I am new here and I apologize if this is not the right section to post this. Tried to do a search but could not find any information. I just purchased the Nine Eagle Kestrel 500SX in China but the accompanying user manual is in Chinese. I want to change the TX from MODE 1 to MODE 2 but it is difficult by just. Apr 17, 2009. The Stock Nine Eagles Kestrel 500SX Helicopter is stable to begin with,; but you can get even more stability; and far better flight times; with some MIA Upgrades, as seen in this photo and video. MIA TUFF (TM) Struts/Skids Landing Gear Kit. Kestrel 500SX. Assembly Instructions Click Here!

I am new here and I apologize if this is not the right section to post this. Tried to do a search but could not find any information. I just purchased the Nine Eagle Kestrel 500SX in China but the accompanying user manual is in Chinese. I want to change the TX from MODE 1 to MODE 2 but it is difficult by just looking at the diagrams and not understanding the instruction in Chinese. Does anyone have a copy of the english user manual in pdf format which I can get a copy? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

One good gust of air and. I’m not particularly afraid of heights, but when I stand at Horseshoe’s sheer 1000′ cliff edge, well.it can create a few butterflies in my nether-regions. I’ve actually watched visibly shaken tourists walk toward the edge only to repeatedly turn around. Some of those folks, no joke, actually crawl up to the edge on their belly to take their pictures.

That’s why I was glad to see today that the government is going to add a railing along part of the cliff where the trail currently ends. They are also going to upgrade the trail to make it ADA compliant, which will be a lot easier than walking in the parts of it that were soft sand. Will this affect photography? Judging by the illustration the NPS released (see below), the fence will be short enough that you will be able to easily shoot over it with a tripod. Plus if you want to avoid the fence completely, you will just need to walk a couple dozen yards to the left or right past the end of the fence and you can still shoot right on the cliff’s edge.

Seeing youngsters run around at the cliff’s edge has always made me nervous and there have been fatalities recorded here. The new fence will make the area much safer as well as keep heart-rates down for some of us as well. Construction is scheduled for November and construction should be completed before January of 2018. You can read more about the details. Shuksan from Highland Lake (continue reading for details) As I did my pre-trip research, one thing that quickly became clear to me was that a lot of the best locations to photograph Baker and Shuksan require significant hikes. That was a bit of a bummer since long hikes weren’t going to be possible on this trip.

So I refocused my efforts on finding locations that didn’t require a lot of hiking. Fortunately there are two roads (542 and 20) that allow easy access to the mountains and lead you to a wealth of beautiful views of both Baker and Shuksan.

After spending a week photographing here from dozens of locations, I’ve narrowed down those spots to the five most photogenic (and easily reached): From the North: State Road 542 – Mt. Baker Highway S.R. 542 was created for the single purpose of allowing tourists (including photographers) to visit the Cascades (and leave lots of their dollars behind with the locals). It is on the very northern edge of Washington state (most of it is 10 miles from the Canadian border) and it runs roughly east 57 miles from I-5 near Bellingham all the way to Mt.

Location #1: Picture Lake I’ll start with what is often listed as the most photographed location in the state: the iconic view of Mt Shuksan from Picture Lake near the end of S.R. You can literally drive right up to the lake, walk two minutes and set up your tripod and start shooting. Try to be there near sunsetShuksan catches afternoon light in a wonderful way so it is a killer sunset spot.

An added bonus is that wildflowers abound in the Cascades from June thru September and photos of Shuksan reflected in the lake with a foreground of colorful wildflowers can be absolutely stunning. Unfortunately, I was there in early October and walked the entire shore without finding a single, straggly flower. Apparently, this area can be ‘loved to death’ by visitors who stray off the walking path and trample the flowers. Even so, the view was amazing (see photo). Mid-day view of Mt Shuksan from Picture Lake Tips: • This is one of the most popular photography locations within 100 miles, so get there early for your sunset shot or you will be shooting over the head of other photographers. • There is a $5 Parking fee if you are visiting for a single day or you can get an for $30. • Hwy 542 is usually open 365 days a year to upper Mt.

Baker Ski Area lodge at milepost 54.7 (which is at a bit past Picture Lake), so you can shoot from Picture lake all year round. • There is a nice paved path all around the lake. • You can get driving directions and more details about Picture Lake Location #2 Highwood Lake. Maybe not the ‘perfect’ spot, but not too shabby! I never heard anything about this spot despite all my planning. I found it by accident only a few hundred yards away from Picture Lake while scouting for wildflowers. Highwood Lake is smaller and the trees on the opposite shoreline partially screen the mountain so it isn’t quite as grand a vista as Picture Lake.

Plus Highland has only a narrow road shoulder and a short sloping shore to shoot from so it’s not as ‘user friendly’ as Picture Lakeand there is only a small section of shoreline that features good reflections of the mountain. So why do I even list it here? Because when I visited its shoreline was lush with wildflowersunlike Picture Lake. Possibly the reason was simply that the flowers hadn’t been trampledthere isn’t a maintained, easy walking path like Picture Lake so it doesn’t get many visitors. As I drove here for sunset, I passed a whole crowd of folks at Picture lake and when I pulled up to Highland there was only a single car parked. Unfortunately that car belonged to another photographer and a large group of her friends who were already set up in ‘my’ spot that I had scouted earlier in the day. I was a bit ticked off at myself for not getting their earlier and prayed that they would move.but they stayed firmly rooted until the last of the sun’s red glow faded from the snow atop Shuksan.

I worked the ‘less perfect’ spots around them and despite that, the images I captured during that sunset were among the best I captured on my entire trip. Afternoon shot of one of the 3 or 4 small tarns along the trail with Shuksan’s reflection It certainly absolutely delighted my wife Anita and I during our visitwhich immediately led to a mandatory “we’re from Florida so we gotta have a snowball fight!” The view from the parking lot is pretty impressive, but there are even better vistas from the trails that start here. In my opinion, the best one is Artist’s Point Ridge (see below for more info on where to find the trailhead). This hike is an easy 1.5 miles out-and-back which winds along a ridge with panoramic views of Mt Shuksan to the east and Mt. Baker to the west. It passes a few ice-cold tarns (small ponds sculpted in bedrock by passing glaciers) where you can photograph perfect reflections of Shuksan when the wind is calm.

I was fascinated with the tarns (I think I just like saying the nametarn, Tarn, TARNso cool). The area around the tarns is often muddy from melting snow and not particularly attractive so you might have to work a bit to find good compositions. Since Shuksan is to the east, the light is wonderful in the late afternoon.

And it truly shines at sunset when the summit glows orange. After a bit of looking, I finally found one small attractive bush by a tarn and was able to get a shot by lowering my tripod to a spot only a few inches over the rocky soil. A full rising moon made a nice accent as well. Sunrise shot of Shuksan. I opted for a B&W HDR exposure. Tips: • The last few miles of 542 (just past picture lake) closes after the first significant snowfall (usually October) and usually doesn’t reopen until June.

So unless you are willing to strap on snowshoes, you will want to visit during the summer. • There is a $5 Parking fee if you are visiting for a single day or you can get an for $30. • This location works for both sunrise and sunset since Shuksan is to your east (catches nice sunset light) and Baker is to the west (sunrise light) • The parking often lot fills up during the day, but you shouldn’t have problems finding a spot at dawn or dusk. • The trailhead for Artists Ridge is at the edge of the parking lot to the right of the bathrooms (as you stand facing the bathrooms with your back to the parking lot). The first part of the trail is paved but it quickly splits and becomes a dirt path. Take a left where the trail forks. After that the trail will take you to Huskan Ridge where it dead ends and you return the same way.

Here is k with more info about this trail. From the South: State Road 20 (North Cascades Highway) About a half hour south of 542 (on the way to Seattle via I-5) you run into S.R. 20 which actually crosses the Cascades (Note that it does close between late November and mid December and reopens usually by early May).

From there it is about another hour to Lake Baker which has my last two recommended spots to photograph Mt. Baker (see map below). Location #4: Lake Baker Boat Ramp The first location is near a public boat ramp and park operated by PSE (Puget Sound Energy).

This is next to the Kulshan Campground (which might be easier to find on your GPS). As you drive east on SR 20 look for Baker Lake Road, which will be on your left (north) about 24 miles from I-5. Take Baker Lake about 15.5 miles and look for signs on the right for the Boat Ramp and/or Kulshan RV park. Take that road all the way to the boat ramp and park at the lot there.

There are nice views of Shuksan to the north and great views of Mt. Baker to the northeast. The problem with this spot is finding a decent foreground. Many of the views are marred by docks/causeways plus most of the shoreline is nothing more than gravel with little native vegetation. After a bit of scouting I think the best spot to photograph here is along a long a large gravel berm that you can see to the left as you stand in the parking lot (see map below).

Shot from the “shore” of the berm at Depression Lake This is a good morning shot while Baker is lit up by the sunrise. You can shoot from the top of the berm and get a nice reflection and if you are lucky, there might be wildflowers growing on the slope of the berm that you can use for foreground.

Although you can also see Shuksan from this spot, I found that finding a decent foreground clear of obstructions was impossible. Hopefully you will have more luck. Location #5: Boulder Creek.

If you head back to Baker Lake Road and turn north (right), you will come to my last spot in less than 3 miles (just past the Boulder Creek Campground). A well-marked bridge crosses over Boulder Stream. There is room to park just past the bridge on the right.

There is a walkway along the bridge that provides this view of Mt. If you are like me, you do a lot of research before travelling to a new location for photography. Usually by the time I finish searching Google, Flickr and the local library, I have a comprehensive list of the ‘best’ spots. Which is why I’m delighted when find a ‘new’ location. Rainier has a long list of outstanding photo vistas: the wildflower fields at Paradise, Myrtle Falls, Reflection Lakes, the view at Tipsoo Lake, etc. Plus a lot of photographers have spilled gallons of ink about this wonderful National Park so I didn’t truly expect to find anything new.

I had been at Reflection Lake trying to get a sunset shot of Mt. Rainier, but the summit was clouded over (even though the rest of the sky was clear). I finally decided to start heading back on Stevens Canyon road and try a spot I had seen earlier: Inspiration Point. This captivating view at Inspiration Point is what you see if you turn your back on Mt. Rainier and look to the east Inspiration Point is an overlook with a large pull-out about a half mile before Stevens Canyon Rd ends at Paradise Valley Road. The main attraction there is the magnificent in your face view of Mt. But when I had stopped there earlier, I had also noticed a pretty little valley you could see from southern end of the parking lot (see black and white photo).

The sun had already set when I got there and a large group of frustrated photographers were standing in a line on the northern edge of the parking lot trying to get a shot of Rainier which was still stubbornly lurking behind a bank of clouds. Deja Vu” If you have ever been at Clingman’s Dome in the Smokies at sunset, then this view might be eerily familiar! The view was mesmerizing. I could have sworn I was standing at Clingman’s Dome in the Smokies: Layers of overlapping blue mountains stretched out to the orange horizon.

I set up my tripod and got to work. A few minutes later, the orange glow faded and the moon popped out. I continued shooting for a while, then just sat down and enjoyed the view as the sky slowly darkened and the stars began their nightly show. As I drove back to my room, I thought about Inspiration Point and was more than a bit surprised: It seemed to be a wonderful vista (obviously that’s how it got its name) but I couldn’t ever remember seeing a photo taken from here during my research.

On the other hand, who travels to Mt Rainier, stands right in front of it, then turns around and takes a photo in the opposite direction? Now, don’t get me wrong. This will never be an iconic location.

I mean if you find yourself near Paradise and Rainier is visible, by all means head to one of the well known spots for your sunset shot. But if the mountain is obscured by clouds, take a drive up to Inspiration Point, the view may not be famous but it is memorable nonetheless.plus you would have to drive another 2,500 miles to see a similar view at Clingman’s Dome!

Here is a map to show you the exact spot. I made another trip out to Lake Jesup yesterday to see if there was going to be any chance of a wildflower bloom this year. As I reported a couple weeks ago, Irma had resulted in so much flooding that I wasn’t optimistic.

Unfortunately, my earlier assumption was correct. The swollen St. John’s River has continued to pour into Lake Jesup and the flooding now is worse than it was 10 days agoall the fields are completely underwater. I don’t see any way that the water will drain over the next couple weeks and since the wildflower season usually starts to wind down by mid-October, it is clear that the 2017 Lake Jesup wildflower season is going to be a bust.

Compared to the widespread misery spread by Harvey, Irma and Maria, the loss of the wildflowers is a small thing. Let’s hope that 2018 brings us a milder Hurricane season. My wife loves cruising and I love my wife. So I find myself on a cruise boat on a regular basis. I make the best of it by booking shore excursions that allow me to feed my photography habit. That can be real challenge in some locations (like the Caribbean). Alaskan cruises on the other hand are packed with shore excursions that should make any photographer happy.

So, last month I found myself on a cruise ship with my incredible wife heading up Alaska’s Inner Passage. I’ve never photographed Grizzlies fishing for salmon and this was the trip I planned to correct that oversight. Taking no chances, I had booked tours in both Sitka and Ketchikan where we would take floatplanes to secluded rivers where you can photograph Grizzlies fishing for Salmon. On first tour we flew twenty minutes and were ready to land in the lake by the bears before the pilot decided to turn back because of poor weather. Okay, no big deal.

I had another chance in Ketchikan. But then that tour was cancelled due to rain before the plane even got off the ground. So a bit of a disappointment. But since the second tour was cancelled early in the day I was able to book a backup tour. This was a ground tour that didn’t go to a secluded streamit went to a Salmon hatchery down the coast. Not what I had planned but I did manage to get a couple (black) bear shots.

This poor old bear just didn’t seem to have a knack for fishingshe struggled for quite a while before she caught a big juicy salmon. A few minutes later I noticed an eagle feeding on salmon by the edge of the same stream.

While the rest of the tour spent quality time in the gift shop, I walked back out and watched the eagle hoping to catch it in flight. A few minutes before our bus pulled out, I was rewarded when the eagle suddenly took to flight and I ripped off a series of shots. Our third port was Juneau and my wife and I took a four hour wildlife tour. Its one of those tours that goes out on a two decker catamaran packed with tourists during the middle of the day. So not exactly ideal for wildlife photography (a kayak heading out at dawn would have been nice), but I was determined to make the best of it. We weren’t more than 20 minutes out of the harbor before we came up to our first set of eagles (which seem as common as pigeons in Alaska).

They were high in trees backlit by the overcast skieswhich made for difficult photography. Then I noticed a immature Bald Eagle not more than 50′ from me down on the shore chomping on a Abalone shell. To be honest, I had no idea what had in its beak until I got home and processed the photos. Not more than 20 minutes later, we came upon a raft of otters. I managed to find a spot on the lower deck which allowed me to shoot from only a foot or two over the water and got some decent shots of these adorable critters. It’s hard to believe these guys were hunted to the thin edge of extinctionthat would have been quite a loss. But the best was yet to come.

The captain spotted a Humpback whale in the distance slapping the water with it’s tail and he set off on an intercept course. At first I was a bit frustrated because I wasn’t in a great spot to see the whale and a lady with long, long blowing hair was right in front of me making it impossible to get a shot that didn’t include her bright red mane. I was afraid that the whale would dive when we got close and I’d miss getting a tail shot. But I had no reason to worry. We pulled up near the Humpback and it continued to slap the oceanfor ten full minutes.

The captain said he had been doing tours for over twenty years and he had never seen a whale do tail slaps for more than a couple minutes. We considered ourselves quite fortunate. Our humpback waves goodbye one last time before its final deep dive. I had wanted to get good whale tail photos for years but my luck had been spotty. So you can understand why these ten minutes were the highlight of my trip. We headed back to port and it was hard to keep the silly grin off my face. It was a great day.

Like all trips, this one had it’s share of luckgood and bad. But even if I hadn’t taken a single frame on the entire trip I would have come home content. I find it impossible to spend time our largest state without coming home recharged, refreshed and with a renewed appreciation for the wonder that is Alaska. Hurricane Irma certainly brought her share of misery to my Florida. My family fared well6 days without power isn’t that much of a hardship compared to some of the devastation I’ve seen on TV. Once I got power back, one of the first things I did was take a look at my website to see what I may have missed. I saw that a number of folks had sent messages to me about Irma.

It make me chuckle when I read them and found they weren’t wishes for my family’s safety, my fellow photographers were asking me if all the rain from Irma would have an impact on the annual Lake Jesup wildflower bloom! Well, photographers do have their priorities:) Anyway, I drove out to the fields yesterday to see how things were looking. As I feared, they are completely flooded with only a handful of flowers visible above the water. The waters will certainly recede, but not quickly.

In past years, the peak of the bloom is around the first of Oct. So it might be a bit early to write-off all hope for 2017 but I’m not optimistic. I’ll make another scouting trip in another 10 days and let you know what I find!

You may have this snapshot before: Clearing Storm by Ansel Adams 1944 Among photographers, there has been a bit of buzz lately about a ‘better’ location called Artist’s Point. It’s not far from Tunnel View and earlier this year I checked it out to see if it truly was superior. I found that the answer to that question will really depend on your priorities. Tunnel View Pros • The view is magnificent.You have El Capitan to the left, Bridalveil Falls to the right and Half Dome anchors the center of the image.

One glance and you will fully understand why this is the most popular spot in Yosemite. The view back into the tunnel at Tunnel View • It is super easy to get to. It is located at the mouth of the tunnel on Wawona Road (see for a map). Tunnel View is a large paved overlook (with parking) that allows you to experience the grandeur of the Yosemite Valley only a few feet from your car. It is a perfect, easily accessible spot for photographersyou can shoot here any time of the day or night and get memorable images. Cons • The biggest downside is that its popularity has resulted in untold millions of photos being taken here.

So it is truly challenging to capture unique images here. • Plus, it can be busy.

Even though there is a lot of room, you might need to arrive an hour or more before sunrise/sunset to get a prime spot during holidays or during the summer. Photographers will be lined up with overlapping tripods. Artist’s Point Pros • The view is (also) magnificent. Artist’s Point is located at a higher elevation about a half mile away (as the crow flies) southeast and offers a subtly different view than Tunnel View. Take a look at the two shots below and see if you can spot the differences. And the more famous view from Tunnel View • A close comparison will reveal that from Artist’s Point you can see Bridalveil Meadow, North Dome, Ribbon Falls and Royal Aches but you can’t see Sentinel Dome and Half Dome is a bit less prominent. • Is one view really a better view than the other?

Opinions differ, but personally I think the differences are so darn subtle that calling one ‘better’ than another is splitting hairs. I doubt that more than 1 person in a 100 would say one is superior to the other. • However, even though the views are very similar, Artist’s Point does have the advantage of not looking exactly like those bazillion shots taken at Tunnel View. If you are one of those folks (like me) that strives to create images that are unique, then maybe even these minor differences might be enough to tip the scale in favor of Artist’s Point. • Another advantage is that you will likely be the only person there. It won’t make a bit of difference in your photos, but life isn’t completely about photography (at least it shouldn’t be). Tunnel View isn’t exactly the place to go to enjoy solitude!

Unlike the carnival atmosphere at Tunnel View, the experience at Artist’s Point is much more intimate. The last time I visited Tunnel View it was packed with over a hundred folksplus a wedding shoot was in progress and noisy tour buses and motorcycles were continually disgorging even more tourists. But during my visit to Artist’s Point, I didn’t see another person for over three hours and heard nothing but wind rustling thru the leaves. Take a look at to get a better idea of what an afternoon at Artist’s Point is like. Cons • The only down-side of Artist’s Point is that it isn’t as easy to reach as Tunnel Viewyou can’t just drive up in your rental car and start shooting. You have to hike.

It isn’t a bad hike. The first half mile is steep and can be a bit difficult to follow, plus the trail isn’t really maintained, so you will be climbing over some fallen treesbut your average person can reach Artist’s Point in about 40 minutes. If you decide to hike to Artists Point, here are some helpful hints. The Hike: • First, check out this. It provides a wealth of detail. • The trailhead for the hike starts in one of the two Tunnel Valley Parking Lots. It isn’t the lot on the side of the actual overlook, it is the one on the north side of Wawona Road.

The trailhead sign doesn’t actually say “Artist’s point”the sign reads “Inspiration Point” or the “Pohono Trail.” The trail to Artist’s Point is the same one as Inspiration Point for the first.6 miles. By the way, although Inspiration Point has a great name, it really isn’t much of a view for Photographers. • I know of many folks who have tried to reach Artist’s Point and failed. It’s not a long hike, but the first half mile is poorly marked. To avoid getting lost my first time, I used the AllTrails app on my smartphone. This app lets you download the hike ahead of time and it tracks your progress while hiking via GPS to within 10 feet or so.

Next to having a guide, this is the best way I know of to find the spot. Thisversion and one. • The first half a mile is narrow and steepyou won’t win any speed records but take your time and an average hiker can make it with no problem. • At that point you are going to come to a trail crossing. The trail you will cross is widemore than 7 feet wide. It is actually the old stagecoach road and you will see these two signs: • • Now, take the trail left (east) which is the direction of the Bridalveil Falls Parking Area.

You will follow this wide trail another 1.6 miles. You will probably have to climb over/under some trees that have fallen across the trail. Bridalveil Falls shot from Artist’s Point with 140mm lens • You will definitely want your wide lens.

A minimum of 35mm on a full frame camera (about a 50mm on a crop-sensor APS-C sensor camera). Plus, a longer zoom (say 70mm to 120mm) will allow you to grab nice portraits of Bridalveil Falls and El Capitan. • If you are shooting at the beginning or end of the day, a tripod will allow you to take the necessary longer exposures. Bottom line, if this is your first trip to Yosemite and time is tight, then just go to Tunnel View.

But if you’ve been here before, have the time and you’re the type that appreciates solitude, take the hike up to Artist’s Point and soak in one of the world’s most majestic vistas in peace and quiet. Artist’s Point PS; Oddly enough, even though Artist’s Point is the ‘new’ hot spot, it actually is older than Tunnel View which didn’t exist until 1933 when the Wawona tunnel opened. However, back in 1855, artist Thomas Ayres stood at Artist’s Point and drew a picture of Yosemite Valley that as was published in California Magazine. Not long after, a stagecoach road was extended into Yosemite Valley that ran right by Artist’s Point. The road was paved in the early 1900s but abandoned after the shorter route into the valley was completed in 1933. Yosemite’s Tunnel View vs.

Artist’s Point: Which is the Better Choice for Photographers? Yosemite’s Tunnel View vs. Artist’s Point: Which is the Better Choice for Photographers? Ask a hundred photographers going to Hawaii what are the top three things they most want to photograph and I’ll bet Lava will be on every list. Specifically, photographing the lava entering the ocean from a boat is something many photographers would gladly trade a limb or two for. Since this is likely to be a once in a lifetime experience, you will want to make the most of it. I certainly felt that way my first time but there was very little info on the internet about how to best do itso I learned the hard way.

Fortunately, you won’t have to. This article will tell you everything you need to know about how to photograph lava from a boat in Hawaii. Hot, Lazy, Lava River Is this for you? First of all, to see the lava ocean entry you have to go out into the open ocean in a relatively small boat. This isn’t a pleasure cruise, it can get rough so if you don’t like being in a rocking/jarring boat, have back problems or if you are frail, then this might not be something you want to tackle. In fact, some of the tour operators won’t sell tickets to folks who are pregnant, over 75 years old or weighing over 275 lbs. They seem to take safety seriously and aren’t shy about turning people away that could potentially get injured (and sue them).

With that said, I think this tour is absolutely incredible and unforgettable. The experience of being watching new land be created from 50′ away is breathtaking and not something you will ever forget.

You will be close enough to feel the heat on your face and hear the explosions of the sputtering and sizzling hot lava as it collides with the chilly Pacific. Nearly everyone in my family has done this tour and they all loved it.

And if you are a photographer, well you can create mesmerizing photographs that simply can’t be created any other way. I’ve photographed lava from the air, ground and sea and I think images of lava taken from a boat are the most dramatic, impressive and beautiful. The only location in the state you can see lava is on the Big Island of Hawaii. The lava enters the ocean on the southeast coast (see map). Most flights to the big Island arrive in Kona but Hilo also has an International Airport and it is quite a bit closer. Which tour to take? As of July of 2017, there are only four tour operators licensed to conduct ocean tours within 300 feet of the lava entering the ocean:,, and.

I’m sure you can find other tours and they will be cheaper. But consider this: it is at least a 20 mile ride on the open ocean to the lava: Do you really want to take the chance on a unlicensed operator? Plus, the Coast Guard has been known to So, which is the best for photographers?

Well, personally I prefer. The competition uses much smaller fishing-style boats, typically like the one I photographed at the ocean entry earlier this year (below). LavaOne Lava Ocean’s boat (the LavaOne seen here) is a modern 40′ aluminum catamaran designed specially for lava viewing. The LavaOne is a more stable platform for shooting, gets you out to the lava 50% faster and I consider it a safer and better designed vessel. It will cost you $20-$50 more.

But if you are going all the way to Hawaii for a bucket list item like this, then 50 bucks shouldn’t really be a consideration. If money is tight, you can save $20 by paying cash rather than using a credit card. To be candid, others don’t necessarily share my option. They note that it is easier to shoot from both sides in the smaller boats. Plus other companies may stay on site at the lava a bit longer. By the way, I do not receive any kickbacks, discounted tickets or so much as an ugly, cheap t-shirt for my endorsement of Lava Ocean:) When to go: Go NOW! Lava has been flowing into the ocean for just over a year, but there is no way to know how long this will last.

For three years prior to July 2016, for example, lava wasn’t flowing into the ocean. So before you book a flight specifically to see lava entering the ocean, call or email and make sure that the lava will visible during your visit. I really don’t think that one time of the year is significantly better than another.

Yes, the rainy season is from November until March and photographing the lava in a rainstorm is less than ideal. But keep in mind that it rains a lot on this part of the Big Islandeven during the dry season. Lava is MUCH more visible and photographically dramatic at dawn or dusk. Tours are scheduled throughout the day, but don’t even consider any of them except the dawn and sunset tours. You will pay a premium of $70 or so compared to the daylight tours, but it will be worth every penny (which is why those trips sell out first). Personally, I think the dawn tour is the better of the two, if for no other reason that the ocean tends to be calmer.

The weather doesn’t always cooperate. In addition to the rain, the ocean can get rough. If the waves are too high, the tours will be cancelled. Schedule your tour early during your trip to the Big Island so that you have time left to reschedule if needed. Tips Before you go: Get a room/hotel near Hilo or a bit south of itthis will save you a lot of driving. The boat launches from Issac Hale Parkwhich is 45 minutes south of Hilo and a long 2.5 hours from Kona. Driving on some of these roads at night isn’t fun, especially with intense fog that is common between Kona and the eastern part of the island.

As you approach Issac Hale Park, the roads get narrow and curvyit will likely take longer to get there than your GPS tells you. Have your camera and gear already set up and ready to go before you leave your room (more about camera settings later). You really won’t have much time or opportunity to do so on the boat.

Tips for the Boarding Process. You actually climb into the boat on the parking lot After you park, get out and look for a guy from Lava Ocean holding a clipboard and flashlight. There might be a couple other tour operators there, so make sure you find the right one.

After you and the rest of the folks have checked in they load the boat. You actually board in the parking lot and then they launch the boat at the park’s ramp. One factor that will determine how many good shots you get will be where you sit on the boat. The seating consists of padded bench seats running down each side of the boat with three people in each seat and an aisle down the center. You want to sit on the end of the bench seat against the side (gunwale) of the boat (away from the center aisle) so you have an unobstructed view with your camera.

The best seats are right up against the side of the boatnot in the center or aisle seat. Obviously if you are in the center of the bench seat or the spot closest to the center of the boat, you will have to shoot around your seatmates. Once the boat is underway, you can’t change seats or stand up, so it is really important to get a good seat. So how do you get a good seat?

This isn’t like an airplane where your seat is pre-assigned. They load the boat by age. People over 60 years old board first and sit where-ever they want. Then folks over 50. Then everyone else.

If you are older, then you shouldn’t have any problem getting a primo seat. If you are younger, here is what you do: • Be there earlyI’d suggest arriving 10-15 minutes before the check in time (in the summertime, check in is at 4:30am) • When you check in, ask the captain/crew where they want you to line up for boarding. If they don’t give you a specific answer, watch carefully and you will see when they bring the boat into the parking lot on the back of a trailer.

When the boat/trailer stops moving, walk over as close to it as you safely can. • Most customers just mill around aimlessly after they check in. Pay attention and move quickly to board ahead of the ‘herd’ when your age group is announced.

• The seats toward the back of the boat tend to provide a smoother and dryer ride, so those are preferred. However, if the only seats left on the sides of the boat are toward the front when you board, grab one of those instead. You’re a photographer and this is likely a once in a lifetime opportunitywho cares if you get a bit wet and go home with a sore back?! What to expect: From start to finish, the tour takes about 2 hours.

The check-in/boarding takes about a half hour. The trip to the lava takes about 30 minutes, you spend a half hour there and then head back. On the way out it will be quite dark (if you are on the dawn tour). Sometimes it can be very rough (another reason to have your camera already ‘dialed-in’ before you board). Depending on how big the waves are and your attitude, the ride can be funa group of girls on my last tour squealed like they were on a roller-coaster every time we hit a wave (maybe it did get kinda old after a couple of hours). On the other hand, some folks were tossing their cookies and asking the captain if he could turn the boat around before we even got to the lava. Consider taking motion sickness pills if you are prone to sea-sickness.

I didn’t go on the boat to photograph sunrises, but if you put one in front of me. Once you get to the lava, the captain will spin the boat around every few minutes so that customers on both sides of the boat can see the show. In other words, you will only be facing the lava for about half the time you are there. When you are turned away from the lava, dry your lenses, check your photos and make sure your exposure and focus look good.

Then you can adjust your settings accordingly. After that you can pass the time by taking photos of the sunrise and grumbling that the people on the other side of the boat get to face the lava more than your side Another thing you can do is take photos of the floating rocks. YupI kid you not! When the lava hits the ocean and solidifies it can get a lot of air trapped in it, so pieces of will sometimes float right by yousparking, sputtering and sizzling the whole time. Pretty darn neat. Ever see a floating rock?

Photographing lava from a boat is kind of like photographing wildlife from a moving vehicle. The action may appear anywhere in front of you and shooting with both eyes open will allow you to spot a new opportunities as they occur. Keep scanning constantly. Waves hitting the lava creates a lot of steam and will obscure some locations while other areas might clear up. You will find that the 30 minutes there passes in an eyeblink.

When the captain starts to head home, pack your gear away because the ride back is usually rougher than the way out. You can enjoy the view of the coast but unless you spot some dolphins your camera won’t likely miss anything particularly photogenic. What to Bring: Rain Gearfor you AND your camera Although the boat does have a roof, you WILL get wet from the spray/waves even if it isn’t raining.

Your rain gear should cover your legs as well. “Armageddon” When the surf hits the lava, wild stuff will start to happen in front of your camera! Keep your camera in something watertight during the trip. When you arrive at the lava, you will likely be able to shoot without much fear of getting wet (assuming it isn’t raining or the seas are not incredibly rough). Dress a bit warmer than normal: Although you are in Hawaii, you might get cold, especially if you get wet. Your feet will likely get wet as well, I wouldn’t wear sandlessomething waterproof would be better.

Bring a small waterproof backpack or drybag. “Pele’s Creation” It is quite an experience to witness the birth of new land.

Anything you put on the floor of the boat will get wet. Water sloshes across the floor and out the scuppers (holes above the floor that let the water flow out). There is a small shelf under your seat that is raised above the floor that stays dry. But it is narrowmaybe about 9″ tall so bring a waterproof bag/backpack for your camera gear that will fit on the shelf. Keep in mind that the ride can be very rough, so be sure you have some padding around your cameras. Lenses: • Bring your fastest glassat least f2.8.

Since you will be shooting with a fast shutter speed in near darkness, slow lenses are going to struggle until the sun comes up. • Use zooms, not primes. Your perspective is constantly moving and you are at the mercy of the captain and the waves, so a zoom is your only way of being able to selectively choose and frame your subject. • Since your time shooting is short, you don’t want to be changing lenses (besides the salt spray and rocking wouldn’t help) I usually bring two cameras: one with a wide angle zoom and the second with a long zoom. • Once the boat gets to the ocean entry point, it stays close to lava (often within 50′) so if you want to capture the whole scene you will need a the wide angle lens.

This wide angle shot gives you a perspective of the entire scene, but I found close ups with a long zoom to be more memorable. • It will be your long zoom that you will use the most. Frankly, 90% of my total shots (and 99% of my favorite shots) are taken with the long zoom (Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 with a 1.4 teleconverter). So if you only want to bring a single camera, put your long zoom on it.

• I prefer not to use a polarizing filter shooting lava. I don’t find that it helps colors/reflections enough to justify the loss of a stop of speed. Camera: • Your camera needs to be able to handle a lot of dynamic range. The lava can easily blow out your highlights and you can’t shoot HDR from a rocking boat.

I use my full frame Nikon D810 with a wide angle lens and a Nikon D500 with the 70-200. Both handled the dynamic range well. • Select a camera with excellent autofocus ability. Again, this is like wildlife photography, lighting isn’t great, everything is moving and a camera without competant autofocus is not going to give you as many ‘keepers.’ • I love my D810 but my D500 is my go-to camera for lava photography. • It has wicked autofocus and it shoots 10 frames per second, which allowed me to capture a lot of the quick action of dripping lava. • Also, the D500 is a DX, so that effectively doubled the focal range of my 70-200. I need every bit of that range when shooting lava from the boat since about half my shots are usually taken at the longest setting.

• Although the dynamic range of the D500 doesn’t equal the full frame D810, I found it was capable of handling the lava. Misc: • Have empty, large capacity memory cards and full charged batteries.

• Have a number of easily accessible microfiber cloths ready in your shirt pockets. In addition to the rain and spray, you will probably run into clouds of steam at the ocean entry, so the microfiber will come in handy.

• Since you are on a rocking boat, you will be handholding your camerano need for tripods/monopods/gorilla pods Camera Settings: • VR: Since you are on a bouncing boat, you need to engage your Vibration Control (VR/IS). • Shutter Speed: Selecting a high shutter speed will also help eliminate vibrations. This will also allow you to ‘freeze’ the action of the spray/waves and exploding lava. I find the best results are between 1/500 and 1/1000th of a second. Check out the water dripping from the lava after being hit by a wave! • Manual/Shutter Priority: Personally, I like to shoot in Manual and adjust my settings as I go.

If this isn’t something you do regularly, I’d suggest you use Shutter Priority. • Aperture: Shoot with your aperture wide openyou will need every bit of light you can get. • Auto ISO: Use your Auto ISO setting. The brightness of the lava constantly changes and using Auto ISO will allow your camera to use the best possible ISO without requiring you to continually change it yourself. I adjusted my auto ISO so that 1600 was my highest setting and 200 was the lowest. I usually find that the ISO settings on my shots start at 1600 when we first arrive on site and the Auto ISO gradually upgrades the setting to ISO 200 after sunrise. • RAW: Shoot in RAW.

This will preserve every bit of data your sensor collects and will make your job a lot easier in post-processing when you are trying to tame the wide dynamic range. • White Balance: I leave my white balance on Auto and then adjust to taste in Photoshop. • Frame Rate: Set your camera to its fastest possible frames per second setting. Shoot a lotyou have to anticipate that some of your shots will be blurry because of the moving boat and long focal length. The more shots you take, the better your chances that your auto-focus will produce some crisp shots. Post-Processing: • Your main challenge will be controlling the dynamic range. Use the Photoshop sliders for ‘highlights’ and ‘shadows’ and minimize blown out highlights while still showing some details in the darker areas of your images.

• Noise will probably be a challenge, especially in areas containing steam or dark shadowsmade worse if you are shooting at high ISOs. I cut out the lava and surrounding rock, put it on the top layer. Then I liberally use the noise reduction slider on the other, lower layer that has the steam/foggy areas. This leaves the areas of lava and rock sharp which really contrasts against the ‘soft’, noise free steam/fog. The contrast between the ‘harsh’ lava/rock and the ‘soft’ steam/fog/ocean makes for dramatic images.

• The raw colors on my images are usually pretty intense and rarely need much saturation/tweaking in Photoshop • Don’t forget to adjust your white balance. Your shots will have a strong blue tint before the sun rises. After the tour: When you get back to Issac Hale Park, you might want to check out the. It might be just the thing for your sore muscles if your trip was a bit rough. If you are staying in Kona, you should check out Hilo while you are on the eastern side of the island. The Hilo area has a number of beautiful waterfalls. And of course, Volcanos National Park is also on the way backyou could easily spend a couple days exploring that incredible treasure. Anyway, more about other Hawaiian photo ops later.

Now I must leave, it is time for my evening glass of wine! Jeff How to Photograph Lava from a boat in Hawaii. Earlier this month I was in Kauai for a couple weeks and another seven days on the Big Island of Hawaii. Although my wife had some silly expectation that I would spend all of my time with the family, I did manage to sneak out and take shot or two (actually, more like 15,322 of thembut who’s counting?) Yes, yes, I took a lot of family shotsand my wife hasn’t divorced me (yet).but you read this blog because of your interest in landscape photography, so here are some of my favorite (non-family) images from the trip: 1) Kauai is my favorite of all the islands.

It isn’t as developed as Oahu or Maui, plus it must have been made on a day when God had just bought a new camera because it is blessed with an incredible variety of photographic riches. For example, Waimea Canyon isn’t what you would expect to see on an exotic Pacific island. “Floatsam in Paradise” One definition of paradise might be tropical beach covered with coconuts and hibiscus blossoms under a glimmering morning rainbow 4) I made a trip back to Hanalei early one morning to capture a bright Milky Way hanging over the bay: 5) I was in heaven on the north shore of Kauaidozens of incredible locations all within 20 minutes. Queen’s Bath in Princeville, for example, is another beautiful spot.

This sunrise nicely lit up the sky and illuminated the twin waterfalls on the right side of the image. 6) Of all the beaches in Hawaii, Tunnels beach is my favorite for photography. Gorgeous day or night 8) Tunnels may have been my favorite, but there are no shortage of beautiful beaches. Some of them, like Moloaa Beach (see below) are small in size (a total of three parking spaces) but pack a huge visual impact. 9) Others, like Anahola (below) are huge. I was like a kid in a candy store. Every morning at 4:30 I had to decide which beach to photographproblems, problems, problems 10) 11) & 12) The NaPali coast on Kauai’s northwestern shore might be the most dramatic meeting of mountains and ocean in the world.

Ten frame sequence of a Hawaiian Cliff Diver Ryan gave it a try as well. I would have done it too but, well someone had to take the pictures;) 20) Ryan and I wanted to see more lava so the next evening we took the land route out to the ocean entry location. At the end of the trail, a group of 50 or so folks had gathered in silence and watched the birth of new land as the sun fell.

I found it to be a peaceful, powerful and profoundly emotional experience. After an hour or so we turned around and headed back in the darkness 5 miles to the car (fortunately, we had rented mountain bikes, so the trip back was a lot faster than hoofing it!). “Lunar Limelight” The moon was so bright it caused a wicked purple lens flare. Kinda looks like the Death Star firing its superlaser!

Not a bad shot to end this blog with. I know this was a short article and not long on details. I plan to write follow-up blogs about the spots I photographed in Hawaii but haven’t decided on which ones yet. Let me know if a particular location interests you and I’ll select the next topic based upon the feedback I get.

Jeff PS: If you would like to see more of my photographs from Hawaii, just click on! If you are specifically interesting in Milky Way photography in Hawaii, check out. Finally, if you really liked the shots of NaPali, you might want to see some I shot from a helicopter. A Landscape Photographer in Hawaii: 21 Days, 21 Photos Kauai and Big Island Hawaii Photo Locations photo locations on Kauai and the Big Island of Hawaii.

One of the most recognized and incredible vistas anywhere. But it wasn’t always so. Until 1933 when the tunnel was opened, Tunnel View simply didn’t exist as we know it now. For the previous 7 decades, Wawona Road had entered the valley via a different route that included the most famous spot in the park: Artist’s Point. This was the location where in June of 1855 the first image of the Yosemite Valley was drawn by a professional artist. The artist was Thomas Ayres and when his picture was published in California Magazine it captivated and amazed the public, which helped spark the nation’s facination with Yosemite. Later a stagecoach road was built to the valley that ran right by this spot and in the early 20th century it was even paved for the new-fangled horseless carriages.

When the tunnel was completed in the 1930s, Wawona Road was rerouted and the section that included Artist’s Point was abandoned. Now, after 80+ years of neglect, it is nearly forgotten, crumbling and overgrown. Earlier this year my son and I decided to hike to Artist’s Point.

We wanted to see if Ayres original location at Artist’s Point could compare with the awe inspiring scene at Tunnel View. A quick (but steep) 40 minute hike was all it took to reach Artist’s Point and take in the view. Artist’s Point is at a higher elevation and a bit northeast of Tunnel View, so you do get a slightly different perspective of the valley. Is it a better view?

Some folk swear up and down that it is. Jump back and forth between the two photos above and make your own decision.

Personally, I thought the view from Artist’s Point was only subtly different from what you will see from Tunnel View. But even though the view is similar, the experience is totally different. Unlike Tunnel View where loud motorcyles, cars and buses disgorge throngs of noisy tourists every few moments, you will likely be the only soul at Artist’s Point. The quiet and sense of peace is pervasive. You get a feeling of what it must have been like when Thomas Ayres sat on a rock nearby all those years ago and sketched a pristine and untouched paradise.

Photography is my way of trying to share with you what my son and I experienced at Artist’s Point. But a photograph shows only a moment of time and fails to capture the dramatic way the shadows move across the valley. I thought a time lapse might be the best way to show this, so I set up one of my cameras to take a shot of the valley every 15 seconds or so during the couple hours Ryan and I there. Click anywhere on photo to see my timelapse: “A Minute of Magic at Artist’s Point” I call the resulting video “A Minute of Magic at Artist’s Point.” It’s only a couple minutes long, but I think it truly conveys a sense of the tranquility and beauty this magnificent view inspires. Just click on the photo to the right and it will take you to my video posted on You Tube (it was just too large for my website).

I hope you enjoy! Jeff PS: This video was shot during March which is a great time of the year to watch sunsets because both sides of the valley are illuminated at the end of the day. Plus, the sun shines thru a small opening in the mountains to the west creating the ‘spotlight’ effect on Bridalveil Falls you see in my photos.

Racetrack Playa is high on the bucket list for many landscape photographersand with good reason. Photos of the ‘sailing rocks’ with their long mysterious trails winding off behind them on the vast mud playa captures our imagination. Your inner-child has to wonder how the heck those boulders move and the photographer in you recognizes the potential for dramatic photography. Although Racetrack Playa is a photographic icon, I was surprised that there weren’t many ‘how-to’ photo tips available on the internet.

So this article will address that shortcomingconsider it my effort at ‘paying it forward.’ So to help you make the best of your next visit, here is Racetrack Playa: Photo Guide and Tips from a Pro. Sadvery sad.Before I begin, let me make a plea. The Racetrack is fragile and easily damagedits surface is nothing more than a thin crust of dried mud. Fortunately a few simple precautions will allow you to avoid causing any harm: • Don’t drive out onto the Playa with any vehicle (including bicycles). They are not allowed on the Playa because they can leave tracks which can remain for years. There is no reason other than pure maliciousness to drive on the plaza. Check out to see the damage a jerk in a car can do.

• If the Playa is wet, do not enter it. Not even on foot.

Your footprints will remain a permanent feature on the Playa until the next good rainwhich could be years. If it is wet during your visit, please be considerate to the visitors who will follow you over the years and don’t walk out onto the Playa. Racetrack Playa Description Racetrack Playa is located in a remote high desert valley in California’s Death Valley National Park. The Racetrack is a playa: A huge dry flat lakebed surrounded by mountain ranges.

The surface of the Playa is a mosaic of sun-baked mud It’s larger than you might think: 2.8 mi (4.5 km) long (north-south) by 1.3 mi (2.1 km) wide (east-west). It’s real claim to fame of course are the ‘sailing stones’ (also called the ‘rollling stones’, ‘moving rocks’ or ‘sailing rocks.’) The floor of the valley is littered with rocks and boulders (some of them weighing hundreds of pounds and the size of large television sets ). The fascinating thing is that the rocks have long, winding trails behind them. Clearly they move across the valley and how that happens has fired imaginations for generations. Theories included everything from aliens from nearby Area 51 playing hockey to stuff that was reallyridiculous. Has shown that the rocks actually move on thin sheets of ice that slide across the valley during a rare combination of weather events.

Personally, I like the alien theory better, but either way, you can’t stand on the Playa without a sense of wonder enveloping you. Getting There Death Valley is only a couple of hours by car from Las Vegas (or 4 hours from Los Angeles). Getting to Death Valley isn’t a problem, but getting to the Racetrack is another story. Sign at the beginning of Racetrack Road Once you are in the park, head north on Scotty’s Castle Road to Grapevine junction where you turn west onto Ubehebe Crater Road.

Take it to the end where you will see At the crater, you will find a sign for Racetrack Road. That’s where the pavement ends and the real adventure begins.

You’ve heard the expression “It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.” Well, they weren’ttalking about the Racetrack. Racetrack Road is 28 miles of broken rocks, huge potholes and the worst washboarding you will probably ever experience.

Racetrack Road is graded once per year but you might not even notice: the road is still hideous. Note: There actually are a couple of other roads/trails to the Playa but they are much worse than Racetrack Road. I’ve never had a reason to try them. • Vehicle Suggestions • You will need a high/clearance vehicle. I’m not saying a regular sedan/van can’t make it but understand that there is a good chance you will damage or destroy your undercarriage.

I’m not exaggerating. On my last trip down Racetrack road, I saw three vehicles broken down in the first few miles.

• There is no cell service. If you break down you get to wait until another vehicle comes by and hope they stop. It isn’t a well travelled road, so you could be waiting for hours. • If you are in a rental, nearly all their contracts forbid off-road driving.

If you got the rental insurance, you will find it doesn’t cover you either if you go off-road. You will pay for the repairs out of your pocket • Getting a tow-truck here is insanely expensivelike well over $1,000. I know people who have had to spend twice that amount.

• A 4 wheel drive vehicle isn’t necessarily mandatory if you are careful (and lucky). But unless you are very experienced at driving off road, it would be a good thing to have. • Bring a full-size spare tire (or two). This isn’t a gravel road. It is sharp, broken rocks. They slice open tires (especially sidewalls).

I’ve NEVER driven this road without seeing at least two people changing flat tires. Racetrack Road is notorious for damaging light-duty passenger car tires • Also bring a can of fix-a-flat or tire plug kit, a 12-volt air-compressor, a lugwrench, and be sure all parts of your jack are on hand. So, you don’t want to take a chance with your rental or personal carand you don’t have a high-clearance vehicle and live close enough to actually drive to Death Valleywhat can you do? There are only two options: • Take a Tour. There are a few companies who will take you out to the Racetrack. I’ve never taken a tour, so I can’t review them.

However, the tours I’ve checked on usually only spend a couple of hours actually at the Playaand they take you there in the middle of the day when photography is far from ideal. • Rent a jeep from Farabee’s. My Farabee’s Jeep Wrangler on the road to the Racetrack Farabee’s rents jeeps specifically for off-road use in Death Valley. (see ) Their jeeps are well-maintained and modified with beefed up suspensions and heavy duty tires, plus they give you a GPS Spot unit (this sends a signal to a satellite in case of emergency). They aren’t cheap.

A rental will cost you about $250 for a 2 passenger jeep and another $50 for a 4 seater. Plus, the rental isn’t for a full day. You pick up the jeep after 8 am and you have to return it that nightor you pay for a second day.

If you want to photograph the Playa at night or at sunrise, you need to plan on a two day rental. Driving Tips • Make sure your gas tank is full before you start your drive to the Racetrack. Gas stations are few and far between. • If the road is wet, or if rain is in the forecast (rare, but it happens), then don’t go. Even 4WD vehicles can have problems if the roads are wet and unless you are an expert off-road driver, you will likely find it beyond your capabilities. A selfie with my son at Teakettle Junction • Drive right down the center of the road.

Don’t try to ‘smooth out’ the ride by driving with one set of tires on the edge of the road and the other on the ‘hump’ in the middle of the road. The sharpest rocks are found on the side of the road and you will greatly increase your chances of tearing out a sidewall. • The road is narrow (not wide enough for two vehicles to pass in many locations) and there are a few blind corners. However, you can see dust clouds from approaching vehicles well in advance. I’d suggest you slowly pull over and stop before approaching cars reach you and let them pass safely • Keep you speed down. I’ve seen folks take the road at 40+ mphand although the ride seems to me to be smoother at higher speeds, your chances of hitting a pothole or nice big sharp rock is greatly increased. It usually takes me about 2 hours to drive the 28 miles.yes, I know that is less than 15 mph.take your time, it is worth it.

• Stop at Tea Kettle Junction. About 22 miles down Racetrack Road, you will run into a ‘road’ junction called TeaKettle Junction. It is traditional to stop here for a photo (it’s a nice break anyway) and if you have one with you, tie a tea kettle to the sign. At this point you have about 6 miles to go. Soon enough you will see the Playa.

When to Go Time of Year Not the summer. Death Valley got it’s name for a good reason. Summer temperatures hit 120 F/49Cin the shade. Heck, Farabee’s closes for the months of June, July and August because no one is crazy enough to be out in that heat. Usually the sky doesn’t add much to your images at the Racetrack, but exceptions to that rule can be wonderful! High °F Low °F High °C Low °C 67 40 January 19 4 73 46 February 23 8 82 55 March 28 13 91 62 April 33 17 101 73 May 38 23 110 81 June 43 27 117 88 July 47 31 115 86 August 46 30 107 76 September 41 24 93 62 October 34 16 77 48 November 25 9 65 38 December 18 4 91 63 Year 33 17 My favorite time of year to visit the Playa is February or March.

The only downside to spring is that it can get really windy. If you want clouds in the sky to spice up your shots, then your best bet is to visit in winter or in April/Sept during the cusp season for summer monsoons. This shot was taken right after the morning sun cleared the mountains to the east. The low-angle light makes the image much more dramatic. Although the novelty of the sailing stones makes the Playa photogenic anytime of the day, it really is at it’s best in the morning after the sun rises over the surrounding mountains or in late afternoon just before it dips below the horizon. This is because sun is at a low angle during those times of the day and that dramatically increases the shadows in the mud mosaics Playa floor. The shots to the left and right demonstrate that effect.

Also the color of the Playa is a non-descript, washed-out light tan. However it can take on an attractive golden hue near sunrise/sunset. “Sun Racer” Be aware that since the Playa is in a valley, the sun will set about a half hour before ‘official sunset’ time due to the mountains to the west. By the same token, you won’t see the sunrise until 30+ minutes after the ‘official sunset’ as well. You need to get to the Playa early enough to give yourself some time to scout around.

The Playa is pretty large and the sailing stones are somewhat dispersed, so you need to have time to locate some photogenic ones before the light is right. I’d suggest planning at least two hours for scouting. If you enjoy shooting at night, the Playa can reward you with incredible images of the Milky Way (see section below about shooting here at night). The Playa is at an elevation of 3,700′ and is located well away from most light pollution, Shots of the Playa lit up by moonlight are also amazing. What to Bring: • There is no water, food, gas or phones (or cell service) on Racetrack Road or at the Playa.

In other words, you need to bring with you all the supplies you might need during your trip. Especially the waterlots of it. • There is a port-a-potty at the Playa’s campground a couple of miles south of the Playa (see map). It may or may not have toilet paper. Other than that, you are on your own. • Obviously you are going to be in a lot of sun. Don’t forget a hat, lightweight breathable clothing and sunscreen.

• It would be a good idea to bring some goggles (especially in the spring). When the wind starts blowing, the sand can be hard on your eyes. • Don’t forget a tea kettle so you can leave a memento at the Junction;) If you are going stay over night at the Playa: The campground I mentioned is about 15-20 minutes past the Playa and it has about a dozen sites which are first come first served.

They are nothing more than a small area cleared of stones, but they will do if you bring a tent. If you happen to visit during the spring, be aware that the wind at night can be incredible.

During my last visit, the wind was so intense that my trusty MSR tent nearly collapsed and the noise and constant movement made sleep impossible. Some folks just sleep in their vehicles at the parking lots by the Playa. The Playa can get cold at night so bring some warm clothes if you are planning to shoot after sunset from November thru March. The Playa is big it takes some time to walk between the rocks.

Spend some time scouting and have your ‘primo’ rocks picked out before the light is at it’s best. • There is a lot of dust and grit at the playa. Bring your lens cleaner and lots of microfiber cloths so you can keep your equipment clean. Try to minimize lens changes.

• Bring your wide angle lenses. I find that most of my shots here are taken between 16-35mm on a full frame camera (30-75mm on APS-C camera). You probably won’t have much need for telephoto lenses at the Playa. A lot of your shots will involve getting real close to the rocks but trying to keep the background in focus as well so a tripod will come in handyespecially if you are shooting in low light near sunrise/sunset. • A remote shutter release • A polarizer will help make the blue skies really pop.

They will make a nice contrast for the pale-tan playa surface • If you do any time-lapse photography, this is an incredible venue for itbring your gear. Okay, So you have your gear and made it to the Plaza, now what? Racetrack Road enters the valley containing the Racetrack from the Northwest. Most of the sailing stones are located in the far southeastern corner of the Playa. There really isn’t much of interest in the rest of the Playa except for the Grandstand. The grandstand is a 73′ tall hunk of nearly black rock that rises out of the Playa’s flat surface.

If you have a lot of spare time on your visit, walk out and check it out. Personally, I don’t find it particularly photogenic and would rather spend my time photographing the sailing stones.

This is the view from the edge of Racetrack Road about halfway down the Playa. You can see the Cottonwood mountain ridge on the far side and the Grandstand is visible just left of the center of the shot if you look closely. Drive down Racetrack Road (it runs along the western edge of the Racetrack) to the last (most southern) parking area near the end of the Playa. The sailing stones are located directly across the Playa. If you have a compass, set your heading at about 70 ° (this is northeast), grab your gear and get going. As you walk east across the Playa, it will at first look empty but you will start seeing the rocks after you get about halfway across. Distances can be deceiving hereremember, the Playa is more than a mile wideit is going to take you a while to get across.

The good news is that the number of rocks increases the closer you get to the opposite side. The map below will help you familiarize yourself with the area: Photo Techniques & Tips: Scouting: • I know I already mentioned this, but you really need to scout around during the day and have some images preplanned so that you are prepared when the light gets good at the end of the day (or right after sunrise, if you spend the night at the Playa).

The best light doesn’t last long and it takes time to walk from one rock to another plus some of the rocks are just more photogenic than others. Scouting ahead will allow you to take full advantage of your time on the Playa. Perspectives: • Try setting up your tripod a few inches off the ground near a rock and use it anchor your image in one corner while showing the vast playa and distant mountains in the background. “From the Source” However, one fascinating aspect of the Playa are the trails the rocks make, not just the rocks themselves. They twist, cross each other and make all types of eye-appealing designs.

Don’t miss the chance to set your tripod to its full height and capture that perspective as well. F/22 or Focus Stacking: You will likely want to try to keep everything in focus throughout your image.

That can be difficult if you have a rock a foot from your lens but also have distant mountains in the background. If you are comfortable with focus-stacking, it can be quite helpful at the Playa.

Otherwise, set your aperature to f/22, switch to Manual Focus and use your Live-View. Adjust the focus point until you can get the image sharp from front to back. Night photography: The Playa at night is a nearly mystical place to beas quiet as anyplace I’ve ever been.

The photo potential is incredible. First of all, you need to know where the rocks are. It can be surprisingly difficult to find the rocks on the Playa at nighteven if you spent hours there the same afternoon.

Give yourself plenty of time to find them or mark their locations with a personal GPS device during the daylight. A flashlight will obviously come in handy. “Midnight Run” This is a combination of two photos taken a couple of minutes apart. The rock in the foreground was illuminated for a couple of seconds with a small flashlight during a 400+ second exposure. The Milky Way shot was taken a few moments laterit is a 22 second exposure.

Personally, I like to do a bit of light painting on a rock, while taking a long exposure with a low ISO. Then, I switch to a higher ISO (like 3500 or so) and take a 20-35 second exposure to capture the Milky Way. After I get home, I merge the two shots together. Click for more details on how to take good Milky Way shots and the equipment you will need.

If anyone else is out photographing the Playa at night while you are, it might be a good idea to team up with them so you both aren’t ruining each others shots with your lightpainting. Recap: So, that should give you enough info to help you avoid the ‘rookie’ mistakes I made during my first trips to the Racetrack. By the way, if you would like to read a blog with details about my last trip there, hit. It isn’t a ‘how-to’ article but you might find it interesting and pick up a few more tidbits of info. Take care and enjoy your trip to one of the coolest places on the planet. Feel free to email questions and if you have suggestions for other tips, just let me know and I’ll revise this article. Plus, if you want to share some of your Racetrack photos with me, I never get tired of them!

Last month my son and I got to spend a week in one of my favorite locales: Central California. It was Ryan’s first trip there so I had the added pleasure of introducing a new generation to one of the Earth’s most photogenic regions. We flew into San Francisco and although Ryan and I usually avoid urban areas on our trips, this was an exception to that rule: the City by the Bay is one of the most beautiful places touched by the hand of man. We hit the highlights: Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, the Presidio, Fisherman’s Wharf, the Sea Lions at Pier 39, Cable Cars and Lombard Street. The Palace of Fine Arts was built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. It is surprisingly massive and after nightfall it appears magically elegant We welcomed the next sunrise at one of my favorite spots: Pier 9.

The perspective of the Transamerica Tower from the end of the Pier is epic. We said goodbye to San Francisco but not until we stopped for breakfast at Safeway (a west coast grocery store). On our first day, Ryan had discovered the Breakfast Burritoat Safeway and that became his choice for the first meal of the day. In fact, on our way to the airport at the end of trip, he made me stop at another Safeway so he could have one last one to eat on the plane:) We spent a couple of days photographing the highlights of the California coast between San Francisco and Big Sur.

The spring rains had destroyed parts of the Pacific Coast Highway and we were unable to reach McWay Falls, which is one of the true highlights of the coast but even so, there was no shortage of amazing places to photograph. The Veteran Cypress. This amazing 1000 year old tree has taken a beating but is still hanging on the side of a cliff refusing to slide into the Pacific! We weren’t the only ones enjoying the park, We ran into a local painter right after sunrise who was painting a stunning location called China Cove: After a couple short days on the coast, we climbed in the rental car and headed east across the Central Valley with our sights set on Yosemite, the highlight of our trip.

I had sung the praises of Yosemite to Ryan for years and I was curious if he would feel the same or decide that I had over-hyped it. As soon as we entered the park I took him straight to the park’s most magnificent vista: Tunnel View.

Rainbows grace the base of the falls in late afternoon The trail is well named and we got happily soaked. Plus the snow and ice on the steps made the climb, well, let’s say it was entertaining at times;) I was actually getting kinda proud of myself since it’s a challenging trail and I’m not exactly a teenagerbut then a lady in her 70s passed me on the trail with her two grandkids.needless to say, I was appropriately humbled. We made our way up to Nevada Falls where we conducted our traditional snowball fight (sorry, but when Floridians actually see snow, you can’t expect anything less). Later that day back at camp we relaxed and soaked in the view (and a few brews). Some things are universal.

A mother’s love is perhaps the most touching. It crosses every boundary and certainly isn’t restricted to humans. I was reminded of this truism last year in Africa. We were out photographing on the Masai Morawhich is the part of the Serengeti that crosses into Kenya. It is a vast grassland that stretches to the horizon.

Our guide, Julius, got a call from another Land Rover that had spotted a lioness creeping into a thicket. It seemed worth a look but after creeping up a rocky hill, all we could see was this: Just a tall jumble of branchesfrankly, even if there was a lion in there I didn’t see how we would get a photo worth having. But Julius knew better, so we parked about 50′ away and waited Before long, we sensed something moving in the thicketthen we heard a pathetic, wimpy ‘mewing.’ And sure enough, this little guy crept out of the wood pile. Smaller than a loaf of bread and probably only a couple weeks old. Barely had its eyes open and could hardly see at allkept bumping into rocks and stumbling over his own feet. But he was determined and over the next five minutes he managed to stumble quite a distance from the lair. Which wasn’t goodthere are all types of predators who would enjoy such a nice little morselI couldn’t tell you how many kinds of raptors I had seen and any of them would have been delighted by this mobile ‘brunch.’ As the minutes stretched out, we started actively searching the skies to see if something would spot our little cuband he got further and further from home. Thenwe saw Mama And she certainly saw us!

She barked a throaty snarl and gave us a no-nonsense ”Stay the hell away from my cub!” look that affected me deep in the pit of my stomach. This wasn’t one of those fake “take a shot of the lion when it yawnsit looks just like a roar.” This was the real thingand you could see it in her eyes! After making sure we weren’t a threat, she headed right to her errant cub. Then, this fierce hunter morphed into the most gentle soul you can imagine Maybe she was a new mother, but she seemed very apprehensive about picking up her cub She tried over and over again. Finally, she seemed to give up and gave him a bath instead.

Of course, the cub didn’t make it easy for herit kept wiggling and scooting away. But finally he settled down and she got a good gripfirm, but not too firm She headed back to the thicket But she sure kept an eye on us the whole time and then she silently slipped back into the bramble. It’s funny, if we had been even a few hundred yards away, we would have probably never known this little drama had even taken place. The savannah might be vast, but it certainly isn’t empty and it has stories to tell Cheers! Jeff The Good Mother: A Lioness and her Cub Photo story by Jeff Stamer at Firefall Photography.

Every day during my two weeks in Kenya, we would go out into the bush and I would be treated to some wild new wonder. Yes, I had never been to Kenyaso of course it all was new. But some of the experiences so bizarre they even amazed our guides who were native Kenyans! Maybe the best example of this was the adventure with the Hippo and the Lions. One morning, we headed out before sunrise to a spot by the river where we had seen a lion pride the night before. The lions were still there all righteight or nine females and their young just lounging around soaking up some sun.

This beautiful lioness relaxed in this sunlit spot on the riverbank posing for us for over ten minutes. We moved the Land Rover to a great spot on the opposite bank and started snapping shots. We had been photographing for quite a while when I noticed a hippo surface in one of the deep pools in the river just below us He (she?) casually climbed out and struggled up the embankment That really got the attention of our lioness. She got up and started trotting toward the hippo.

She maneuvered into its blind spot Now lions don’t usually prey on hipposnothing really messes with hippos, they’re just too big. Despite their comical appearance, they can be deadly. Hippos reportedly kill more people in Africa than any other land animalour guide Julius explained that are particularly dangerous when you get between them and their escape route to the water. Maybe the hippo heard something, because suddenly it twisted its head and saw the lioness! It froze for a second and then.it spit up what looked like 20 gallons of water. I don’t know if this was a defensive action or if the lioness just scared it right out of her A split second later, the hippo charged the lioness.

Now, you wouldn’t think a 3,000 pound hippo could move fastbut you would also be wrong. They can hit 20 mphkeep in mind that Usain Bolt can only hit 27 mph! This is as close as the Hippo gotthe lion’s speed quickly got her out of harm’s way. When it saw that the lion was out of reach, the hippo stopped Perhaps it decided that discretion was the better part of valor ’cause it spun around and headed back toward the river. The lioness immediately jumped off in pursuit The hippo glanced over its shoulder and seemed to open its mouth to scream when it saw it was being chased again. She put her head down, put on the afterburners and started really moving!

I count four lions in this shotthat Hippo was seriously outnumbered! By now the hippo had a full head of steamwith all that momentum, I doubt that anything could have stopped it In the shot above, you can see that the lioness had caught up to the hippo and was throwing on the brakes. She must have been thinking “Why am I chasing this guywhat the heck would I do if I caught him anyway?!” This was my last shot before the hippo passed behind the trees lining the river and headed down the bankto safety. Just like that, it was over. From the time I first spotted the hippo in the river until she jumped back down the embankment less than 50 seconds had passed. It’s incredible the drama you can experience in less than a minute.

Anyway, it made for an exciting morningfor the photographers as well as the hippo and the lion pride. Like I said, something new and exciting every day! Until my next post, take care, Jeff. From Canada to the Carribean to Kenya, I was blessed with the chance to explore a variety of landscapes and exotic wildlife in 2016. The only downside to this kind of bounty is that it creates a challenge when trying to pick my favorite dozen shots from the year! Its a great problem to have and below is my best effort to recap an incredible year.

I’ve included some of my best selling images as well as others that I personally love even if they haven’t sold a single print. So, ready or nothere we go.

#2 “Sun Worshiper” This is one of those shots that I wouldn’t have gotten if I wasn’t so persistant (or ‘pig-headed’ as my wife might say). My son and I had a few hours to explore Nevada’s Valley of Fire State Park on our way to Zion and we hiked out to the ‘Fire Wave’ even though it was ugly and raining. I had just dropped my backpack when the sun burst thru the clouds and bathed us in glorious light for brief minute or two. Ryan ran up to the wave and I got my tripod set up in time to grab an image or two before the sun disappeared. #6 “Nothing Ventured” One challenge for any photographer is to capture something new and unique in their shots. This is nearly impossible when shooting iconic locations that have been photographed thousands of times before.

Rundle, as seen from Two Jack Lake in Canada’s Baniff National park is one of those places. My son and I had spent two weeks getting systematically rained out of every single sunrise and sunset when the gods finally smiled and this scene appeared thru a breaking morning storm. It was one of those moments when everything came together and allowed Ryan and I beat the odds and capture a truly magical moment.

I’m really proud of this imageit became my best selling print of 2016 and it is one of my all-time personal favorites. See my about how it all came together. #8 “Birder’s Delight” 2016 may be the year I finally came to understand ‘birders.’ To be honest, I’ve always looked at birders as nice but ‘unusual’ folks who delighted in talking thousands of photos of little grey and brown birds.

Well, my two weeks in Kenya introduced me to a world of colorful and exotic birds that anyone would be crazy NOT to pick up a camera and start snapping shots! This shot of a Lilac Breasted Roller (I think) is possibly my all time best effort at capturing a bird in flight. #9 “Ringside Seat” This is one of those photos that I would think is a photoshopped ‘creation’ unless I had been the one who actually taken the shot. A killer rock perch above a dramatic waterfall with a perfect little island right behind it just looks too cool to be realbut it is! Ryan and I arrived at Jasper’s Sunwapta Falls with an idealized idea of what we wanted to photograph but once we got there we just couldn’t find the right spot. We searched for quite a while before Ryan found it. This shot is the result of his persistance.

#11 “Postcard Peaks” I was so excited when I first got to Lake Moraine that I immediately headed right to the famous ‘rockpile’ where you get this elevated view of the ‘Ten Peaks’. To get there, I left the trail and hopped across a series of slippery logs floating in the water next to the parking area then scrambled up a steep rocking incline to the top. Here was a 55+ year old guy carrying thousands of dollars of photo gear in a heavy backpack and I remember wondering if this was really a good idea. The funny thing was that when I got to the top, I saw that if I had stayed on the trail from the parking lot a bit longer I would have seen that there actually was a nice, paved walkway to the top that was being used every other tourist in Alberta. #12 “Mirror, Mirror” I’ll finish with my favorite wildlife shot of 2016.

I was watching a group of cheetahs trek across a small stream when one stopped at low spot in the surrounding bedrock that held a small puddle of water. I was shooting ten frames per second and luckily managed to capture this moment when the cheetah seemed to gaze at its’ own relection before lapping up an evening drink. The reflection was just perfect and the way the cheetah looped its tail and arched her back was nearly poetic in its gracefullness. There you have itthe best I could do in 2016.

Photography was good to me last year. It challenged and motivated me to seek out and enjoy the beauty of our earth. I hope you enjoyed my photos and perhaps they will inspire you to get out there and explore a bit as well! I can’t remember a blog that has been as difficult to write as this one. It’s been nearly a month since I returned from Africa and as each day passes I receive more and more subtle (and not so subtle) questions about ‘when are we going to hear about your Kenya Photo Safari (and see some photos!)?’ Frankly, part of the problem is that I am a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of photos I tookover 25,000 images.

Just culling and processing them is a huge task. Plus Africa was so dramatically different from my normal ‘world’ that I’ve been at a loss of even figuring out where to begin. After four or five false starts, it became clear that I couldn’t write a single article about my trip.it would be exhaustingand very, very long. This first blog is going to be no more than an attempt to relay some of the most intense impressions that Kenya made upon mealong with a scattering of photos.

That will at least get the ice broken and future blogs can cover some of my experiences in detail. Never met a stranger First of all, let me tell you about the Kenyan people. I’ve never met folks who were so genuinely friendly. And I don’t mean friendly like the “Welcome to Disney world, thanks for spending a boatload of cash” that I’m used to.

I mean people who wave to you as you drive by a narrow dirt road in the middle of nowhere. Don’t give me wrong, if you walked downtown Nairobi at midnight with a Rolex on your wrist I’m confident you might meet someone who might give you a different impression. But in a nation with 40% unemployment (yes.40%!), I found it admirable and inspiring that the Kenyans had such sunny dispositions. Even the lizards were cool! I guess I’m used to the National Parks in North America where, sure, during a good day I might see a couple dozen different kinds of critters and maybe even something big now and again. But in Kenya, there was such an incredible varietyhundreds of brightly colored bird species, dozens of exotic and strange mammals and an endless supply of animals every bit as big (and bigger) as our Land Rover.

For photography, it was truly a “target rich environment.” Third, animals are people too. Well, okthey’re not human but I mean that after watching and photographing wildlife ten hours a day for two weeks I was impressed with how often they displayed nearly human emotions and behavior. The longer I was there, the more I appreciated that for all of humanity’s progress, science and intelligence.we really aren’t all that different. This is a Black Spitting Cobra. I had no idea what it was when I started snapping shots. My guide nearly freaked when he saw it!

I drove my guides a bit crazy with my desire to get out of the vehicle and take landscape shots. It made them nervous as hell if I got more than ten feet from the Land Rover. At first I didn’t really understand it I’m used to hiking in the Americas where there really aren’t that many dangers from wildlife (assuming you display reasonable caution). Africa is different. Fake Alberta Drivers Licence there. There are a number of critters there that will kill you. I learned that you couldn’t just go out and photograph the Milky Way at night by your tent (a leopard killed an antelope one night inside our camp).

And to always look where you put your feet (see photo to the right). Don’t get me wrongits not like tourists are being killed in droves but you have to exercise a higher level of caution than you might be used to. “Just try and catch me!” I have a number of other Kenyan wildlife ‘photo stories’ that I will share in blogs over the next few months.

Okay, I know that’s a pretty choppy blogbut at least I broke the ice and hopefully it won’t be so long until my next one. Happy Holidays to you and your family.

Jeff PS: I usually plan my own photo trips and rarely go on tours or use guides. I made an exception with this trip and I’m very glad I did. My tour was with “Wild4Photo Safaris” run by Stu and Justyna Porter.

This is a class operation and I wouldn’t have come home with half as many killer shots if it wasn’t for Stu and my driver/guide Julius. These guys had an amazing ability to anticipate where the wildlife was going to do be and what they were going to do. They never failed to have us in the perfect position for the shot. Not only thatbut they were great people who became my friends.

I owe them a huge thanks for memories that that will last the rest of my life. Well, tomorrow I embark on a grand adventurea two week photo safari in Kenya! This has been on my ‘bucket list’ since I was a kid and I’m insanely excited about the trip. My wonderful bride of 26 years gave me this trip as my Christmas present and I gotta say: The woman knows me well! I’ve spent the better part of six months getting ready, which included buying additional camera gear (of course), more innoculations than I can count and hours trying make all my gear fit Emirates Airlines’ insanely measly luggage allowance (one carry-on bag for a 20 hour flight.Come on, really?!). Fortunately, my trip will be with an outstanding, experienced guide who specializes in nothing but photo tours), so I don’t have to worry about anything once I get to Africa except taking photos.

I don’t expect to have much internet access, so don’t expect to hear much from me for a whilebut once I’m back I’ll be sharing lots of photos! This is a quick post aimed at any of you who have visited the Caribbean island of Bonaire in the last couple of years. The Bonaire Tourism sponsors a yearly photo contest for pros and amateurs in which you can win a free stay on the island. Unlike most contests, there is no fee to enter, so you really have nothing to loose by trying! Here’s I’m not big on contests as a rule, I’d rather be photographing stuff than submitting applications. But the applicant pool for this contest isn’t really deepthis isn’t like you are entering a National Geographic contest and there are thousands of applicantsand I won the contest last yearwhich proves that ANYONE could win! Anyway, they gave me a great free trip last year and I’d feel bad if I didn’t at least give them a bit of publicity:).

You’ve probably seen photos of this placemaybe you were as fascinated by it as I was! So I wondered: I’ve photographed a number of sites that were pretty challenging to reachhow many of them would I go back to, even if I didn’t have a camera with me? To be honest, that list is mighty short, but at the top of it would be Racetrack Playa. I’ll bet you’ve seen photos of the Racetrack even if you aren’t familiar with the name (see the image to the left).

The ‘sailing rocks’, some of them hundreds of pounds rest on a vast, flat mosaic of sun-cracked mud with trails stretched out behind them. Folks have wondered for years how the heck boulders ‘sail’ across the high desert valley floor in a remote part of Death Valley.

Theories covered the spectrum from aliens (probably visiting from their nearby home at Area 51) to some other stuff that was really ridiculous. Something about the Playa simply fascinated me. The images of those sailing stones just fired my imagination. And the Playa itself looks like an image taken from a Mars space probe.

Racetrack Play instantly went on my ‘bucket list’ and I finally I got my chance to photograph it this spring. Death Valley is the largest National Park in the lower 48 states, covering 5,262 square miles. My son, Ryan, and I spent our first day doing our best to hit the park’s photographic high points, including.

Mesquite Dunes But I was really there for the Playa and it was the only thing on our schedule for the next day and a halfbut first we had to get there. Now, Death Valley isn’t exactly difficult to visit, over a million folks do so every year. Getting to the Playa, however,is ‘a whole nother matter.’ I doubt that more than 20 folks per day make it to the Playa and now I know why. It’s isolated in the far western edge of the park and the only way to reach it is via a ROUGH 28 mile unpaved road. When I say rough, I mean this was by far the worst road I’ve ever been on in my life. It’s not a simple dirt or gravel road, its a mixture of sand and sharp broken rocks.

The washboarding is incredible and much of the ‘road’ is wide enough for only a single vehicle. Put it this way, the road is only 28 miles long but it took us about 2 hours to reach the Playayup, I averaged about 15 mph (and I thought that was fast!). I remember when that kid was the size of a tea kettle!

We had read about the road beforehand and knew we shouldn’t try to get there in a regular rental sedan, so we rented a modified 4×4 Jeep. It wasn’t cheap, but it had heavy duty tires, beefed up suspension and included an emergency GPS tracker you could activate if you got stuck (no cell service on that roador most places in the park for that matter). I thought maybe I was being over-cautious renting the jeep. I mean how bad could it be? Well, in the first couple miles we passed two regular sedans that had blown tires and another that had the bottom torn out of it (no wonder the Park Service recommends you take TWO full sized spares). Apparently towing costs are outrageous like $1500-$4000 so I started thinking the cost might not have been ridiculous after all! After an hour and a half of being thrown around like ping pong balls in a lottery cage, we reached Teakettle Junction.

I don’t know how it originally got its name, but over the years folks have decorated the sign with, you got ittea kettles! It was worth a photo and the good news was that it meant we were only 6 miles from the Racetrack. We finally made the last turn and saw the Playa As I soaked in the view it became apparent why they call it the racetrack.it really is a huge flat oval surrounded by mountains that look like bleachersthrow up some NASCAR banners and I would have thought I was at the Daytona 500. The Playa is about two miles long, a mile wide and ringed by black mountains. We parked when I first spotted some rocks out on the Playa. They didn’t look that far out there so I grabbed my camera nearly ran out into the flats. After about five minutes, the rocks didn’t look any closerso I slowed to a trotthen a jogand then I just plain walked.

It slowly dawned on me that the Playa is bigreally BIG. Plus the rocks were out a lot further out there than they appeared and of course they were all on the FAR side of the Playa. But I didn’t care! I was at the Playa and I had my camera. I spent the next few hours gleefully snapping away running from one rock to another. The weather was wonderful. Temperatures were in the 70snice partly cloudy skies and a gentle breeze.

I’d hate to visit in the summer when temperatures top 100° but in March, it was ideal. The entire Playa is covered by a polygons of hard, baked mud. When the sun hits it at a low angle, the dark cracks really pop.

We were going to spend the night: I had my heart set on photographing the Playa at nighthopefully getting shots of the ‘sailing rocks’ with the Milky Way hanging above them. Since the Playa looked like a scene from a different world, I figured that including the Milky Way would be just be icing on the cake! The campsite was closeless than a mile away.

It was small, rugged and primitive. No water, no electricity, no bathrooms.no problem. I had done my research, so we knew what to expect and we were preparedwell, we THOUGHT we were.

What we didn’t plan on was the wind. The mild breezes we enjoyed during the day intensified as it got darkand then got worse. We live in Florida so we know a thing or two about windheck, Hurricane Matthew just hit a couple weeks agobut we had never camped in winds like these. 40-60 mph gusts blasted our tent with sand and rocks: it sounded like we were inside a blender full of gravel. Needless to say we didn’t sleep much After a few hours we gave up, jammed the tent in the back of the jeep and drove back to the Playa.

Clouds had accompanied the wind and the Milky Way wasn’t visible. At least the jeep was quieter than the tent and Ryan managed to drift off to sleep. I just stared out the window hoping to see stars. Around 3am the gale died down and the skies started to clear. I left my sleepy son in the jeep and headed out onto the flats with my tripod and camera. There was no moon and it was truly pitch black.

The silence was absolute and profound. The Playa seemed eerie, empty and endless.

It really should have been one of those moments when I stopped, took a deep breath and appreciated the moment But all I could think was: ‘Where the heck are those freakin’ rocks?!’ Spotting them during the day had been pretty easy but in the darkness it proved frustratingly difficult. The Milky Way was beautiful and clearly visible but sunrise was coming and the skies would soon start to lighten. I kept walking and the minutes kept rolling. My chances of getting a Milky Way shot with the ‘sailing rocks’ were slipping away.

And then I nearly tripped right over one! Alpha Centauri IV?

I knew I had less than 30 minutes before the stars faded with the dawn. That sounds like a lot of time to take a picture of a single rock.right? Well, not really. To get a high resolution shot of the rock in the darkness, some of my exposures had to be nearly 8 minutes longso I didn’t have time to a lot of photos. Plus I had to focus in the darkness (which isn’t fun)then figure out the best way to light up the ‘sailing rock’plus I had to take separate 30 second exposures of the faint Milky Way (later I’d merge the photos together in Photoshop). Sometimes you imagine a shot in your head and wait years to get it but it doesn’t equal your expectations. But the shot above didn’t disappoint me a bit.

“Time for you to leave” school to actually hug each other. We ambled back to the parking lot, ate a power bar, fired up the jeep and headed back to civilization. I’m sure some will look at these photos and think “OKa bunch of rocks in the desert: Big Deal” But if you are like me, it will spark a sense of wonder and enchantment. I found it totally surreal and bizarre.and starkly mesmerizing. Despite the time, hardship and treasure it costs to get to the Racetrack, I’d go back in a minuteeven without a camera. There just isn’t another place like itat least here on earth!

Jeff PS: If you are thinking about visiting Racetrack Playa, I’ve written another blog with maps and specific tips. Use for a full report of all you need to know to photograph Racetrack Playa! PSS: The mystery of the ‘Sailing Rocks’ has been scientifically solved (). A group of researchers actually put small GPS trackers on some of the rocks and set up cameras to take time-lapse photos of them. Basically, when a thin layer of ice forms on the Playa, the rocks will move if there is a high, sustained wind (yupI know about THAT!) It happens rarely, but they caught it on tape. I guess someone was bound to have enough time and money on their hands to solve this mysterybut honestly, I kinda liked not knowing. Racetrack Playa: A Photographer’s Nirvana.

I made another trip out to the sunflower fields today. As you might expect, the rain from Hurricane Matthew has made a pretty dramatic change compared to a couple weeks ago. Although there are still plenty of flowers, all the fields are flooded. You can get close to them but you can’t actually get into the flowers unless you have a boat or want to go swimming.

The good news is that even though we are well past peak bloom, there is still plenty of color plus the temperatures are nice and the mosquitos seem to be few and far between. If you make a trip out, just take your waterproof boots and stay on the ‘red trail.’ Once you reach the flooded fields, keep hiking southwest on the dry ground under the oak hammock that borders the wet field. Even if the sunflowers aren’t as impressive as they were before Matthew, it’s a nice little hikePlus if you keep your eyes and ears open, you will likely see eagles.

My son and I saw two today. If you haven’t seen the flowers yet this year, I’d think this coming weekend might be your last chance to catch any decent colorotherwise, you will have to wait until 2017!

Jeff PS: If you’ve never been out to the fields, check out for directions and other important info. Florida the Beautiful I made my first trip out to Jesup’s Marl Bed flats today and the flowers were there in abundance.

Not full peaklet’s call it about 30-40% of max bloom. Lots of the flower buds haven’t opened yet and I would think that another 7-10 days or so will be the peak. The good news this year is that the fields are pretty dry. Water levels are the lowest I’ve seen in the past five years.

Although you can still get your feet wet, it’s much better than years past. The bad news is that you are going to have to walk a bit further than in 2015 to reach the best fields. Plus the fields are not as expansive as last year. Perhaps that is largely because the bloom isn’t at its peaktime will tell. Not quite as lush as some years but still impressive! If you are planning to visit the fields and haven’t done so before, to my post that has full directions as well as tips about what you will want to bring with you. If this isn’t your first time, be aware that the best fields are in different locations than in 2015.

The map below will help steer you in the right direction. Usually, the sunflower fields start right where the oak hammock ends. This year you have bear to the right (north) once you reach the fields or walk east well out into the flats (about ten minutes) before you hit the best areas. 2016 Map for Lake Jesup Sunflower Fields The fields were deserted todaydidn’t see another soul. After all these years, I still find it amazing that I can be sitting in bumper to bumper traffic at 8:00 and thirty minutes later be standing in the middle of a silent field with sunflowers stretching to the horizon. Although homo sapiens were not to be seen, I did run across an inquisitive raccoon as well as the usual cows. Saw hundreds of birds of all types.

The eagles are out again this year but never got close enough for a good shot. Mosquitos were much less active this year. I saw a airboat spraying along the edge of Lake Jesup, maybe the county is actively trying to control the bugs this year because of the Zika scarewhatever the reason, I didn’t need nearly as much bug spray this year! Hope you get a chance to get out to the fields this year. I’d say the next two weekends are going to be as good as it gets!

The US National Park Service celebrates it’s 100th birthday today! Americans are justifiably proud that the U.S. created the world’s first National Park. It was a truly inspired concept which spread world-wide. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to appreciate the foresight and sheer genius of the concept of National Parks.

Most of my vacations are spent in them. My career is dependent upon their existence. And, more importantly, they are among the few places in the world that consistently fill me with a sense of peace and wonder. Happy Birthday US National Park Service!

“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.”. No long, detailed description of an iconic landscape photography location todayI just wanted to share with you a short but sweet encounter I had recently.

Last weekend, my wife Anita and I drove down to Pompano Beach for a day of scuba diving. Oddly enough, although we live in Florida, we rarely dive heremost of our dives are in the Caribbean which is close and cheap. However, we might rethink that strategy because of a wonderful experience: We ran across a young Green Sea Turtle got to swim with him for an hour or two. Okay, okayit was really less than two minutes, but it seemed longer!) So, my Dive Buddy (Anita) and I were diving on a shallow reef called the ‘Nursery’ off of Pompano Beach. It is a shallow reef and frankly, the visibility was only so-so.

I’m starting to think, “Yup, this is why we don’t dive in Florida” and I happened to glance to my right and noticed this little guy (gal?) calmly swimming right along beside me. “Ramming Speed!” For a moment I thought he was going to hit my camera housing before he gracefully swooshed below me and out to the deep blue. Anita and I hovered there for a moment or two and did our best to smile underwater with regulators jammed in our mouths (trust me, it’s difficult to do!) Now, this was nothing more than a common, simple, chance encounter. But I’m reminded of the old saying: “Life Is Not Measured By the Number of Breaths We Take, But By the Moments That Take Our Breath Away ” Jeff. Name your price. No, this isn’t a sales pitch.

It’s just a simple question I’ve been asking myself. How many mornings would you get up at 4am with less than 5 hours of sleep and then drive in total darkness in a foreign country on unfamiliar roads to have the chance to take this shot? Twothree times maybe?

But what if you had to do this twelve timesafter first flying nearly 3,000 miles and camping in a leaky tent while it rained nearly non-stop for a week in a half? Yeah, I’m asking myself that question because my son and I went to the Canadian Rockies last month. As it turned out, the 12 days we were there had the dubious honor of hosting some of the worst weather on record. Of course you never expect the skies to be perfect for an entire trip, so even though you might plan where to photograph every, single sunrise and sunset, you know that some of them won’t work out. Well, this time we didn’t get a single decent sunset the entire triptotally skunked. Sunrise wasn’t much better, there was one decent, but unspectacular morning early in the trip and we got some nice shots of Crowfoot Mountain.

A fine shot of Crowfoot. Not once in a lifetime. But nice But after thatzilch, zipnada.

Truth be told, as the trip started to wind down, it did get to be a bit depressing. Don’t get me wrong, we took advantage of the overcast skies and photographed some killer waterfalls plus the animals didn’t mind the rain which allowed us to enjoy some of our best wildlife photography ever. And honestly we had a few partially cloudy afternoons which allowed us to do some hiking and see the Canadian Rockies in all their glory. Just not at sunrise or sunsetsigh. Overcast skies were perfect for photographing this stand of Aspens Not only that, but I nearly didn’t get this shot at all. My son and I had showed up at the dark and empty Two Jack Lake parking lot thirty minutes before sunrise (for the third or fourth straight day), set up our tripods in the rain (for the third or fourth straight day).

We aimed our cameras pointing at Mt. Rundle (well, we couldn’t actually SEE the mountain, but we knew it was out there somewhere to the southeast:) Then we sat down in the car and waited.

Sunrise came and went with no sign of sun. After about an hour of some sleepy father and son bonding, we just looked at each other, shook our heads, packed up and and left. The wildlife didn’t mind the rain at all! A few minutes down the road I spotted two nice bucks grazing in a meadow off to the right. Since we certainly had the time, I pulled over, grabbed my big 200-400mm and stalked them for a bit. And then a funny thing happened. After 15 minutes or so I noticed a bit of blue starting to peek out from behind the clouds.

We weren’t that far from Two Jack Lake so we turned around and headed back just to see if we might finally get lucky and see some actual sunlight. As we pulled into the small and still empty parking lot, I saw that Rundle was actually visible thru the breaking clouds. Now, there wasn’t much in the way of color, but hey, it wasn’t raining (for once) and we could actually see the mountain. So we set up our tripods and started to snap a few shots of Mt Rundle.

And then, gradually, a bit of sunlight struggled thru the overcast skies and a small, partial rainbow shimmered to life off to the west. Ryan and I perked up and we started to get a bit excited. Suddenly a shaft of sunlight ripped thru the clouds and lit up the mountain. In that moment, the scene before us morphed from mundane to MAGIC! Over the next seven minutes, we had an absolute ball! Since we had already spent hours there, we certainly knew where to go. We ran from spot to spot to photograph from every possible perspective.

But within a couple minutes, the rainbow started to fade. And then, the rain came back, again and the mountain vanished again. And it didn’t come back. Ryan and I looked at each other and just grinned. Here we stood in one of the most popular sunrise spots in the Canadian Rockies during the busiest time of the year.

Photographers usually line the shoreline, tripod to tripod at sunrise.and we were the only souls there. And had witnessed an absolutely incredible, epic, sunrise!

Not a nice sunrisenot a good sunrisenot a pretty sunrisean EPIC one! As the rain picked up and splattered around us, a couple Canadian Geese wandered over like they were asking”Hey buddy, did ya see that sunrise? Wowthat one was pretty damn impressive, wouldn’t you say?!”. Tomorrow my son and I head off to the Canadian Rockies for nearly two weeks of camping, hiking and photography (not necessarily in that order).

Temperatures here in central Florida have been in the mid 90s for a while and I’m looking forward to cooler weather (heck, the surface of the sun might be an improvement!) Earlier this year when Ryan and I were considering where to go on our summer road trip, he shared with me a number of photographs on Instagram that had caught his attention. A surprising number of them were from the Canadian Rockies.

Although I had heard of Banff and Jasper, they had never really come up on my radar screen even though I had photographed Glacier National Park last year and had been enraptured by the alpine vistas. But the more photos I saw, the more I was impressed.

“Morning Beacon” This was my favorite shot from Glacier NP last yearlet’s see if I can top it in the Canadian Rockies! Here we are a few months later and I’ve spent more hours than I would like to admit researching where we will photograph every single sunrise and sunset! Not only does the region have incredible landscapes but it is also famous for its wildlife. In fact, I bought a new Nikon D500 just for wildlife photographywe will see what kind of bear shots I can get with it mounted to a 200-400 zoom coupled with a 1.4 teleconverter (that will almost be the equivalent of a 900mm lensI should be able to count the nose hairs on the bruins!) Ryan and I are truly stoked about the potential for a great trip. But in the back of my mind I wonder how many more of these trips we have in our future. After all, Ryan is 21 and will be graduating next yearsoon there will be a career and then a familyhe just won’t have the time for these adventures with the old man. But that’s the futurein the meantime, I’m going to enjoy it!

I’ll be sure to update you all when we returnhere’s hoping the weather gods are good to us! This is pretty much straight out of the camera. I pulled the highlights down a bit, lightened the shadows and increased the vibrance a tadthat’s it! If you are a photographer, then you know we live in challenging times. The source of this concern is that there are a LOT of talented and dedicated photographers out there and they are creating incredible images.

So why is that a problem? Well, have you ever finally got to one of those locations on your ‘photographic bucket list’, set up your tripod, looked thru the viewfinder, and said to yourself.Crap, this doesn’t look at all like those pictures I’ve been looking! That’s the problem I’m talking about.

Heck, you get all excited, spend the money and time to travel to one of these photographic icons.and then the real thing just doesn’t look nearly as good as those images you saw on your computer back at home. It’s happened to all of usno matter how good our equipment or how talented (we think) we are. So when I do get to a ‘bucket list’ spot and I look thru the viewfinder and what I see is there is as good as anything I’ve ever seen on the internet, well, then I know that I’m truly in the presence of something special.

And I’m here to tell you that the Subway at Zion National Park is one of those Icons. I don’t care how many photoshopped masterpieces you’ve seen taken by National Geographic Award Winning Photographers the fact is that YOU can take a photo here that will compare well to the best of them and make you shake your head in wonder. Yeah, but here’s the hitch (there’s always a hitch).

It’s not easy to get to the subway. Access is tightly restricted by a permit system plus you have to be willing and able to make a long hike. Actually, there are two ways to get to the Subway. One way involves rappelling and other mountain climbing type skills, so let’s forget about that one. The second route is shorter and easier its called the “Bottom-up” hike.

Although easier, it is still about a 10 miles roundtrip hike. And it isn’t a smooth, easy trail. The National Park Service calls this a strenuous hike. That might be a bit of an exaggeration but it was certainly the toughest 10 mile hike I’ve done. None of it is smooth, straight, level or flat.

You are constantly scrambling up and down over rocks and boulders. Maybe this explains why less than 1% of Zion visitors make it to the Subway. My son, Ryan, and I are confident hikers but we still took about two hours (not counting stops) to reach the Subway.

Once you figure in some breaks as well as stops for photography, it would be difficult to do this whole hike in less than seven hours. But it is worth it! You start seeing these colorful pools as you approach the subway entrance Ryan and were in Zion this March and the Subway was #1 on our list of hikes. We got to the trailhead a couple of hours after dawn and started down the trail. To be honest, compared to other hikes in Zion, this one isn’t particularly beautiful. To be brutally honest it was a long, tiring slog.

But as we finally approached the subway entrance things started to get very interesting. Carved out from the colorful sandstone by moving water, the subway is aptly named. Actually it is a narrow canyon with a thin opening in the ceiling but it really does look like someone burrowed a curving, round tube right thru the rock. We set up our tripods and took our first shot.

We glanced at the result and then looked up at each other with huge, dopey smiles on our faces. Shook our heads and got to work. We were bouncing ideas off of each other, suggesting different angles, perspectives, camera settingsI was almost giddy. The place is truly magical for a photographer! The subway was a lot larger than I had imagined, the ceiling was about 20′ tall. And the colors are amazing! The chilly water saturates the rock which results in robust reds, fluorescent greens and subtle yellows.

It can be hard to come up with unique compositions at the Subway. In this shot, I used a Gorillapod tripod to set up my camera only inches over the water.

The Subway is fully shaded and surprisingly cold, especially when the wind whips thru the ‘tunnel.’ We had a ball, despite the chill and managed to stay on our feet the whole time although the swift current and slippery rocks resulted in a couple slips that certainly got the adrenaline flowing for a moment or two. There is a waterfall in a chamber at the back of the Subway, but the water levels were too high for us to reach it due to the snowmelt. Something for our next trip.

We enjoyed the Subway’s magic for nearly 90 minutes before we regretfully packed up to head home. We decided to stop for a well earned lunch at Arch Angel Cascades. As we were enjoying our extravagant meal (Cliff Bars) we noticed a young couple coming down the stream headed for the Subway. We waved and said hi. About ten minutes later we were putting our packs back on when we saw the same couple heading back. I guess they weren’t photographers.

They had hiked for 2 hours, looked at the Subway for five minutes or so, then turned around started the 2 hour walk home. Ryan and I were amazed. Sure, the Subway is beautiful, but I wonder if I would be willing to walk 4 hours to look at something for less than 300 seconds! The hike back seemed to take foreverpossibly because I was dreading the climb near the end of the trail where you have to climb 500′ over less than a tenth of a mile. That is one steep climb.

Of course my 21 year old son bolted up the trail like some kind of crazed mountain goat. My 57 year old knees weren’t quite as nubile so he got to wait quite a while at the top before I clawed my way up. Now, four months later, the sore muscles are (nearly) forgotten. But whenever I look at the photos I took that day, I smile and think of a place where you don’t have to be Ansel Adams or Tom Till to take a breathtaking photograph.

Photo Tips and Guide for Photographers visiting Zion’s Subway: Normally, what you would see now on my blog would be a full length article on “How-to photograph the Subway” but that isn’t going to happen: Because someone has already done it. I ran across by fellow photographer Nico Debarmore when I was first planning my trip. His article is through, detailed, accurate and I highly recommend it to any photographer considering making a hike to the Subway. In addition to Nico’s information, let me add a few random thoughts of my own: Find out about the water conditions before you hike: • The Left Fork of North Creek is the stream that runs thru the Subway and it is the single most important variable in your visit to the Subway. The amount of flow and temperature will determine IF you can make the hike and what type of equipment (i.e.

Neoprene socks/boots/etc) you will need. • The best way to get this info is to ask one of the outfitters in Springdale (the little town at the southern entrance of Zion.) They get daily updates on water conditions from their customers as they come back to return rented equipment. • Personally, I found the folks at the to great sources of infoplus they have all the gear you will need to rent at decent prices (and no, they don’t give me a kickback for this endorsement, unfortunately.) • I originally tried asking Park Rangers at the desk that issues permits for the hike but they rarely seemed to have up-to-the minute and accurate info (or maybe liability concerns by the management has resulted in instructions for them to be vague?) Don’t get lost • This isn’t a well maintained trail. However, once you get down to the river you really can’t get lostyou just follow the river. But the trail from the trailhead at the parking lot to the river can be difficult to follow. I got lost for ten minutes when I thought a dry creek bed was the trail.

Thankfully I had a “on my phone and was able to get back to the right trail quickly (that alone was worth the $15 I spent on it!) Don’t get distracted on the way to the Subway. • We stopped and photographed a number of neat little waterfalls and cascades on the way to the Subwaydon’t do that. Hit them on the way back. Because there are 3 truly memorable photogenic subjects on this hike other than the Subway (Arch Angel Falls, the Cascade just above Arch Angel Falls and the Crack). They are all clustered near the end close to the actual subway. If you dawdle too long during your hike, then these 3 spots will likely be in direct sunlight by the time you get there.

• So, don’t be a slowpoke and if any of these 3 spots are still in the shade when you reach them on your way to the Subway, stop and take a few minutes to capture some images. The Cascade above Arch Angel Falls photographed in mid morning while still shaded by the canyon walls. This shot was taken in March and the snowmelt provided a nice waterflow. Later in the year (summertime) the current is much reduced and isn’t quite so photogenic. • You won’t find a photo of the famous Crack in this blog, because I was in a hurry to get to the Subway and didn’t stop and photograph while it was still in the shade.

I really should have. Because by the time we returned on the hike back it was in direct, blinding and harsh sunlight. It wasn’t even worth wasting a shot. I’ll know better next time. Avoid the Crowds. The Park Service allows a maximum of 80 hikers per day to visit the Subway which doesn’t sound like a lot. However, the Subway can’t really handle more than a handful of photographers without them getting in each other’s way.

You really don’t want to be here maneuvering your tripod here around 79 of your new, bestest friends. • Start your hike at first light (before sunrise if you can). It will mean leaving your room/campsite early, but you will avoid most of the crowd. Plus, you will be able to get to Arch Angel Falls and the Crack before they get hit by direct sunlight. Also, if you are hiking in the winter months when there are only 12 hours of sunlight, you have to start early or you will be hiking home in the dark.

• Try to avoid April – October. These are the busiest months. If you visit during Nov-March you are very likely to get a permit (for example, the day my son and I visited in March, there were only 11 other people who applied for a permit). However, during the busy April- October timeframe the 80 available permits are in such demand that they are actually doled out via a lotteryso there is NO guarantee that you will get one (see Nico’s article for more details).. Bracket your shots The Subway is at the bottom of a tall, narrow canyon, so it doesn’t get much direct sunlight.

The light is subdued and my Nikon D800e was able to handle the dynamic range. However, the D800 is known for its dynamic range abilities, so depending on your camera, it might be a great idea to bracket your shots just in case you have to use HDR software. The colors of the restored buildings are simply amazing.

Old San Juan Top 10 Photo Locations & Tips I don’t do a lot of street photography. As a rule, I prefer to spend my time outdoors and do my best to avoid cities. There are some exceptions, towns like Savannah, Charlestown and St.

Augustine have a charm I certainly wouldn’t deny and I have spent many an enjoyable day photographing them. Today, I’m adding another location to that list: Old San Juan.

I’ve visited Old San Juan a half dozen or so times over the years, usually at the start or end of a cruise (over a million tourists cruise out of San Juan harbor yearly). I had taken a couple quick tours and hit the highlights but that was about it. However, earlier this month, a lovely young woman we’ve known for years had her wedding there and I found myself with nearly three days to explore and photograph the city. The projecting Garitas (Sentry Boxes) are an image that has become synonymous with Old San Juan First of all, an overview. Old San Juan is known as La Ciudad Amurallada “the walled city”understandable for a town surrounded by a 3.4 mile long wall that is up to 20 foot thick.

It was founded in 1521, by Spanish colonists who called it Ciudad de Puerto Rico (“Rich Port City”) and is considered the second oldest town in the New World. The city occupies the western side of a small island at the entrance of San Juan Harbor. Thanks to decades of good zoning laws, you will rarely see a modern structure, in fact, as you walk the narrow streets and look up at the 400 exuberantly painted and carefully restored 16th and 17th-century Spanish colonial buildings, it would be easy to think you had slipped thru a time rift and had been carried back a couple centuries. The city is pretty small (about 7 square blocks). You can walk to nearly any spot in the city in 30 minutes. As soon as I booked my flight, I started searching on-line for ‘photo tips’ and ‘photo locations.’ However, I was surprised by the lack of info available, so I’m writing this blog to help out future photographers who visit this exceptional city.

Top 10 Photo Locations in Old San Juan: Sure, this Top 10 list is just my humble opinion and some might quibble over a couple of the selections but it will give you a great starting point for your exploration. So, here’s my top 10 list (in no particular order). Take a early morning stroll along the Paseo.

There isn’t another like it in the world! • This is an incredible walkway that snakes along the water’s edge between el Morro (see #2) and the southern part of the island. It is wide, paved and nicely landscaped. Photo ops abound and include the Raices Fountain (see #6 below) the old red city gate and wonderful views of the city wall with its projecting Garitas (sentry boxes).

The trail ends at el Morro. Great sunset views. • Castillo San Felipe Del Morro (#2 on map). HDR is mandatory for this type of shot • Commonly known as, this is an impressive, 6 storied, 16th-century citadel with walls that soar 140 above the amazing turquoise Caribbean. Although smaller than Castillo de san Cristobal (#9), it is much more photogenic because of its location at the tip of the islandthe views of San Juan Bay from El Morro are spectacular. The fortresses and the walls, together with La Fortaleza, are recognized by the United Nations as a World Heritage Site, one of only 23 such locations in the United States. El Morro is part of the National Park system and entry is only $5.

Great spot during the blue hour after sunset • This spot provides a dramatic view of the city wall and La Foraleza (the Governor’s mansion). From the La Rogativa statue (#5), just walk a short distance along the city wall northwest (toward el Morro) until you reach the Casa Rosa (Rosada), also known as the Pink House.

Part of the wall in front of this building curves out toward the bay, giving you a wonderful view of the illuminated city wall, the red city gate and the Governor’s house (La Fortaleza)at night, this is a beautiful, world class vista. • Note: Be careful entering the sentry boxes (Garitas) at nightunfortunately, they seem to be used as bathrooms by some folks.

La Rogativa 5. La Rogativa Plaza(Plaza of Religious Procession#5 on map) • Statues of generals and assorted statesmen can be found across the city. Most of them look like those you can see anywhere. Not this one. It is different, modern and depicts a cherished moment in San Juan’s history: • In 1797 an English blockade threatened to starve the city into submission.

Outnumbered and desperate, a large group of women and children lit torches at night and walked toward the city as part of a rogativa, or divine entreaty, to ask the saints to save them. The English, mistakenly thinking the long column was Spanish reinforcements, abandoned their blockade and fled. • The best natural light is in mid morning. Also, the sculpture very photogenic at night (see photo above).

Raices Fountain (#6 on map) • Located where Paseo del Morro meets Paseo de la Princesa, this large and uplifting statue is front lit in mid morning. Also makes a killer sunset shot. Cathedral of San Juan Bautista (#7 on map). Which way to the palace? Stay in the old city If you will be there more than one night, find a room in the old cityNOT the modern part of San Juan.

Although the distance between the two is not significant, traffic can make it a long commute. Besides, you really get a chance to soak up the atmosphere if you stay in the old city. My wife rented an apartment on a quiet street with a killer view on for less than the cost of a ‘traditional’ hotel. Seriously, find a place in the old cityyou won’t regret it.

Don’t rent a car. The city is full of narrow, one way streets and finding a parking spot can be impossible. Besides, since the city is small, a reasonably fit person can cover it easily on footplus you just see so much more detail when you walk, if you were driving you would miss a lot of photo ops.

• Taxis are also available, but can be hard to find. • There is a great hop-on, hop-off free trolley service which you can use to cover ground quickly. It runs every day Monday through Friday from 7am until 6 pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 9am until 7pm every 15 minutes. Click onfor a map of the routes. Hat, Sunscreen, Water, Walking Shoes This is the tropics and the summers can be very hot. Plus, the sun can be merciless.

My wife, for example, never gets sunburned, well, at least she never had until this visit to Old San Juan;) 4. Camera Gear • A wide angle lens is a must. I had a 28mm on my full frame camera (about 18mm on a crop sensor APS-C camera) and it worked out well, but I wish I had brought my 14mm for some shots. • A regular lens in the 50-70mm range will come in handy for most of the other shots you will need. I really didn’t find much need for a telephoto lens.

• Travel tripod. I used mine quite a bit, even during the day. The buildings are tall and shots often have both shadows and brightly sunlit areas.

I often had to take bracketing shots so I could later process them in HDR to capture the full dynamic range. The skies over San Juan can make for a wonderful backdrop for your shots.

A polarizer will really make the blue ‘pop’ in your shots. Time of Day to shoot. Little scenes like this abound in Old San Juan This is one location that you truly can photograph 24 hours a day. • Early morningshave wonderful, soft light and is the least crowded time of the day. Sunrise shots at the San Cristobal castle can be wonderful. Then walk down to the Magdalena Cemetery (#3) for shots of El Morro castle with the sun at your back.

• Mid-Day This is the time to walk the streets and photograph the colorful buildings and the even more colorful people! When you are photographing the quaint old buildings, I think they look best when the sun is high enough to get some light on them, so late morning thru early afternoon is prime-time. Keep in mind that one side of a street might get great late morning light while the other side will be best with afternoon lightso you might need to cover the same street during different parts of the day in order to get shots of the buildings on both side of the road. • Sunset The Raices Fountain (#6) is a wonderful spot for sunset shots. Then you can easily head down the El Morro Trail (#1) for a series of great photo ops as the sun drops into the Atlantic. • Night San Juan doesn’t ever sleep.

You will find folks on the streets all night. My favorite night locations were: • The La Rogativa statue (#5 on map) and • The city wall at Casa Rosada (#4 on map). Position yourself at the city wall and shoot back toward the governor’s mansion (La Fortaleza).

• Although there is a significant amount of crime in new San Juan, most of the old town is heavily patrolled by police. I never felt uncomfortable at night but then again, I avoided dark, deserted areas. Just use common sense like you would in any city. • One area to definitely avoid at night is the La Perla neighborhood.

This is on the northern side of the city between el Morro and Castillo de San Cristobal (see ). I hope you and your camera get a chance to explore Old San Juan soon. Even if you are like me and your first love is landscape or wildlife photography, you won’t be disappointed! Last week I returned from an 8 day photo trip to the American Southwest with my son Ryan.

He was on Spring Break from college and wanted to get more experience with his new camera and try some of the area’s world-class hikes. As for me, I never need an excuse to photograph the southwest and spending time with my son was just icing on the cake. So now, after flying 4,000 miles, driving another 2,000 miles and hiking 40 milesI’ve finally recovered enough to provide a quick trip report (with pictures of course)! We flew into Vegas on a Saturday morning, got our rental jeep and were quickly on the road out of Sin City heading for Death Valley.

First Sunlight on Manly Beacon at Death Valley’s Zabriskie Point I was excited since I’d never visited Death Valley. Even better, I was finally going to see one of the locations on my “ Photographic Bucket List“:. Years ago I first saw photos of the ‘Sailing Rocks’ and their long trails on the flat Playa. I’ve been fascinated ever since and this was my chance to finally visit. I’ll be writing a full blog on this location in the near future, but I can tell you it is as strange, eerie and alien as it looks in all those pictures you’ve seen. Not of this Earth? The Racetrack is one of those places that sends a deep shiver down your spine!

After a couple of days living off of granola bars, Ryan decided to treat his old man to a nice breakfast on the way out of the park. There aren’t a lot of dining choices in Death Valley, but the Inn at Furnace Creek looked nice. They were serving brunch and we were so hungry that he didn’t even ask the price. The meal was excellent leaving him both contented and smiling.

But when they presented a bill for $70, they managed to wipe away that smile along with a large portion of his Spring Break budget;) Our next stop was Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada about an hour northeast of Vegas. We only had 90 minutes to devote to this park but could have easily spent days there. I had two goals here: 1) Find the mysterious “Windstone Arch” made famous by photographer David Muensch, and 2) Hike out to the “Fire Wave” and catch a sunset. End to a memorable day! The next few days were spent at one of my favorites, Zion National Park. We packed in full days of hiking.

Those miles on the trail were a bit less tiring for my 20 year old son than for my less youthful body, but the images I captured were worth every last single footfall. We hiked up Angel’s Landing our first daythis was the trail I had the most pre-trip concerns about. Reviews of this hike cited it as one of the most dangerous in the country (six folks have fallen to their deaths on the hike) and critics warned that anyone who didn’t like heights would be sorry. The view down the valley toward Springdale.

Frankly, it wasn’t all that bad. It WAS steep and I have no idea how many switchbacks were on that silly trail but the views at the end were breathtaking. But then, just as we reached the summit, the weather Gods (who had smiled upon us the day before) turned downright nasty. The sun and blue skies vanished. And then it actually started to snow. Ryan and I looked at each other thinking about how the way back down wouldn’t be all that fun or safe if the trail back got wet or iced-up. We called it a day.

We checked off another “bucket list” location the next day: the famous. Since it was so early in the year, we had no problem snagging two of the 20 daily permits allowed for this hike.

It was a long, rough hike. Despite a ‘trail’ that looked like a Delta Force obstacle course, we managed to have some fun on the way. The Narrows A big part of the attraction of this hike (even for photographers) is that you actually hike in the Virgin River. However, since it was March and water temps were in the 30s, we actually had to rent full dry-suits to avoid turning into human Popsicles!

The good news was that the cold water kept most of the ‘fair-weather hikers’ in their nice warm beds so we had the river nearly to ourselveswhich made it a totally different and far more peaceful experience than my previous summer visits. Ryan contemplates infinity We got up at 3:30 so we could reach Devil’s Garden by 4am when the Milky Way would be high enough to photograph. As you can see above, it didn’t disappoint. Escalante is so isolated and far from big cities that the view of the heavens is simply incredible.

We shot for an hour and hit the road again. Ryan noticed that Bryce Canyon was on our way, so less than 2 hours later we were there for sunrise. I had been checking the and knew that Bryce still had snowI had long wanted to photograph the hoodoos with snow! Bryce’s hoodoos are unique and expansive.nothing else like this view anywhere Two more hours in the Jeep and we decided to stop in Kanab to try our luck in the daily lottery for at a permit to visit Well, that was an experience!Over 150 potential people packed in a little room hoping to be one of 10 hikers who would get.

We didn’t win, but ‘nothing ventured.” We actually drove back the next day to try again but it wasn’t to be. Afterwards, during a ‘consolation breakfast’ at McDonalds we chuckled about the lottery and decided that next year would be our year to photograph this Icon!

We hiked out to Wirepass Slot on the way back from Kanab and then toured Lower Antelope Canyon. We finished the day at Horseshoe Bend near Page Arizona.

Five photo locations in 17 hourswe certainly packed everything we could into that day! This Raven joined us for lunch. It wasn’t shy and was the size of my dog Shadow. Download Adobe Photoshop 7 Dan Serial Number more. Truly an “Apex Scavenger”! Unfortunately, the afternoon was overcast and the light was flat.

The canyon was still impressive of course, but as photographers, the dismal skies left us a bit disappointed. Sunset was a bust so after it got dark we splurged on pizza (SO much better than Cliff Bars)! When we came out of the restaurant, the skies had started to clear, so we headed back to the rim. I shot until the clouds came back and completely hid the sky. Grand Canyon by moonlight We headed back to the room and I set my alarm for 4 am just so I could check to see if the weather might break for sunrise. Maybe we could get a few decent shots before we had to head to the airport for the flight home.

Four am came quickly. I grabbed my beeping phone and my weather app told me it was still overcast, in fact, it was snowing! So, it was our last day and the weather looked like crap.

The bed, on the other hand, looked wonderful to my sore, sleep-deprived body. I figured that the chance of a decent sunrise was about nilso, of course I got dressed and headed to Mather Point anyway. I found a spot, got set up and prepared to spend a cold morning shuffling my feet without taking a shot. But then, somehow, right at daybreak the sun managed to poke thru a clear slot in the overcast skies. It revealed a wonderland of snow, red rock and hoar-frost covered trees. Shutters started clicking and the tourists at the viewpoint gave up a cheer (I might have joined in). Writing my annual Top 12 blog is always interesting. Yeah interesting.

It’s a good word. It covers everything from fun to frustratingand that’s very appropriate. Trying to filter 12,000 images down to 12 is a challenge. Don’t get me wrong, it is fun to remember the trips I took to capture these shotsthose are some wonderful memories. But just 12 imageswowit’s really frustrating trying to narrow it down that much. On, the other hand, I guess it’s a good problem to have, it meant that 2015 resulted in a lot of work I was proud of.

Well anyway, you didn’t click on this blog to hear me rambleyou want to see photos, so here we gomy best work of the year 2015 (in no particular order):I know I said the photos aren’t ranked, but this might be my favorite shot of the year. Heck, this might be my favorite shot ever. I have huge metal print of this image hanging right over my desk and every time I see it, I seem to stop and drink it in for a moment or two.

Not only does it inspire me, but I always think of the that resulted in me capturing this image. It’s a shot that I shouldn’t have gotten, but I didand I’m grateful. Just adorable. I came upon playing on the edge of a field in the Smokies and they couldn’t have been more cute if they had tried. I spent a few hours photographing them while hand-holding the ‘beast’ (my 200-400 lenswhich weighs as much as the cub’s mom)but it was worth every aspirin I had to swallow! George Jetson was here! Well, that’s the type of graffiti I was expecting to see on top of when I was setting up this shot.

I love how the spiral observation tower mimics the grace of the Milky Way. My wife and I were diving on a wreck in the Caribbean when this big kahuna joined us and made my day. I’d never had much luck but that all changed on this trip! I’d be the first to admit that I still have volumes to learn about underwater photography, but even so, my family considers this shot to be one of their favorites!

My son and I had an epic hiking trip to the Pac NW last summer and came home with some lasting memories and killer waterfall photosthis shot of Ryan in front of Wachlella Falls is my pick from that litter. On second thought, I kinda like this long exposure perspective of Ponytail Falls too When I get to visit a location on my “Photographic Bucket List” I rarely come back with a photo I would consider ‘world class.’ After all, when you only have a day or two, what chance do you have to really learn how to best capture the scene PLUS be blessed with weather that makes the image truly something special? This shot of ‘Thor’s Well’ was a welcome exception to that rule. This Alaskan harbor seal appears due to the lobbying efforts of my wife. I would have put it in my top 25 but not top 12she disagreed. Over the years I’ve learned to carefully listen when she speaks I have a love-hate thingy going with the Oregon/Washington coast. I love that the coast line has some of the most breathtaking incredible vistas anywhere but I hate that the weather is often, usually, always crappy.

Okaynot always, but it sure seems that way to me. So it takes some perseverance and luck to get a memorable image.

On the other hand, since you have to go back to the same spot multiple times hoping for good weather, when it finally does clear up, you have scouted the spot to death and know how you want to shoot it! Washington’s Palouse Falls is an incredible sight and I’ve long believed that it would be even more impressive at night with the Milky Way rising over it. Well, over the years I’ve tried many times to get that shot but the falls are in a deep, dark gorge and it is real challenge to light it up well.

I tried long exposuresI tried light painting Nothing I did looked ‘right.’ One frustrating and unproductive night when I was breaking down my equipment a guy walked up and asked if I minded if he tried some light painting. I chuckled to myself and told him to have at it since I’d thought I had already tried everything. He pulled out the most powerful flashlight I’d ever seen and proceeded to do a masterful job of illuminating the gorge.

I snapped away and ended up with the shot I had always dreamed of. My thanks to Ariel Rodilla for showing me that I still have a lot more to learn about light painting! Manatee Sunrise I’ll finish with the most popular photograph I’ve ever published. When I posted this one on, it seemed to really strike a chord with folks and it went viral. Oddly enough, this photo bothers me. When I look at it, all I seem to notice is that the front of this manatee’s nose is out of focus.

Sometimes being a perfectionist means you get hung up on small details and I’m certainly guilty of that. It was an incredible moment though, when this manatee surfaced right in front of me while I was taking a shot of the sunrise. If only he had given me the time to make sure the shot was in focus It was an incredible year for me professionally and personally.

I explored more of this incredible planet, met lots of wonderful folks, sold some prints, won a contest or two and got a few images published. Plus, even after all these years, I found that photography continued to challenge and inspire me. Even better, my wife and I got my first Grandchild (little London Grace)which helps keep my photography obsession in perspective. Life is Good.

Bonaire Bound But there is a downside tooand that is that it is unlikely that your shots are really going to stand out. Yes, they still might be impressive, beautiful and inspiring.but honestly, it is pretty difficult to take a unique photograph of Half Dome from Yosemite’s Tunnel View when 43 trillion other photos have been taken from the same spot. One solution is find a new way to photograph an old icon: a different angle, a creative perspective, somethinganything new and different! You will find this piece of advice in nearly every photography article ever written.

It’s good advice, and I certainly strive to dream up new ways capture these legendary vistas. But there is another way to take a unique photo. Find a place that isn’t already well known to every photographer on the planet.

I can’t honestly say that this is the reason my wife and I spent a week on the island of Bonaire earlier this fall. To be honest, we were there because we are divers and Bonaire is well known as a “Diver’s Paradise.” I hoped there might be something else to photograph, so I searched the internet. But even Google failed to give me much except lots and lots of underwater shots. But I’m an optimist, so I packed my cameras, tripods, lenses and another 80 pounds of photo gearjust in case. I’m glad I did! It turns out that there is a lot more to photograph in Bonaire than just fish. A lot more First a bit about the island.

Bonaire lies about 50 miles off the coast of Venezuela and is the least well-known of the “ABC” islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao). Cruise ships don’t visit often and with less than 17,000 natives it is quiet and uncrowded. It’s a Dutch island and people are friendly but respectful (you don’t get mobbed by people yelling “hey pretty lady, buy my t-shirts!” Surprisingly, the island is very drylooking more like the desert Southwest than the typical lush tropical rainforest you might expect.

First of all, there is some fascinating wildlife to keep your camera busy. Yes, they have iguanas (which I simply love.running around like half-baked dinosaurs)! Barika-Hel For me, a highlight had to be the Flamingos. Bonaire is host to the one of the few places in the world that has breeding grounds of the Caribbean Flamingo. Heck, I’d never seen a flamingo except in a zoo.and in Bonaire I saw thousands. They don’t like noise or movement, so you need a long telephoto and some stalking skills, but where else can you get shots like this? As you know, I adore hummingbirds, so I was delighted to see hummers swarming the flowering bushes and trees around our resort even before we got to our room!

Emerald Hummingbird (Chlorostilbon mellisugus) For the entire week, after our morning dives, you would often find me with my 70-200mm staked out by the flowers near our room. Other tourists would be walking to their rooms, spot me, take a wary look at the guy creeping around with a camera but then they would see the hummers and their faces would light up and they would start whispering and pointing. Oh yeah, they had parrots too! (at least I thought they were parrots). Right outside our room.often roosting in.