Born a bit too Late...

I often feel I'm about a hundred and fifty years too late. I have a fascination with the mid 1800's, the time of enlightenment, Thoreau, scientific awakening, natural discovery and John Muir. Like most people I have idols, but mine are a bit different. Hesse, Thoreau, Feynman, Whitman, Abbey and John Muir, that most enlightened Scottish individual and his deep rooted need to wander the landscape, sketching its patterns and observing its wonders. I can relate. One of my favorite stories he wrote is of a little hike he took up Tenya Canyon in Yosemite Valley. It's a notoriously dangerous hike; exposed granite slabs, slippery descents, multiple rappels, class 4 scrambles. It's on my list. Today one needs permits, maps, fancy rope, the proper timing, etc, but with Muir all that was needed was a loaf of half-eaten bread and a journal. After entering Yosemite Valley he headed straight on towards the East end and Tenya Canyon. Traversing the lower section of the hike, littered with huge boulders and fast water he started the upper sections and took a nasty fall that knocked him cold and nearly took his life, cursing his feet telling them "that is what you get by intercourse with stupid town stairs, and dead pavement". Rather than retreat, he pressed on promising to "..guide my humbled body over the highest precipices and the most intricate and nerve-trying places.." Feeling confident that the last of the town-fog and been shaken from both head and feet he slept on a smooth granite boulder, munching stale bread and writing in his journal by the bright moonlight. To wander freely throughout that untouched beauty of place, sketching, noting seems to me as close to perfection as I guess there can be. 

The Astronaut and the Humbled Photographer

I love all things space.  Space travel, history, ships, rockets, trivia, telescopes, moons, pulsars, the list is almost endless.  The Right Stuff is the first move I remember seeing in the theater, well maybe Empire Strikes Back, but they're both about space travel.  I'm a whiz at space trivia, or at least space history trivia, the science can get a bit tricky.  I have old school mission patches, including from my favorite astronaut, Cooper.  Yes, I have a favorite astronaut.  Check him out, he was the definition of one cool customer.  I follow the NASA missions with intense interest and mourned when Spirit got bogged down for good on Mars.  I find it all so incredibly fascinating and wonderful.  Last October we went to the Academy of Sciences building in the Golden Gate Park here in San Francisco.  Each Thursday night the museum puts on an a party, they dim the lights, serve drinks, and even have a DJ.  Which is a bit odd walking around a modern science museum with the thumping base beat pulsing in the background.  Sometimes they have a theme, and bring in special people and displays in honor of that theme.  So last April they celebrated Yuri's night, the anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's historic space flight with a slew of different events and speakers.  Buzz Aldrin was abound as were other NASA astronauts. They showed an amazingly cool planetarium show, basically about how very small we are, and how very big the universe truly is.  Trust me, it's big out there.  I have to say now, I've never met an astronaut, and for me it's definitely a 'star struck' kind of thing.  Place any A-list actor in front of me and I could almost care less, but an astronaut, well that's a different ball game.  After a few hours of wandering, and taking in the humbling planetarium show I finally met my first astronaut.  I was a little star struck.  But, as we got to talking he mentioned he did photography as a hobby, and I immediately thought okay now not only do we have something in common, I have a little edge up.  I blabber on about this shoot and that, images I got in far off places and he patiently listens and then chimes in with this.  He was on the first shuttle flight after the Columbia accident and one of his jobs was to spacewalk underneath the shuttle and check for heat shield damage, where he tells me he has a little extra time and so decides to bust out his cameras, yes plural, he likes to shoot what's called stereoscopic images, essentially 3D, and photograph the distant horizon line of the earth.  Trumped.  Astronauts, they just do everything a bit cooler.

Observation

I think it's necessary for a photographer to be an acute observer.  Even more so than participation.  To learn observation, with and without a camera takes patience.  How many times have you sat and watched the immediate world around you.  The unfolding scenes surrounding your perimeter.  Whenever I do this the first thing I notice, if I happen to be in a populated area, is how fast people move through.  As I sit and watch I also become aware of emerging patterns within my little world.  How light and wind interact with my little scene, insect life, which at first seems random but eventually patterns emerge even there.  Without touching a camera I learn about this patch of world by simply watching, removing myself from participating in what I see.  I've always considered myself a watcher of things, a self described, or prescribed, naturalist.  After sitting awhile I decide to wander on to my next patch and I come to recognize the innumerable places I myself have simply sped by, never taking the time.  But once in awhile it's good to stop, sit down and watch.

Short but sweet, cheers all!

How I Shot It - "Rialto Beach Study No.1"

The Olympic Coastline in Washington State has some of the most rugged and wild scenery along the entire length of the West Coast.  Little houses, no resorts, few access points, thick forests extending down to the high tide line, it's a landscape photographers paradise.  My good buddy Patrick (see his work here) and I had been photographing the parks interior for most of the day, along the Hoh River Valley, which is equally wild with the thickest vegetation outside the Brazilian Rainforest's.  Rialto Beach faces almost directly West, and we knew the Sun's setting angle and thus decided to head here over some of the other spots.  There are so many seastacks along this stretch of coastline I could get lost for months photographing them.  We jumped out of the car and knew we were in for a treat, the sun was 45 minutes from setting and we had to hike about two miles to get to the spot we wanted.  For those of you who have seen Washington's Coast you know how rocky it can get, this place was no exception.  None the less we strapped our gear and started humping it up the beach.  We rolled onto the scene and parted ways, as we usually do, which makes shooting together so enjoyable. We each have our own vision of what the scene can offer.  As the sun set I made several exposures of some surrounding seastacks, but wasn't satisfied.  As I walked further on this seastack, which from the side was shaped something like a huge upside down 'V', turned out to be quite narrow when viewed head on.  The sun had been set for over 30 minutes and so I was beginning to chase the last of the light.  I wanted the color to be soft and shift cyan and so loaded color negative instead of chrome film in my camera back.  I also wanted the water to soften quite a bit, to really focus all attention of the shape of the seastack.  I used a 3 stop ND filter to lengthen the exposure time which ended up being close to three minutes with reciprocity.  The sky was a nice surprise.  I didn't notice that it was flowing parallel to the shore, reinforcing the attention to the rocks.  This has consistently been one of my favorite images I've shot.  

A City Wander

I had prints showing in a little pop-up show downtown this past weekend, put on by the very creative team at taylor stitch (cool clothes, cool people, cool website).  After hanging at the show for a few hours I decided to wander back across town, taking my time.  San Francisco is such a cool city to wander in; crazy architecture, back alley stairways, eclectic stores, odd eats, and more than an afternoons share of unique people.  Hidden views abound all over, back lot urban gardens and cool paths lead to equally unique neighborhoods.  All I had was my iphone, but that in itself makes it fun.  I ended up getting soaked head to toe in a late afternoon thunderstorm, but had a blast wandering back amongst the Victorian architecture and Eucalyptus groves.

Cheers All!

How I Shot It - "Shack with Clouds"

I tried meditating, nothing.  I tried exercising, nothing.  So I turned to the one thing that calms me the most, photographing, and left.  I had to get out for a bit, had to disappear into my work and not talk to anyone.  I had about an hour and a half before I had to be back or there would be one very confused young lady.  So without a word I grabbed my camera bag and took off for the countryside.  It was early October and today I was getting married.  We were buried in the mountainous hills that lie between Bellingham and Mt Vernon in Northern Washington.  The clouds had been rolling in and out all morning, so it wasn't complete BDE out.  I decided instead of scouring for a scene I'd pick the first interesting spot and work it for awhile, I was more interested in losing myself in the process, a way to let my mind focus on something else other than the days events.  I quickly found this broken shack buried in the brambles and set up.  The clouds were visually moving fast, but I didn't want them to completely blur over yet still have some movement to have the viewer get some sense of the weather.  I added a Polarizer filter and a red #25 filter, which combined added 5 stops to the exposure.  I exposed it for 10 seconds.  I wrote a few post production notes about lightening up the shack facade and darkening the sky down.  I shot a few more with different filter combinations, and a few to completely stop all cloud movement, but in the end I liked my first exposure the best.  By the time I was packing up, and heading back I was totally calmed down and ready for the days festivities.  Photography isn't just my profession, my love and my creative it's also my source of meditation and source of spirit.

Cheers All!

A Walk in the Park II

With the remnants of the latest winter storm inching to the East and another one the horizon I grab my satchel, a peanut butter sandwich and my camera to wander off into the park to escape the mind numbing computer hum of my studio and inside itchiness an outdoor person gets when confined indoors for too long.  It hasn't completely stopped raining, which makes me unabashedly smile for I need a good rain soaking.  Today I decide to head North into the Presidio Park, a 1500 acre park founded by the Spanish in 1776.  The only rule, and I use that loosely, I have when I go wandering is to always take the smallest, muddiest path possible and in a city park this size those trails abound at all corners.  This past year they finished a wonderful trail that skirts the Western edge of the park, with sweeping views of the Pacific and the Headlands. 

And with the rain there is not a sole out here.  I take my time, stopping often to sit and watch.  Sometimes it's enjoyable to not participate, to simply watch nature around you and not interfere, even with camera.  In these moments my mind wanders to a past time where this existed before we came.  John Mcphee, in his book Assembling California, talks about this area extensively.  Several thousand years ago the western coast, at this spot, extended several miles further West from where it exists today.  The San Francisco Bay, famously called The Gate, was a lowland river valley, and underneath the present day Golden Gate Bridge was a canyon of sorts with a large river meandering under it on it's way to the ocean.  Geologic time scales fascinate me.  In Zion NP a few years back I listened to a Geologist describe the geology of the park and at one point he said that the park, at this very moment, is geologically evolving at the same rate it always has.  I like that.  To me, it makes it a bit more real than mistakingly visualizing the processes as some distant single event, rather than a constant progression.  The rain starts to let up and the sun peaks out, so I gather my satchel and half eaten sandwich and continue on.  This park has a duality that is instantly apparent, for within the natural setting lies the very real history of human occupation for this place.  The name Presidio meaning a fortified military base.  After California's annexation, the U.S. Army took up station, expanded operations and after they officially left in 1994 had left behind a myriad of buildings, coastal fortifications and parade grounds that showcase a hundred plus years of changing architectural styles.  At the end of this coastal trail is one of those coastal concrete batteries.  And that's the oddity of this park, for every back forest trail there is another ancient building that speaks of a time long forgotten. 

I find it fascinating.  I much prefer the untouched High Sierra, or deep desert, but this is a different fascination.  It shows a history that is tangible and without direct explanation.  As I wander through this varied landscape I'm left to wonder why a particular building was placed where it is, or what function it served.  It's full sunshine now and I wander to the parks interior, a mass jungle of Eucalyptus forests, which by the way were planted by the Army.  Naturally, most of this area was large sand dunes with scrub grasses and a few hearty trees.  After traversing the park I head back towards home, back to the hum of productivity.  On the horizon dark clouds are forming, the next storm.  I smile, I think I'll come back out tomorrow and get my proper soaking. 

Around the Neighborhood

I sometimes get stuck in the mindset that I need to travel away from where I live to get into the zone of shooting decent landscape.  For myself, traveling abroad forces spontaneity of having to work with whatever mother nature throws my way, in many cases I won't have a second chance to get a particular scene.  At home, one can casually watch the weather and wait, and for me waiting equals boredom.  I need that uncertainty of todays conditions, that restriction of choice forcing me to make creative moves to work with the scene in its here and now.  But, my desire to shoot far outweighs my ability to travel as much as I'd like and thus I've been shooting a lot more within the vicinity of my home.

This week I had several rolls to develop, but still had a half shot roll buried in my camera back and unwilling to burn the un-shot film I headed off for the day to capture a few scenes on the last few frames of the roll.  My first stop was a little redwood grove just North of the city called Muir Woods.  It can get a bit crowded on the floor of the grove, so if you're willing to put in a little leg time you can get up and away from the crowds.  An old growth redwood forest is a magnificent symphony of interdependent species, each supporting the next in their individual quest to live, mature and eventually die in support of the next wave of plants and animals.

 

After a good long hike I ventured back toward the city, but still had a few frames to get off.  In the furtherest reach of the Northwestern most part of the peninsula there are several offshore seastacks called Seal Rock.  And surprisingly I've never photographed them, and giving my love of the seastack formations it's a little surprising I hadn't.  I perched myself up on a cliff side and photographed a few 5 minute exposures.

It was wonderful spending the day shooting within 30 miles of my home.  The limited film, and the need to finish it, gave me that spontaneity I crave.  It just goes to show you, it's good to look around your neighborhood for inspirations.

A Walk in the Park

Grabbing my camera satchel, a notebook and a coffee I head into the park to wander amongst the eucalyptus, cypress, bison and many small lakes.  Choosing off trails I'm quickly secluded and the hum of city traffic is drowned out by the high pitched call of the resident red tailed hawks and the constant rustling of trees in wind.  It's easy to get away here, tucked in back corners where wild flowers and grasses still manage to find a place amongst the myriad of planted flora.  I've come today to shoot flowers and grasses, well anything that has interesting shapes and colors at closer than 1:1 scale.  It's meditative walking the park, getting low to get angles and searching for abstractions among the thousands of options.  Using a variation of extension tubes, artificial and natural light, reflectors, scrims, diffusion rounds, I guess it's my version of studio photography without the walls, and what a studio it is!

 

 

 

 

Beautiful Desolation

The Great Basin Desert is just a bit interesting.  Until a shooting trip last Spring I've always treated Nevada as a necessary hindrance to transect on my way to the rich red walls of Southern Utah.  On our way back Westward after a particularly wondrous time adventuring, shooting and wandering Abbey's country we decided to cross the Nevada expanse on the least driven highway we could find.  Driving the barren stretches of the two lane back country highways I started to appreciate Nevada as more than a crossover, a gambling destination, a burning man gathering, I started to see it's landscapes for the first time.  As the road in front seemingly disappeared into the horizon, immense barren mountains rose out the expansive creosote plains to shape a shaved landscape where geology was as apparent as the forming weather.  Unlike the fiery red walls and canyons of the Colorado Plateau, The Great Basin Desert is subtle, it creeps up and slowly reveals its complex beauty.

 

After several hundred miles the desert slams up against the menacing walls of the Sierra Nevada Mountains that seem to rise straight up as if Nevada had suddenly at some ancient point been pressed down like a giant footprint.  At the base of this mountainous wall lies an alkaline lake with a mineral content far exceeding the briniest oceans where calcium deposits seeping out from underwater fresh water springs form large calcium formations that slowly creep out of the water. I've photographed here several times throughout the years, but this particular time we happened upon the most beautiful sunset mixed with an outrageous thunderstorm that had me running around frantically shooting all I could.

 

Thank you travel Buddy!