Reno Skyline - Nikon D800e, Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 lens - ISO 100 f/8 6 seconds
The Nikon D800e is my newest camera and it is a game changer. The resolution is absolutely incredible and is comparable to a much more expensive medium format body. Image quality and resolution was not available at this price point until now. For photographers looking to make extremely large prints and shoot high end commercial work this is the camera for you. That said, if you don’t plan on using the files for those purposes I would recommend saving some cash, getting a camera with less resolution and putting that money into lenses or some other purchase you have been holding back on. The files are much larger than most people have worked with in the past and you need a computer that can keep up as well.
Also, if you are considering this camera for purchase do your homework on the D800 vs the D800e. The D800e differs from the D800 in that it lacks the anti-aliasing filter found on all DSLRs. By removing the filter your images will be slightly sharper. The negative effect this has on images is the possibility of color moiré appearing. Moiré can be dealt with in a number of ways but it is worth researching the subject thoroughly before you commit to buying the D800e. For me the benefits outweigh the negatives, hence why I chose the D800e.
For my test of the D800e I took it up to photograph some stock of the Reno skyline near my home in Lake Tahoe. Arriving just before dusk I set up my shot and waited for the city lights to turn on. Once the light was right I knocked off a couple frames. When I reviewed them I was blown away. Hitting the zoom button I scrutinized the smallest areas of each image and the detail was astounding! Below is a 100% crop of the image above. Detail and sharpness of this quality has never been available in a DSLR, until now.
The detail in the files is pretty insane. Wow!
For me I will now shoot all of my landscape and commercial work (that doesn’t require a high shutter speed) with the D800e until Nikon raises the bar again on their next generation of cameras (yet to be released). I am also really excited to start playing around with the video features on the D800e. One of the video features I’m most excited about is the ability to monitor sound directly through the camera. That is going to make collecting and monitoring good sound a much easier task in the field.
As with any new gizmo, the camera is only as good and creative as its operator. Always remember to make sure you understand the technical aspects of photography but not rely on them solely. Creativity will always be king in the photo world no matter what fancy gadgets come out. However, if you can combine your creativity with a tool like the D800e the results will be astounding! Happy shooting!
Tags: buildings 
• city • dusk • lights • long exposure • nevada • outdoors • reno • scenics • skyline • tourist destination • travel • urban • winter
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Looking down the Chicago River at the Trump Tower
This past weekend I had the pleasure of visiting the Windy City for a family wedding. My wife and I spent the weekend enjoying the festivities and hanging out with family and friends. On Monday my wife had a business meeting scheduled in the city, giving me a free day to explore and photograph. There were numerous shooting possibilities available, but with limited time I really had to narrow down a good “hit list.”
As with all of my photography, I believe scouting locations (if you can) is one of the most important aspects of creating compelling imagery. Personally, I like to scout in the middle of the day when the light is less than pleasing so I can really take my time coming up with good possible angles and compositions. This was the approach I took on this trip to Chicago and it paid off.
Over the weekend in between wedding festivities, armed with only my phone for a camera, my wife and I visited several of the locations I was interested in photographing. They included: The Cloud Gate Sculpture (known informally as “The Bean”) in Millennium Park, several skyline views from the Adler Planetarium, and different views of downtown along the Chicago River. Since it was my first time photographing Chicago I wanted to start with what I felt were the defining shots of the city. After taking a look at the locations, I decided that everything should be shot from several hours before sunset into the night to achieve the imagery I was looking for.
I took a leisurely day early Monday and in the late afternoon hopped a cab down to The Bean in Millennium Park to kick things off. After shooting The Bean I walked all over downtown for about five hours until I was satisfied with the results.
The shot I was the most excited about was of the Cloud Gate Sculpture in Millennium Park. I don’t normally shoot landscapes or cityscapes with a fisheye lens but I had an idea with The Bean that I wanted to explore. I thought it would be interesting to bend the city around The Bean using a fisheye complimenting the effect that The Bean is so well known for. I figured since The Bean has been bending the Chicago skyline for so long, perhaps it was time to return the favor.
Below is my favorite frame from the shoot.
The Chicago skyline bends around The Bean at night in Millennium Park
Here are a few more of my favorite frames from my night shoot in the city. Thanks Chicago, I’ll be back!
A sculpture in front of the Adler Planetarium frames the Chicago skyline
A person takes a picture of their reflection at night underneath The Bean in Millennium Park
The Chicago skyline is reflected in The Bean in Millennium Park
Tags: chicago • chicago river • city • cityscape • cloud gate • clouds • illinois • lights • night • photography • reflection • sculpture • skyline • the bean • travel • trump tower • usa
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Watching the sunrise from the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park, CA.
It is almost the middle of January in Lake Tahoe and by now I should have a ton of new ski and snowboard images under my belt. Unfortunately this season Mother Nature has other plans. We are currently experiencing one of the driest winter seasons on record and it looks like it is going to last at least another week. It feels more like May than January. There is no snow on the mountains and to sum it up in a word is “depressing.”
To curb my overwhelming desire to bundle up and cram myself into my refrigerator with a few cold ones and pray for winter, I grabbed my fiancée and we headed down to the Eastern Sierra and Death Valley National Park to brighten our mood.
My first goal of the trip was to photograph the Bristlecone Pine trees high in the White Mountains near Bishop, CA. I have photographed the Bristlecone Pines in Great Basin National Park quite extensively, but have never had the opportunity to visit the groves in the White Mountains of California. I wasn’t sure if the road would be open (it usually closes in October after the first snow) but I figured I would give it a shot. Luckily, and completely abnormal for January, the road was good to go.
We got a later start than I wanted to leaving Lake Tahoe and didn’t arrive to the Bristlecone Pine Forest until just after sunset. At first I was upset that I hadn’t given myself time to find some proper compositions but there was still some ambient light left. I did some quick exploring and came up with a few ideas. I knew I would have some moonlight to work with once it got dark and I was counting on using that to make some compelling imagery.
Once the sky was dark enough I began shooting. I shot a few exposures using the available moonlight but after previewing a few, something was missing. I decided to try something new, at least for me. I have shot under moonlight and played around with light-painting quite a bit with great success. I hadn’t however, combined the two. This was the perfect opportunity to give it a try!
An ancient Bristlecone Pine tree in the White Mountains, CA
I put together a composition of an impressive gnarled Bristlecone that I really liked. I set the camera to Bulb mode and opened the shutter for 160 seconds. While the shutter was open I used my headlamp to paint the tree from the side for about 45 seconds. I painted the tree from the side to give it some added depth. If I had lit the tree head on it would have given it a flat effect. After the first exposure I checked my preview and was thrilled with the results! I was really pleased with the combination of ambient moonlight and artificial light from my headlamp. The Bristlecone pines are such an oddity in nature to begin with (they are the oldest single living organisms on earth) and I have always wanted to make an image that really conveyed that. I finally felt like I succeeded.
With a winner in the bag, we made our way back down to the valley floor and headed for the Alabama Hills outside of Independence, CA. There, we set up camp.
I awoke early the next morning below the shadow of Mount Whitney and hiked over to Mobius and Lathe Arch to photograph sunrise. Both provide an excellent feature to photograph at sunrise. In the case of both arches it is possible to frame Mount Whitney (the highest peak in the contiguous US) and Lone Pine Peak perfectly in the negative space of both arches. As the first rays of light spill over the horizon lighting up the entire Eastern Sierra, it is truly a site to behold.
The Mobius Arch frames Mount Whitney and the Eastern Sierra Nevada at sunrise in the Alabama Hills, CA.
After shooting for about an hour I had everything I needed. We drove down to town, grabbed some breakfast and continued on to Death Valley National Park.
Having photographed in Death Valley before, I had a good idea of what I was looking for. On my previous trip most of my time was concentrated on photographing the famous Racetrack and the Zabriskie Point area. My goal with the limited time I had on this trip was to put my efforts towards creating some fresh imagery of Badwater Basin (the lowest point in the North America) and the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.
Regina (my fiancée) was really excited to do some yoga in a spectacular location and I thought a late afternoon photo shoot in Badwater Basin would be perfect. I could photograph her in a variety of poses in a surreal setting and could then switch gears and photograph some dynamic landscapes once the sun set. We styled her out in some clothing that I liked and off we went.
Regina performing Lord of the Dance Pose (Natarajasana) in the Badwater Basin area of Death Valley National Park
The shoot went better than expected. The white salt surface of Badwater Basin provided the perfect natural reflector (similar to snow) to soften the harsh shadows of the late afternoon light. It balanced the scene out perfectly. The combination of the surreal landscape and yoga made for some great imagery that will surely sell in the commercial stock photography market.
Regina performs the One-Legged Inverted Staff Pose (Eka Pada Viparita Dandasana) in the Badwater Basin area of Death Valley National Park
After the sun set I stayed out on Badwater Basin for another hour composing a variety of landscape images. What a dreamlike place! Absolutely spectacular!
Badwater Basin at sunset
The next morning Regina and I awoke early and made our way over to the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. We arrived early enough to give ourselves time to hike out a good distance on the dunes and scout a location to shoot before the actual sunrise.
We found a few spots we were happy with and began shooting. Early morning and late afternoon are the ideal times to shoot on the sand dunes. When the sun is high overhead it illuminates all sides of the dunes and it doesn’t translate very well photographically. The drama of the shadows at the beginning and end of the day provide the best chance to create dramatic imagery. We shot for over an hour until I was happy with a variety of different scenarios. It was a really fun morning.
Running down the sand dunes at sunrise in Death Valley National Park
After photographing on the sand dunes it was time to drive home. For two days of shooting I was extremely happy with the results. I was the most pleased with my frame from the Bristlecone Pine Forest. I am excited to use the technique of combining moonlight and artificial light in more photo shoots down the road. There is a lot of possibility for unique imagery using that technique and I’m excited to explore it further.
Once again I sit back in my office in Lake Tahoe getting all of these images out into the market. As much as I enjoyed this trip I would really like to start seeing some snow fall in Lake Tahoe. If any of you readers out there have some free time be sure and wash your car, do a snow dance and PRAY FOR SNOW! Until next time…
Tags: badwater basin • bristlecone pine • california • death valley national park • desert • eastern sierra • mount whitney • mountains • photography • running • sand • sand dune • sunrise • travel • tree • usa • white mountains • woman • yoga
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Juan gallops his horse through the Chiapas countryside
Hiking along the Mammoth Crest and descending down into Red’s Meadow in the middle of the Sierra Nevada mountains, my backpacking partner and I were about to pick up our last resupply on the Sierra High Route. We arrived at Red’s Meadow Resort and Pack Station in the afternoon, picked up our provisions and secured a cabin for the night. I turned on my phone for the first time in almost two weeks and gave my beautiful fiancée a call.
After catching her up on our trip she informed me that some decisions had been made on my behalf while I was gone. She explained that while I was out hiking I had been awarded the ATTA (Adventure Travel Trade Association) Visual Storytelling Scholarship. Since I hadn’t “applied” for this scholarship I actually had no idea what she was talking about. She explained to me that the scholarship entailed going to Chiapas, Mexico and photographing an adventure trip (on horseback) for the ATTA and also attending the Adventure Travel World Summit. “Sounds great,” I said, “When is it?” “Well, that’s the kicker,” she said, “you leave next week, the travel arrangements are already made. All you need to do is finish the Sierra High Route quickly and safely and then you depart for Mexico straight away." Needless to say, I was stoked!
Immediately after concluding the most epic backpacking trip of my life (more on that here) I was on a plane headed to the southernmost state of Mexico, Chiapas. Upon arriving at the Tuxtla Gutierrez airport I was met by a very friendly man holding a sign with my name on it. He informed me that he was to drive me out to the hacienda in the countryside where I would meet up with the rest of my group. We loaded the gear and off we went.
The church at the hacienda illuminated in early morning light
After several hours of driving, we pulled onto an unmarked dirt road and in the distance I spotted the hacienda. We drove into the courtyard where we were immediately greeted by Juan and Gloria, our guides for the trip. I then had the pleasure of meeting the rest of the folks in the group that I would be photographing and traveling with. We had a wonderful dinner and turned in for the evening.
Enjoying dinner at the hacienda
The next day I awoke early to begin documenting our adventure. For the next two days we would travel by horseback across the Chiapas countryside. After that, we would drive down to the Pacific coast to explore a mangrove forest and enjoy the comforts of a small beach resort. The mangrove forest and the beach resort sounded great although I was a little unsure about how the horseback section would go.
Photographing a horseback adventure presents several problems. The number one problem for me was that I had virtually no experience riding horses, let alone photographing from the top of a moving one. I knew that things were going to get interesting.
With the horses saddled up and ready to go, we took off riding through the countryside. Since my job was to document this adventure, not just enjoy it, I was already feeling the pressure. Right away I realized the limitations of photographing from a moving horse. You can only bring a limited amount of gear and the constant action of bouncing up and down makes it very difficult to compose shots. Combine all that with learning to ride a horse and you have a recipe for disaster.
Riding my horse on a dirt road through the Chiapas countryside
As we trotted through the stunning scenery I did my best to take what pictures I could. I knew I wasn’t going to get much but I had to get something. About halfway through the day I discovered that I could have, in fact, been in the back of a pickup truck the entire time chasing the group and getting tons of shots. Unfortunately, this wasn’t communicated to me at the beginning of the day so I was stuck on the horse and had to make the best of it.
Riders on a dirt road in the Chiapas countryside
By mid-afternoon we had completed our first day of riding. We sat down to a magnificent lunch with fresh fish and traditional Mexican cuisine. From there we were driven back to the hacienda to relax from the day’s events. As everyone headed into their rooms, Juan and Gloria informed me that they were headed into the nearby town of Cintalapa de Figueroa to pick up some supplies. They also told me it would be a great location for photographs. I jumped at the opportunity.
Two smiling women relax by their snack stand in Cintalapa de Figueroa
Cintalapa de Figueroa was beautiful and quaint. We walked around the square and visited several shops and markets that made for excellent imagery. I started feeling much better knowing I had some shots under my belt.
A traditional hat shop in Cintalapa de Figueroa
After we returned to the hacienda I could tell it was important that I had made the trip with Juan and Gloria to photograph Cintalapa de Figueroa. Juan explained to me that the town was not a tourist destination and he was looking to change all that. It was easy to see why. The friendly people, warm atmosphere and old-world culture created an environment that any traveler would welcome.
The next day I awoke, eager to get out and start shooting. I only had one day left to capture the horseback portion of our adventure and I really needed to nail it. Luckily I had access to a pickup truck that I would be riding around in shooting from the tailgate. The day went much better. We traveled through more amazing countryside passing old hacienda ruins, small villages and spectacular vistas. For any avid equestrian it would be the trip of a lifetime.
Horses and their riders approach a herd of cattle
Two horses looking through a fence
Juan and Gloria ride their horses on a trail through the Chiapas countryside
One of our guides, Oliverio, takes a well deserved swim with his horse
We finished the ride and headed back to the hacienda to grab our belongings and drive down to the coast.
After several hours of driving towards the Pacific Ocean, we pulled into a fairly obscure dirt parking lot in the beginnings of a mangrove forest. We were greeted by several nice young men who loaded us and our gear into a small boat. After a quick ride through the mangrove forest and across a fairly large channel we arrived at a small peninsula of land with a dirt path leading to the ocean. I headed down the path following the sound of the surf. It only took me a second to realize that I was in absolute paradise and life was about to be really good.
The endless beach in beautiful afternoon light in Madresal
After being given a key to my own private bungalow steps away from the beach, I dropped my luggage, grabbed my camera and started shooting. The light was already as close to perfect as it gets and the setting was surreal.
As the sun set, we sat down at a table, literally on the beach, and were treated to yet another amazing meal including fresh fish and exquisite local cuisine. Of course, we also had a few cervesas!
Beach, surf and sky
Dinner progressed and a large well-dressed man approached our table to introduce himself. It turned out he was the mayor of Madresal, the small town that was just across the water from the resort. He and his wife had come over to thank all of us for taking the time to visit his beautiful town and country. It was immediately obvious that he wanted to get the word out to people in the rest of the world that they needed to come experience Madresal and all it has to offer. I couldn’t agree with his sentiment more.
Just when I thought the night was winding down, several of the resort’s staff approached our table to let us know that there was a surprise waiting for us down on the beach. I had no idea what that meant but I did know I probably should have my camera.
We walked in the direction of the crashing surf towards a large group of people. As I came upon the group I couldn’t believe my eyes. I looked down to see two large buckets filled with twelve hundred baby sea turtles that we were about to release into the ocean. It was incredible!
Children use flashlights to examine two containers filled with twelve hundred baby sea turtles
A baby sea turtle sits in the palm of someone's hand before it is released into the ocean
After we released all of the turtles into the ocean, I returned to my bungalow and fell asleep to the sound of crashing waves and a calm ocean breeze.
Early the next morning we met at the boat dock for the final portion of our adventure. We were traveling by boat through a magnificent mangrove forest to view thousands of birds and hopefully spot some crocodiles. Again, we were not disappointed.
Traveling by boat through the mangrove forest
A flock of Great Egrets soar through the air
Our guides skillfully navigated our small boats through a virtual maze of channels deep into the heart of the mangrove forest. The cries of thousands of birds served as the backdrop to this amazing experience. While we did spot a few crocodiles, they definitely wanted to keep to themselves and we never got close enough to get any good photos of them.
After touring the mangrove forest, we returned to the resort and got to relax for a few hours. With all my shots in the bag I took the opportunity to take a well-deserved nap in the hammock provided in my bungalow. It was the perfect end to the perfect adventure.
Children play soccer on the beach at sunset
Later that day my companions and I were dropped off in San Cristobal where we spent the next four days attending the ATTA’s Adventure Travel World Summit. Over 50 countries were represented and I had the pleasure of meeting and networking with amazing people from all over the world excited about adventure travel. I also had the opportunity to photograph Felipe Calderon (the president of Mexico), sip tequila with a remarkable group of new friends and explore the fantastic cultural hub of San Cristobal. I couldn’t have asked for a better trip. Next year the summit is in Switzerland and you can bet that I will be there!
The famous Cathedral of San Cristóbal de Las Casas illuminated at dusk, Chiapas, Mexico
To learn more about Enduro Equestre and the trips they offer visit their website at:
www.enduroecuestre.com.mx
Tags: adventure • association, • atta, • chiapas, • cristobal, • enduro • equestre, • equine, • horse, • mexico, • photography • san • trade • travel • travel,
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