and add a few new presents under the tree!
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December 9th, 2011
I’ll be doing a webinar Tuesday the 13th at 2-3PM Eastern time next week with Manfrotto. I’ll be showing a number of images, and talking about what goes into creating them. Topics from available light to using strobe in remote locations will included. And of course I’ll talk about Priscilla and her huge yellow python! To join the discussion, go here.
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December 7th, 2011
The snow is coming down here in Colorado, winter has arrived. This is perfect timing for my latest photography training video, which just posted at Kelby Training. We had a blast last year creating this video. Scott Kelby, Matt Kloskowski and Adam Rohrmann all came out for the shoot. The day before the shoot Scott and Matt got some shooting in, and it just happened to coincide with a huge snowstorm! We worked with some pro snowboarders and skiers for the shoot, and had a nice mix of weather for the video.
The training video goes into detail on shooting in cold, snowy environments. If you shoot any subject matter outside in the winter, you should pick up a few tips from the video. We covered a lot of material including portraits, powder shots, cliff jumps, super pipe aerial shots, high speed sync and packing gear to work in the snow. We also shot huge jumps, and did a tutorial on how to seam the frames into one shot in photoshop. Here is a promo video on the class.
If you have never checked out Kelby Training, you should take a look. There are over a hundred classes on a wide variety of topics from photography technique, photoshop and lightroom technique, light painting, video…the list goes on and on. The best part is you can try it out for a month for under $25 bucks. If you like it, you can sign up for a year for $200. New classes are added weekly. I honestly can’t think of a better value in photography training. You watch when you want, as many times as you want, anywhere you have your computer and the internet. A great holiday gift for the photographer.
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November 28th, 2011
I was excited to come home the other day and find the first copy of my book sitting on my front door step. This has been a year in the making, and a great project. My friends at Peachpit and Kelby Training encouraged me to put all my adventure sports and outdoor photography into a written form, so here it is.
Adventure Sports Photography; Creating Dramatic Images in Wild Places mixes technique, personal stories and outtakes from many assignments I’ve had through the years. This book covers in-depth composition, image design, equipment, portraits, lighting, video and my workflow. Hopefully everyone will find some useful information in this book. I also covered some of the new high speed sync flash technique, underwater shooting, northern lights photography and how to seam together action sequence images. I also give some self assignments to help photographers develop their creativity and find their style. You can get it at discounted prices here, just in time for the holidays! Thanks to everyone who made this book a reality…
I will also be opening my blog to comments now that we have a spam filter in place. I get many responses via email to technique blog posts, so the comments section should be valuable for more information on these posts.
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November 22nd, 2011
I’m still cleaning out the dust from my shoot in the desert near Las Vegas. I was shooting with strobes in 30+ mph winds, and using an octabank. I shoot in a lot of windy places, and have developed a few tricks that help dealing with the wind. Give these a try on your next windy shoot.
1. Work with a model who can take the punishment! The wind in vegas was strong enough to blow someone over. Most models wouldn’t get out of the car. But Priscilla was tough, she had no problem belly dancing with a python in a dust storm. Honestly, I was thinking of calling it quits, and I’m the crusty mountaineer from Alaska.
2. Use two stands for one light. After adding 40 pounds of sand to my 39 inch deep octabank, it still was blowing over and the light was twisting in the wind. To solve this problem, I added another stand with the bar pressing tight against the light. This kept the light from twisting.
3. Use your packs as sandbags. I often use my Rangers as weights on my light stands, just hook them off a knob on the stand. Or twist the strap around the stand. Without Rangers weighting the other stand down it would have blown over.
4. Use the wind to your advantage. If the wind is really strong, it will determine your shooting angle, don’t fight it. Priscilla had long veils that were blowing in the wind, so I had to shoot from an angle that the veils would stretch across the frame. This shot wouldn’t work straight into the wind.
5. Use cars as a wind break. If you have two vehicles, park them at 90 degree angles and create a calm shooting space in the lee of the cars. This works pretty well at reducing the wind.
6. Have you model get low to the ground. Priscilla tried some poses on the desert floor, and these worked well and eliminated the blowing hair and veil. Once again the wind directed the shoot.
In the end you have to work with the conditions you are given. The last thing to do on a windy day is call it quits. Who knows what unexpected angle will happen. Good images are made in the field, not in the coffee shop wishing the wind would stop. Go out and shoot, you may find the wind isn’t all that bad.
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