Archives for Alaska category
Photographing bears, particularly Grizzly Bears, is always a rush. These animals are truly awesome. Their natural behavior, raw power and characteristic look make for great photography. No matter where you photograph these awe inspiring creatures, the wild, zoos or wildlife refuges, they always deserve your respect as you never know what they might do. With a little luck someday soon I look forward to the opportunity to photograph Grizzlies on the Katmai coast amongst many other places.
Technorati Tags: Grizzly, bear, Ursus horribilis, stock photo, photography
One of the most essential pieces of knowledge to understand in order to attain sharp images, particularly for landscapes, is the principle of hyperfocal distance.
Phil Davis put it best in Photography, 1972
“When the lens is focused on the hyperfocal distance, the depth of field extends from half the hyperfocal distance to infinity.”
The general tip to burn into your memory is focus 1/3 of the way into your photo with a smaller aperture setting to maximize your depth of field.
image courtesy of DOFMaster
A great online resources to reference when researching hyperfocal distance for your gear is DOFMaster’s Depth of Field Calculator. In addition Vividlight Photography also has a great article on this subject What is Hyperfocal Distance and Why Should I Care? were they provide an Excel or PDF Hyperfocal Distance Chart that can be put in your camera bag.
View more photos of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)
Technorati Tags: photo, term, terminology, Hyperfocal Distance, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Arctic Refuge, ANWR, landscape, photo, photography, Alaska, wildflower, stock photo
Invariably when you visit a photography forum these days you’ll find active discussions centered around camera gear whether its Canon vs. Nikon or the merits of medium vs. 35mm formats. At the root of these and many other debates on photography forums is the underlying question…
Do high-end cameras make you a better photographer?
The answer might surprise you…
Yes! Unequivocally high-end cameras do make you a better photographer.
Wait isn’t that counter to my comments in the most recent episode of PhotoNetCast? It certainly is, but don’t plan on blowing your savings on a high-end camera just yet. There are numerous factors that play into making someone a better photographer and certainly a top of the line camera is one of them, but not necessarily the most heavily weighted factor. One could argue either of the following two factors is more important than the other in taking great photographs… technical skills/knowledge and creativity. As I mentioned in PhotoNetCast episode #6 a camera whether top of the line or entry level is just a tool. How you choose to use that tool makes the world of difference.
High-end cameras in general offer a variety of technological advantages through expanded functionality, increased rates of frame capture, greater resolution, mirror lockup, improved build quality/weather sealing, expanded color ranges, etc. In this regard it’s easy to get sucked into camera gear envy, but what really makes the biggest difference is what is in your head. Great photography remains dependent on expanding one’s knowledge and experience, a much more difficult process than saving up for and buying the best camera on the market.
Garbage In, Garbage Out (GIGO) - Learn it and remember it!
No matter what you use whether the best camera in the world or not if you’re photographing junk you’re going to get junk. This speaks to so many levels of photography whether discussing choice of photographic subjects, lighting, technical settings, creative vision, use of a tripod, lenses, reliance on Photoshop or other software applications, etc. Certainly a top of the line camera has the ability to give you superior image quality, but sub-par photography will result in sup-par photographs regardless of the camera body used.
The Mystery of Creativity
Creativity is by far one of the most elusive subjects when discussing photography. The creative process is a personal one and is often unpredictable. Two things are consistent when it comes to creativity and that is vision and ingenuity. Great photography seldom happens randomly. It begins with a vision of what the photographer wants to create and is followed by ingenuity, in the sense of problem solving, to map a course to achieve that vision. That course can face infinite obstacles, but the more knowledge and experience you bring to the table the more likely you as a photographer will be able to achieve your vision.
In that regard becoming a better photographer is as much about “It’s got to be the camera!”, as being a great basketball player is as much about “It’s got to be the shoes!” (a la the classic Nike Michael Jordan/Mars Blackmon Commercial).
Technorati Tags: photogaphy, photo, gear, camera, dSLR, philosophy
This past week the news has been full of stories about high gasoline prices, expanding domestic drilling and various politicians perspectives on the issue. Now that most every American is feeling the squeeze due to higher gasoline prices pro-oil politicians are trying their best to convince the average American that domestic drilling is the answer to their problem. Sadly nothing could be farther to the truth.
Jay McDonough of the San Francisco Examiner wrote a short but very effective article this week ANWR Bottom Line: Two Cents A Gallon. As the title would lead you to believe opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling would help lower the price per gallon of gas approximately 2 cents a gallon in 2025. The net benefit in the near future… ZERO as it would take years if not a decade to begin seeing an impact from drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. As this analysis makes abundantly clear the tactic to open up domestic oil drilling is nothing but an exploitive sham. What would make a huge immediate impact to the price of oil? The answer may surprise you.
Would you believe Enron is still impacting your energy bill? That is correct. We’re feeling the effects of the “Enron Loophole” as discussed on Marketplace with Michael Greenberger. What would would make a significant and immediate impact would be putting back in place regulation of the oil futures market that had been functioning effectively for over 70 years. Enron in 2000 lobbied for the deregulation of the oil futures market enabling speculative investors to drive the price of oil to record prices. If after reading or listening to this interview with Michael Greenberger you’re outraged then make sure to contact your U.S. Congressperson or Senator and let them know how you feel about the “Enron Loophole” and rolling back domestic drilling bans.
Click to view more Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) photos
Technorati Tags: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, ANWR, photography, photo, stock photo, oil, drilling
One of the most exciting developments to occur this weekend was the landing of the Phoenix Mars Lander. Landing on the northern pole region of Mars, amazing photos were sent back detailing unusual, yet familiar looking polygonal shapes in the polar landscape. Upon seeing these photos I didn’t need to read a word on the NASA Phoenix Lander web site about what I was seeing. From my trip to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge I knew exactly what these polygonal formations represented… permafrost or permafrost like conditions.
Below on the left is one of the first photos transmitted from the Phoenix Mars Lander and on the right is an aerial view of the Arctic Coastal Plain. The lifeless/waterless surface of the Mars polar region looks very similar in form to our very own northern polar region. This discovery once again showing another facet of how the mathematical and physical laws of nature repeat from micro to macro and from planet to planet.
The presence of permafrost formations on Mars and Earth is but one of many fascinating instances of forms repeating throughout nature from the microscopic to the interstellar. A commonly repeated forms observed is the logarithmic spiral as seen below in Hurricane Isabel and M51 (photo by Brian Lula). This particular form is far more common than the polygonal permafrost formations, but all part of the mathematical uniformity stemming from the molecular structure of all things that compose matter in our universe.
Logarithmic Spirals Isabel and M51 - APOD
Spiral by minipixel
The recent photos from Mars are not only a distant view to another planet, but a view to the common inner working of how our Universe is built. Nature truly is an amazing thing to study as well as take in visually.
Technorati Tags: Mars, NASA, Phoenix Mars Lander, permafrost, polygon, formation, landscape, photography, nature, shape
The land of the midnight sun (aka Alaska) produces some of the most beautiful light for photography. The trick is being able to see it through the quickly changing weather conditions. Not far from my camp when I took this photo the midnight sun kissed the mountainside as a storm front was moving in. With in minutes this beautiful light had vanished only to appear hours later as the storm cleared. To this day I’m in awe of how rugged yet beautiful this landscape is. Looking through Arctic photos these past couple of days I’m getting the itch to return as soon as I can.
Arctic Refuge: Hidden Beauty
View More Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Photos…
Technorati Tags: Arctic, Arctic Refuge, ANWR, photo, photography, landscape, scenic, Kongakut River, valley, Alaska
Still one of the most amazing locations I’ve traveled to, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is full of pristine beauty. This location, aptly named Caribou Pass, is where the Porcupine herd passes from Canada to the Alaskan Arctic Plain every year. To give you some orientation to this scene… this is the view looking south towards the Brooks Range of Alaska, to the left (east) is Canada, to the right (west) is the Arctic Plain where the Caribou give birth to their young and behind (north) is a mountain top view of the Arctic Plain and Arctic Ocean. It’s been a while since I’ve viewed this photo, but doing so reminds me of how beautiful and fragile this landscape is.
Arctic Refuge: Caribou Pass Valley View
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Technorati Tags: Arctic, Arctic Refuge, ANWR, photo, photography, landscape, scenic, Caribou Pass, Alaska, wildflower
Early morning light breaking through the trees revealed this beautiful sight while traveling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Arctic Lupine (Lupinus Arcticus) wasn’t the most common flower seen during my travels but there was a beautiful spread of these flowers in a small meadow shaded by a stand of Balsam Poplar trees.
Arctic Lupine (Lupinus Arcticus)
Technorati Tags: Arctic Refuge, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, ANWR, Alaska, Arctic Lupine, Lupinus Arcticus, macro, photography, photo, stock
