Outdoor Photographer - November 2016
Outdoor Photographer - November 2016
Outdoor Photographer - November 2016
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10 Creative Ways To Use Changing Weather | Night Photography Tips<br />
SCENIC WILDLIFE TRAVEL SPORTS outdoorphotographer.com<br />
UNDER<br />
THESTARS<br />
EXPLORE<br />
NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY<br />
Time-Lapse<br />
MeteorShowers<br />
Gear&Tips<br />
+<br />
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RAW Workflow<br />
TRAVEL<br />
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NOVEMBER<strong>2016</strong><br />
VOL.32 NO.10<br />
®<br />
T<br />
•FEATURES•<br />
32 STAR STRUCK<br />
How Shane Black got hooked<br />
on bringing still images to life<br />
through time-lapse photography<br />
By Mark Edward Harris / Photography By Shane Black<br />
32<br />
38 SHOOTING METEOR SHOWERS<br />
Techniques to create a single image that<br />
captures the experience of this celestial phenomenon<br />
Text & Photography By Glenn Randall<br />
42 THE MAGIC OF LIGHT’S EDGES<br />
Use stormy weather and atmospheric<br />
conditions to your creative advantage<br />
Text & Photography By Dave Welling<br />
56 BEHIND THE SHOT:<br />
LOST LAKE MILKY WAY<br />
Mount Hood, Oregon<br />
Text & Photography By Kevin Shearer<br />
38 42<br />
58 THE EASTERN SIERRA<br />
Explore the many opportunities for dramatic<br />
landscape photography on the sunrise side<br />
of California’s Sierra Nevada mountains<br />
Text & Photography By Gary Hart<br />
66 GEAR FOR NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY<br />
Essential equipment for shooting stars<br />
and landscapes after dark<br />
By The Editors<br />
•HOW-TO•<br />
58<br />
50 RAW WORKFLOW IN<br />
LIGHTROOM: PART THREE<br />
Developing a creative worklow<br />
Text & Photography By Jason Bradley<br />
2 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com<br />
More On Next Page ▸
The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Nikon Corporation and its Affiliates is under license.<br />
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®<br />
•EQUIPMENT•<br />
26<br />
68 NIKON D500<br />
Hands-on with Nikon’s top DX-format DSLR<br />
Text & Photography By Tony Rowell<br />
COLUMNS<br />
24 Tech Tips<br />
Equipment<br />
Considerations<br />
By George D. Lepp<br />
& Kathryn Vincent Lepp<br />
26 The Big Picture<br />
Scorched Beauty<br />
By Amy Gulick<br />
28 Photo Adventure<br />
The Creative Road<br />
By Bill Hatcher<br />
DEPARTMENTS<br />
7 Cover Shot<br />
10 In This Issue<br />
12 Showcase<br />
16 In Focus<br />
30 Favorite Places:<br />
Schwabacher’s Landing,<br />
Grand Teton National Park,<br />
Wyoming<br />
71 Classes, Tours & Workshops<br />
80 Last Frame<br />
20<br />
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4 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com
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EDITORIAL<br />
Wes Pitts<br />
Editorial Director, Creative Division<br />
Kristan Ashworth<br />
Associate Editor<br />
George D. Lepp<br />
Field Editor<br />
David Schloss<br />
Contributing Technical Editor<br />
COLUMNISTS<br />
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Amy Gulick, Bill Hatcher,<br />
Dewitt Jones, Frans Lanting,<br />
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6 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com
cover shot<br />
QUALITY THAT LASTS<br />
<strong>Photographer</strong>: Shane Black<br />
Location: Near the summit of Mauna<br />
Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii.<br />
Equipment: Canon EOS 5D Mark<br />
III, Canon EF 24mm ƒ/1.4L II<br />
USM, Vanguard carbon fiber tripod<br />
and ballhead.<br />
Situation: You can ind some of the<br />
darkest skies you’ll ever see on the Big<br />
Island of Hawaii. Adding in the factor of<br />
being on a dormant volcano and nearly<br />
14,000 feet closer to space just makes<br />
it even better. I was hoping to shoot the<br />
night sky from the summit with some of<br />
the telescopes, but unfortunately rangers<br />
came around after sunset asking people<br />
to start making their way down so that<br />
no headlights would interfere with the<br />
telescopes or the telescope operators<br />
once it got dark.<br />
While driving down from the summit,<br />
I could see that we were getting<br />
close to driving into the layer of fog.<br />
I had the urge to pull over and snap<br />
some photos so I didn’t leave empty-handed.<br />
A faint moon had just set,<br />
letting the Milky Way really start to<br />
shine in the cold, clear light-pollution-free<br />
air. Luckily enough, it just<br />
so happened to be lined up perfectly<br />
over Mauna Loa, another volcano on<br />
the Big Island. I decided to step into a<br />
frame to help add a sense of scale and<br />
wonder to the photo.<br />
–Shane Black<br />
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8 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com
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in this issue<br />
I made a rookie mistake<br />
my irst time trying night<br />
photography and forgot<br />
to remove my polarizer,<br />
which cut the light and<br />
required a higher ISO<br />
setting. Despite that, I still<br />
captured several images<br />
in Joshua Tree National<br />
Park that I like a lot. This<br />
one was taken about<br />
an hour after sunset.<br />
Nikon D750, AF-S NIKKOR<br />
24-120mm ƒ/4G ED VR,<br />
B+W Kaesemann Circular<br />
Polarizer, Gitzo Traveler<br />
tripod. Exposure: 29 secs.,<br />
ƒ/4, ISO 4000.<br />
Interest in night photography has exploded in recent years,<br />
in part because of the increasing ability of cameras like the<br />
Nikon D500 (which Tony Rowell reviewed for us in this issue)<br />
to capture low-noise images during long exposures. <strong>Photographer</strong>s<br />
are discovering the opportunities to keep shooting<br />
after the sun goes down, exploring moonlit landscapes with<br />
starry backdrops.<br />
Shane Black left his job to spend a summer traveling across<br />
32 states with two friends, covering more than 13,000 miles<br />
along the way. His time-lapse video from the trip, “Adventure<br />
Is Calling,” which featured extensive nighttime sequences went<br />
viral with more than 1.2 million views and counting. Mark<br />
Edward Harris interviewed Black for this issue, and their conversation<br />
in “Star Struck” touches on his time-lapse and night<br />
photography techniques, as well as the career opportunities that<br />
this work has brought him, including creating time-lapse jump<br />
scenes for the Fox reality show “True Grit.”<br />
Capturing and expressing the spectacle of meteor showers<br />
like the Perseids and Geminids in a single image requires an<br />
exposure stacking technique, which Glenn Randall explains in<br />
“Shooting Meteor Showers.” Randall notes that the Geminids will<br />
peak this year around December 13 to 14, so there’s still time to<br />
plan a shoot somewhere away from the light pollution of a city.<br />
Though it may seem intimidating until you’ve tried it, you<br />
don’t need a lot of technical experience or specialized gear to get<br />
started taking photos of starry skies. A basic starting exposure<br />
is 15-30 seconds, ƒ/4 at ISO 1500 for sharp stars (any longer<br />
than 30 seconds and you’ll start to see trails). If trails are what<br />
you’re after, then exposures of 30 minutes or longer are needed.<br />
In terms of gear, you probably already own the most important<br />
piece of gear: a tripod. Add to that a remote shutter release and<br />
you have the basic kit. There are additional accessories that can<br />
help you be more creative if night photography appeals to you,<br />
which we feature in “Gear For Night Photography.”<br />
This time of year is a season of changing weather, where<br />
stormy skies give way to dramatic lighting on the landscape.<br />
Dave Welling considers multiple ways to use these conditions<br />
to capture “The Magic Of Light’s Edges,” which Welling<br />
describes as “Those amazing lighting effects created by weather<br />
or atmospheric conditions that give you the ability to create<br />
truly magniicent images of the landscape.”<br />
Also in this issue is Part Three of Jason Bradley’s series,<br />
“RAW Worklow In Lightroom.” In this installment, Bradley<br />
presents his approach to developing a personal, creative worklow<br />
in Lightroom, and suggests 10 questions we should ask ourselves<br />
before processing an image. Though he walks us through some<br />
of the key tools and adjustments to know, Bradley emphasizes,<br />
“Your knowledge of the tools in the Lightroom Develop Module<br />
isn’t nearly as important as having clarity on your image’s<br />
subject, what your image is about, what feeling you want to<br />
convey or what mood you want to project … Just duplicating a<br />
technique you saw in an online video won’t be enough.”<br />
In our Travel feature, Gary Hart takes us on a tour of California’s<br />
Eastern Sierra. “It would be dificult to ind any place<br />
in the world with a more diverse selection of natural beauty,”<br />
says Hart. Though this region is beautiful year-round, the transition<br />
from fall to early winter is an ideal time to make a visit.<br />
Hart provides a turn-by-turn guide to many of the area’s most<br />
picturesque destinations.<br />
–Wes Pitts, Editor<br />
Questions, comments? Email us at editors@outdoorphotographer.com.<br />
10 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com
Kerik Kouklis<br />
Photo By Kerik Kouklis<br />
This photograph was made during a night photography trip to Joshua Tree National Park. I was wearing a headlamp with a red LED and<br />
carrying a green handheld laser. I strolled through the scene from the right to the left, pointing the laser at the ground. It took several<br />
tries before I got what I wanted.<br />
Sony a7R II, Tamron SP 24-70mm F/2.8 Di VC USD. Exposure: 30 sec., ƒ/4, ISO 4000.<br />
12 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com
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Photo By Jason Bradley<br />
A nighttime scenic at Hidden Valley in Joshua Tree National Park, taken at the annual Bradley Photographic Joshua Tree Workshop. This<br />
effect was created by painting light onto the rocks and the back of the Joshua tree with a small snooted Maglite.<br />
Nikon D800E, AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm F2.8G ED. Exposure: 24 sec., ƒ/4, ISO 1600.<br />
14 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com
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with the FlatHat Collapsible Drone<br />
Pad. With colorful patterns to provide<br />
a high-visibility landing target, they’re<br />
lightweight, portable and made of<br />
heavy-duty fabric that stretches over a<br />
lexible frame. Available in two sizes, the<br />
16-inch pad is great for mini and nanosized<br />
drones, while the 32-inch version<br />
is ideal for mid-size drones in the size<br />
range of the DJI Phantom 3. For drones<br />
with “return home” capability, the 32-<br />
inch pad can be designated as such.<br />
List Price: $19 (16-inch); $39 (32-inch).<br />
Contact: FlatHat Labs, lathatlabs.com.<br />
FAST-DEPLOYING DRONE<br />
GoPro’s irst drone, the Karma, might<br />
be a game changer for the actioncamera<br />
company. Introduced along with<br />
the new Hero5 Black and the Hero5<br />
Session, the Karma is designed for an<br />
easy out-of-the-box experience, with no<br />
parts to attach. Fold out propeller arms<br />
and landing gear, and the Karma is<br />
ready to go. The Karma Stabilizer is its<br />
three-axis gimbal system, which can be<br />
removed and mounted to the included<br />
Karma Grip for handheld or gearmounted<br />
shots. The Karma weighs just<br />
2.2 pounds (without battery, controller,<br />
gimbal or accessories) and its perfectly<br />
into its specially designed backpack.<br />
List Price: $799 (Karma only); $1,099<br />
(Karma with Hero5 Black). Contact:<br />
GoPro, gopro.com.<br />
SUPPORT FOR<br />
SMARTPHONES<br />
With innovations like the new<br />
dual camera in the iPhone 7 Plus,<br />
smartphones are becoming a more<br />
attractive option for high-quality<br />
images. Accessories like the Really<br />
Right Stuff Mobile Phone Clamp<br />
enhance your ability to get creative.<br />
Adjustable to accommodate most<br />
phones, its jaws are angled inward<br />
with a rubber bumper to protect and grip the device. The hex<br />
key used for adjustments stores conveniently in the clamp<br />
itself, held in place with two magnets. Once the jaws are sized<br />
to it your phone, simply twist the knob to lock the phone in<br />
place. Sockets on the side and back allow for mounting to<br />
a tripod. List Price: From $70. Contact: Really Right Stuff,<br />
reallyrightstuff.com.<br />
EARTH-FRIENDLY<br />
CUSTOM HOLIDAY CARDS<br />
Customize your season’s greetings with Bay Photo’s 80#<br />
Art Linen “Green” Press Printed Cards. Showcase your<br />
best photos from the year on high-quality, recycled paper<br />
with a ine linen texture that’s manufactured using wind<br />
power. The cards are available in a variety of sizes and<br />
styles, with both horizontal and vertical formats. Design<br />
your cards using free drag-and-drop templates or create<br />
your own, with four- or six-color printing options and 12<br />
envelope styles and colors that can be pre-printed with<br />
your return address. Price varies by coniguration and<br />
quantity ordered. Contact: Bay Photo, bayphoto.com.<br />
16 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com
Holiday Gift Guide<br />
READY-TO-HANG,<br />
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printed and protected under acrylic glass.<br />
WhiteWall’s ultraHD Photo Print Under<br />
Acrylic Glass process uses acclimatized paper,<br />
which minimizes laser dispersal during printing to<br />
produce beautifully sharp, vibrant prints. These<br />
are mounted under 2mm or 4mm of acrylic<br />
glass, which is said to accentuate the depth and<br />
colors of the image. Set on Aluminum Dibond<br />
backing with an optional wall mount, this readyto-hang<br />
image just upped the “wow” factor.<br />
List Price: From $12. Contact: WhiteWall,<br />
us.whitewall.com.<br />
A REFINED APPROACH TO HDR<br />
Macphun’s Aurora HDR 2017 offers a wide range of options for<br />
HDR imaging, now with Batch Processing. A new Tone-Mapping<br />
Engine helps keep images looking more realistic and natural by better<br />
handling tone, contrast and details, and reducing noise. Contrast,<br />
vibrance and warmth sliders have been added to the Adjustment<br />
Panel, and there’s also a new Polarizing Filter, Signature Pro presets,<br />
faster RAW processing, DNG support and more. List Price: $99.<br />
Contact: Macphun, aurorahdr.com.<br />
EXTREME NEUTRAL<br />
DENSITY<br />
Shoot longer exposures midday in the<br />
brightest, harshest light with the Lee<br />
Filter 15-Stop Super Stopper. This<br />
glass ND ilter reduces the light entering<br />
the lens by 15 stops, making effects<br />
like blurring the movement of water<br />
possible any time of day. Available for<br />
the 100mm, SW150 and Sev5n ilter<br />
ranges. List Price: $85 (Sev5n); $150<br />
(100mm); $175 (SW150). Contact: Lee<br />
Filters, leeilters.com.<br />
QUILTED LENS<br />
PROTECTION<br />
When you want to travel light, lens<br />
pouches like the Tamrac Goblin<br />
protect your glass in a day pack or<br />
an oversized pocket. They feature<br />
a custom quilted interior that’s<br />
ultrasonically fused for padded<br />
protection and a nylon exterior designed<br />
to resist tearing or ripping. Easy access<br />
to the lens is possible via the drawstring<br />
enclosure. They’re available in three<br />
colors and six sizes, accommodating<br />
up to a 24-70mm. List Price: $12-$22.<br />
Contact: Tamrac, tamrac.com.<br />
ALL-WEATHER<br />
CAMERA COVER<br />
A waterproof camera cover is a smart<br />
accessory to have on hand year-round,<br />
but especially in the wetter, colder<br />
months. Peak Design’s Shell Camera<br />
Cover defends against water, snow,<br />
dust and abrasion with its form-itting,<br />
stretchable design that can be used<br />
with your camera handheld, mounted<br />
to a tripod or stowed away in a bag.<br />
Both ends of the cover have drawstring<br />
closures for access to the viewinder<br />
and controls that cinch tightly for<br />
storage. Available in three sizes. List<br />
Price: From $39. Contact: Peak<br />
Design, peakdesign.com.<br />
18 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com
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PHOTOKINA<br />
The world’s largest photo expo, Photokina is a biennial event<br />
in Cologne, Germany, and major product announcements are<br />
often timed around it. Here are some of the most exciting new<br />
cameras and lenses showcased at this year’s Photokina.<br />
BEST CANON MIRRORLESS YET<br />
Canon’s APS-C mirrorless system, EOS M, took a big<br />
step forward with the new EOS M5, which is capable of<br />
recording up to seven frames per second (or nine fps with<br />
focus locked) at the full resolution of its 24.2MP APC-C<br />
sensor. It also features Canon’s Dual Pixel CMOS AF,<br />
which provides sensor-based phase-detection autofocus,<br />
a technology also found in Canon’s recent DSLRs like the<br />
lagship EOS-1D X Mark II. The EOS M5 is also the irst M<br />
system camera with a built-in eye-level EVF, a feature that<br />
greatly enhances a camera’s usability in bright outdoor<br />
environments. Another interesting development is the<br />
addition of Combination IS image stabilization in-camera,<br />
which provides 5-axis stabilization when shooting video<br />
and can augment the beneits of lens-based IS systems.<br />
Canon also introduced a new lens for the M system, the<br />
EF-M 18-150mm ƒ/3.5-6.3 IS STM, offering a versatile<br />
wide-to-tele range. List prices: $979 (EOS M5); $499<br />
(EF-M 18-150mm). Contact: Canon, usa.canon.com.<br />
IMPRESSIVELY PRICED<br />
SIGMA 500MM PRIME<br />
Sigma has three new lenses: the 85mm F1.4 DG HSM<br />
Art, 12-24mm F4 DG HSM Art, and the 500mm F4 DG<br />
OS HSM Sport. All three lenses will be available in Canon,<br />
Nikon and Sigma mounts. The Nikon mount versions<br />
of these lenses also incorporate a new electromagnetic<br />
diaphragm. Arguably the most exciting of the three—<br />
especially for wildlife and sports photographers—is the<br />
500mm F4 DG OS HSM Sport. Retailing for $5,999, it’s not<br />
inexpensive, but its price compares very favorably to the<br />
Canon EF 500mm ƒ/4L IS II USM at $8,999 and the Nikon<br />
AF-S NIKKOR 400mm ƒ/2.8E FL ED VR at $11,199, with<br />
the same ƒ/4 maximum aperture as the Canon. The lens<br />
is compatible with Sigma TC-1401 1.4x and TC-2001 2x<br />
teleconverters, for a telephoto reach of up to 1000mm with<br />
full-frame cameras or approximately 1500mm with APS-C<br />
sensor models. Contact: Sigma, sigmaphoto.com.<br />
FUTURE OF THE LUMIX G SERIES<br />
Panasonic had two new LUMIX G cameras to talk about<br />
at Photokina. The LUMIX G85 is positioned for outdoor<br />
photography, promoting its splash- and dust-proof design. It<br />
features 5-axis Dual I.S. image stabilization and the ability to<br />
capture images at the full 16MP resolution of the sensor at up<br />
to 9 fps with focus locked, or 6 fps with continuous AF. If you<br />
need even faster continuous shooting, the camera also offers<br />
the ability to capture 8-megapixel still images from 4K video<br />
at 30 fps, a feature Panasonic calls “4K Photo.” This stillimage-from-video<br />
technology will be further enhanced in a<br />
new camera currently under development, the LUMIX GH5.<br />
Expected to be available early next year, the GH5 will offer<br />
“6K Photo,” delivering 18-megapixel stills from video. The<br />
G85 will retail for $899, body only; pricing of the GH5 hasn’t<br />
yet been disclosed. Contact: Panasonic, panasonic.com.<br />
20 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com
TOKINA DEBUTS<br />
MIRRORLESS LENS LINE<br />
Considering the popularity of Sony’s<br />
mirrorless cameras, Tokina is expanding<br />
its lens development to include a new<br />
line designed for use with the E-mount<br />
system. The irst lens in the new series,<br />
dubbed FiRIN, is a 20mm F/2.0 FE<br />
MF. While this lens will be manual<br />
focus and manual aperture control, it<br />
will be able to pass focus distance and<br />
aperture information to the camera,<br />
enabling it to take advantage of features<br />
like in-camera image stabilization and<br />
Sony’s Manual Focus Assist. Price<br />
and availability are to be announced.<br />
Contact: Tokina, kenkotokinausa.com.<br />
NEW A-MOUNT<br />
FLAGSHIP FROM SONY<br />
Sony’s lagship SLT camera, the a99, was<br />
introduced four years ago, and in the time<br />
since, most of the big news from Sony<br />
has been around its E-mount mirrorless<br />
systems, especially the full-frame a7<br />
series. Now the A-mount line is getting a<br />
signiicant update in the form of the a99<br />
II, which nearly doubles its predecessor’s<br />
resolution: 42.4MP versus 24.3MP<br />
with the a99. Even more impressive,<br />
the a99 II manages to double the a99’s<br />
capture rate—capable of shooting at 12<br />
fps—despite all of that extra resolution<br />
to record. The a99 II can also record<br />
4K video in XAVC S format with stereo<br />
sound via a built-in microphone or with<br />
select external Sony mics. Other new<br />
features include 5-axis image stabilization<br />
in-camera and a hybrid AF system, which<br />
combines a 79-point phase detection AF<br />
sensor and a 399-point focal-plane phase<br />
detection sensor. List price: $3,200.<br />
Contact: Sony, sony.com.
INCREDIBLY FAST OLYMPUS<br />
When the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II becomes<br />
available, it’s poised to be the fastest still camera, capable<br />
of capturing 20.4MP images at 15 fps with its mechanical<br />
shutter, 18 fps with its electronic shutter and continuous<br />
AF or up to a remarkable 60 fps with its electronic shutter<br />
with AF and AE locked. Paired with a telephoto lens like<br />
the M.Zuiko 300mm f4.0 IS PRO (600mm equivalent),<br />
you have a formidable system for wildlife photography.<br />
The camera also features an advanced Olympus Dual<br />
FAST AF system that will automatically select on-chip<br />
phase detection AF, contrast detection AF or employ both<br />
systems simultaneously. The OM-D E-M1 Mark II will be<br />
weatherproofed and capable of shooting in temperatures<br />
down to 14-degrees Fahrenheit. Price and availability was<br />
not yet announced. Contact: Olympus, getolympus.com.<br />
FUJIFILM MIRRORLESS<br />
MEDIUM FORMAT<br />
Mirrorless medium format may be the next “big” thing in<br />
digital photography. Earlier this year, Hasselblad introduced<br />
the X1D, the irst mirrorless camera with a medium format<br />
sensor. Now Fujiilm, maker of the popular X-series APS-C<br />
mirrorless cameras, is entering the nascent category<br />
with the development of a new camera system, Fujiilm<br />
GFX, and a new Fujinon GF lens line. The irst camera in<br />
the system, expected in “early 2017,” is the GFX 50S, a<br />
51.4MP camera with a unique EVF that can be removed<br />
or repositioned in a variety of angles. The irst six Fujinon<br />
GF lenses will also be released in 2017—though not all at<br />
once—and will include wide-angle to moderate-telephoto<br />
primes, plus a wide zoom. Pricing is to be determined.<br />
Contact: Fujiilm, fujiilmusa.com.<br />
UPDATED TAMRON SUPER-TELE<br />
ZOOM, PLUS TELECONVERTERS<br />
Tamron showed the second generation—denoted<br />
“G2”—of its versatile ultra-telephoto zoom, the SP<br />
150-600mm Di VC USD G2. An ideal range for<br />
wildlife and sports photography, and compatible<br />
with both full-frame and APS-C sensor cameras,<br />
when paired with the latter the lens provides an<br />
incredible 233-930mm focal range. In addition<br />
to a reined exterior design that brings this lens<br />
in line with Tamron’s latest prime lenses, Tamron<br />
notes that the new lens includes improvements to<br />
both AF speed and accuracy, as well as Vibration<br />
Compensation (VC), which now provides up to 4.5<br />
stops of correction. Also new are a 1.4x and a 2x<br />
teleconverter designed speciically for use with<br />
the new SP 150-600mm G2. List prices: $1,399<br />
(150-600mm G2); $419 (1.4x); $439 (2x). Contact:<br />
Tamron, tamron-usa.com.<br />
22 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com
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tech tips<br />
Equipment<br />
Considerations<br />
Carry It Off •<br />
Micro Four Thirds (4:3) Vs. 3:2<br />
By George D. Lepp and Kathryn Vincent Lepp<br />
Carry It Off<br />
How do ou transport your camera with<br />
a large t lephoto attached and mounted<br />
onatri<br />
od when hiking/re-position-<br />
ing in the ield? I typically just put the<br />
assembly over my shoulder and carry it<br />
in whatever position I ind comfortable.<br />
But I have had people tell me that I can<br />
damage the mounting connections with<br />
that approach, as well as risk having the<br />
camera come off the ballhead.<br />
R. Zahren<br />
Via the Internet<br />
It’s<br />
a generally accepted notion that<br />
carryin<br />
a camera/telephoto on a tripod<br />
over on<br />
e’s shoulder isn’t a good idea,<br />
all do it. First off, it looks kind<br />
of cool, doesn’t it? The intrepid nature<br />
photographer, trekking through the brush,<br />
heavy tripod, camera and big lens slung<br />
over the shoulder. But frankly, what’s<br />
the alternative? Pack it all up in your bag<br />
every time you move? Get it all out, put it<br />
back together and be ready to photograph<br />
that wolf chasing a caribou?<br />
Safe transport is just another quality<br />
factor you need to consider when choosing<br />
your ield equipment. The irst thing you<br />
need to know is how good the connection<br />
is between the lens and the tripod<br />
head. There are a lot of quick-releases out<br />
there to make your life easier, but they can<br />
self-initiate at inopportune times, releasing<br />
the camera/lens from the tripod with<br />
disastrous results. I use Really Right Stuff<br />
ballheads with a quick release and have<br />
never had them let go unintentionally. The<br />
lever system is pretty much foolproof. But<br />
you need to pay attention to the ballhead/<br />
tripod connection as well, because it can<br />
loosen up while you’re working—we<br />
think we’re rotating the camera on the<br />
tripod while we pan, and we’re sometimes<br />
24 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com<br />
actually unscrewing the head from the<br />
tripod base. So check the connection<br />
between the ballhead and the tripod before<br />
you place it over your shoulder.<br />
As extra insurance, I usually grab the<br />
camera strap in my hand when moving a<br />
camera/lens. I still remember one longago<br />
instance in Baja California where I<br />
was walking through a lava ield with the<br />
camera setup slung over my shoulder; the<br />
pre-RRS quick release somehow disengaged<br />
and the 600mm with camera body<br />
headed toward the rocks. I had wrapped<br />
the camera strap around my hand, and<br />
that stopped the potential destruction of<br />
some very pricey gear.<br />
Carrying the camera over the shoulder<br />
doesn’t affect the mounting connections<br />
on any of the tripods that I’ve used, but<br />
going through a little checklist can save<br />
the day: controls on the head tightened up;<br />
ballhead tightly screwed to the tripod; lens<br />
properly mounted to the camera body;<br />
tele-extenders and extension tubes irmly<br />
connected (“click”). It only takes a second<br />
to check, but it’s worth it. Think of how<br />
uncool it would look to lose your gear<br />
and how hard it would be to replace it.<br />
Micro<br />
Four Thirds (4:3) Vs. 3:2<br />
Outdoo <strong>Photographer</strong> recently pubarticle<br />
on mirrorless Micro<br />
lished<br />
a<br />
Four Thirds digital camera systems.<br />
Although<br />
h I have been an avid Canon user<br />
for many years and I have a considerable<br />
investment in Canon gear, I recently purchased<br />
an Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark<br />
II camera body and a few lenses. I love<br />
the electronic viewinder, the stabilization<br />
system and the freedom that comes with<br />
carrying much less weight. I am avidly<br />
exploring the Micro Four Thirds system<br />
and now ind myself drawn to mirrorless<br />
technology in general, and wonder<br />
if one day soon I may be letting go of my<br />
DSLRs. What are your thoughts on this?<br />
K. Graff<br />
Via the Internet<br />
While<br />
the advent of mirrorless cam-<br />
era tec<br />
nology isn’t as signiicant an<br />
event as,<br />
say, the advent of digital,<br />
ss cameras do expand our photographic<br />
options. There are several<br />
reasons serious photographers might<br />
choose them instead of, or in addition<br />
to, DSLR systems.<br />
As you note, Micro Four Thirds mirrorless<br />
systems offer a compelling advantage<br />
in terms of size and weight. Traveling<br />
with a lot of heavy equipment can<br />
be daunting these days, and the weight<br />
of DSLR camera and lens combinations<br />
can be a problem for many of us.<br />
The prices of Micro Four Thirds cameras<br />
and lenses tend to be less weighty<br />
as well. As an example, the crop magniication<br />
of a Micro Four Thirds versus<br />
a full-frame DSLR is 2x, so a lightweight<br />
300mm ƒ/4 lens for the MFT<br />
format priced at $2,500 has the reach<br />
of a 600mm ƒ/4 lens that costs four to<br />
ive times as much. Another factor some<br />
photographers like is that the Micro Four<br />
Thirds 4:3 format relates to the standard<br />
8x10-inch print and frame, while<br />
DSLRs have a 3:2 format that relates to<br />
an 8.5x11-inch print. Some of the mirrorless<br />
cameras are capable of 4K video<br />
capture and even yield 8MP frame grabs<br />
for stop-action stills.<br />
The results from Micro Four Thirds<br />
systems are great for web posting and<br />
prints up to 17x20-inches. The quality<br />
of the output is limited by the small<br />
sensor (13x17.3mm), as compared to<br />
a full-frame DSLR (24x36 mm); to<br />
(Cont’d on page 70)
Photographing wildlife across the<br />
tundra in Denali National Park<br />
requires a heavy load of equipment:<br />
500mm lens, 1.4X tele-extender<br />
(700mm) and camera body attached<br />
to a sturdy tripod. Before you toss<br />
that rig over your shoulder, check all<br />
the controls and connections to<br />
prevent an unscheduled decoupling.<br />
Caribou captured at 1/125 sec. at f/8,<br />
ISO 200.<br />
outdoorphotographer.com <strong>November</strong> <strong>2016</strong> 25
the big picture<br />
Scorched<br />
Beauty<br />
Rebirth made<br />
possible by ire<br />
By Amy Gulick<br />
The word “wildire” tends to<br />
be associated with destruction.<br />
Forests are burned,<br />
property is damaged and<br />
human lives are lost ighting<br />
wildland blazes. A wildire is viewed as<br />
the enemy, something to be conquered,<br />
and understandably so when lives and<br />
homes are at risk. But historically, ire<br />
also has been used as a tool to beneit<br />
people. Burning areas of vegetation to<br />
improve hunting success and to stimulate<br />
new growth of edible plants was<br />
common practice by many groups of<br />
Native Americans. And today, ire may<br />
be used to control invasive plant species.<br />
If we take people out of the equation<br />
and look at ire as a natural phenomenon,<br />
we see that it’s a regular part of many<br />
landscapes around the world. When lightning<br />
strikes ignite dry vegetation and there<br />
is suficient oxygen in the ambient air, a<br />
ire is born. Throw in things like wind and<br />
prolonged drought, and the duration and<br />
severity of a ire is intensiied.<br />
How does nature adapt to ire? Some<br />
tree species that survive ire well have<br />
dense bark, shed their lower branches,<br />
and retain high water content in their<br />
external structures. Others such as species<br />
of the genus Eucalyptus contain<br />
lammable oils that encourage ire and<br />
26 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com<br />
yet have hard leaves that resist heat and<br />
drought, ensuring their likelihood of survival<br />
over less-ire-tolerant species. And<br />
still others contain ire-resistant seeds<br />
that sprout after a ire to ensure species<br />
preservation. It’s this last adaptation that<br />
I set out to photograph in Yellowstone<br />
National Park.<br />
I arrived in winter, 15 years after the<br />
largest ires in the park’s history burned<br />
more than one-third of its forests, mainly<br />
lodgepole pine trees. Most lodgepole<br />
pines are ire-dependent, producing<br />
cones that open up only when subjected<br />
to the high temperatures of ire. The<br />
cones release their seeds onto a charred<br />
forest loor. With fresh ashes and newly<br />
exposed to light, the post-ire area is<br />
fertile ground for young seedlings. But<br />
how to make a photograph that conveys
a message other than one of destruction?<br />
Looking at the scene before me,<br />
the criss-cross weave of ire-blackened<br />
trunks set against a canvas of snow created<br />
a stark abstract beauty. But there<br />
was a hidden beauty, too. In the gaps<br />
between the tall trunks, young trees were<br />
visible. Like the mythological phoenix<br />
rising from the ashes, the lodgepole pine<br />
trees grew from a burnt beginning.<br />
By drawing viewers into this image<br />
with an interesting abstract, an opportunity<br />
presents itself to engage people to<br />
explore their perceptions of wildire. At<br />
irst glance, beauty trumps the scene.<br />
Looking closer, one sees that the forest<br />
has been destroyed by ire. Or has<br />
it? The forest has transformed into a<br />
different state, one of rebirth. Made<br />
possible by ire.<br />
OP<br />
Amy Gulick is a founding fellow of<br />
the International League of Conservation<br />
<strong>Photographer</strong>s and the author<br />
of Salmon in the Trees: Life in Alaska’s<br />
Tongass Rain Forest. Her image<br />
“Scorched Beauty” was a inalist in<br />
the 2015 Wildlife <strong>Photographer</strong> of the<br />
Year competition of the Natural History<br />
Museum of London. To learn more<br />
about her work, visit amygulick.com.<br />
outdoorphotographer.com <strong>November</strong> <strong>2016</strong> 27
photo adventure<br />
The Creative<br />
Road<br />
Not as straight or narrow<br />
as you would think<br />
By Bill Hatcher<br />
Reviewing images from my<br />
photo shoots and assignments<br />
over the past couple of months,<br />
I noticed an interesting trend:<br />
My photography continues to<br />
improve and evolve. The change in my<br />
photography has always been an integral<br />
part of my creative process, which<br />
feeds on pushing new boundaries and<br />
new worlds to explore. This dynamism<br />
is opposed to the concept of creativity as<br />
(to use the well-worn metaphor) a golden<br />
ticket, where one is working toward a<br />
ixed objective.<br />
The pursuit of photographic creativity<br />
is different for everyone, but I believe<br />
the basis for each of us is the same, to<br />
grow and improve our photography. The<br />
foundation for my creativity is a desire<br />
to explore new places and people, but<br />
also rediscovering locations and subjects<br />
I’ve photographed many times before<br />
with new eyes.<br />
The other major stimulus is spending<br />
time with other creatives, hearing their<br />
stories and watching them photograph.<br />
It’s in my network of photo friends<br />
where I ind my most positive creative<br />
interactions. I work and encourage these<br />
photo interactions on a daily basis. These<br />
could be as simple as a text, a comment in<br />
social media, attending or giving a talk,<br />
getting out with another photographer<br />
to shoot or gathering with a professional<br />
group like the local Tucson chapter of<br />
ASMP (American Society of Media<br />
<strong>Photographer</strong>s), a group that meets regularly<br />
to catch up on the photo industry<br />
and share images and assignments in a<br />
show and tell. I’m always open for these<br />
gatherings, to share, collaborate, shoot<br />
and be inspired.<br />
I’m more engaged and excited about<br />
28 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com<br />
photography now than I was 30 years<br />
ago when I started my photographic<br />
career. You know your creative game is<br />
in a good place when you can make that<br />
claim, and I’m not alone. I hear similar<br />
comments from other photographers who<br />
continue to shoot and push their photography<br />
far past the requirements of a mere<br />
profession or hobby. That’s what it is to<br />
be passionately creative—when nearly<br />
every moment in your life is routed<br />
and processed through the ilter of your<br />
creative process.<br />
The image accompanying this column,<br />
a quiet sunrise landscape image from the<br />
Painted Desert on the Navajo Nation,<br />
gives no hint of the other accomplished<br />
creatives, photographers and videographers<br />
also shooting at the time I made<br />
this photo.<br />
What brought me to shoot in this<br />
particular place on this morning started<br />
with a conversation months before with<br />
National Geographic photographers<br />
and ilmmakers Andy Mann and Keith<br />
Ladzinski. When we attended the annual<br />
photographers’ gathering at the National<br />
Geographic headquarters in Washington,<br />
D.C., Andy and Keith told me about a<br />
ilm they were going to shoot exploring<br />
the creative process. They wanted to follow<br />
artists to amazing outdoor locations<br />
and, through ilm and interviews, pursue<br />
their connection to the outdoors and how<br />
it inluences their art and creativity.<br />
Originally the two envisioned shooting<br />
the ilm, which had been given a working<br />
title “Convergence,” in Patagonia near<br />
the southern tip of South America. The<br />
location is insanely beautiful but dificult<br />
to reach. They changed the location to the<br />
American Southwest so that more artists<br />
could take part in the project.<br />
Andy and Keith wanted me in their<br />
ilm and asked for my suggestion of<br />
places to shoot. They knew I had shot<br />
stories for Geographic and that I was<br />
familiar with the Southwest. As Keith<br />
said about the ilm, “The premise is simple,<br />
a rendezvous with artists of various<br />
genres and walks: musicians, painters,<br />
photographers, illustrators and ilmmakers<br />
converging on a road trip to create,<br />
talk about the process and that point<br />
where clarity kicks in and art is born.”<br />
In the true collaborative spirit of the<br />
project, I wanted to share with them a<br />
place that would be mutually gratifying.<br />
I knew Keith had an eye for landscapes<br />
with intense and saturated colors, so I
suggested going to the canyons in the<br />
Painted Desert. Andy Googled images<br />
of that location and was amazed by what<br />
he saw. I confessed that I hadn’t been<br />
to the place for several years, but to go<br />
there with other creatives would be the<br />
perfect excuse to return. Before parting<br />
ways, the three of us made plans to meet<br />
in the Painted Desert.<br />
Fast forward two months and, with the<br />
required Navajo permits in hand, seven of<br />
us arrived at our camp above Coalmine<br />
Canyon on the Navajo lands. Keith, Andy<br />
and myself were joined by photographer<br />
Andy Best, cameraman Chris Alstrin,<br />
ilm editor Josh Povec and photo assistant<br />
Ian Glass. During the best light, all of us<br />
took an active role in shooting photography<br />
and video. Keith would man the<br />
controls of a DJI Inspire drone for aerial<br />
stills and video, Andy would lay track for<br />
time-lapse footage, and I would share my<br />
1959 Polaroid Pathinder camera. It’s no<br />
exaggeration that when the photo wheels<br />
really got spinning, our crew might have<br />
as many as 15 still and motion cameras<br />
in use. I got to try lying the DJI—fortunately<br />
not when it smashed into a wall<br />
(goodbye $5,000 drone).<br />
After the sun was long set, we would<br />
gather around a ire to talk and share the<br />
day’s experience. The upshot of this gathering<br />
of talent, besides some incredible<br />
still and video footage, were personal<br />
insights about our creative process. It<br />
was an afirmation of our shared passion<br />
to create and explore the outdoors—our<br />
prime motivation and catalyst.<br />
I left the crew to shoot an assignment,<br />
and the “Convergence” team continued<br />
its quest for another week, meeting photographers,<br />
painters and musicians in<br />
Monument Valley, Valley of the Gods,<br />
Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend<br />
and other creative hotspots around the<br />
Southwest. My advice to you: Surround<br />
yourself with passionate people to keep<br />
your photography creative. OP<br />
To see more of Bill Hatcher’s photography,<br />
visit billhatcher.com.<br />
outdoorphotographer.com <strong>November</strong> <strong>2016</strong> 29
FAVORITE PLACES<br />
TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHY<br />
BY MICHAEL DALBERTI<br />
WYOMING<br />
SCHWABACHER’S LANDING<br />
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming<br />
LOCATION<br />
Grand Teton National Park is<br />
located north of the town of<br />
Jackson in northwestern Wyoming<br />
and is only 10 miles away<br />
from Yellowstone National Park.<br />
Lodging options in the park<br />
include hotel/motel rooms,<br />
rustic cabins and tent cabins,<br />
and ive campgrounds are open<br />
during the summer months on<br />
a irst-come, irst-serve basis.<br />
Grand Teton is so wildlife-diverse<br />
that it makes you feel like<br />
you’re entering a different world.<br />
The breathtaking mountain range<br />
is straight out of a fairy tale. The<br />
closer you get to it the more surreal<br />
it seems—like spires from<br />
another world. Contrast this with<br />
the beautiful river, ponds, grassland<br />
and animals, and it makes<br />
for an unbelievable experience.<br />
One of the most popular landscape<br />
photography spots in the<br />
park is Schwabacher’s Landing.<br />
Located on the Snake River, this<br />
location is easily accessible from<br />
a dirt road off Highway 89. A fourmile<br />
hiking trail along lat terrain<br />
offers numerous photo opportunities,<br />
and otter, deer, coyote,<br />
antelope and eagle sightings are<br />
common, just to name a few.<br />
WEATHER<br />
The weather in the Tetons is just<br />
as diverse as the wildlife. You<br />
certainly have all four seasons.<br />
My favorite experiences in the<br />
park are during the fall, when<br />
the trees are a bright yellow and<br />
the weather is just cool enough<br />
to be enjoyable without it being<br />
too hot. You get just about everything<br />
you would ever want during<br />
the fall in the Tetons. Snow is<br />
expected in the valley and mountains<br />
through the winter months<br />
and into May, and roads may<br />
be closed during severe storms.<br />
The summer months offer warm<br />
days and cool nights with the<br />
occasional thunderstorm, so rain<br />
gear is recommended.<br />
PHOTO EXPERIENCE<br />
The best part for me about<br />
exploring the Teton Valley is<br />
navigating the areas that can<br />
potentially have big animals. I<br />
was hiking down the path near<br />
Schwabacher’s Landing when I<br />
noticed a female moose walking<br />
down the same path I was taking,<br />
except walking directly toward<br />
me. I had enough time to back<br />
away and keep a safe distance<br />
as to not seem like a threat.<br />
She then went into the water,<br />
and that’s when I noticed two of<br />
her calves following behind her.<br />
She stayed in the water while her<br />
calves were on the riverbank on<br />
the other side. The most unique<br />
thing about this picture is that I<br />
used my widest angle—not very<br />
typical in wildlife photography!<br />
BEST TIMES<br />
The best times I have in Teton<br />
Valley are when I wake up to a<br />
cool fall morning, slip out of my<br />
tent, grab some coffee and hit<br />
my favorite spots for morning<br />
sunrise pictures. There aren’t<br />
many things more beautiful than<br />
watching the sun rise over Teton<br />
Valley during a crisp autumn<br />
morning. Even if you don’t get<br />
that once-in-a-lifetime picture,<br />
it’s certainly worth it for the<br />
experience alone. OP<br />
Contact: Grand Teton National<br />
Park, nps.gov/grte.<br />
To see more of Michael Dalberti’s<br />
photography, visit<br />
michaeldalberti.com.<br />
30 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com
Badlands National Park in South<br />
Dakota at night, as a crescent<br />
moon sets to the right of the frame.<br />
How Shane Black got hooked<br />
on bringing still images to life<br />
through time-lapse photography<br />
By Mark Edward Harris / Photography By Shane Black
While I was attempting to contact<br />
Shane Black for this<br />
interview, Emmy Award-winning<br />
producer Jon Kroll suggested<br />
that I try smoke signals<br />
or engage a carrier pigeon. Fortunately,<br />
neither were necessary to locate the (occasionally)<br />
Ohio-based photographer.<br />
Kroll and his producing partner, Rupert<br />
Thompson, “discovered” Black as more<br />
than a million others did, coming across<br />
his breathtaking “Adventure is Calling”<br />
time-lapse video. They tracked him down<br />
in a remote area of Death Valley and hired<br />
the young photographer to create similar<br />
imagery for their Fox reality show,<br />
“American Grit.”<br />
Whether creating time-lapse or stills,<br />
the landscape and astrophotographer and<br />
his cameras thrive in a world without artiicial<br />
lights—except for the occasional<br />
lashlight and headlamp.<br />
<strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong>: Let’s talk about<br />
your recent work for “American Grit.”<br />
Shane Black: The producers brought me<br />
out to Washington state to shoot timelapse<br />
for transitions between scenes. We<br />
focused on cloud movement during the<br />
day and transitions from day to night<br />
and night to day. Movie and TV companies<br />
really like time-lapse to help<br />
convey the passage of time so they can<br />
jump between scenes without having<br />
their viewers ask, “What happened to<br />
the rest of that day?”<br />
OP: How did you shoot the time-lapses?<br />
SB: I had three camera bodies with me the<br />
whole time with a variety of lenses to get<br />
plenty of content and a variety of shots.<br />
I also brought out a Dynamic Perception<br />
Stage Zero 6-foot time-lapse dolly for<br />
one of the cameras to slide a fraction of<br />
an inch between shots.<br />
Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, in<br />
the White Mountains just outside<br />
of Bishop, California. Lit briely<br />
with a lashlight to show detail of<br />
these several-thousand-year-old<br />
trees under the Milky Way.<br />
The durations were very dependent<br />
on the situation I was shooting. If I’m<br />
going for sunrise or sunset, I’ll usually<br />
run the camera for about an hour. Night<br />
shots take a lot more time because you<br />
need longer exposures, meaning it takes<br />
longer to take more photos. Those usually<br />
run three to six hours. If I’m doing<br />
a transitional day to night or night to<br />
day shot, that’s going to take normally<br />
four to ive hours.<br />
OP: What’s the frequency of your shots for<br />
time-lapses?<br />
SB: That’s also situational. I try and shoot<br />
with clouds whenever I can because they<br />
outdoorphotographer.com <strong>November</strong> <strong>2016</strong> 33
help show the passage of time more<br />
than just about anything. If they’re moving<br />
pretty quickly, I usually do about<br />
three-second intervals, that way you get<br />
a really nice playback. If I’m shooting<br />
on a cloudless day and I just want to get<br />
the shadows moving and show the transition<br />
of time that way, then I’ll go with<br />
much longer intervals, maybe 10, 15 or<br />
20 seconds. That way I’m not just getting<br />
a whole load of photos with not much<br />
change happening between them.<br />
OP: Much of your time-lapse and still photography<br />
focuses on astrophotography.<br />
What draws you to it?<br />
SB: It’s my favorite subject to shoot. The<br />
camera with long exposures can pick up<br />
so much more of what’s out there than<br />
the naked eye. I let the camera do a 20-<br />
or 30-second exposure with my ISO up<br />
and my aperture wide open, and when<br />
the results pop up on the LCD, they’re<br />
astonishing, especially if I’m in a place<br />
that lends itself to it. Really dark, remote<br />
places away from big city lights work best.<br />
OP: What range of ISOs are you usually<br />
working with?<br />
SB: It depends on what the camera can handle.<br />
You can’t crank up the ISOs too high<br />
without getting some noise with entrylevel<br />
DSLRs. I’m using mainly a Canon<br />
5D Mark III and I recently got a Sony a7s<br />
because of its high ISO capabilities. When<br />
I’m shooting the Milky Way, it’s usually<br />
around 2500 ISO on the Mark III. I don’t<br />
like to go much past that, otherwise I start<br />
to see noise. With the Sony, I can shoot<br />
at ISO 6400 or 12,500 and it looks great.<br />
High ISOs allows you to do shorter<br />
exposures, which means shorter intervals<br />
if you’re doing time-lapse so you can get<br />
slower playback. For stills, if I’m trying<br />
to get the foreground I’ll probably do two<br />
separate exposures, one for the sky and<br />
one for the foreground. The foreground<br />
will have a longer exposure with a lower<br />
ISO, so I won’t get as much noise there.<br />
OP: What’s your post-production timelapse<br />
worklow?<br />
SB: Adobe Lightroom and LRTimelapse<br />
for color grading and ramping. Adobe<br />
After Effects for turning the photos into<br />
video and applying more ixes such as<br />
delicker. I normally output the work at<br />
24 fps.<br />
OP: Are you lighting some of the foregrounds?<br />
SB: For some of the stills I’ve done<br />
light-painting with a lashlight or a headlamp.<br />
I’ll run to one side of the object and<br />
paint it with light to create more drama,<br />
it brings in more shadows and highlights.<br />
That’s much more interesting than dulling<br />
out the subject with frontal light.<br />
OP: What’s the idea behind adding a human<br />
element such as a tent or a person on occasion<br />
to a spectacular nighttime landscape?<br />
SB: It helps to show scale, of course, but it<br />
also lets the viewer imagine that they could<br />
be there. “This is a place I could be as well.”<br />
OP: What’s your background and how did<br />
your career evolve?<br />
SB: I was born and raised in Central<br />
Ohio and am still here when I’m not on<br />
the road. I got into photography in 2011<br />
while I was at Columbus State Community<br />
College. I had been playing<br />
around with my friends’ cameras and<br />
really enjoyed it so I picked one up and<br />
played with it all summer. I did some<br />
senior portraits here and there to make a<br />
little money. When I started photography,<br />
I didn’t have anything in particular in<br />
mind, I was just enjoying photography<br />
and seeing where it went.<br />
I have a friend out in Los Angeles, Sheldon<br />
Neill, who kept encouraging me to try<br />
time-lapse. He’s an amazing time-lapse<br />
photographer himself. He’s one of the<br />
guys behind Project Yosemite (projectyose.com).<br />
Time-lapse was tough for me<br />
at irst. At sunset, I would be taking photos<br />
this way then that way; for time-lapse you<br />
have to set it up, start it, then you can’t<br />
touch it. It wasn’t easy to let the camera<br />
sit there while all these really cool things<br />
Near the summit of Mauna Kea on the Big<br />
Island of Hawaii. This photo turned into<br />
way more than what I thought it would be<br />
when I was shooting. It took a 23-image<br />
panorama, shot with a 24mm lens, to capture<br />
the grandness of the scene I was in.<br />
It captured zodiacal light, a moonlit layer<br />
of fog, a bright Milky Way directly over<br />
Mauna Loa, green airglow and even glow<br />
in the distance from the Kilauea Caldera.<br />
34 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com
Goblin Valley State Park, Utah. It was eerily quiet, and I<br />
was the only other human out exploring the goblins at<br />
night under a pitch-black sky. It was a little creepy. But<br />
it was a pleasant surprise to see a good amount of airglow<br />
in the sky to add to the otherworldly landscape.<br />
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Mono Lake, California.<br />
were happening in front of me. This is in<br />
the days when I had only one camera.<br />
OP: Starting out shooting things like senior<br />
portraits makes sense in a smaller market<br />
where you have to wear more hats. How did<br />
you start building your time-lapse “reel”?<br />
SB: I took a trip up to Oregon and Canada<br />
dedicated to strictly shooting time-lapse.<br />
I got to see some really cool stuff and<br />
even got my irst awesome display of<br />
an aurora up in Canada. After that I was<br />
hooked. Seeing still photos come to life<br />
36 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com<br />
with movement through time-lapse blew<br />
my mind. I fell in love with it.<br />
OP: Another road trip resulted in your timelapse<br />
video “Adventure is Calling,” which<br />
went viral.<br />
SB: Two friends and I had spent two<br />
months on the road, traveling the country,<br />
seeing the sights, and teaching some<br />
photography workshops along the way.<br />
We probably went to 20 state and national<br />
parks.As a photographer, I was in heaven.<br />
I compiled the time-lapse and put it online.<br />
National Geographic contacted me a few<br />
days after “Adventure is Calling” went up,<br />
did an interview and licensed it for a month.<br />
OP: One of the many spectacular moments<br />
in it is a tracking shot with a dead tree in<br />
the foreground.<br />
SB: That was in Zion. With a dolly, you<br />
want to show movement as well as you<br />
can, so having a really nice object in the<br />
foreground that the camera can move by<br />
really gives a great sense of depth.<br />
OP: Because of the rotation of the earth, it<br />
feels like we’re on a spaceship, which, after<br />
all, the earth is in a sense. When you shoot<br />
stills for both time-lapse and stand-alone<br />
images, what’s your cut off shutter speed<br />
if you want to freeze the stars?<br />
SB: Exposure time in part depends on<br />
the focal length of the lens. I like to keep<br />
the stars as sharp as possible unless I go<br />
the other direction and want to get long<br />
star trails. If I’m shooting with a really<br />
wide angle, let’s say 14mm or 16mm,<br />
everything in the background gets pushed<br />
back further so I can do a longer exposure<br />
without seeing star trails. With something<br />
that wide, you can go 30-35 seconds. But<br />
if I put the 50mm on and bring the sky<br />
closer, I can get only about a 10-second<br />
exposure before seeing movement. I use<br />
a 24mm ƒ/1.4 a lot at ƒ/2 or ƒ/1.8, and<br />
I’m capped off around 20 seconds. I use<br />
both zoom and prime lenses.<br />
I’m always shooting in full manual<br />
mode, so I have complete control of everything.<br />
It’s a bit tricky when you’re doing a<br />
time-lapse sunrise or sunset, or day to night<br />
or night to day, because the light’s changing<br />
really quickly. I’m keeping an eye on<br />
the exposure meter and if it’s getting too<br />
light or too dark I’ll quickly adjust the shutter.<br />
I’ll try not to adjust too much as long<br />
as the exposures don’t get too crazy. There<br />
are camera remotes that do the ramping for<br />
you, you just put in your parameters such<br />
as the beginning and ending exposures.<br />
The Sony a7S has a built in time-lapse<br />
app in the camera.You put the camera in<br />
the Av mode and ine-tune your exposure.<br />
The technology we have these days to<br />
achieve our visions is incredible. OP<br />
See more of Shane Black’s photography<br />
and time-lapse work at shaneblackphoto.com.
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38 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com
Shooting<br />
METEOR<br />
SHOWERS<br />
Techniques to create a single image that<br />
captures the experience of this celestial phenomenon<br />
Text & Photography By Glenn Randall<br />
Standing under a dark sky and<br />
watching a meteor shower is a<br />
breathtaking experience. Creating<br />
a compelling photograph of<br />
that experience, however, is dificult.<br />
Even the most active meteor showers,<br />
the Perseids and Geminids, produce<br />
only 50 to 100 meteors per hour, or just<br />
one or two per minute. Those numbers<br />
refer to meteors visible anywhere in the<br />
sky. Even an ultra-wide 16mm lens on a<br />
full-frame camera can only see roughly<br />
one-ifth of the sky. The longest exposure<br />
you can use with a 16mm lens before the<br />
stars begin to make obvious streaks is<br />
about 30 seconds. Put all those igures<br />
together, and it’s clear you’re unlikely to<br />
capture more than one meteor in a single<br />
exposure—if you even capture one.<br />
So how do you make a photograph that<br />
captures the feeling of watching an active<br />
meteor shower? The answer, in brief, is<br />
to shoot back-to-back 30-second exposures<br />
all night with the widest lens you<br />
own. Once you get home, comb through<br />
your images to locate those containing<br />
meteors, then stack all of those frames as<br />
layers in a single Photoshop ile. Choose<br />
one image as the background star and<br />
land layer, then mask out everything but<br />
Perseid meteor shower over Snowmass<br />
Mountain and Hagerman Peak relected in<br />
Snowield Lake, Maroon Bells-Snowmass<br />
Wilderness, Colorado. Composite of 40<br />
photographs shot from one camera position<br />
over a ive-hour period on Aug. 13, 2015.<br />
the meteor streak from all the remaining<br />
layers. The result will be a composite<br />
image containing all the meteors that fell<br />
within your lens’ ield of view during the<br />
entire night.<br />
The most photogenic meteor showers<br />
of the year are the Perseids, which peak<br />
every year around Aug. 12 to 13, and<br />
the Geminids, which peak around Dec.<br />
13 to 14. The Perseids rain down most<br />
frequently between midnight and dawn;<br />
Geminid meteors start streaking across<br />
the sky around 9 or 10 p.m. and continue<br />
all night.<br />
You’ll capture a lot more meteors if<br />
you can ind a dark location well away<br />
from city lights. For help locating a darksky<br />
location near you, check out jshine.<br />
net/astronomy/dark_sky. You’ll also see<br />
more meteors when the moon is below<br />
the horizon. The <strong>2016</strong> Geminids coincide<br />
with a full moon, which will signiicantly<br />
reduce the number of meteors you see but<br />
will also make it easier to hold detail in<br />
the land. The moon will rise at about 11<br />
p.m. during the peak night of the 2017<br />
Perseids and will be about 70 percent<br />
illuminated. You’ll enjoy moon-free skies<br />
nearly all night during the peak of the<br />
2017 Geminids. Clouds, of course, will<br />
shut down the show. Check out cleardarksky.com/csk<br />
for a forecast of cloud cover<br />
at your chosen location.<br />
Meteor showers have radiants, a point<br />
in the sky from which the meteors appear<br />
to originate. Meteor showers are named<br />
for the constellations containing their<br />
radiants. Most meteors travel roughly 30<br />
degrees from their radiant before becoming<br />
bright enough to see. You don’t have<br />
to ind the radiant to see meteors. During<br />
an active shower, meteors will appear in<br />
all parts of the sky, which means you can<br />
point your camera in any direction and<br />
capture meteors. To capture images like<br />
my shots of the Perseids and Geminids,<br />
however, you’ll need to compose so that<br />
the radiant is within the frame some time<br />
during the night.<br />
Like all celestial objects, radiants<br />
appear to move across the sky as the<br />
earth rotates. The radiant for the Perseids,<br />
which is near the star Al Fakhbir, is<br />
in the northeast sky during the peak of<br />
the shower. The radiant for the Geminids,<br />
which is near the star Castor, rises to the<br />
northeast, is nearly straight overhead at<br />
2 a.m. and is setting to the west at astronomical<br />
dawn.<br />
I shot both the Perseids and Geminids<br />
with a Canon EF 16-35mm ƒ/2.8L<br />
II USM lens set to 16mm. Even better<br />
would have been a 14mm, which can<br />
cover about 30 percent more sky than a<br />
16mm. My exposure for each frame was<br />
30 seconds, ƒ/2.8, ISO 6400.<br />
For the Perseids, I positioned the camera<br />
to look northeast, started shooting<br />
at midnight and shot about 540 frames<br />
before astronomical dawn. Only 39<br />
frames contained bright meteors.<br />
For the Geminids, I set up looking<br />
south, so the radiant would be near the<br />
top of the frame during the peak of the<br />
shower. Out of 900 frames, only 51 contained<br />
a bright meteor.<br />
For both images, I also shot several<br />
frames at two minutes, ƒ/2.8, ISO 6400<br />
to get better detail in the land.<br />
After locating the meteor-containing<br />
images in Lightroom, I selected all of<br />
them and opened them as layers in a single<br />
Photoshop document (Photo > Edit<br />
In > Open as Layers in Photoshop). I<br />
chose one two-minute exposure with<br />
good detail in the land and dragged it<br />
to the bottom of the layer stack. Then I<br />
chose a layer containing the radiant to be<br />
the background star layer and dragged it<br />
to just above the good-land layer. Then<br />
I selected each meteor on all the other<br />
layers with the Pen tool, added a layer<br />
mask, illed the path with black (which<br />
hid the meteor), then inverted the mask<br />
(Control+I) to reveal the meteor and hide<br />
outdoorphotographer.com <strong>November</strong> <strong>2016</strong> 39
everything else. In a inal step, I masked<br />
out the dark land from the background<br />
star layer to reveal the properly exposed<br />
land underneath.<br />
When you irst composite your meteor<br />
shower image, the meteors will appear<br />
to be crisscrossing the sky at random.<br />
Almost all of the meteors in both images<br />
actually originated at the radiant (a few<br />
were strays), but that pattern is hidden<br />
because the radiant appears at a different<br />
place in each meteor-containing<br />
layer, since I shot the images over a<br />
period of hours. To reveal that pattern,<br />
I used two different methods to rotate<br />
each meteor-containing layer so that the<br />
meteor streaks appeared to originate at<br />
the radiant.<br />
The radiant for the Perseids is circumpolar,<br />
which means it makes a giant circle<br />
around Polaris. That makes it possible to<br />
use Polaris as the center of rotation while<br />
using Free Transform to rotate each meteor-containing<br />
layer to align its stars with<br />
the stars in the background layer. Target<br />
the meteor-containing layer, invoke Free<br />
Transform, then drag the point of rotation<br />
to Polaris. To identify Polaris, use a<br />
star-stacking program like StarStaX to<br />
create a temporary star-trails image. The<br />
star trails will form concentric circles<br />
around Polaris. In the inal image, each<br />
Perseid meteor will appear to originate<br />
at the radiant, as if all the meteors had<br />
been captured in one exposure.<br />
This technique is impractical for the<br />
Geminid meteor shower in mid-December,<br />
since the radiant crosses almost the<br />
entire sky. Trying to align the stars in each<br />
meteor-containing layer with those in the<br />
background star layer would push many<br />
meteor streaks entirely out of the frame.<br />
To create my Geminid image, I used Free<br />
Transform to rotate each meteor streak<br />
around its center so it would appear to<br />
originate at the radiant.<br />
I certainly didn’t see all of the meteors<br />
in either image fall simultaneously, but<br />
I did watch them fall one-by-one as I<br />
stood under the moonless sky, awed by<br />
the celestial ireworks display. The techniques<br />
I described in this article are the<br />
best way I know to make single images<br />
that capture that experience. OP<br />
Technicalcamera<br />
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Glenn Randall’s most recent book is The<br />
Art, Science, and Craft of Great Landscape<br />
Photography, published by Rocky<br />
Nook. You can see more of his work, sign<br />
up for his monthly newsletter, read his<br />
blog and learn about upcoming workshops<br />
at his website, glennrandall.com.<br />
Geminid meteor shower over Longs Peak and<br />
Bear Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park,<br />
Colorado. This image is a composite of 54<br />
images, shot over an eight-hour period on<br />
Dec. 12-13, 2015. I rotated all of the Geminid<br />
meteors so they appeared to be radiating<br />
from the radiant, which is near the star Castor<br />
in the constellation Gemini. Three meteors<br />
were strays that didn’t originate in Gemini.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
outdoorphotographer.com <strong>November</strong> <strong>2016</strong> 41
Rainbow over the Paunsaugunt Plateau in Bryce Canyon National Park.<br />
The Magic
Of Light’s Edges<br />
Use stormy weather and atmospheric<br />
conditions to your creative advantage<br />
Text & Photography By Dave Welling<br />
The monsoon storm struck Bryce<br />
Canyon at amazing speed with<br />
ominous skies, lightning, violent<br />
winds and pelting rain. Sitting in<br />
my car, I waited for the storm to begin<br />
lifting. I knew amazing light would ilter<br />
through the cloud cover during this<br />
transition from storm light to sunlight,<br />
creating magic on the land. By waiting,<br />
I was rewarded with a spectacular rainbow<br />
that seemed to rise out of the distant<br />
formations of the Paunsaugunt Plateau.<br />
Any photographer will tell you creating<br />
stunning images is “all about the<br />
light.” But what does that really mean,<br />
especially for landscape and nature<br />
photographers who are at the mercy<br />
of, and unable to really control, natural<br />
light? Natural light is the light,<br />
sometimes beautiful and sometimes<br />
harsh, that streams down on us every<br />
day. Landscape photographers, and to<br />
some extent wildlife photographers,<br />
quickly learn about the angle of light<br />
and opt for those sunrise and sunset<br />
hours when light rays are iltered<br />
through the atmosphere, providing a<br />
golden or warming glow to the landscape<br />
or wildlife subject.<br />
But the low-angle rays of morning and<br />
evening light are only part of the story for<br />
nature photographers looking to expand<br />
their photographic opportunities and<br />
skills. There’s also what I call the “magic<br />
of light’s edges,” those amazing lighting<br />
effects created by weather or atmospheric<br />
conditions that give you the ability to<br />
create truly magniicent images of the<br />
landscape. These atmospheric effects are<br />
most pronounced when weather conditions<br />
are just forming or clearing, hence<br />
the “edge of light” aspect.<br />
Sunrise light on the Snake River and the Teton Range in Grand Tetons National Park.<br />
outdoorphotographer.com <strong>November</strong> <strong>2016</strong> 43
While sunrise often produces<br />
warm golden light on the landscape,<br />
when a clearing storm<br />
with striking cloud formations<br />
is added to the mix the results<br />
can be spectacular. Point Imperial<br />
on the North Rim of Grand<br />
Canyon is a favorite for many<br />
landscape photographers since<br />
its location allows uninterrupted<br />
sunrise light to bathe the canyon<br />
walls and Mount Hayden in<br />
that golden light. When sunrise<br />
monsoon storm clouds over the<br />
canyon add atmospheric iltering<br />
to the light—as well as a<br />
strong element to the composition—you<br />
have the opportunity<br />
to create a very unique, longremembered<br />
image.<br />
Sunrise storm over Mount Hayden<br />
on the North Rim of Grand Canyon.<br />
Clearing storm at sunset with<br />
lightning, Paunsaugunt Plateau.<br />
“What I call the<br />
‘magic of light’s<br />
edges,’ those<br />
amazing lighting<br />
effects created by<br />
weather ... give<br />
you the ability to<br />
create truly<br />
magnificent images<br />
of the landscape.”<br />
“Light edge” landscape photography<br />
demands patience, perseverance, understanding<br />
of weather and atmospheric<br />
conditions and that most critical of<br />
photographic techniques: luck. Luck<br />
belongs to the well-prepared. Being in<br />
the right place at the right time because<br />
you have knowledge, patience and perseverance<br />
usually gets you the photographic<br />
opportunity.<br />
I wanted to capture the dramatic light of<br />
summer monsoon storms in the western<br />
44 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com<br />
United States and chose Bryce Canyon in<br />
Utah as my target landscape because signiicant<br />
storms form in this area and the<br />
landscape features are surreal. I watched<br />
weather forecasts for several summers<br />
and made trips when forecasts looked<br />
promising but with little success, until<br />
one summer when I hit the mother lode of<br />
storms. One week of the strongest storms<br />
I had ever seen with lightning, ominous<br />
skies, mammatus clouds and atmospheric<br />
conditions created the most dramatic<br />
conditions I had ever seen. I captured<br />
the Paunsaugunt Plateau rainbow image<br />
just as the storm began to break, but I<br />
knew the storm would eventually clear<br />
and waited patiently (one of the key elements)<br />
to see how the light and clouds<br />
evolved. Well, luck “shined” on me. At<br />
sunset, the air cleared, providing spectacular<br />
sunset light on the remaining clouds<br />
over the plateau. I captured an entirely<br />
different feel for the same location. There<br />
is even a lightning strike in the image.
Black oak and Half Dome<br />
on a foggy winter morning.<br />
Fir trees in winter fog in<br />
Hayden Valley, Yellowstone<br />
National Park.<br />
Fog is another “light edges” atmospheric<br />
condition that can be exploited by landscape<br />
photographers. Foggy conditions<br />
can be tricky from an exposure standpoint.<br />
Most camera metering systems<br />
underexpose fog to make it the infamous<br />
18 percent neutral gray. Fog is actually<br />
brighter than neutral gray and needs a<br />
little over-exposure to prevent it from<br />
looking dark or muddy. Fog can add an<br />
ethereal or moody feel to an image.<br />
Fog can be especially effective when<br />
it’s only part of the scene and doesn’t<br />
lood the whole image. Look for the transition<br />
where fog just enters the image or<br />
low ground fog affects only part of the<br />
scene. Think of this as a “light edge” condition,<br />
too. Winter is a wonderful time for<br />
morning ground fog. I photographed this<br />
spectacular black oak covered in snow<br />
with a hint of ground fog that added that<br />
ethereal feel.<br />
Fog edges can also be used to create<br />
isolated subjects that appear loating<br />
in the image. Look for interesting subjects<br />
or landscape features that seem<br />
to grow out of the fog to create that<br />
sense of wonder in your image. I used<br />
this technique to photograph a row of<br />
snow-covered ir trees in Yellowstone<br />
National Park. The trees appear isolated<br />
in blue space, making the image much<br />
more interesting.<br />
outdoorphotographer.com <strong>November</strong> <strong>2016</strong> 45
Clearing summer storm, Mt. Whitney<br />
in the Alabama Hills, California.<br />
Clearing low-lying clouds can<br />
also be a source for “light edge”<br />
images. In this instance, it’s<br />
more of a transition between<br />
clear, open sunlight and thick,<br />
diffusing cloud light. You need<br />
to be careful with your exposure<br />
for this condition because,<br />
again, your camera meter will<br />
try and make bright clouds<br />
darker, which can muddy your<br />
image and make it featureless.<br />
However, when you ind the<br />
right subject matter and nail<br />
the exposure, you can create<br />
some wonderful images. I used<br />
this technique to photograph<br />
Mount Whitney as it rose from<br />
low-lying, but clearing, storm<br />
clouds in the Alabama Hills in<br />
California. I metered off the<br />
brightest clouds and opened<br />
up one stop, letting the rest<br />
of the image appear slightly<br />
underexposed to bring out the<br />
color in the mountain, sky and<br />
surrounding granite boulders.<br />
Storm surf on sea stacks,<br />
Bandon Beach, Oregon.<br />
While clearing conditions can create<br />
beautiful “light edge” conditions, you<br />
do not need to wait for storms or fog<br />
or mist to really clear. Work with the<br />
storm light, looking for openings in the<br />
cloud cover that create highlights or spot<br />
lighting on the landscape. These accentuated<br />
areas where the bright light edges<br />
bring out detail and add color can create<br />
opportunities for really striking images<br />
like this image of storm light on the sea<br />
stacks near Bandon Beach in Oregon.<br />
46 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com
In addition to spot lighting during storms,<br />
look for “light edge” features when the<br />
storm ilters the overall light coming<br />
through the thick cloud cover. This light<br />
can create magic in a landscape. Storms<br />
forming over the Grand Canyon usually<br />
clear to the south. If you’re on the North<br />
Rim, as the clouds thin out to the north,<br />
they often ilter the light on the land,<br />
creating soft textures and a tranquil feel.<br />
When this occurs at sunset, the light can<br />
turn the formations beautiful shades of<br />
red or gold.<br />
Wotan’s Throne, Brahma Temple and Zoroaster<br />
Temple rock formations, Grand Canyon.<br />
You don’t need storm light to get this<br />
soft, iltered light. It can also be created<br />
by misty conditions. In this case,<br />
look for landscape elements framed<br />
by or jutting out from the mist. Again,<br />
you’re looking for the “light edge”<br />
elements to create your image. When<br />
I photographed Angel Falls in remote<br />
Canaima National Park in Venezuela,<br />
I captured many images of the majesty<br />
of the 3,200-foot waterfall. But I<br />
also wanted to capture an image that<br />
spoke of the “Lost World” element of<br />
this location, the nickname applied<br />
to the area. A panoramic view of the<br />
upper falls, shrouded in mist created<br />
by the falls themselves, captured the<br />
feel I wanted.<br />
Angel Falls and Auyán-tepui<br />
shrouded in mist, Canaima<br />
National Park, Venezuela.
Rime ice on Merced River,<br />
Yosemite National Park.<br />
When you have this beautiful, soft, iltered light, look for unique elements in the<br />
landscape to feature in your composition, and use the iltered light to add color and<br />
contour. I had a situation like this in Yosemite Valley one winter when I stopped at<br />
my favorite place, Gates of the Valley, but the light wasn’t cooperating. The heavy<br />
cloud cover made the land featureless, but I had spectacular rime ice formations on<br />
the rocks in the Merced River right in front of me. So, again, applying a little patience<br />
I waited (and froze) to see if the cloud cover might ease up. After about 30 minutes,<br />
the clouds behind me opened slightly, allowing the light to cast beautiful reddish<br />
highlights on El Capitan and the clouds to the north. I had my unique rime ice and<br />
my “light edge” color. It all came together.<br />
Mammatus clouds and rainbow<br />
over Bryce Canyon.<br />
Speaking of storm light, this would be<br />
a good time to mention safety. Storms<br />
can subject you and your equipment to<br />
all kinds of weather and even dangerous<br />
conditions. Don’t wait for the lightning<br />
to strike your metal tripod, the wind to<br />
blow it over or the pelting horizontal<br />
rain to soak into your socks and camera.<br />
Take shelter when the conditions become<br />
adverse and, using that key element,<br />
48 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com<br />
patience, wait for better conditions.<br />
Remember, “light edge” effects usually<br />
become more pronounced as storms and<br />
weather abate. When I was photographing<br />
that magniicent storm in Bryce Canyon,<br />
the weather turned on me and I had<br />
to retreat to my car until the “tornado”<br />
and lightning abated. By waiting, I was<br />
rewarded with spectacular spot lighting<br />
on the Paunsaugunt Plateau formations<br />
with the most amazing mammatus cloud<br />
formations overhead. Had I left, I’d have<br />
never seen or captured this image.<br />
Head out and see what kinds of<br />
“light edge” magic you can ind. OP<br />
To see more of Dave Welling’s work,<br />
visit strikingnatureimagesbydavewelling.com.
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PART<br />
THREE<br />
Workflow<br />
In Lightroom<br />
Developing<br />
a creative workflow<br />
Text & Photography By Jason Bradley<br />
FIGURE 1<br />
Each development offers a different mood, feel, interpretation or<br />
narrative. Thus, the tools we use to adjust our iles serve us best if<br />
viewed as artistic vehicles rather than technical instruments.<br />
50 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com
FIGURE 2<br />
The Crop Overlay Frame is interactive. You can grab<br />
either its sides or corners to rotate or adjust its size.<br />
The term “worklow” refers to the<br />
method by which we approach the<br />
steps of our work. Whether they<br />
seek an elaborate solution to working with<br />
a large archive or a streamlined solution<br />
for working with a more modestly sized<br />
library, photographers yearn for the smartest<br />
and most eficient approach. Of course,<br />
this can be frustrating for the photographer<br />
trying to igure out the right way versus<br />
the wrong way to approach worklow<br />
because there are as many methods as<br />
there are photographers. In both instances,<br />
and whether or not we’re talking about ile<br />
management, developing or ile-sharing<br />
worklows, I suggest considering a creative<br />
approach to worklow instead of<br />
“what’s right and what’s wrong.”<br />
To develop creatively means you<br />
develop with your own ideas in mind.<br />
There are tons of books available on the<br />
market and videos online, but duplicating<br />
the techniques of others will only take<br />
you so far. In terms of developing, for<br />
instance, your knowledge of the tools<br />
in the Lightroom Develop Module isn’t<br />
nearly as important as having clarity on<br />
your image’s subject, what your image is<br />
about, what feeling you want to convey<br />
or what mood you want to project. You<br />
know your work and can thus envision<br />
a development better than anyone, and<br />
you should trust that.<br />
In the irst article of this series, I suggested<br />
typing “images of darkroom printing<br />
notes” into Google. The results show<br />
a wide variety of images of prints that<br />
are covered in scribbles. These scribbles<br />
are a blueprint or a recipe that darkroom<br />
photographers use to guide their printing<br />
worklow. They’re a record of how<br />
to mask, dodge and burn, and tone an<br />
image. Printing notes were imperative for<br />
the creative photographer when making<br />
prints in the darkroom, and in my opinion,<br />
not much has changed.<br />
When I prepare to work on an image<br />
in Lightroom, I irst study it. I relect on<br />
whether I should emphasize color, subdue<br />
color or remove color altogether to bring<br />
attention more to a pattern, shape, texture<br />
or tone. I consider what areas I should<br />
dodge or burn to draw the viewer’s attention<br />
either toward a subject or away from<br />
it. I create a plan, or a set of mental “printing<br />
notes,” in my head before I open a<br />
panel or touch a slider in the Develop Module<br />
because my mental notes help dictate<br />
which tools I should use and how I should<br />
use them. With all this in mind, the trick<br />
isn’t in knowing what the tools do technically<br />
but what they do artistically. Let’s<br />
go through some of the ways to approach<br />
RAW ile development creatively.<br />
The Practice Of Printing Notes<br />
Being clear on your image’s subject<br />
and meaning starts before you hit the<br />
shutter. As I compose the vast majority of<br />
my images, I make an effort to always ask<br />
myself: “What is the subject of this image<br />
and what is it about?” Once I know the<br />
FIGURE 3<br />
The two main sections of the Crop & Straighten Panel<br />
allow us to set and customize aspect ratios or rotate<br />
and straighten our images.<br />
FIGURE 4<br />
Lightroom comes equipped with a list of standard aspect<br />
ratios to choose from or you can create a custom ratio by<br />
irst clicking “Enter Custom.”<br />
Aspect Ratios<br />
Straightening
FIGURE 5<br />
Clicking on the small Level icon allows you to click and drag over a<br />
crooked horizontal line to straighten it.<br />
FIGURE 6<br />
At the top of the Basic Panel are the options of treating<br />
your ile as a color or black-and-white image. I<br />
suggest making this decision before all others.<br />
answers,framingthingswithmycamera<br />
becomesmucheasier.Byknowing,Ican<br />
critique each element within my frame<br />
to determine its need or value. If it has<br />
no supportive value to my narrative, I<br />
changemypositionorzoommylensand<br />
cropitoutoftheframethebestIcan.<br />
InasensethisisexactlywhatIdobefore<br />
developing. Here’s a list of questions I<br />
think are helpful to ask yourself as you<br />
openyourimagesintheDevelopModule:<br />
•Am I creating a color or black-andwhiteimage?<br />
•Doesthecompositionneedcropping<br />
orrotating?<br />
• What is the condition of brightness<br />
throughoutmyimageandlocally?<br />
•Whatisthestateofcolorthroughout<br />
myimageandlocally?<br />
• Should I render vibrant or muted<br />
colorsthroughouttheimageorlocally?<br />
• What’s the state of my shadows<br />
and highlights throughout the image<br />
andlocally?<br />
•Howistheoverallcontrast?<br />
•ShouldIemphasizedepththroughout<br />
theimageorlocally?<br />
•ShouldIemphasizetexturesorsoften<br />
themthroughouttheimageorlocally?<br />
• Should I dodge some areas or<br />
burnothers?<br />
Asyoucanimagine,youneedtohave<br />
some clarity on subject and meaning to<br />
know how to answer these questions.<br />
Just duplicating a technique you saw in<br />
anonlinevideowon’tbeenough.Ifyou<br />
don’t know what your subject is, then<br />
what, through developing and through<br />
dodging and burning, are you drawing<br />
yourviewers’attentionto?Whatdoyou<br />
want their eyes to fall on? If you aren’t<br />
clearifyourimageisaboutasubtletonality,<br />
rough or soft textures, warm or cool<br />
colors, subtle intricate details or hard or<br />
softedges,thenwhatwillyouemphasize<br />
andwhatwillyoureduce?<br />
Crop & Straighten Panel<br />
Evenwithclarityonsubjectandmeaningintheield,wedon’talwaysendup<br />
withtheperfectcomposition.Sometime<br />
our horizons aren’t perfectly straight.<br />
Sometimes our lens won’t extend for<br />
enough to crop out unwanted things on<br />
the edge of our frame, and sometimes<br />
we want to create a custom aspect ratio<br />
such as a panoramic or a square. The<br />
CropOverlayPaneldoesitall.<br />
ByclickingontheCropOverlayicon<br />
(quick command key R), the irst thing<br />
you’ll notice is a crop frame overlaid<br />
around your image (Figure 2). This<br />
frame is interactive.You can grab the<br />
corners or the sides to either shrink the<br />
frame’s size or rotate it.<br />
The second thing you might notice<br />
are all the little things in the Crop &<br />
StraightenPanel(Figure3).Therearetwo<br />
mainsectionstothispanel.Thetoprow<br />
allowsyoutocontroltheaspectratio,and<br />
thebottomrowallowsyoutostraighten<br />
(orrotate)yourcroppingframe.<br />
Forthetoprow,therearethreethings<br />
toknow.Byclickingontheicononthe<br />
left,youcanclickanddragaframewith<br />
a custom aspect ratio over your image.<br />
To its right is a small dropdown menu<br />
with prepackaged aspect ratios (Figure<br />
4),oryoucanclickonEnterCustomto<br />
make your own. The lock to its right,<br />
when locked, allows you to move the<br />
Crop Overlay Frame without changing<br />
the aspect ratio, or if the lock is open,<br />
you can maneuver the Crop Frame in<br />
any way you like.<br />
Thebottomrowallowsyoutostraighten<br />
orrotateyourCropFrameinacoupleof<br />
ways. By clicking on the Level Icon on<br />
theleft,yourcursorturnsintoacrosshair,<br />
allowingyoutoclickanddragalineover<br />
the length of a crooked horizon (Figure<br />
5).Onceyouletgo,theimagerotatesto<br />
straightenthelinedrawn.Theslidertoits<br />
FIGURE 7<br />
Here are six different color temperature<br />
renderings of the same image. From cool tones<br />
to warm, each offers a completely different feel<br />
from the next.<br />
Color Temperature: 3250<br />
Color Temperature: 5700<br />
Color Temperature: 7000<br />
Color Temperature: 8750 Color Temperature: 12250 Color Temperature: 25800<br />
52 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com<br />
FIGURE 8<br />
The White Balance Selector tool is an easy auto<br />
feature that allows to you click on potential<br />
neutral toned areas of your image for instant<br />
color balancing.
ight is another way of rotating the image.<br />
Move the slider to the right, and the Crop<br />
Overlay moves counterclockwise over<br />
your image, or move it to the left to move<br />
the frame clockwise.<br />
Treatment<br />
The way I develop a black-and-white<br />
image versus a color image can be very<br />
different, so I tend to make this decision<br />
up front. When you open the Basic Panel,<br />
the irst things you’ll see are the options<br />
for Treatment, rendering your image as<br />
either Color or Black & White (Figure 6).<br />
Interpretive and Literal Color<br />
Approaches. Ultimately, color is subjective,<br />
and the creative photographer<br />
understands that color can affect the mood<br />
and feeling of an image and is a powerful<br />
vehicle for communicating a narrative.<br />
Figure 7 shows a series of images presented<br />
with different color temperatures.<br />
You can render an image with cool tones<br />
or warm tones, with vibrant colors or<br />
muted color, or you can shift the hue of a<br />
color channel or tone of an image to create<br />
an eclectic affect.<br />
For a more literal rendering of<br />
color, it’s all about the white balance.<br />
Lightroom does offer Presets akin to<br />
what your camera offers such as Daylight,<br />
Cloudy, Shade and Tungsten, but I<br />
prefer to use the White Balance Selector<br />
(Figure 8). The trick is to ind an area of<br />
the image that you would like to be neutral<br />
in tone—some shade of white, gray<br />
or black. With either path you choose,<br />
I suggest using a White Balance Preset<br />
or the White Balance Selector tool as<br />
ways of getting you in the ballpark. To<br />
dial in the details, look to the Temp and<br />
Tint sliders for ine-tuning.<br />
Black & White. Converting images to<br />
black-and-white with Lightroom is terribly<br />
easy. Yes, you can click on Black & White<br />
at the top of the Basic Panel, but I suggest<br />
visiting the B&W Panel below it. As you<br />
click on B&W, the panel opens, revealing<br />
a series of color sliders. Simply move sliders<br />
left or right to lighten or darken tonal<br />
information within a speciic color channel.<br />
This is an easy and effective way to<br />
design any black-and-white image before<br />
ine-tuning it with contrast adjustments or<br />
dodging and burning.<br />
Contrast And Clarity<br />
Technically speaking, increasing or<br />
decreasing contrast either expands or<br />
contracts mid-tones. But adding contrast<br />
can also add the feeling of depth<br />
or richness within a frame. Adding contrast<br />
deepens shadows and extends highlights,<br />
which in turn can saturate color<br />
images, emphasize shapes and edges,<br />
and intensify overall tonality throughout<br />
the frame. Naturally, subtracting contrast<br />
will mute colors, deemphasize shapes<br />
and edges, and soften overall tonality.<br />
The two main tools for working with<br />
contrast are the Contrast slider in the<br />
Basic Panel or the Tone Curve Panel.<br />
Figure 9 shows variations of an image<br />
with some of each applied. Simply put,<br />
the difference between the two is that the<br />
Contrast slider shifts contrast throughout<br />
the image, while Tone Curves allows you<br />
to target contrast adjustments to speciic<br />
areas of your tonal range.<br />
Lightroom also offers the Clarity slider<br />
for playing with contrast on a iner scale.<br />
For example, the Clarity slider is excellent<br />
at emphasizing or deemphasizing textures.<br />
In Figure 10, I used it to texturize water by<br />
moving the slider to the right or softening<br />
it by moving it to the left. One gives a<br />
feeling of hardness, the other softness.<br />
outdoorphotographer.com <strong>November</strong> <strong>2016</strong> 53
Contrast -75 Contrast +50<br />
FIGURE9<br />
Lowcontrasttendstolattenobjects,whileincreasing<br />
contrastwilladddepthtoasceneandemphasizeshape<br />
androundnessinsubjectmatter.Contrastwilldeepen<br />
shadows,expandhighlightsandsaturatecolors.<br />
Clarity -25 Clarity +75<br />
High contrast Tone<br />
Curve Adjustment<br />
FIGURE10<br />
Clarity,whichisreallyainely<br />
tunedcontrastadjustment,isthe<br />
perfecttooltosmoothoutsurfaces<br />
oraccentuatetextures.<br />
Localized Corrections<br />
In my humble opinion, the true power of<br />
creative development sits in the hands of<br />
the localized corrections tools. Just above<br />
the Basic Panel in the Develop Module,<br />
next to the Crop tool, you’ll ind the Graduated<br />
Filter (quick command M), the<br />
Radial Filter (quick command Shift+M),<br />
and the Adjustment Brush (quick command<br />
K). With these tools, you can affect<br />
small, speciic areas of an image, or perform<br />
adjustments over large areas. As you<br />
can see in Figure 11, there is no shortage<br />
of sliders to play with. As important as<br />
all the panels are in the Develop Module,<br />
the localized correction tools allow the<br />
most lexibility. You can play with Tint and<br />
Temperature, or make basic tonal adjustments<br />
like exposure, contrast, highlights<br />
and shadows, whites and blacks; you can<br />
adjust Clarity or Dehaze sliders, sharpen,<br />
add or subtract noise, reduce moiré or<br />
defringe (which we will talk about in the<br />
next article in this series), or you can colorize<br />
as speciic or as broad a section of<br />
your image as you like.<br />
Localized correction tools are precisely<br />
what you should use to answer most of<br />
those printing notes questions. Figure 12<br />
shows a series of adjustments I made only<br />
using localized correction tools. I didn’t<br />
use the Basic Panel, Tone Curves or any<br />
other adjustments found outside of what’s<br />
available with localized corrections.<br />
No localized<br />
adjustments applied<br />
A Graduated Filter<br />
was applied above and<br />
below the horizon line<br />
I lightened and added<br />
Clarity to the dock with<br />
the Adjustment Brush<br />
Using the Radial<br />
Filter, I created a custom<br />
vignette adding contrast,<br />
saturation, and I used<br />
the Temperature slider to<br />
warm the scene<br />
54 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com<br />
FIGURE11<br />
Therearethreedifferent<br />
localizedcorrectiontools<br />
thatofferarichand<br />
dynamicvarietyofcontrol,<br />
allowingyoutoapply<br />
adjustmentstolargeparts<br />
ofyourframeortosmall<br />
andspeciicareasforine<br />
detailwork.<br />
FIGURE12<br />
AlmostallofthecreativeorinterpretiveworkthatIdo,whereIdodge<br />
orburn,ordrawmyaudience’s<br />
attentiontowardorawayfroma<br />
subject,isdonewithlocalizedcorrectiontools.Thisimagewasedited<br />
exclusivelywithsuchtools.<br />
Creative Instruments<br />
From irst conceiving a composition<br />
to inalizing a development, the tools are<br />
important, but they are secondary. They<br />
are vehicles for feelings, moods and states<br />
of being. You can add depth, texture or<br />
color, or you can soften tones, edges or<br />
surfaces. By irst asking yourself the right<br />
questions, and creating those mental printing<br />
notes, the tools you subsequently play<br />
with cease to be technical instruments.<br />
They instead become paths that support a<br />
narrative. Being connected to your vision<br />
for your work is the key. OP<br />
Jason Bradley is a nature and underwater<br />
photographer, an expedition leader,<br />
author of the new book Creative Worklow<br />
in Lightroom from Focal Press, and<br />
owner and operator of Bradley Photographic<br />
Print Services. Visit BradleyPhotographic.com<br />
to see more of his work or<br />
to hear about his upcoming adventures.
BEHIND THE SHOT<br />
Text & Photography By Kevin Shearer<br />
Lost Lake<br />
Milky Way<br />
Mount Hood, Oregon
Sony a7S II, Zeiss Loxia 50mm ƒ/2 Planar T*. Exposure: 10 sec., ƒ/2.5, ISO 20,000.<br />
Capturing the Milky Way over<br />
Mount Hood from Lost Lake<br />
was a bucket list capture for<br />
me. This shot was taken in<br />
April <strong>2016</strong>. I was feeling the<br />
itch to get out and capture the galaxy’s core,<br />
as it hadn’t been visible since October 2015.<br />
I knew there was a very short window of time<br />
to get this speciic capture. In addition to<br />
needing ideal weather conditions and minimal<br />
moon light, I knew the Milky Way would be off<br />
to the right of the mountain instead of directly<br />
above in a short month.<br />
I made the trip with another photographer<br />
friend, Nick, to Lost Lake Resort expecting a<br />
three-mile hike to get to this location. We knew<br />
the resort would be closed for the winter and<br />
that the roads weren’t necessarily maintained<br />
during this time. Thankfully, to our surprise,<br />
the road had been plowed, and we were able<br />
to drive right up to the gate of the resort. The<br />
three-mile hike we were expecting was shortened<br />
to a leisurely half-mile stroll.<br />
The short hike wasn’t without obstacles,<br />
however. A severe storm had recently passed<br />
through and downed many massive trees,<br />
blocking the trail completely. We attempted<br />
to climb over the trees, but there was no surmounting<br />
those giants without the risk of injury.<br />
We made the decision to back track to the road<br />
and happened upon a wooden staircase that led<br />
us directly to the North Viewpoint. Once there,<br />
we set up our cameras and waited for the Milky<br />
Way to start rising. We were pleasantly surprised<br />
to have the viewpoint all to ourselves. After<br />
taking some test shots and getting my focus<br />
correct, I waited until 2 a.m. to take this shot. We<br />
stayed out until around 4 a.m. taking additional<br />
shots when we decided to call it a day, or night,<br />
depending on how you see it. It was an amazing<br />
night and one that I won’t soon forget.<br />
The image is an 11-shot pano taken in landscape<br />
orientation at ISO 20,000. Yes, you read<br />
that right—20,000. I use a Really Right Stuff<br />
Pano-Gimbal Head to make sure all my panos<br />
are level and will stitch together nicely in post.<br />
This was mounted to an Induro CT203 tripod.<br />
The images were then edited in Lightroom,<br />
merged to a pano in Photoshop and further edited<br />
there.<br />
OP<br />
See more of Kevin Shearer’s work at kdsphotography.smugmug.com<br />
and follow him<br />
on Instagram @k.d.s.photography.
Explore the many opportunities for dramatic landscape photography<br />
on the sunrise side of California’s Sierra Nevada mountains<br />
Text & Photography By Gary Hart<br />
Skirting the east side of the Sierra Nevada, U.S. Route 395<br />
enchants travelers with ever-changing views of California’s<br />
granite backbone. Unlike anything on the Sierra’s<br />
gently sloped west side, U.S. 395 parallels the range’s<br />
precipitous east lank in the shadow of jagged peaks that soar<br />
up to two miles above the blacktop. More than just beautiful,<br />
these massive mountains form a natural barrier against<br />
incursion from the Golden State’s major metropolitan areas,<br />
keeping the eastern Sierra region cleaner and quieter than its<br />
scenery might suggest.<br />
It would be dificult to ind any place in the world with a more<br />
diverse selection of natural beauty than the 120-mile stretch of<br />
U.S. 395 between Lone Pine and Lee Vining: Mt. Whitney and the<br />
Alabama Hills, the ancient bristlecones of the White Mountains,<br />
the granite columns of Devil’s Postpile, Mono Lake and its tufa<br />
towers, and too many lake-dotted, aspen-lined canyons to count.<br />
Long a favored escape for hikers, hunters and ishermen, Sierra’s<br />
sunrise side has in recent years come to be appreciated by photographers<br />
for its rugged, solitary beauty.<br />
I prefer photographing most eastern Sierra locations at sunrise,<br />
when the day’s irst rays paint the mountains with warm light and<br />
the highest peaks are colored rose by alpenglow. Without clouds,<br />
eastern Sierra sunset light can be tricky, as you’ll be photographing<br />
the shady side of the mountains against the brightest part of the<br />
sky. The eastern Sierra is also home to some of California’s inest<br />
night photography.<br />
Regardless of the time of day, the key to photographing the<br />
eastern Sierra is lexibility—if you don’t like the light in one<br />
direction, you usually don’t need to travel far to ind a nice scene<br />
in another direction.<br />
58 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com
Sunrise Moonset, Mt. Whitney, Alabama Hills.<br />
Lone Pine Area<br />
The southern stretch of U.S. 395 bisects the Owens Valley, a lat,<br />
arid plane separating the Sierra Nevada to the west from the Inyo<br />
ranges to the east. Just west of Lone Pine lies the Alabama Hills.<br />
Named for a Confederate Civil War warship, the Alabama Hills’<br />
jumble of weathered granite boulders and proliferation of natural<br />
arches would be photogenic in any setting. Putting Mt. Whitney<br />
(the highest point in the 48 contiguous states) and the serrated<br />
Sierra crest in the background takes the beauty to another level.<br />
The Alabama Hills are traversed by a network of unpaved but<br />
generally quite navigable roads. To reach the Alabama Hills, drive<br />
west on Whitney Portal Road (the only signal in Lone Pine). After<br />
three miles, turn right onto Movie Road and start exploring. If<br />
you’re struck by a vague sense of familiarity here, it’s probably<br />
because for nearly a century the Alabama Hills has attracted<br />
thousands of movie, television and commercial ilm crews.<br />
Mobius Arch (also called Whitney Arch and Alabama Hills Arch)<br />
is the most popular photo spot in the Alabama Hills. It’s a good<br />
place to start, but settling for this frequently photographed subject<br />
risks missing numerous opportunities for truly unique images here.<br />
To get to Mobius Arch, drive 1.6 miles on Movie Road to the dirt<br />
parking area at the trailhead. Following the marked trail down the<br />
ravine, the arch is an easy quarter-mile walk.<br />
Sunrise is primetime for Alabama Hills photography, but good<br />
stuff can be found here long before the sun arrives. I try to be set<br />
up 45 minutes before the sun (earlier if I want to ensure the best<br />
position for Whitney Arch) to avoid missing a second of the Sierra’s<br />
striking transition from night to day.<br />
The grand inale from anywhere in the Alabama Hills is the rose<br />
alpenglow that colors the Sierra crest just before sunrise. Soon after,<br />
the light will turn amber and slowly slide down the peaks until it<br />
reaches your location, warming the nearby boulders and casting<br />
dramatic long shadows. But unless there are clouds to soften the<br />
light, you’ll ind that the harsh morning light will end your shoot<br />
pretty quickly after the sunlight arrives on the Alabama Hills.<br />
Whitney Portal Road (closed in winter) ends about 11 miles<br />
beyond Movie Road, at Whitney Portal, the trailhead for the hike<br />
to Mt. Whitney and the John Muir Trail. On this paved but steep<br />
road, anyone not afraid of heights will enjoy great views looking<br />
east over the Alabama Hills and Owens Valley far below, and<br />
up-close views of Mt. Whitney looming in the west. At the back<br />
of the Whitney Portal parking lot is a nice waterfall that tumbles<br />
several hundred feet in multiple steps.<br />
The Alabama Hills are one of my favorite moonlight locations.<br />
Because the full moon rises in the east right around sunset, on<br />
full-moon nights the entire area is bathed in moonlight as soon<br />
as darkness falls. Lit by the moon, the rounded boulders mingle<br />
with long, eerie shadows and the snow-capped granite of the Sierra<br />
crest radiates as if lit from within.<br />
If you ind yourself with extra time, drive about 30 miles east<br />
of Lone Pine on California State Route 136 until you ascend to a<br />
plain dotted with photogenic Joshua trees. After you’ve inished<br />
photographing the Joshua trees, turn around and retrace the drive<br />
back to Lone Pine on CA 136 to enjoy spectacular panoramic<br />
views of the Sierra crest. And just north of Lone Pine on U.S.<br />
395 is Manzanar National Historic Site, a restored World War II<br />
Japanese relocation camp. Camera or not, this historic location is<br />
deinitely worth taking an hour or two to explore.<br />
Bristlecone Pine Forest<br />
Continuing north from Lone Pine on U.S. 395, on your left<br />
the Sierra stretch north as far as the eye can see, while the Inyo<br />
mountains on the right transition seamlessly to the White Mountains.<br />
Though geologically different from the Sierra, the White<br />
Mountains’ proximity and Sierra views make it an essential part<br />
of the eastern Sierra experience.<br />
Clinging to rocky slopes in the thin air above 10,000 feet, the<br />
bristlecone pines of the White Mountains are among the oldest<br />
living things on earth—many show no signs of giving up after 4,000<br />
years. At least one bristlecone is estimated to be 5,000 years old.<br />
Abused by centuries of frigid temperatures, relentless wind,<br />
oxygen deprivation and persistent drought, the bristlecones<br />
show every year of their age. Their stunted, twisted, gnarled,<br />
outdoorphotographer.com <strong>November</strong> <strong>2016</strong> 59
Autumn Relection, North Lake.<br />
polished wood makes the bristlecones<br />
suited for intimate macros, mid-range<br />
portraits or as a striking foreground for a<br />
distant panorama.<br />
The two primary destinations in the bristlecone<br />
pine forest are the Schulman and<br />
Patriarch Groves. Get to the bristlecone pine<br />
forest by driving east from Big Pine on California<br />
State Route 168 and climbing about<br />
13 car-sickness inducing miles. Turn left on<br />
White Mountain Road and continue climbing<br />
60 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com<br />
another 10 twisting miles to reach the Schulman<br />
Grove. Despite the incline and curves,<br />
the road is paved all the way to this point.<br />
Stop at the Sierra panorama after about eight<br />
miles for a spectacular view that also makes<br />
a great excuse to pause and collect yourself.<br />
At the small visitor center in the Schulman<br />
Grove, pay the modest use fee, then<br />
choose between the one-mile Discovery<br />
Trail and the 4.5-mile Methuselah Trail.<br />
Both of these loop trails are in good shape,<br />
but the extreme up and down in very thin<br />
air will test your itness. Most of the trees<br />
on the Methuselah Trail get more morning<br />
light, while the majority of the Discovery<br />
Trail trees get their light in the afternoon.<br />
If you’re unsure of your itness or have<br />
limited time, the Discovery Trail is deinitely<br />
the choice for you. Because the photogenic<br />
trees start with the very irst steps,<br />
on this trail you can turn around at any<br />
point without feeling cheated of opportunities<br />
to photograph nice bristlecones. Along<br />
the way you’ll appreciate the handful of<br />
benches for enjoying the view and catching<br />
your breath. Hikers who can make it to<br />
the top of the switchbacks are rewarded<br />
with great views of the snow-capped Sierra<br />
across the Owens Valley.<br />
The Discovery Trail climbs for a couple<br />
hundred more yards beyond the switchbacks,<br />
but just as you’re beginning to wonder<br />
whether all the effort is worth it, the trail
levels, turns and drops. Soon you’ll round<br />
a 90-degree bend and be rewarded for your<br />
hard work with two of the most spectacular<br />
bristlecones in the entire forest. Spend as<br />
much time here as you have because the<br />
rest of the loop back to the parking lot has<br />
nothing to compete with these two trees.<br />
The pavement ends at the Schulman Grove,<br />
but the unpaved 12-mile drive to the Patriarch<br />
Grove is navigable by all vehicles in dry<br />
conditions. Home to the Patriarch Tree, the<br />
world’s largest bristlecone pine, the Patriarch<br />
Grove is more primitive and much less visited<br />
than the Schulman Grove. Unlike the Schulman<br />
Grove, where I rarely stray far from the<br />
trail, I often ind the most photogenic bristlecones<br />
here by venturing cross-country, over<br />
several small ridges east of the Patriarch Tree.<br />
Even without a trail, the sparse vegetation and<br />
hilly terrain provides enough vantage points<br />
that make getting lost dificult.<br />
Clean air, few clouds and very little light<br />
pollution make the bristlecone groves a<br />
premier night photography location. On<br />
moonless summer and early autumn nights,<br />
the bright center of the Milky Way is clearly<br />
visible from the slopes of the bristlecone<br />
forest. For the best Milky Way images, look<br />
for trees that can be photographed against<br />
the southern sky. And no matter how warm<br />
it is on U.S. 395 below, pack a jacket.<br />
The bristlecone forest closes in winter.<br />
Bishop Area<br />
An hour north of Lone Pine on U.S. 395<br />
is Bishop. Its central location, combined<br />
with ample lodging, restaurant and shopping<br />
options, make Bishop the ideal hub<br />
for an eastern Sierra trip. If you want to<br />
anchor in one spot and venture out to the<br />
other eastern Sierra locations, Bishop is<br />
probably your best bet.<br />
West of Bishop are many small but scenic<br />
lakes nestled in steep, creek-carved<br />
Sunrise, Mono Lake, South Tufa.<br />
canyons that are lined with aspen (and<br />
some cottonwood) that turn brilliant yellow<br />
each fall. Many of these canyons can<br />
be accessed on paved roads, others via<br />
unpaved roads of varying navigability and<br />
a few solely by foot.<br />
Of these canyons, Bishop Creek Canyon<br />
is the best combination of accessible<br />
and scenic. To get there, drive west on CA<br />
168 (Line Street in Bishop). After about<br />
15 miles, you can decide whether to turn<br />
left on the road to South Lake or continue<br />
straight to reach North Lake and Lake<br />
Sabrina (pronounced with a long “i”).<br />
One of the area’s most popular sunrise<br />
spots, North Lake is a one-mile signed<br />
detour on a narrow, steep, unpaved road—<br />
easily navigated in good conditions by all<br />
vehicles, but the un-railed, near-vertical<br />
outdoorphotographer.com <strong>November</strong> <strong>2016</strong> 61
Sunrise Mirror, Mono Lake.<br />
drop isn’t for the faint of heart. A mile or<br />
so beyond the turn to North Lake, the road<br />
ends at Lake Sabrina, a fairly large reservoir<br />
in the shadow of rugged peaks and surrounded<br />
by beautiful aspen (but its bathtub<br />
ring in low-water months isn’t for me).<br />
South Lake is another aspen-lined reservoir<br />
that shrinks in late summer and<br />
autumn. Highlights on South Lake Road<br />
are a manmade but photogenic waterfall<br />
leaping from the mountainside, clearly<br />
visible on the left as you ascend, and Weir<br />
Lake just before South Lake.<br />
Both Bishop Canyon roads are worth<br />
exploring, especially in autumn, when the<br />
fall color can be spectacular. Each features<br />
scenic tarns and dense aspen stands<br />
accented by views of nearby Sierra peaks.<br />
About a half hour north of Bishop, detour<br />
west off U.S. 395 to postcard-perfect Convict<br />
Lake. And just beyond the road to<br />
Convict Lake is the upscale resort town of<br />
Mammoth Lakes, a few miles west of U.S.<br />
395. The drive on California State Route<br />
203 through Mammoth Lakes takes you<br />
past the Mammoth Mountain ski slopes to<br />
62 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com<br />
Minaret Vista. This panoramic view of the<br />
sawtooth Minaret Range, Mt. Ritter and Mt.<br />
Banner captures the essence of high Sierra<br />
beauty. From here, follow the road down<br />
the other side to see the basalt columns of<br />
Devil’s Postpile and to take the short hike<br />
to Rainbow Fall.<br />
While you’re in Bishop, don’t miss<br />
Galen Rowell’s Mountain Light gallery<br />
at 106 South Main Street. Not only does<br />
this beautiful gallery display a fantastic<br />
assortment of Rowell’s beautiful images<br />
of the area and beyond, it also includes the<br />
work of guest photographers, an assortment<br />
of Rowell’s books and a limited<br />
selection of ilters.<br />
Lee Vining Area<br />
Leaving Bishop, U.S. 395 climbs<br />
steeply, crests near Crowley Lake, skirts<br />
the communities of Mammoth Lakes and<br />
June Lake, inally dropping down into the<br />
Mono Basin and Lee Vining. Though this<br />
is an easy, one-hour drive, you’ll feel like<br />
you’ve landed on a different planet.<br />
By far the most popular Mono Lake<br />
location is South Tufa, a garden of limestone<br />
tufa towers that line the shore and rise from<br />
the lake. In addition to the striking tufa towers,<br />
South Tufa is on a point that protrudes<br />
into the lake, allowing photographers to compose<br />
with tufa and lake in the frame facing<br />
west, north or east, depending on the light.<br />
To visit South Tufa, turn east on California<br />
State Route 120 about ive miles<br />
south of Lee Vining. Follow this road for<br />
another ive miles and turn left at the sign<br />
for South Tufa. Drive about a mile on an<br />
unpaved, dusty but easily navigated road<br />
to the large dirt parking lot. From here, it’s<br />
an easy quarter-mile walk to the lake, but<br />
wear your mud shoes if you want to get<br />
close to the water. Don’t climb on the tufa!<br />
While South Tufa can be really nice at<br />
sunset, mirror relections on the frequently<br />
calm lake surface and warm light skimming<br />
over the low eastern horizon make<br />
this one of California’s premier sunrise<br />
locations. To get the most out of a sunrise<br />
shoot here, it’s a good idea to photograph<br />
South Tufa at sunset irst to familiarize<br />
yourself with the many possibilities.
Big Dipper, Alabama Hills.<br />
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In the morning, arrive at least 45 minutes<br />
before sunrise to ensure a good spot at this<br />
popular location. As the dawn brightens,<br />
keep your head on a swivel and be prepared<br />
to shift positions with the changing light.<br />
In the relative darkness just after arrival, I<br />
usually concentrate on scenes to the east,<br />
capturing tufa silhouettes against indigo<br />
sky and water.<br />
As the eastern horizon brightens and the<br />
dynamic range increases in that direction,<br />
I usually turn to face west. Soon the highest<br />
Sierra peaks are colored with the day’s<br />
irst sunlight. With the sun approaching<br />
the horizon behind me, the light on the<br />
peaks slowly descends. When it inally<br />
reaches lake level, for a few minutes the<br />
tufa towers are awash with warm sidelight,<br />
creating wonderful opportunities facing<br />
north. As with the Alabama Hills, without<br />
clouds to soften the sunlight and make the<br />
sky more interesting, the sunrise show<br />
ends quickly in the contrasty light.<br />
Other options in and near Lee Vining are<br />
the excellent Mono Lake visitor center on<br />
the north side of town, lunch or dinner at<br />
the Whoa Nellie Deli in the Mobil Station<br />
(trust me on this), and Bodie, an extremely<br />
photogenic ghost town maintained in a state<br />
of arrested decay, about an hour’s drive<br />
north. A sinuous 20-minute drive west, up<br />
CA 120 (closed in winter) lands you at<br />
Tioga Pass, Yosemite’s east entrance and<br />
the gateway to Tuolumne Meadows. OP<br />
Gary Hart is a Northern California-based<br />
professional photographer<br />
and writer who conducts photo workshops<br />
in Death Valley, the eastern<br />
Sierra, Grand Canyon, Hawaii and<br />
Yosemite. Visit his website at garyhartphotography.com.
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Sturdy Tripod<br />
This one is probably obvious, since night photography requires exposures of up to 30<br />
seconds for sharp stars and 30 minutes or more to render star trails. Any movement of the<br />
camera during exposures this long will have a noticeable effect on the image. Be sure the<br />
tripod you select can adequately support the load of your gear. Carbon fiber tripods like the<br />
Really Right Stuff TVC-34 have better vibration-dampening characteristics than aluminum<br />
models. List price: $995. Contact: Really Right Stuff, reallyrightstuff.com.<br />
Intensifier Filter<br />
Most experienced night photographers<br />
will recommend you<br />
shoot without any filters, and this<br />
is generally good advice, as filters<br />
reduce the amount of light that<br />
reaches your sensor, necessitating<br />
even longer exposures. One<br />
exception, though, especially if<br />
you’re photographing in an area<br />
with light pollution, is the Hoya<br />
Red Intensifier. Also known as a<br />
didymium filter, it’s designed to<br />
boost reds and oranges of autumn<br />
colors. The wavelengths it blocks<br />
just happen to be the same as the<br />
most common types of light pollution<br />
from city lights. Estimated<br />
street price: $67. Contact: Kenko<br />
Tokina USA, kenkotokinausa.com.<br />
The most important piece of equipment for night<br />
photography is a camera that exhibits low-noise with<br />
long exposures. The larger the sensor, the better a<br />
camera’s light-gathering ability, so a full-frame camera will<br />
generally do a better job than an APS-C model. Cameras<br />
with high ISO capabilities are also an advantage; the<br />
higher the max ISO of the camera’s sensor, the better<br />
the image quality you’ll likely get from long exposures.<br />
Beyond the camera itself, there are a few accessories that<br />
you’ll want to bring with you—a few of which are necessary.<br />
Essential equipment<br />
for shooting stars and<br />
landscapes after dark<br />
By The Editors<br />
Flashlight F r Light Painting<br />
Ligh echniques are great for adding illumination to<br />
land ap ents during long exposures and can be used to<br />
highlight specific objects. Colorful lights add an extra dimension<br />
of creativity. The Gerber Recon four-color LED flashlight<br />
has modes designed for specific purposes: white for general<br />
use, red for preserving night vision, green for reading maps<br />
and blue for identifying liquids. But you can also use these<br />
for adding a splash of color in your light painting. Estimated<br />
street price: $25. Contact: Gerber, gerbergear.com.<br />
66 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com
Multi-Mode Headlamp<br />
A headlamp is important safety equipment for finding<br />
your way around the landscape at night. We recommend<br />
multi-mode headlamps like the Black Diamond<br />
Storm, which provides up to 250 lumens of light from<br />
the main LEDs and also offers dimmable red and green<br />
night vision modes that, besides their intended purpose,<br />
can be used to add colorful light painting effects to your<br />
long exposures. It also has an IP67 waterproof rating for<br />
all-weather use. List price: $49. Contact: Black Diamond<br />
Equipment, blackdiamondequipment.com.<br />
Extra Batteries<br />
Long exposures mean your camera’s<br />
sensor is working overtime,<br />
draining your batteries faster than<br />
you might expect. Being prepared<br />
with an extra battery or two is<br />
always wise, but especially so for<br />
night photography. This isn’t a<br />
place to cut corners—we advise<br />
that you always purchase batteries<br />
from your camera manufacturers<br />
and avoid third-party “bargains.”<br />
Your camera maker takes care to<br />
produce high-quality batteries.<br />
If something goes wrong with a<br />
third-party battery, it could damage<br />
your camera and will likely void<br />
your warranty.<br />
Smartphone Star Maps<br />
Apps that provide maps of the night sky<br />
are especially helpful for astrophotography.<br />
For example, to get perfectly circular star<br />
trails, you’ll want to center your composition<br />
on Polaris (the North Star). One of<br />
our favorite apps for mapping the stars is<br />
Sky Guide for iOS. Point your smartphone<br />
toward the heavens, and Sky Guide displays<br />
the constellations above and identifies<br />
them. It even offers encyclopedic<br />
information about the major planets and<br />
stars. You can also discover where stars will<br />
be in the future and track celestial bodies<br />
through time to pre-plan your compositions.<br />
List price: $2.99. Contact: Sky Guide<br />
(Fifth Star Labs), fifthstarlabs.com.<br />
Camera Remote<br />
Along with a tripod, a camera remote is absolutely required for night<br />
photography. It allows you to activate the shutter for long exposures<br />
without needing to actually touch the camera, causing unwanted vibration.<br />
Simple remotes are often available from your camera manufacturer,<br />
but a more sophisticated solution like the Hähnel Captur Module - Pro<br />
is a better investment, offering a variety of remote-triggering capabilities,<br />
including an intervalometer for time-lapse photography and the<br />
ability to set duration of long exposures with your camera in Bulb mode.<br />
Estimated street price: $119. Contact: Hähnel (RTS, Inc.), rtsphoto.com.<br />
outdoorphotographer.com <strong>November</strong> <strong>2016</strong> 67
Hands-on with Nikon’s top DX-format DSLR<br />
Text & Photography By Tony Rowell<br />
The Milky Way over the Paciic Ocean,<br />
Pescadero Coast, California. Exposure:<br />
20 seconds, ƒ/4.5, ISO 5000.<br />
68 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com
In conjunction with the launch of<br />
the Nikon D5 full-frame lagship<br />
DSLR earlier this year, Nikon also<br />
announced the Nikon D500, an APS-C<br />
sensor camera with remarkable similarities<br />
to the D5. The camera features a<br />
20.9-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor<br />
and has the same EXPEED 5-image<br />
processor, 153-point AF system and<br />
advanced metering system as the new<br />
top-of-the-line full-frame D5.<br />
If you’re photographing wildlife or<br />
sports action, you’ll love the D500, as<br />
it has continuous shooting at up to 10<br />
frames per second and, when using an<br />
XQD memory card (the camera features<br />
both XQD and SD card slots), it<br />
can record up to 200 frames in a single<br />
burst, even when shooting 14-bit lossless<br />
compressed NEF iles.<br />
These days I do a lot of night photography,<br />
so I was pleased that the buttons<br />
on the left side of the camera light up for<br />
easy navigation in low light. The large<br />
3.2-inch 2,359,000-dot LCD touchscreen<br />
tilts up and down and, like a smartphone,<br />
you can use your ingers on the screen to<br />
zoom in on an image or swipe the screen<br />
to review additional images. The native<br />
sensitivity range of the D500 is ISO 100<br />
to 51,200 and expandable to 1,640,000.<br />
I was a little disappointed that there<br />
wasn’t a built-in lash like the one on the<br />
D300s that I still own because an in-camera<br />
lash can save the day in a backlit or<br />
shady scene, and can be used to trigger<br />
more powerful strobes, such as Nikon’s<br />
new SB-5000 AF Speedlight, which I also<br />
had the opportunity to test. This high-tech<br />
lash can handle more than 100 consecutive<br />
irings at full output without overheating,<br />
thanks to an innovative built-in<br />
cooling system and a brilliant heat-shedding<br />
design. The lash is part of Nikon’s<br />
Advanced Wireless Lighting system and,<br />
when used with a D5 or D500 DSLR<br />
equipped with WR-R10 Wireless Remote<br />
Controller and WR-A10 Wireless Remote<br />
Adapter, provides a radio triggering range<br />
of 98 feet with no line-of-sight requirement<br />
and with control over six groups of lashes.<br />
The D500 also shoots cinematic 4K<br />
UHD video at up to 30 frames per second<br />
and includes a handy built-in interval<br />
timer and 4K UHD quality time-lapse<br />
function, which allows you to easily create<br />
4K UHD time-lapse movies in-camera.<br />
The downside is that you don’t get<br />
the stills. If you want to capture still iles,<br />
you can shoot hundreds of images with<br />
a short interval without the need for a<br />
remote or intervalometer using the camera’s<br />
Interval-Timer Shooting.<br />
I currently own a Nikon D300S,<br />
D700 and a D800E, and I’m incredibly<br />
impressed with the D500. The<br />
array of professional-level features<br />
found in the D500 make it the most<br />
advanced and most robust APS-C camera<br />
from Nikon.<br />
OP<br />
See more of Tony Rowell’s work at<br />
tonyrowell.com.<br />
outdoorphotographer.com <strong>November</strong> <strong>2016</strong> 69
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tech tips<br />
(Cont’d from page 24)<br />
get 16MP on the Micro Four Thirds<br />
format sensor, the pixels need to be<br />
very small. As a result, the resolution<br />
will be less than that of full-frame<br />
DSLR cameras with 20MP or more,<br />
and nearly four times the sensor size.<br />
Smaller sensors with small pixels also<br />
affect the light-gathering properties<br />
of the camera, so the MFT cameras<br />
can’t compete in really low light and<br />
in dynamic range.<br />
Electronic viewinders (EVF) are both<br />
an advantage and a problem. On the one<br />
hand, the viewinder can relect the exposure<br />
and doesn’t black out during image<br />
and video capture. On the other hand,<br />
electronic viewinders still do not have<br />
enough resolution to match a throughthe-lens<br />
view for focusing.<br />
But that’s just for now. I know several<br />
pros and many dedicated amateur<br />
photographers who have committed to<br />
mirrorless systems, and their interest is<br />
going to drive the swift development of<br />
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OP<br />
70 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com
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outdoorphotographer.com <strong>November</strong><strong>2016</strong> 71
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72 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com ▶▶ For more workshop listings, go to www.outdoorphotographer.com
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outdoorphotographer.com <strong>November</strong> <strong>2016</strong> 73
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largest temperate rainforest in the world, Juneau is one of the most<br />
picturesque capitals in the U.S. Pack your camera, authentic Alaska<br />
awaits – mountains, glaciers, wilderness, and wildlife !<br />
1.888.581.2201<br />
YOUR TICKET<br />
TO A NORTHERN LIGHTS SHOW<br />
As night takes over the Arctic sky for extended<br />
hours up in Nunavik, Quebec’s Far North, the<br />
winter months ahead are the perfect time to catch<br />
a glimpse of the famed aurora borealis, before the<br />
bright long summer days come back to steal the<br />
show. Dancing with the stars up above, Northern<br />
lights will dazzle you with their bright green glow<br />
and mesmerizing purple shades. With our Inuit<br />
guides, you’ll be sure to get front row tickets to<br />
this unforgettable open-air performance.<br />
© Gilles Boutin<br />
74 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com<br />
Inuit Adventures<br />
www.inuitadventures.com<br />
1.855.657.3319 Toll Free<br />
▶▶ For more workshop listings, go to www.outdoorphotographer.com
Don Smith Photography<br />
Photo Workshops<br />
Join us in the wilds of Northern Canada to see polar bears &<br />
icebergs, the great caribou migration, wild wolves during<br />
the den cycle or musk-ox & incredible northern lights!<br />
Join acclaimed landscape photographer/instructor Don Smith as he<br />
guides you to the most scenic locations in the Western U.S. Don has<br />
been leading successful workshops for the past 11 years in areas he<br />
knows intimately. Classes includes image reviews and worklow.<br />
don@donsmithphotography.com<br />
www.donsmithphotography.com<br />
Photograph in Monet’s Garden<br />
with Freeman Patterson in 2017<br />
Ignite your artistic passion<br />
in2017! Joinaward-winning<br />
ine art nature photographer<br />
Charles Needle for creative<br />
macro, lower/garden and<br />
iPhoneography workshops<br />
thatwillchallengeandinspire<br />
you to see in new ways, and<br />
takeyourphotographytothe<br />
nextlevel. Locationsin2017<br />
include:Monet’sGarden(Giverny,France)withprivateaccess,co-taughtby<br />
award-winning Canadian photographer and best-selling author, Freeman<br />
Patterson;TuscanyinSpringtime;TheButchartGardens(Victoria,Canada);<br />
Atlanta Botanical Garden (Atlanta, GA); Private Gardens of the Paciic NW;<br />
LavenderFarms(Sequim,WA),NapaValley(CA)andmanymore.<br />
Galápagos Travel<br />
www.thelon.com<br />
tundra@thelon.com<br />
+1 608-370-5071<br />
Specializing in comprehensive, professionally-led, natural history and<br />
photo tours in the Galápagos Islands. In-depth monthly departures on 16<br />
passenger yachts spend either 11 or 15 days fully exploring the islands,<br />
including early morning and late afternoon wildlife viewing sessions.<br />
Other in-depth<br />
photography destinations:<br />
Cuba, Madagascar, Antarctica,<br />
Easter Island, South Georgia<br />
(800) 969-9014 or<br />
+1 (831) 689-9192<br />
Classes, Tours& Workshops<br />
Charles Needle Photography | 770.630.0453<br />
www.charlesneedlephoto.com<br />
Images in Africa Safaris<br />
Africa is wilderness at its most untamed;<br />
the landscape, textures and stunning<br />
light. Imagine travelling to Africa<br />
& making your own photographs of<br />
Africa’s stunning wildlife. During<br />
Images in Africa Safaris’ Photo Safaris<br />
you’ll track the big i ve.<br />
Reserve your Photo safari for the<br />
Mountain Gorillas of Rwanda, Leopard &<br />
Lion rich Sabi Sand, South Africa; Spectacular<br />
Ngorongoro Crater Tanzania, the<br />
Great Wildebeest Migration of the Maasai<br />
Mara, Kenya, go birding in the Okavango<br />
Delta Botswana in <strong>November</strong> 2017.<br />
www.galapagostravel.com<br />
IMAGESINAFRICASAFARIS.COM|(916)759-0776|INFO@IMAGESINAFRICASAFARIS.COM<br />
and click on Classes, Tours & Workshops<br />
outdoorphotographer.com <strong>November</strong> <strong>2016</strong> 75
T<br />
Free Creative Education<br />
youtube.com/AdoramaTV<br />
01. Olympus Pen F<br />
• 20MP Live MOS Sensor<br />
• 50MP High Res Shot Mode<br />
• 2.36M-dot OLED Electronic Viewfinder<br />
$<br />
1,199.00 SKU: IOMPFB<br />
03. Canon EOS-1DX Mark II<br />
• 20.2 Megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor<br />
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• Built-in GPS<br />
•Optional Wi-Fi Transmitter WFT-E8A<br />
$<br />
5,999.00 SKU: ICA1DXM2<br />
05. Hasselblad<br />
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• CMOS, 50 megapixels<br />
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$<br />
8,995.00 SKU: HSX1D50C<br />
02. Leica Q<br />
• Full-frame 24 MP CMOS Sensor<br />
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$<br />
4,250.00 SKU: ILCQ<br />
04. Pentax K-1<br />
• 36.4 effective MP<br />
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• 33 Point Auto-Focus System<br />
• Professional H.264 Full HD video<br />
$<br />
1,799.95 SKU: IPXK1<br />
06. Canon EF 11-24mm<br />
• L-series ultra-wide zoom lens<br />
• Super UD element and one UD lens<br />
• Subwavelength Coating (SWC)<br />
• Air Sphere Coating (ASC)<br />
$<br />
2,999.00 SKU: CA11244<br />
adorama.com/TradeST
07. Nikon D5 FX-Format<br />
• 20.8MP FX-format CMOS image sensor<br />
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and AE performance<br />
$<br />
6,496.95 SKU: INKD5X<br />
09. Flashpoint StreakLight<br />
360 R2 Ws Flash TTL<br />
• 270 degree swivel & 105 degree tilt head<br />
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• Multifunction buttons w/digital marking<br />
• With R2 integrated wireless transceiver<br />
$<br />
489.95 SKU: FPLFSL360*<br />
11. Fujifilm X-T2<br />
• 24.3MP APS-C X-Trans CMOS III Sensor<br />
• Dust and splash-resistant body<br />
• Dual memory card slots<br />
• 4K video 24P<br />
$<br />
1,599.95 SKU: IFJXT2<br />
08. Flashpoint Zoom Li-on<br />
R2 TTL On-Camera Flash<br />
• Avilable in TTL for Canon, Nikon & Sony<br />
• Powerful Flash with GN 127ft / 34<br />
• HSS for shutter speeds up to 1/8000 sec.<br />
• With R2 integrated wireless transceiver<br />
$<br />
179.95 SKU: FPLFSMZL2CA<br />
10. Sony Alpha a7R II<br />
• Mirrorless Digital Camera<br />
• 4K movie recording<br />
• 5-axis in-body image stabilization<br />
• 2.4-million dot XGA OLED<br />
$<br />
3,198.00 SKU: ISOA7R2<br />
12. Panasonic<br />
Lumix DMC-GX85<br />
• 16.00 Megapixels<br />
• Mirrorless Interchangeable Kit<br />
• Touch Enabled Tilting Display<br />
• Turn 4K Video Into Photography<br />
$<br />
799.99 SKU: IPCGX85BK<br />
42 W 18th ST., NYC<br />
800-223-2500<br />
adorama.com
The<br />
Professional’s<br />
TM<br />
Source<br />
Canon EOS-1D X Mark II DSLR Camera (Body)<br />
CAE1DX2 | $5,999.00<br />
Nikon D500 DSLR with 16-80mm Lens<br />
NID5001680 | $3,066.95<br />
Visit BandH.com for the<br />
most current pricing<br />
Nikon SB-5000 AF Speedlight<br />
NISB5000 | $596.95<br />
Sekonic LiteMaster Pro L-478DR-U<br />
SEL478DRU | $399.00<br />
YUNEEC Typhoon H Hexacopter w/ GCO3+ Camera<br />
YUTYPHOONH | $1,299.99<br />
Tips & Techniques<br />
Frm the Pros<br />
1<br />
Keep it<br />
Clean<br />
2<br />
Battery<br />
Power<br />
3<br />
Strobe Head<br />
Safety<br />
Free Expedited Shipping<br />
on orders over $49*<br />
Keep your lenses and filters<br />
clean by removing<br />
dust with a lens blower,<br />
then brushing with a lens<br />
brush, and finish with a<br />
moistened, fresh microfiber<br />
cloth, lens tissue, or<br />
lens wipe. An important<br />
keytosuccessfullycleaning<br />
optics is to be as gentleaspossible.<br />
Rechargeable batteries<br />
are economical and<br />
good for the environment.<br />
Eneloop batteries<br />
may be charged many<br />
times, are memory-free,<br />
hold a charge for a<br />
long time, and make it<br />
possible to be ready<br />
for last-minute assignments.<br />
When traveling with<br />
strobe heads, before powering<br />
up, try to remember<br />
to make sure the flashtubes<br />
haven’t become<br />
loose. And before connecting<br />
to a power pack, be<br />
sure the head covers have<br />
been removed to prevent<br />
damage in case the modeling<br />
light switch is on.<br />
*Applies to In-Stock Items. Some restrictions may apply.<br />
Seewebsitefordetails. NYCDCAElectronicsStoreLic.#0906712;<br />
NYCDCAElectronics&HomeApplianceServiceDealerLic.#0907905;<br />
NYC DCA Secondhand Dealer – General Lic. #0907906<br />
©<strong>2016</strong>B&HFoto&ElectronicsCorp.
BandH.com<br />
Sony Alpha a7R II Mirrorless (Body)<br />
SOA7R2 | $3,198.00<br />
Canon EF 16-35mm & 100-400mm Lens<br />
CA16354LEF | $1,099.00 CA1004002LIS | $2,199.00<br />
Oben BE-117 Ball Head<br />
OBBE117 | $74.95<br />
Think Tank Rolling Bag<br />
THASRB | $414.75<br />
Manfrotto Aluminum Tripod<br />
MAMCMPCTADVB | $99.99<br />
Interfit S1 500Ws HSS TTL Monolight<br />
INS1 | $999.99<br />
Apple Mac Pro Desktop Computer<br />
APMPME2545 | $4,299.00<br />
Shop B&H, where you will find all the latest gear<br />
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Cash in or Trade up<br />
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last frame Canon EOS-1D X, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM. Exposure: 1/1000 sec., ƒ/5.6, ISO 1600.<br />
Michael Cohen<br />
Nature Of The Beast<br />
While on an extensive tour of Namibia, Michael Cohen was waiting out a storm in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park when he witnessed an incredible sight: two<br />
male lions in pursuit of a male giraffe. “As the chase approached us,” Cohen recalls, “one lion stopped running and just laid down in the tall grass. The older, darkmaned<br />
lion shown here continued the pursuit on its own, inally breaking into a full sprint just as he was closest to our position.<br />
“The lion circled the giraffe, cutting off its escape route, staring up at its much-larger prey as the giraffe raised its hoof in defense. Spoiler: This lion was eventually<br />
joined by the second lion, and they successfully managed to take the giraffe down, although getting kicked several times in the process.” To see more of<br />
Michael Cohen’s work, visit mykey.smugmug.com.<br />
80 <strong>Outdoor</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong> outdoorphotographer.com
Focal Length: 600mm Exposure: F/7.1 1/1250sec ISO: 1600<br />
You’re never too far from a great close-up.<br />
Discover the next generation ultra-telephoto<br />
zoom lens from Tamron.<br />
www.tamron-usa.com<br />
SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2<br />
(Model A022)<br />
For Canon, Nikon and Sony* mounts<br />
Di: For APS-C format and full-frame DSLR cameras<br />
*Sony mount model without VC