Landscape, Nature And Travel Photography

This weekend was one of my favorite local events here in San Francisco, Bring Your Own Big Wheel (aka BYOBW). This year conditions were treacherous with heavy rain. The weather didn’t deter anyone from strapping on their costumes, straddling a tricycle meant for a small child and taking life and limb into their own hands as they descended down one of San Francisco’s curviest streets. Below is one of my favorite photos from the day and just below is a slide show of all my favorites 2010 BYOBW photo.

Also check back shortly as details to a new lens rental giveaway will be out later today.

Bring Your Own Big Wheel (BYOBW) Easter Bunny View - San Francisco, California

Bring Your Own Big Wheel (BYOBW) 2010 – Images by Jim Goldstein

Technorati Tags: Photography, Event, Bring Your Own Big Wheel, BYOBW, San Francisco, Stock Photo

The 34th episode of EXIF and Beyond has been released (duration 16:54 min.)

This episode of EXIF and Beyond features interviews of Russell Brown, John Knoll and Kevin Connor (Adobe Senior Director of Product Management) from the Adobe Photoshop 20th Anniversary Celebration held in San Francisco on February 18th, 2010. Discussed are topics ranging from recollections of Photoshops earliest beginnings, the impact of its release to creative professionals and hints of what’s to come in Photoshop CS5.

Related Posts

• Full Video of the Adobe Photoshop 20th Anniversary Celebration
• Photoshop 1.0 on the iPhone!
• Photoshop 1.0.7 iPhone App Review
• Video: A killer Photoshop space odyssey (A Must See!)

Listen To The Podcast
EXIF and Beyond: Russell Brown, John Knoll & Kevin Connor

If you enjoyed this episode please be sure to rate and comment on the EXIF and Beyond podcast on iTunes.

You’ve found my blog and EXIF and Beyond podcast, but you’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg… follow me on Twitter and FriendFeed.

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Technorati Tags: photography, podcast, Adobe, Photoshop, 20th Anniversary, Russell Brown, John Knoll, Kevin Connor, EXIF and Beyond

Yesterday the professional free skier C.R. Johnson died in an accident on the slopes of Squaw Valley, California. My heart goes out to his family and friends. I first crossed paths with C.R. while shooting the 2005 Icer Air event in San Francisco. In 2005 Icer Air caught the attention of millions of people who were witness (in person or on TV) to the odd juxtaposition of extreme skiing and snowboarding against the backdrop of steep San Francisco hills, mansions and iconic landmarks such as Alcatraz. The scene was surreal, but the energy was intense. At this event C.R. Johnson won the skiing competition. His enthusiasm for the sport was palpable and his energy lit up those around him. I never knew C.R. other than this one time we crossed paths, but seeing how his influence in this sport grew and his incredibly positive energy impacted others it’s obvious now the sport has lost a great ambassador. More on C.R. Johnson can be read over at Chase Jarvis’ blog

C.R. Johnson being interviewed after winning the 2005 Icer Air skiing competition in San Francisco, California

Technorati Tags: C.R. Johnson, extreme sports, sports, skiing, Icer Air

I could generate a laundry list of thoughts as to why the Mavericks surf contest is one of the more amazing events to cover, but in the end it comes down to the sheer spectacle of man vs. nature. Having photographed every Mavericks Surf Contest since 2005 I’ve covered most every angle except from a jetski and the water itself. This year I was very fortunate stay dry on the media boat to get some killer photos.

Chris Bertish, the first place finisher & champion, on the lip of a giant wave at the 2010 Mavericks Surf Contest held Saturday February 13, 2010 in Half Moon Bay, California

Start to the Day & Camera Gear
Covering the event is as fast paced as the action itself. The day started early at 4:30am gathering my gear and driving to the Pillar Point Harbor. Still dark outside at this hour there is no way to see what conditions look like other than reading the surf & weather report. Talking with friends and event staff the night before, while picking up my media credentials, I heard it was going to be big… as in bigger than any year prior. While waiting on the dock to board the media boat I could take in the beautiful sunrise. The coastal mountains were shrouded in fog and golden light was beaming through revealing a hint of the day’s surf conditions. Surf was certainly up, but how much compared to years past it wasn’t clear.

The call came to board the boat, I grabbed my gear and I did my best to carve out a place to take position for the event. After the safety briefing on the boat it was all business. As the boat was leaving the harbor I made sure all my gear was in order including a Canon 7D provided courtesy of BorrowLenses.com and my Canon 1Ds Mark III. Also set up was a hot-shoe mounted Sony HXR-MC1 HD video camera on the 7D. By the time I adjusted camera settings, checked/cleaned lenses, and hunkered down for the long haul we cleared the breakwater and headed out into very choppy water.

Conditions & Challenges
Conditions at the surf break, roughly 1/2 a mile from shore, were picture perfect with amazing golden hour light, clear visibility and GIANT waves. Everything that had been hoped for seemed to be coming into place.  Unfortunately for those on shore looking to get a glimmer of the action from the cliffs the large surf was generating tons of mist hindering the view in combination with the slow to dissipate low lying coastal fog. Eventually the fog lifted for those viewing the contest from shore, but for the 20-25 media photographers/videographers on the boat there was nothing holding us back

The blessing of huge surf created the curse of rough shooting conditions. It wasn’t uncommon for the boat to bob up and down from 6-12 feet. In many regards I felt like a rodeo cowboy with one hand on the rail and the other keeping my cameras from hitting the boat and near-by photographers. I carried onto the boat only what I planned to use, so no camera bag was necessary. Others took bags and monopods to lay on the deck that were constantly sliding into others and getting under foot. To get a solid photo I had to jam my foot against the edge of the deck/railing and pin my back to the cabin of the boat. This served two purposes… 1. To keep from going overboard when shooting and 2. To enable me the ability to use both hands to stabilize my camera as best as I could. It was a very physical day.

Alex Martins drops into a huge wave at the 2010 Mavericks Surf Contest

Surf & Surfers
Mavericks is a unique surf event in that once they determine that conditions are right they announce the contest date to take place in 2-3 days. Contest participants are pre-selected and expected to arrive in Half Moon Bay, California with in 24 hours no matter where they happen to be. This year’s Mavericks Surf Contest winner, Chris Bertish of South Africa, flew 30-plus hours on Thursday to arrive in time Saturday morning for the start of the event. Bertish and the other participants are hand selected world class athletes. The 50-58°F water requires all northern California surfers to wear 5mm wet suits hiding much of their athletic stature.

All the effort to make the event is paid off with giant waves rivaled only in a few places world-wide (Hawaii, Indonesia and South Africa). On this day the surf was reaching epic heights of 40-50 feet. Note that a rough rule of thumb is multiplying the wave height by ~2 to get the range of height of the face of the wave. A 40 foot wave can have an 80 foot face. Unlike past events the waves just kept getting bigger throughout the day. The tides were working in the favor of the contest. The only downside to the day was that as the day progressed the intervals of the swells seemed to extend creating larger lulls between sets. By the time the final heat rolled around there was more waiting than surfing, but when the waves arrived they were epic by any standard.

More Camera Gear Info
I can’t thank BorrowLenses.com enough for the use of the Canon 7D. It was the primary camera that I used. In the past I’ve used my Canon 1D Mark II with great success. I had but 45 minutes to spare after preparing my gear to learn how to configure and use the Canon 7D. Canon has continued to make it simple to configure its dSLR settings. The use of the Quick Control screen to easily access all basic camera settings was of great value throughout the day. In reviewing the camera’s feature settings, the night before the event, I disabled the on camera flash & Live View, set the AF mode to Quick, set the color space to AdobeRGB and specified centered focus points to be used. I checked for dust spots in a few test shots and found the camera to be in great working order.

Why did I chose to shoot with the Canon 7D? Three things come into play when I photograph sports subjects (or wildlife for that matter) from a boat: shutter speed, resolution and frame rate.

Shutter Speed
Capturing my subject at a high shutter speed is essential to offset movement of the boat. This is especially true when you’re fighting a substantial pitch due to high surf. In addition to water conditions facing unpredictable coastal weather where the lighting can become dark can also negatively impact ones ability to keep a high shutter speed. Noise free high ISO functionality is key to adjusting to weather conditions. I prefer to shoot in Aperture priority mode (occasionally in Shutter priority) while manually fine tuning the aperture settings to strike a balance between needed depth of field and shutter speed.

Resolution
The higher the resolution of the camera sensor the greater flexibility I’ll have to fine tune my composition in post-production by cropping photos. Higher resolution photographs allow me to correct poorly composed photos resulting from unpredictable movements of the boat. While I can line up a composition in a split second I can’t predict how the boat will move due to the surf. It’s not uncommon to look at photos in post-production and notice substantial movement or in extreme cases lost shots.

Frame Rate
For many it might seem that the 5fps of a camera like the 1Ds Mark III or other body would suffice for a sports event, but this is not the case. 3 to 5 extra frames per second can make the difference between getting the shot and not. This is particularly true when photographing an extreme sport such as surfing, let alone dealing with unpredictable movement of your shooting platform.

On all fronts the 7D handled the job nicely. Is the camera up to snuff for landscape work? I couldn’t tell you at this point, but for sports photography I wouldn’t hesitate to use it again.

Photos
Throughout the week I’ll post some of my favorite photos from the 2010 Mavericks Surf Contest to the blog, but in the meantime I’ve embedded a larger set of images below for you to enjoy. Let me know if you find a favorite and feel free to embed this slideshow elsewhere.

Mavericks Surf Contest 2010 – Images by Jim Goldstein

Technorati Tags: Photography, Mavericks, Maverick’s, surfing, surf, sports, extreme sport, Mavericks Surf Contest, 2010

It’s been a couple years, but the Mavericks Surf Contest in Half Moon Bay is due to take place this Saturday. Some highlights from the last time I was out to photograph the event are in the following gallery.

Mavericks (Featured) – Images by Jim Goldstein

If you’re looking to brave the trip out be warned there is massive traffic congestion, horrific parking, historically large crowds and limited viewing opportunity on the cliffs. The event is amazing to witness even still, but if you plan on heading out be prepared for the worst. The organizers have set up viewing areas so be sure to visit the Mavericks web site for up to date info along with an interactive Webcast of the event.

Every Surfers Guardian Angel, Mavericks Surf Contest 2005

If you don’t heed my warnings be sure to read my past write ups on photographing Mavericks:

• Mavericks Big Wave Surf Competition 2005
• Mavericks Big Wave Surf Competition 2006
• Mavericks Surf Contest 2008 Photos
• A personal favorite of mine:
  Every Surfers Guardian Angel, Mavericks 2005

Technorati Tags: Mavericks, surf, contest, wave, Half Moon Bay, Pillar Point, California, sports, photography

If you’re in San Francisco, California this weekend it is Fleet Week and that means the Blue Angels will be buzzing the city quite frequently. Seeing and hearing these jets is quite the spectacle so keep your eyes open and your camera in hand. If you’re interested in going out to photograph them I recommend reading 10 Essential Tips To Get Great Blue Angels Photos. They’re a great challenge to photograph.

Blue Angels in Formation Fleet Week 2008

If you’re curious to see more Blue Angels photos be sure to check out my 2007 Blue Angels Fleet Week gallery and 2006 Blue Angels Fleet Week gallery.

Technorati Tags: Photography, Fleet Week, San Francisco, California, Stock Photo, Blue Angels

It’s been a great year for photography, perhaps even better than last year, and as 2008 nears its end I thought it would be fun to select my favorite photos from the year. I had a tough time narrowing things down so here they are…

Honorable Mentions:

	Honorable Mention #5: Pike Place Market One thing I love about taking travel photos is the constant challenge to find a new perspective. While I got odd stares from passerbys I knew as soon as I set up for this photo it was going to work. With a little creativity even a location you’d think can’t yield a new perspective can surprise you.
	Honorable Mention #4: Sea Otter Portrait (Enhydra lutris) This year I’ve made it a project of mine to photograph California Sea Otters and introduce as many photographers to them as possible through my photo tours. This particular otter was enjoying a rare spot of sun with a dry and groomed face. The foreground is his slick wet stomach. It just goes to show you how different their fur can be wet and dry.
	Honorable Mention #3: Zip Line Adventure – Maui, Hawaii Maui proved to be full of photographic opportunities. Documenting the Maui Zip Line Adventure was a blast and one of the major highlights of the trip. As if the zip line wasn’t enough to get the adrenaline flowing, securing a 1Ds Mark III to your chest in addition was a guarantee to get the heart racing.
	Honorable Mention #2 Bobcat (Lynx rufus), Yosemite II I’m not sure I could have coached this wild Bobcat to pose any better for me. To be honest it was hard work tracking this cat and getting into position well before it would reach me… all while not disturbing it. This was definitely one of the best wildlife encounters I had during the year.
	Honorable Mention #1 Bring Your Own Big Wheel 2008 – Happy Easter Adventure seeking adults +  plastic wheeled tricycles + a very steep and winding San Francisco street = hilarity This event has proven to be one of my favorite to photograph. I can’t wait for BYOBW in 2009. Featured in Bring Your Own Big Wheel 2008 Photo Highlights

My Top 10 Favorite Photos of 2008:

#10: Cable View Panoramic, Golden Gate Bridge

Featured in EXIF and Beyond: Mastering Digital Panoramic Photography this panoramic photo taken with a 24mm Tilt-Shift lens has proven to last the test of time. I find myself drawn to this image as much today as I had been the day I took it. The fresh perspective, textures and scale of the scene are elements of the photo that continue to draw me in.

#9: Say Cheese!

Portrait of a Swiss Cow in a Pasture with Mount Eiger in the background.
For the record no tongue ever touched my lens, but it was close. Fortunately for me this bovine was quite docile and didn’t push me down the hill or pull me into an electric fence I was straddling.

#8: California Sea Otter & Pup (Enhydra lutris)

This quick bonding moment between mother and sea otter pup occurred shortly after an over amorous male tried to “divide and conquer”. The female otter was able to simultaneously fend off the male otter while protecting her pup. It was high drama with a happy ending.

#7: Bobcat (Lynx rufus), Yosemite

The sight of wildlife in the snow at Yosemite always amounts to dramatic imagery. With out a care in the world this Bobcat was trekking through a snowy meadow. As mentioned this was likely the wildlife encounter of the year for me. While I got much tighter photos of this cat I find this environmental photo to be my favorite of the set.

#6: California Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris)

The last California Sea Otter photo of my Top 10 set is a portrait of a feeding Sea Otter. This otter made fast work of this crab, but seemed to pause momentarily (in reality a split second) so as to pose for me. What makes this photo special to me is the detail of the otter’s features including the fur, ear, whiskers and paws.

#5: Heron Pond Reflection – Grand Teton National Park

Morning hikes at Grand Teton National park are among my favorite both for the ethereal beauty of the landscape and the awe inspiring encounters with elk. If you’ve never been, Grand Teton National Park should be on your short list of places to visit. The mountains are incredibly beautiful, but the surrounding lakes and rivers are rich with life and intimate nature photo opportunities. This pre-dawn photo attracted my eye both because of the pastel hues of the fog filled sky and the layers of vegetation filling the frame.

#4: Mavericks Surf Contest 2008 – Long & Sterling

The biggest wave of the day at the 2008 Mavericks surf contest was no doubt the most dramatic. The sheer size of these waves is amazing, the surfers are incredibly skilled and the event is a blast to photograph. While this photo highlights the scale of the wave to an individual surfer, it will unfortunately never relay the earth rattling roar of the water.

#3: In Time

Taken in Switzerland this past fall I found myself irresistibly attracted to the fall color of the trees. The jagged form of the bare tree branches juxtaposed against the backdrop of fall color was one that I enjoyed exploring. This particular photo is one I find myself returning to view over and over again.

#2: Matterhorn Reflections, Switzerland

Unequivocally this day was the most beautiful of all my days spent in Switzerland. High above Zermatt I enjoyed taking in the morning light as it illuminated this alpine lake. This scene was too beautiful to confine to one frame so I created a 3-photo panoramic using my 24mm Tilt-Shift lens.
Note: For those in the U.S. unlike North American conifers those in Europe turn golden before their needles are shed. This took some time getting used to this. I kept thinking the trees were being killed by a bark beetle.

#1: Behind the Veil, Snake River – Grand Teton National Park

When Mother Nature puts on a light show in Wyoming she goes all out. This photo was taken after a substantial storm moved through the area. As the storm began to clear a hole opened in the clouds far beyond the horizon. This opened a path for the last rays of sunlight to paint the clouds and peaks of the Grand Tetons with amazing red light. Even more impressive to me was the unusual phenomenon of low lying clouds creating a thin veil conceiling the mountains. All around this was a magical scene to take in and one I’ll cherish for a long time to come.

Technorati Tags: landscape, photography, wildlife, stock photo, travel, photo, best of 2008, favorites of 2008, best of,   Mavericks, surf, Grand Teton National Park, Switzerland, Matterhorn, San Francisco, Golden Gate Bridge, Seattle, Pike Place Market, Sea Otter, Enhydra lutris, Maui, Hawaii, zip line, Lynx rufus, bobcat, Yosemite, Yosemite National Park, BYOBW, Bring Your Own Big Wheel, fall color

Click to Enlarge

More Icer Air Photography

Continuing my thoughts from Lunar Impact, Get Ready for it!, one of the most fascinating things that I learned while watching IMAX: Magnificent Desolation was that astronauts had no sense of visual perspective on the moon.

Think about this for a second and then think about this in context to photography.

An astronaut on the moon could stand on the edge of a ridge and by visual assessment have no idea if it opened to a 20 foot gulch or 1 mile canyon. The stark lighting and contrast created by direct sunlight without an atmosphere to disperse light and the absense of recognizable forms left evaluating the most basic terrain characteristics difficult if not impossible.

Most of us realize in an instant that there is no plant life, structures, etc. on the moon, but few of us realize what importance the things around us provide our brains in assessing our surroundings. Perspective is learned as our brains wire themselves as infants and as we mature as children. Taking a leap to how we interact with our environment as adults and as photographers, perspective while we take it for granted, is a critical component to how we formulate our photographs.  Inclusion of a recognizable item provides not only a sense of setting, but scale. Positioning of people, animals and objects can also create optical illusions.

In PhotoNetCast #17 I referenced a blog post Pictures Taken At Just The Right Angle. My reference to this post was mostly focused on the entertainment value of the images with in it, but also to give people creative ideas. If you dissect why many of these images are entertaining it is because of our interpretation of scale, distance, and function/meaning of an object. Extract all of these elements from a scene and you’re left with what the astronauts faced… an uninterpretable scene. As a photographer I find that mind boggling because it is such a departure from the day to day experience we face in the world we live. Even in the most desolate of locations that I’ve visited there has always been something to provide a sense of scale and perspective.

I think of perspective constantly in my photography, but hearing what the Apollo astronauts faced in relation to a complete lack of perspective it has made me rethink and dissect what perspective means and adds to photography.

Visual perspective and lack of, while a mind bender, is but one type of perspective. Tomorrow I’ll touch on yet another type of perspective and bend your mind in a completely different direction. Stay tuned…

Technorati Tags: perspective, photography, astronaut, moon, landing, Apollo, Magnificent Desolation