Matson Adventure Media

Self Portrait - Ten years in the making

2012-01-04T20:42:00.000-08:00

I'd been wanting to make a photo like this for a while now. About 10 years, actually. Sometimes though, realizing the image in your minds eye takes a little more time and effort than you expect.

Paragliding has been a dream of mine since following my roommate Matt to Sun Valley, Idaho in June of 2000. Matt was, and still is, an avid pilot, and his life that summer revolved around flying his paraglider. Photographing Matt and his friends soaring glass-off conditions before sunset in the Boulder Mountains cemented my desire to fly, even though I couldn't afford it at the time. The light was stellar, and although I was happy to be taking pictures, the seeds of my desire to fly became firmly planted that summer.

Ten years later I found myself living in Salt Lake City, in a valley that turns out to be an excellent place to learn to paraglide. At the south end of the Salt Lake Valley, a long ridge extends out of the Wasatch Mountains, and ramps down to the valley floor. The ridge, known as the Point of the Mountain, divides the Salt Lake and Utah valleys from one another. The Point of the Mountain, offers consistent soaring conditions for paragliding eight months out of the year. With an easy access training hill less than 20 miles from my house, and a handful of well respected paragliding schools to choose from, I found myself out of excuses, strapping into a harness and wing for the first time.

But learning to paraglide is only part of this picture. Taking interesting photos while dangling from a fabric wing presents more than a few challenges. First and foremost, pargliding photography requires enough skill and good judgement as a pilot to take pictures safely. When the conditions are good at the Point of the Mountain, there are enough other pilots in the air that it can require your full attention to safely avoid a mid-air collision. Busy skies also take something away from the drama of paragliding photographs much like a picture from a crowded ski resort doesn't compare to one shot in the backcountry. So even when I could find open airspace to pull out my camera at the Point, my early attempts at recording the sport came up somewhat short.

As my flying skills improved, moving to less crowded sites offered the freedom to take my hands off controls, and put my eyes up to the viewfinder. Mountain sites like The B in the shot above, also provide more a more dramatic backdrop for great photos.

The final component to this shot was stepping away from the DSLR camera and using the GoPro camera mounted on a trekking pole. GoPro cameras are everywhere in the paragliding scene, mostly mounted on pilots helmets to record video of their flight from a POV perspective. While these videos become tired after you've watched a few, the fisheye lens is perfectly suited to capturing the pilot from the end of a three foot pole. It shows the pilot's position in their harness, and the wild perspective of flying high in the mountains.

Little Wild Horse Canyon in Utah's San Rafael Swell

2010-03-26T08:28:00.000-07:00

Spring is just around the corner which has many of us dreaming about warm weather adventures. Southern Utah is the place to head for early season warmth. If you're looking for a cool idea to jump-start the new season, consider Little Wild Horse Canyon in the San Rafael Swell. The eight mile loop hike (when combined with the neighboring Bell Canyon) offers explorers red rock, slot canyon beauty with easy access and relatively minimal effort. Located near Goblin Valley State Park, Little Wild Horse Canyon is one of the closest slot canyons to Salt Lake City.

Expect to encounter other-worldly scenery in Little Wild Horse Canyon. Narrow passages, wildly sculpted sandstone walls, quiet isolation, and lovely reflected sunlight can all be found in the bowels of the canyon. Little Wild Horse is also an immensely popular hike, so don't be surprised to encounter other hikers and hear their voices echoing down the stone corridors.

The normal hazards associated with slot canyon exploration apply in Little Wild Horse. Flash floods can and do occur during spring storms. If rain is in the forecast, avoid slot canyons altogether. Pools of cold, murky water may be found in the upper reaches of Little Wild Horse Canyon after storms. This past weekend (March 5th, 2010) there were a series of knee deep, icy pools we had to navigate. Having a pair of sandals and a towel is a good idea if it's rained before you go.

Plan on spending four to six hours to explore Little Wild Horse Canyon. A map of the canyon is available at the trailhead.

Getting there:

Little Wild Horse Canyon is located near the entrance to Goblin Valley State Park in the San Rafael Swell region of Central-Southern Utah. From Salt Lake City head south on I-15. Take Exit 258 onto US Highway 6 and follow Hwy 6 southeast to the junction with I-70. Take I-70 west via the ramp to Salina. Follow I-70 west for 0.3 miles and exit following signs to Hanksville on State Route 24. Continue west on UT-24 for 24.2 miles. Turn right onto Temple Mountain Road following signs for Goblin Valley State Park. Follow Temple Mountain Road for 5.2 miles and turn left at Goblin Valley Road. Drive 6.0 miles on the Goblin Valley Road and turn right at Wild Horse Road. Follow the dirt road 10 miles to the trailhead on the right side of the road. The final ten miles is unpaved, but well maintained and was easily navigated with a passenger car.

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Bird Photography at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area

2010-01-28T16:41:00.000-08:00

Bald eagles, American Kestrels, Northern Harriers, Great Blue Herons, and Canadian Geese, are a few of the feathered photo ops you'll find at the Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area on the south shore of the Great Salt Lake in Bountiful.

Bird enthusiasts and photographers can be found slowly cruising the raised, pot-holed road through the Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area this time of year. Massive zoom lenses attached to digital cameras hang out of car windows or poke through sun roofs, their owners waiting patiently to catch any exciting bird behavior that might unfold.

Winter is an exciting time of year for bird photographers in Utah because large, photogenic birds like eagles, hawks, and herons are all within shooting distance of the road at Farmington Bay. Using their cars as mobile wildlife blinds, photographers creep slowly towards their prize, and call on long-reaching lenses to capture intimate portraits of their avian targets.

If you'd like to try your hand at Farmington Bay, here's a few suggestions on how to go about it.

Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area is a great place to get relatively close to birds because a road system is built out into the wetland on dikes. The freshwater bay attracts a variety of birds with an assortment of reliable food sources. On the one hand, the shallow freshwater lake provides carp for Bald eagles and small fish for blue herons, while the tall-grass wetland offers up rodents and other prey for hawks and other seasonal raptors. The wetland also attracts waterfowl like ducks, geese, and gulls, who in tern act as prey for raptors and other predators.

Driving slowly along the road in your car is the best and easiest way to approach birds for photography. Birds generally don't feel threatened by people in their car the same way they do when a human is walking near them. This makes it easier to "sneak up" on birds using your vehicle as a blind, than approaching on foot. With the right equipment a vehicle can also function as a portable tri-pod or camera support - which is important when using a long telephoto lens. Window camera mounts offer excellent stability for small to mid-size lenses, but won't provide enough support for really big glass. In which case, you'll want to use a sturdy tri-pod or mono-pod within your vehicle. Turn off your vehicle to prevent engine vibration from making your photos soft.

When it comes to lenses for bird photography, the general rule is: the longer the better! Any lens less than 300mm in length won't get you as close to the birds as you'd like. Lenses as long as 600mm are available, but you'll need a second mortgage to pay for them. So, use the longest lens you can get your hands on, and bring lots of patience to compensate for any lack of range in your equipment. Remember, even with the best equipment in the world, you'll still need tons of patience to make great bird photos.

When you do find yourself close to a prize subject, get set up and wait for interesting behavior. There's a thousand photos of bald eagles sitting quietly on a perch, but it's the charismatic behavior that sets the best photos apart. Look for situations that could become interesting. In the image above, I waited patiently while this immature eagle sat idle on this post. After about 20 minutes, hunters drove down a nearby boat ramp to launch their watercraft. The eagle didn't like them getting close, and the good action came when it was startled! If I hadn't been ready and waiting, I would have never got the shot.

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Switchback Article in the Outdoor Utah Adventure Journal

2009-12-11T09:20:00.000-08:00

The Winter issue of the Outdoor Utah Adventure Journal is out. Check out my argument in the Switchback column (pages 23-24) where I debate whether Utah's powder is precious or plentiful with Couloir Magazine founder Craig Dostie. After you've read our arguments, vote on the reader survey (found here). Notice the photo used to illustrate my point is by Lee Cohen, one of the best ski photogs in the business!

Pick up the Outdoor Utah Adventure Journal at local outdoor shops like Black Diamond, REI, IME, Christy Sports and Canyon Bicycles. Or read the story online.

Photographing Utah's Iconic Landscapes - Subway Slot Canyon, Zion National Park

2009-11-11T15:32:00.001-08:00

This is the third article in a series of articles exploring how-to photograph the iconic images of Utah's awe-inspiring Colorado Plateau.

Today's subject, the Subway, is a circular, tunnel-like slot canyon cut by North Creek in Zion National Park. Shutterbugs are drawn to this particular slot for it's uniquely curved walls and clear, cascading waterfalls. North Creek, which runs clean and cold when it's not flash-flooding, pours over a series of sandstone steps as it exits the Subway in a quiet chamber of exquisite beauty.

Fallen leaves lend color and intrigue to Subway photos, adding to the already rich palette found in the canyon. Autumn is a good time of year to hike into the Subway because temperatures in Zion National Park are very pleasant. During summer, the long day-hike can be oppressively hot, especially when climbing back out of the creek bed to the trailhead.

The Subway is a slot canyon that can traversed from the top-down, including technical rappels, swimming through cold, deep water pools and squeezing through narrow constrictions; or hiked from the bottom-up, on a meandering trail following North Creek up an increasingly narrowing canyon.

Serious photographers will prefer the bottom-up option. The nine mile round-trip hike (also known as the Left Fork of North Creek) presents plenty of challenge even without carrying a tri-pod and heavy camera equipment.

The trail descends quickly from the trailhead into the North Fork drainage where it dips in and out of the creek bed and crosses the stream countless times. As the trail approaches the Subway slot, the photo-ops get more and more appealing, with tall red and black streaked walls closing in around the picturesque setting. Because the Subway is almost subterranean, photographers will want a tri-pod for sharp exposures. The slow moving water pouring down through the canyon creates a wonderful subject for photos as it cascades over a variety of wild rock formations. Drop pools, narrow rock grooves, and step-like ledges all play with the trickling water to your photographic eye's delight.

Try using long exposures/shutter speeds (between 1/10 of a second and 1 full second in length) and let the flowing water go silky smooth. With the limited light in the canyon it won't be a problem getting these long shutter speeds with full depth of field. Close your aperture all the way down - think f-stops in the f/22 range. A wide-angle lens is necessary to take in the entire height of the slot canyon and works great for waterfall photos. There are lots of opportunities for macro-lens photos on this hike, from frogs living in North Creek, to wonderful patterns and textures in the sandstone.

Note: Because of the popularity of the Subway, permits are required for the hike. The park service limits the number of users to 50 per day to reduce their impact on the canyon and to maintain the quality of the experience. Permits are available at Visitor Center/Ranger Station in Zion Canyon. If you plan on camping near the trailhead, procure your permit beforehand, the ranger station is in a completely different part of the park!

Getting to the Subway:

The Subway / Left Fork hike is located in the Kolob Terraces secion of Zion National Park. Turn left off State Route 9 on Kolob Terrace Road and drive 8.1 miles to the Left Fork trailhead on the right side of the road.

For more information about hiking the Subway contact the National Park Service 435/772-0170. Permits are available at the Visitor's Center/Ranger Station in Zion Canyon.

How to photograph Utah's iconic landscapes - North Window Arch

2009-10-29T11:44:00.000-07:00

This is the second in a series of How-to articles about photographing the most iconic landscapes in southern Utah. Earlier we looked at how to shoot Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park, and now we'll examine the North Window Arch in Arches National Park, a short drive away. Both are best shot in the morning, right at sunrise, so they make a perfect pair to photograph over the weekend, one on each morning.

While the North Window probably isn't the most popular arch to photograph in Arches National Park, (Delicate Arch takes that honor) it's one of the best. The North Window perfectly frames a view of Turret Arch and the expansive red rock landscape westward towards Canyonlands National Park.

The east side of the arch catches morning sun, with the richest colors ocuring right at sunrise. Turret Arch, seen through the window, is touched by light right before the North Window, and the distant canyons a moment before that. Like Mesa Arch, being set up and ready before the sun rises is the key to catching the best light. The North Window is a short, half mile walk from the car, making it an easy access, early morning photo. Here's a link to the exact time of sunrise.

You'll want a tri-pod for tack-sharp images in the low light. A wide angle lens is necessary to frame the window and take in the whole scene. Also consider adding a polarizing filter to your lens, it will make the skies in your photo a deeper blue and add to richness in the color of the rock. Here's the settings from my camera for the photo above: ISO 400, shutter speed: 1/180 of a second, f-stop f6.3.

There's a small elevated ledge east of the North Window where it's easy to line up Turret Arch through the "window frame." On weekend mornings don't be suprised to find other photographers there with you. After all, this is one of the iconic images of Utah.

Getting there: From Moab, drive north on Hwy. 191 for five miles. Turn right into Arches National Park and continue 9.2 miles to the turn-off for the Windows Section. Turn right just past Balanced Rock and continue to the end of the road and the trailhead for The Windows and Turret Arch. Hike less than half a mile to the North Window, walk through the window to east side and scramble up to a small ledge to shoot through the North Window frame.

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How to photograph Utah's iconic landscapes - Mesa Arch

2009-10-26T17:33:00.000-07:00

Utah is home to some of the most unique geography in the world. Inside its borders are five different national parks, all of which display parts of the mind-boggling beauty of the red-rock desert in the southern part of the state, known as the Colorado Plateau. The sandstone of the Colorado Plateau has been wildly sculpted by millions of years of rain, wind and geologic upheaval into a collection of domes, canyons, arches, bridges, hoodoos, and other geologic formations only found here, in our little corner of the planet.

The rock forms are so fascinating and strangely beautiful that visitors naturally want to photograph them. People travel from all over the world to experience Utah's national parks like Arches and Canyonlands and take photos of the rock "sculptures". We're lucky enough to have them right here in our backyard. A few of these rock features attract the most attention from visitors and photographers, and have been elevated to an iconic status by appearing repeatedly in print. From billboards to glossy coffee-table books, to park brochures, you'll see these spots representing the beauty of the Colorado Plateau. If you've ever wanted your personal photos to measure up to the published images that drew you to the southern Utah in the first place, read on.

Here's a look at how to photograph one red rock country's most published icons, Mesa Arch.

Mesa Arch sits like a window frame above an awe-inspiring drop in the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park. The "window" looks out over thousands of feet of air, an intricately carved canyon floor, sandstone towers, and a landscape that can't be acurately conveyed with words alone. Trying to fit all this onto a digital sensor the size of a postage stamp can be quite the challenge.

Timing is everything at Mesa Arch. Mesa Arch faces east and therefore is best photographed at sunrise, right as the sun's rays first illuminate the orange-red rock on the underside of the arch. The sandstone towers down in the canyon will be dramatically backlit at sunrise, making for a compelling middle-ground in the image. The best light lasts only about 15 minutes before the sun climbs higher into the sky and the dramatic colors start to fade. Be there and be ready. Arriving 15-30 minutes before sunrise will allow plenty of time to find the best angle to shoot from and get set up for the short window of opportunity. This means an early wake-up call, but it's worth it. Here's a link to the exact time of sunrise.

Bring a tri-pod and wide-angle lens to help capture the scene. A tri-pod is important because it will steady the camera in the early morning light. You'll want to shoot for the maximum possible depth-of-field to ensure sharpness throughout the image. An f-stop of f/22 or higher is ideal. Tri-pods also help with composition because they force you as a photographer to think about where to position the camera, what to include in your shot, and what to leave out. A wide-angle lens is taylor-made for capturing Mesa Arch. With a wide-angle lens, between 12-35mm in length, you'll be able to capture the full arch, plus the vista below.

Getting there: Mesa Arch is located eight miles south of the park entrance in the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park. From Moab, drive north on US Highway 191 for nine miles and turn left on State Route 313, following signs to Canyonlands National Park. Continue on State Route 313 for 22 miles to the north entrance of the park. From the park entrance continue another eight miles to the turnoff for Mesa Arch on the right side of the road. Turn right and drive a short distance to the parking area - Mesa Arch Trailhead. Hike the half-mile loop to Mesa Arch. Allow 10-15 minutes to hike into the Arch. Don't be late for sunrise!

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Capturing the Orionids Metor Shower with your camera

2009-10-21T11:03:00.000-07:00

The annual Orionids Meteor Shower is near its peak and can be seen in the night sky around the world. The week long meteor shower is caused by the earth passing through a trail of tiny debris left by Hailley's Comet when it passes by earth every 76 years. The earth passes through this debris trail each October, causing a meteor shower as the particles flare up in the earth's atmosphere.

Watching meteor showers can be fun, but capturing a fleeting astrological event with your camera can be even more exciting. With clear to partly cloudy skies forecast for the next several days, this a great opportunity to capture this rare event on film. Here are some quick tips on shooting the night sky (and meteor showers).

Taking photos of the night sky requires some basic photographic equipment. First off, you'll need a tri-pod or camera mount (a car window mount works great for chilly nights) that can hold your camera completely still for long periods of time. You'll also want a camera that allows you take long exposures - anywhere from five seconds to five hours. Any SLR camera or digital SLR camera should qualify, as well as many mid-level to high end point and shoot camera.

Take your photo equipment to a dark area away from major light pollution. Think country roads, far from the city. Mount the camera on the tri-pod and observe the sky. The Orionids Meteor Shower should be visible in the direction of the constilation Orion, appearing in the southern sky. Because you can't predict exactly when and where the shooting stars will occur, open your camera's shutter for long exposures and see what happens. Do this using the "Manual" (M) exposure feature on the camera and adjusting the shutter speeds. Use an f-stop of f/4. Try bracketing your exposures for varying lengths of time. Start with 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 min and so on. For exposures longer than 30 seconds use the Bulb (B) setting and hold down the shutter manually or with a cable release cord. Because there is very little light in the sky aside from the stars, all these different exposures will produce acceptable photos. Pick the best looking exposure and continue to shoot at the best shutter speed. While the camera is recording the shower, watch closely where the most meteors are falling. Adjust, experiment and have fun!

For a more in-depth description of star photography read my article Shooting the Stars on my website www.mmatsonphoto.com.

Hunting Idaho's delisted wolves

2009-10-08T11:53:00.001-07:00

Hunting Idaho’s delisted wolves - its legal, but not everyone is happy about it

Gray wolves: Is there a more controversial species in North America?

Wolves have always seemed to generate an emotional response in people. From the classic Russian children’s book (1936) and musical piece by Sergei Prokofiev, Peter and the Wolf, to the Three Little Pigs fairy tale (1840’s), wolves have been a feared part of the natural world. These stories paint a portrait of wolves as clever, cunning, scary, and even evil. In both stories they are clearly a species to be feared. Our modern culture’s attitude towards wolves, reflected in these oft repeated stories, has led to the dramatic decline of wolves in North America, particularly in the Lower 48 States. Through hunting, trapping, and poisoning wolves were all but exterminated from everywhere in Lower 48 States outside a few isolated pockets near the northern borders of Minnesota and Montana. In 1974, gray wolves were listed as Endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

With wolves absent from the Rocky Mountain ecosystem for many years, wildlife managers began to point out that wolves actually played a positive (and irreplaceable) role in these natural systems. There was an overpopulation of deer and elk, and many of the animals were unhealthy, malnourished, or sick. There were no natural predators culling the herds. And hunters, who had effectively replaced the wolves at the top of the food chain, usually killed the strongest animals sporting the biggest trophy racks, rather than the weak and sick.

In 1987, the US Fish and Wildlife Service implemented a recovery plan for wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains, starting by reintroducing the wolves in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming in 1995. The plan also included the reintroduction of wolves in other Rocky Mountain States like Idaho and Montana. The program has been hotly contested by ranchers, who understandably fear that wolves will kill livestock. Environmental groups on the other hand, have praised the program as a much needed step towards a better balanced natural system in what they consider to be one of country’s strongholds for biological health, the Northern Rocky Mountains.

The reintroduction program has been largely successful from a biological standpoint, and there are now about 1,500 wolves in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, according to Idaho Fish and Game. The wolves have been closely watched, with 84 different wolves in 50 different packs outfitted with radio collars.

On May 4th, 2009 wolves were removed from the Endangered Species List and individual states took over management of the wolves. In Idaho, wolves are being managed under the Idaho Wolf Population Management Act as big game, similar to black bears and mountain lions. Hunting of wolves is being allowed in Idaho this fall with many hunting zones opening September 15, and the rest on October 1st. All zones will be open until December 1st or until the zone’s quota is met. The state quota for the season is 220 wolves. The new law also allow any owners of livestock to "dispose" of wolves that are molesting or attacking livestock without a permit.

While it may sound as though recovery is complete and all is in order, there is a heated debate about whether the wolves are being managed responsibly. 29 wolves have been killed in Idaho this year, according to this story in the Idaho Mountain Express out of Ketchum (Sun Valley). For those people who have spent time in Ketchum or Stanley, the wolf was killed in the Eagle Creek Drainage north of Ketchum. Ketchum may be the most “wolf-friendly” town in Idaho. The Phantom Hill pack is well known in town because the animals don’t seem afraid of people and were often spotted near town last winter.

The wildlife advocacy group Defenders of Wildlife, along with 12 other conservation groups filed a lawsuit asking the courts to reverse the removal of the Northern Rockies gray wolves from the Endangered Species list. Here's their take on the situation according to Suzanne Stone, the Northern Rockies representative for the Defenders of Wildlife:

"After working more than 20 years to restore wolves here, it’s a thrill to see the wolf population finally on the threshold of recovery with more than 1600 wolves in the region. However, we cannot ignore that this delisting plan fails to protect their future and would allow states like Idaho, which has demanded that all wolves be removed ‘by any means necessary,’ to decimate the population to less than a few hundred wolves. We need a delisting plan that allows the wolf population to thrive while addressing the needs and concerns of our regional residents."

The debate continues to heat up, especially now that wolves are being actively hunted. While our society may no longer be asking "who's afriad of the big bad wolf?" There certainly is plenty of discussion about whether or not we want him around. What do you think? Tell us in the comments thread.

For more info: About the Phantom Hill wolf that was killed. Idaho wolf management. Wolf Hunting Season and Rules. Wolf watching in Yellowstone.

Fall Outdoor Photography Tips

2009-10-02T09:23:00.000-07:00

Fall Outdoor Photography Tips

Fall is perhaps the best season for outdoor photography. The leaves are changing colors, the temperatures are ideal, and snow has started to adorn the mountains, creating dramatic backgrounds and colorful palettes for landscape photographs.

But trying to capture the colors of autumn with your camera can be frustrating. All too often you return home, pull up your shots on the computer, and feel disappointed. Somehow, those colors seemed more vibrant when you were shooting them than they look on your monitor. What happened?

If you've had an experience like this, here are some ideas to help make your fall photographs look more like what you see in your mind’s eye.

Look for close-ups. Often when we see a beautiful scene, we want to capture the whole landscape. We point our camera towards a distant vista and shoot away. And that's exactly how the photo feels, distant and boring. During fall, try a different tactic. Fall colors tend to be clumped together in specific tree species. Usually, it’s these small patches of trees that draw our attention, but relative to the entire landscape, they only make up a fraction of the scene. Try focusing on the highlights of color. Pick out the brightest leaves and focus your attention (and lens) where that color dominates. Don’t worry about the big picture, really concentrate on the color and detail. Think small and keep the composition simple.

Fill the frame with color. If you have a macro lens for your SLR, or a macro setting on a point and shoot, use it. Crop out all other distracting elements except the beautiful color. Look for patterns, abstract shapes, and variations in color that you’ll only notice in the details. Try using a shallow depth-of-field by using an f-stop with a low number (2.8, 3.5, of 4) and really focusing on the subject of your image. Let everything that’s not important become blurred.

Find leaves with light shining through them. Look for the rich warm colors created by backlit leaves. When the sunlight shines through leaves the colors seem to glow. Try shooting out from underneath or behind trees. Use the colorful trees to frame the entire landscape.

Use fall color as a background element. Find a different subject, and let the fall colors add to a soft background. Maybe it’s your friends, your dog or a mountain reflecting in a lake, but let the fall colors add a subtle element to you image rather than take center stage. Take the pressure off the colors and let it feel natural.

Use motion and blur to paint with color. By panning your camera on a moving subject with slow shutter speeds, you can stretch a colorful background into something more. Find a place with colorful trees and photograph a moving subject in the foreground. Mountain bikers, trail runners, playing kids, flying birds, there are endless possibilities. Try using a little fill flash (in rear-sync) to make your foreground image sharp. And take lots of shots – that’s the beauty of digital!

Try shooting when it’s cloudy. Cloudy days act as natural light diffusers. The clouds are effectively a huge soft box for the sun. They reduce contrast and eliminate pesky shadows. It’s like having a photography studio outside. Fall colors seem more vibrant on overcast days, so take advantage of the gloom! Remember to change the white-balance setting on your camera to “cloudy”, it’ll give those images a warmer, more appealing feel.

Finally, get out! Just because there’s a little snow in the mountains doesn’t mean you should stay indoors. Get out and shoot, that’s the only way to take great pictures!

Powderwhore's Flakes world premiere in Salt Lake City

2009-09-28T10:49:00.000-07:00

Powderwhore, the backcountry, telemark ski focused film makers from Salt Lake City, are showing their latest effort, Flakes at Brewvies this week for three consecutive nights. The film will be shown Wednesday, Sept, 30, Thursday, October 1, and Friday October 2 at both 7pm and 9pm each night. (Dates for the rest of the tour) There will be a raffle at each show, with all the proceeds going to the Utah Avalanche Center. Tickets are $10 for the film and are available at the door the day of the show. You must be at least 21 years old to attend.

This is a great opportunity to see a new film, get stoked for the upcoming season, and support the Avalanche Center all at the same time!

Powderwhore has been making telemark specific movies the past four seasons. With each new showing their films get progressively better. The core group of skiers (Nick Devore, Wil Cardamone, Andy Jacobsen, Andy Rosenburg, Noah Howell, and Jonah Howell) are all back in this year's film, as well as lots of other "pro telemark skiers." If there is such a thing.

If you're from Salt Lake and you ski in the backcountry, you've probably heard of Powderwhore or run into them on one of your tours. And that's part of what makes their movies so much fun to watch. There's lots of local footage from the Wasatch Mountains, so it's easy to get excited about what they're skiing, and how effortless they're making it look. This years film also promises exotic freeheel skiing in places like, Hanies and Valdez, Alaska, as well as El Chalten, Argentina, (better known as Patagonia) to wet your appetite for travel. Here's a mouth-watering description of a day spent in El Chalten by athlete, DeDe O'Mara:

"Have you ever spent a week in a tiny two-room apartment with no furniture, no shower, no room to walk with all the gear and thermarests, a leaky gas stove and 5 smelly powderwhore boys? I have. And I’d do it again, too, if I could have another day like the one we had in El Chalten. In a place famous for months of continuous, insufferably bad weather and snow that’s either wind hammered, sun affected or otherwise lacking– and I’m sorry, I know, it’s gonna sound like hype, but– we had magic. On our very first day out, we skied under cloudless blue skies, in 3 feet of perfect new pow, under the gaze of one of the world’s most awe inspiring peaks, Fitz Roy. We were pinching ourselves, gaping around, deep in rapture. All anyone seemed able to utter was, “all-time.”

Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Can't wait to see what it looks like in the film! See you at Brewvies and have a great winter!

For more info: go to www.powderwhore.com www.utahavalnchecenter.org www.brewvies.com

The National Parks: America's Best Idea on PBS

2009-09-26T07:45:00.000-07:00

Normally it's hard for me to get real excited about documentaries, but here's one I can't wait to see. It's simply titled: The National Park - America's Best Idea, and it kicks off tomorrow, Sunday, September 27th at 8pm. Here's a link to the PBS website promoting the series.

Buckskin Gulch Story Published in the Utah Adventure Journal

2009-09-13T15:23:00.000-07:00

Check out my latest feature story about Buckskin Gulch in the fall issue of the quarterly magazine, Utah Adventure Journal. The magazine is new this year, it's free, and can be found at many of the outdoor shops in Salt Lake City like REI, IME, Black Diamond, Christy Sports, Canyon Bicycles, etc. They go fast, so pick one up soon! If you're a Salt Lake local, it's definitely worth checking out. You can also read the story and see the photos on-line at their new website www.outdoorutah.com/adventurejournal.

Lone Peak Cirque

2009-08-14T08:54:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to spend the past two days backpacking and rock climbing up high in the Wasatch Mountains at Lone Peak Cirque. The place is spectacular! And getting there will kick your butt. There's no way around it, you pay the price reach Lone Peak, but once you're there, it's worth it.
My friend Kelley Paasch (above on the approach hiking through the first Hammongog) and I climbed a two different routes on the gray alpine granite walls that rise around the cirque. First we climbed the Lowe Route (5.8) on the Question Mark Wall and then the next day tackled the Middle Route (5.9) on Tom's Thumb, a 500 foot tower that climbs up the very heart of the Lone Peak's South Summit. The climbing was stellar and the views from on top of the walls were almost equally impressive. Can't say I've climbed better routes...anywhere.

The camping was awesome as well. This is one camp spot that earns a perfect 10 for scenery in my eyes. A soft green meadow surrounded by stark, soaring walls rimmed with lingering snowfields. Little yellow wildflowers added a touch of color to the lush meadow floor and pikas squeaked from beneath the car-sized boulders.

This is one of those spots I'd rather not write-up for fear that too many people knowing about it would wreck its solitary, isolated character. But as Kelley and I decided after our second climb, the place is just too damn hard to get reach to ever get really crowded. There are three different trails to reach Lone Peak Cirque and they're all brutal. We took the route up from Alpine, which is a climber's trail if I've ever seen one. Straight up for about 5,000 vertical feet. Lone Peak Cirque's elevation is 10,412 feet and the parking area in the town of Alpine is about 4,951 feet. So be ready to get a workout.

There's lots more info about the cirque in Stuart and Bret Ruckman's Rock Climbing the Wasatch Range. You can also find details about Lone Peak, climbing routes, approach info, etc online at Mountain Project.

Eirik Johnson's Sawdust Mountain Photo Project

2009-07-14T08:24:00.000-07:00

Came across this lovely piece of work on NPR's website this morning. It struck a cord - as being both beautiful and sad - so I thought I pass along the link. Here's Eirik Johnson's website with the entire collections of photos.

You can't have grown up in Seattle in the 80's and 90's and not have had some relationship with logging. It was a huge (though already dwindling) part of the Northwest economy, especially out on the Olympic Peninsula. If you spent much time in the woods, or mountains in general, you were aware that timber harvests were going on, because clear-cutting leaves such a visible impression on the landscape. Anyone who's driven I-90 east out of Seattle (and that covers almost everyone who lives there) through the Cascades is familiar with the patchwork-quilt style forest left behind by a hundred years of intensive timber harvest.

Things changed drastically with the listing of the Northern Spotted Owl as a threatened species on the Endangered Species Act in 1990. I remember having the conversation with my dad in the car one day - he didn't understand why a little bird could be more important than thousands of jobs. I on the other hand, just entering the work force as a 15 year old, couldn't grasp why these loggers couldn't simply find some other means to support themselves.

As I grew older and spent more time on the Olympic Peninsula I learned how much more complex the issue was than our conversation. I saw that the those little Spotted Owls were more a symbol of the health of the forest in general than a single species. They were the canary in the coal mine, one of the indicator species that the old-growth forests ecosystem was disappearing at an alarming rate. In fact, by 1990 the old-growth forests in our country had been almost entirely chopped down.

On the way to backpacking trips in Olympic National Park, my friends and I would pass through the small towns supported by the timber industry. It was painfully obvious how impoverished these communities were. Places like Forks, Hoquiam, Queets, and Aberdeen. People on the peninsula were just getting by, even in the best of times. There's a reason why Kurt Cobain's music was so depressing. There's no Microsoft, no Boeing, no gravy train out there on the rainy, overcast western edge of the state. Logging was all they had.

Since 1990 the world has moved on. Domestic logging has all but disappeared. Most lumber comes from oversees. Seattle has exploded and become one of the most desirable cities to live in the country. Many, many more jobs have been created in Washington than were ever lost in the logging industry. But it isn't the loggers who got those jobs. If you visit those small Olympic Peninsula towns, you'll see a familiar story that you'll find all across the American West. The rural communities are disappearing. Young people are moving to the cities, and they aren't coming back.

I think Eirik Johnson's photos do a wonderful job of telling that story. It's worth taking 15 minutes to look through them and think about the transition our country is going through. If you live in Seattle, check out his show at the Henry Art Gallery, it'll be there October 24th, January 31st. Time marches on, and I'm happy we're not cutting down our biggest and best forests, but that doesn't mean it's not a painful experience for lots of folks.

Moon Utah Camping Reviewed in the Salt Lake Tribune

2009-06-29T08:36:00.000-07:00

The guidebook I wrote, Moon Utah Camping got a quick write-up in Travel Section of the Salt Lake Tribune on Sunday, June 28th. You'll find it on page H-4 in the Away/Travel and Outdoors Section. If you're interested in learning more about the book here's the link to our site and the Moon Outdoors website promoting the book. You can also order it here off the Matson Adventure Media blog.

Moving Fast

2009-06-12T14:42:00.000-07:00

Its been raining a lot in Salt Lake City lately. Which is weird. Because it never really rains here. Up in the Wasatch its been even soggier than down in the valley, which hasn't been great for outdoor recreation, or outdoor photography for that matter. So last weekend, when there was a small break in the clouds, I employed an old strategy I used to use a lot in the Cascades, when I was trying to squeeze in a few good frames during occasional breaks in the clouds.

The strategy, in a nutshell, is moving fast. Sounds simple really, but I don't think it gets talked about much in the world of outdoor photography. The late, great Galen Rowell used to preach it in his Outdoor Photographer column and in his books, but I think its worth revisiting.

If you're into landscape photography at all, you know that light - the quality of light - is everything. Which means you want to be shooting at the magic hour. Plain and simple. Problem is, the magic hour only happens at the edge of the day, twice a day, at dawn and dusk. Its difficult to be on location, deep in the backcountry, at the magic hour on regular basis. In fact, unless you're out camping or backpacking, chances are, you're hardly ever at the best locations when the light is really going off. Which makes it hard to take great landscape photographs. And the reality is that most people don't have enough free time to go backpacking every time they want to make a nice picture.

Which brings us back to moving fast. The other day when the clouds parted at about 6:30 in the evening, I grabbed my camera, two lenses, a small tri-pod, and my headlamp and headed for the hills. My goal was somewhere close, but wild, so I drove up Big Cottonwood Canyon to the S-curve parking lot for Lake Blanche. By 7:15 I was on the trail and moving fast. I knew I had about two hours 'till the light would be really good.

I'll be the first to admit I'm not a big fan of trail running. Running is one of my least favorite ways to get exercise. But sometimes it can be a very effective way to travel. I figured I had about 90 minutes to go a little less than 4 miles, which even for me, isn't hard to do. With a small, light pack I easily half walked, half jogged to the lake by the time the sun was setting.

I spent an hour at the lake, working the shoreline for reflection images and watching the thunderheads move through. When I was satisfied that the best light was gone, I re-packed my bag and headed for the car. On the hike down I was surprised to see another headlamp working its way up the trail. As we passed each other, I noticed the other hiker's Lowe-Pro camera bag strapped to his chest...someone else out there moving fast.

Main Salmon River - Photo Gear for the River (Trip Video)

2009-06-05T11:46:00.000-07:00

Last week I was lucky enough to get the chance to go down the Main Salmon River in central Idaho with Jared Hopkinson's Sawtooth Adventure Company. We rafted 82 miles through the wilderness on BIG water and only saw two other parties in five days. It was truly special to have the river all to ourselves - to see the place at its best! Here's a quick video documenting the trip! Thanks to everyone who made this trip happen - I really appreciate being able to tag along. If you'd like to look at the still photos I've posted them on my flickr photostream.

Since this is a blog about photography I thought it would be fun to talk about the equipment I used to shoot video and photograph the trip. This trip was unique to shoot for a couple of reasons. First of all, we were going down a river. A big river. The flow levels for the trip oscillated between 60,000 and 80,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) while were on the water. For anyone unfamiliar with river running, that's HUGE water. For a little perspective compare it to the Colorado River where it flows through Cataract Canyon - considered to be one of the ultimate big water rafting trip in North America - "The Colorado River reached its peak flow for 2009 in Utah's Cataract Canyon on May 26. The river was flowing at a raging 52,000 cfs. Cataract Canyon is known for it's exciting rapids and "when the river reaches flows over 50,000 cfs the rapids are awe inspiring" says veteran rafting guide Walker Mackay."

Catch that? The Colorado was at 52,000 - we were at 60,000 - 80,000. We were going down the Main Salmon the same week, but at even higher flows. So, I needed a strategy to keep my camera gear dry. My solution was a multi-camera approach. I ended up taking three cameras in total. I took my trusty Nikon D200. The D200 is my main body that I shoot almost everything with. It's a great camera and I know it very well. If it was waterproof and shot video it would be all I needed. Unfortunately, it is not. And its expensive, so dunking it in the drink wasn't an option. If a boat flipped, or I swam with it in my hand I would be out a huge chunk of change. But I wanted to capture the action of whitewater, so I needed a camera I could take risks with. I pulled out my old film camera, the N90. The N90 is an awesome, lightweight, relatively inexpensive camera that I hardly ever use anymore because digital has become the medium of choice. I also threw in my "fun" camera, an Olympus SP550UZ. This camera is not great as a still camera, but it takes decent video, and it was free (so I wasn't real worried about it getting wet).

To keep everything dry when I wasn't using it I used a Pelican 1450 dry box. The 1450 is great size for cameras, fits both my bodies, a couple lenses with a little room left over for goodies like memory cards, cords, etc. It's still small enough to move around easily and can be strapped to the top of an oar frame on a raft, or even onto a center tube on a paddle boat if you want. I also brought along a variety of dry bags for little stuff that wouldn't fit in my Pelican case.

To keep my film camera and video camera dry while I shot out of the boats I used a little splash guard made by KATA (E-690). I was very impressed with this little gadget. You can slip your hand in the right side to access your camera controls and things still stay very dry. We splashed through some pretty big waves and my cameras came out dry.

While I handheld my camera a lot of the time I brought along a small light tri-pod, the Velbon CX470. Its nothing special, but its light, very ridged and I've been banging it around for about 5 years (there's something comforting about using gear that jI have used a lot in the backcountry). I also took a the Manfrotto Magic Arm and Super Clamp. If you're into action sports photography or just finding new angles and unique perspective for your photographs check these things out. I read about them on the Strobist blog by David Hobby and you can buy them from Midwest Photo Exchange. Check 'em out, they're awesome!

So, that's about it. Sounds like a lot to lug around on a backcountry trip. But rafting is a pretty luxurious way to travel through the wilderness. And aside from the Pelican case, I could have carried it all in a small backpack. No problem.

Announcing: Moon Utah Camping

2009-05-15T11:35:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to announce the publication of my first book titled Moon Utah Camping! The guidebook is published by Avalon Travel's Moon Handbooks and is part of their Moon Outdoor Series. Moon Utah Camping is a complete guide to camping in Utah and covers all the developed campgrounds in the state - including public campgrounds, private campgrounds and RV parks. Its also packed full of useful information about Utah's abundant recreational opportunities and national parks. If you're interested in camping anywhere in Utah, this book is the perfect place to start. The book sells for $17.95 and you can buy a signed copy of the the book here, directly from the author. Unsigned copies are available at book stores in Salt Lake and around the state of Utah. You'll also find it at outdoor stores like REI or through online bookstores like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders.com, Books-a-million.com, IndieBound.org, and Powells.com.

Here's a short video/slideshow trailer for the book.

Best,

Mike

Thailand

2009-05-11T08:52:00.000-07:00

Searching for a completely different experience than the Utah winter, Sonja and I headed to Thailand for a 3 week climbing trip during the month of April. Below are some photos with extended captions from our trip.

This shot depicts the "Thailand climbing dream." White sand tropical beach, wildly overhanging and textured rock, nobody else in sight...of course the reality there is a lot more complicated. But this wall, called Low Tide Wall, was both secluded and deserted. The catch: it can only be reached and climbed on at low tide, because at high tide, it doesn't exist.

You can't get very far in Southern Thailand without taking one of these longtail boats. They've got a suped-up lawn mower engine on the back with a propeller extending into the water - which doubles as a power source and rudder. They're loud as hell and an environmental nightmare, but they're the way everyone and everything gets around.

This beach is Railey East, the "budget" beach on the Phra Nang Peninsula. The Phra Nang Peninsula is climbing central in Thailand. Its cut off from the Krabi mainland by a series of limestone cliffs (the same ones that are so cool to climb on) and has an island like feel. Everything must come and go by boat, which is a good and bad thing. The limited access reduces the number of tourists, but it also means there's lots of garbage and junk sitting around (or stashed in the jungle) because nobody wants to pay to have it hauled away. There are three beaches on the peninsula, Railey East, Railey West, and Tonsai Beach. These beaches are literally surrounded by climbing crags, so no matter where you stay, you're close to some excellent pocket pulling!

Here's a look back the other way at the laid back bars and restaurants lining the beach.

This is the Muai Thai Wall, which means Thai Boxing. When we first arrived, we were still on US time, so we'd get up at 5 AM and climb for about 4 hours before the crowds of climbers would show up with the Thai guiding companies at nine. By then we figured we'd earned breakfast.

Like many tropical countries, Thailand has two main seasons, a dry season, and a wet season. The dry season runs from December through May, with the monsoon unloading the rest of the year. While the rain only interfered with our climbing a couple days, it did seem like the rainy season had started a little early. This shot is of passing thunderstorm as it rolled towards the western horizon.

This is Sonja on lead feeling her way up Massage Secret at the 1,2,3 Wall.

After a week on the Phra Nang Peninsula, we packed up and headed to the Phi Phi Islands - tourist mania, and the birthplace of climbing in Thailand.

After a solid ten days of climbing we were ready for a rest day, so we went on a sunset snorkel tour out to Phi Phi Le. Phi Phi Le is preserved as a national park so there's no development on the island. It is home to one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, and is, in fact where the Hollywood flop, "The Beach" staring Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed. The infamous tsunami in 2004 has since reshaped the beach a bit, throwing up lots of broken coral into the shallow tide pools, but otherwise it remains its stunning self. Phi Phi Le has the best snorkeling I've ever seen with incredible shallow reefs teeming with fish. The water is the perfect temperature and the visibility is excellent - the only bummer is the other people. Lots of 'em. And we were there in the low season.

Here's a look at the early morning calm
along the shoreline of Phi Phi Le from
the deck of a diveboat.

Thailand is famous for its all-night full moon beach parties. One of the key elements to any good full moon party (aside from copious consumption of booze and other substances) is the late night fireshow. The performers twirl kerosene fueled fireballs on the end of arm length chains leaving a trail of light in the darkness. This photo wasn't made on a full moon, but rather on an average night at a beach bar. When this performer spotted my hefty tri-pod and fancy camera, he excitedly asked me take his photo while he created a flower with his fire trails over the span of a four second exposure.

Just another world class sunset on a gorgeous beach...

Does this remind anyone of the Yellowstone in the 60's? While monkeys might not be as powerful and threatening as grizzly bears, its probably even dumber to feed them. Their bites carry rabies, which means at best a series of painful shots - in a third world hospital. We asked our snorkel guide if it was common for people to be bit, his answer: every day.

Northern Thailand is distinctly more Buddhist than southern Thailand, so after a couple weeks of climbing down south, we headed up to Chiang Mai to get a little more of a cultural experience. This is a beautiful old teak wood Buddhist Temple in the "Old City" of Chiang Mai. There's tons of history in Chiang Mai. This is where the original Thai people first settled after migrating south from China.

Chiang Mai is also a wonderful place to shop. The locals take street markets to the next level. There's a night market every night and on the weekends there's also a Saturday Market, Sunday Market and a Weekend Market in addition to all the small local food markets. The hill tribes who live north of the city make an impressive assortment of handicrafts.
We took a cooking class in Chiang Mai so we could try to replicate all the good meals we'd enjoyed while in country. After you cooked each dish, you ate it, so by the end of the day we felt like we were going to explode. Here's Sonja working on her green curry.

My favorite part of the cooking class was going to the local food market where our instructor showed us the local vegetables and ingredients to the classic Thai dishes. There was some crazy looking local food that I didn't try, and lots of lovely looking produce.

Think we have a lot options at American grocery stores? Check out all these different varietals of white rice!

Here we are receiving some instruction about Thai ginger...

Kalymnos Greece - A climbing Paradise

2009-03-27T11:22:00.000-07:00

On the eve of our trip to Thailand, I uncovered a story I wrote about another warm-weather, limestone climbing destination, a tiny almost forgotten Greek island in the Aegean Sea, Kalymnos. This trip, a side trip while visiting Sonja's Peace-Corp home in Bulgaria, is really the genesis of our upcoming Thailand adventure...

Kalymnos Greece, Sponge Diving Island turned European climbing Mecca!

My hips feel like they’re going to collapse into themselves. Totally stuck, I can’t move up or down, and every second I spend here the excruciating pain gets worse. My legs are spread in the splits while my hands cling desperately to the smooth bulbous rib of rock to my left. I’m acutely aware that if I don’t move soon this rock will pitch me off into the beckoning void below. Now I understand the guidebook’s description, “The better you can bridge, the easier the climb.” Apparently I don’t bridge very well. I look down past my harness and the rope towards my girlfriend, Sonja. She looks concerned. I decide falling isn’t an option, and go for it. To my surprise my hands stick to the slick limestone as I pull out of my awkward impasse. I inch my feet up to better, more bearable footholds and in three moves I’ve finished the route. Breathing hard out of exertion and relief, I clip the rope through the chains at the top of the route and Sonja lowers me safely to the ground. This is the essence of rock climbing in Greece, on the island of Kalymnos. Intense, unique, and like nothing you’ve ever experienced.

Stashed away in the Dodecanese islands just off the west coast of Turkey, Kalymnos is an island the world almost forgot. Once known for its natural sponges harvested by naked free divers from the Aegean Sea, Kalymnos appeared to be a casualty of a changing modern world. In 1986, with cheaper synthetics dominating the sponge market and a mysterious disease decimating the diver’s harvests, the island had fallen on hard times. This all changed in the mid 1990’s when Kalymnos was discovered by the European climbing community. The island’s landscape is defined by dramatically featured orange and gray limestone cliffs. Its walls have drawn close comparisons to the Verdon Gorge in France, Europe’s climbing equivalent of Yosemite Valley. Climbers were drawn here by the untouched quality and quantity of rock. Under the leadership of Greek climbing guide Aris Theodoropoulos over 800 routes have been established in 43 different sectors of the island. And the locals have enthusiastically embraced the growing eco-tourism.

Sonja and I have come to Kalymnos to sample this rocky island paradise for ourselves. Stepping off a stormy overnight ferry

from Athens our first impression in the capital of Pothia is one of early morning calm. European yachts sway gently alongside an array of colorful fishing skiffs and beautifully crafted wood SCUBA diving boats. The skies have cleared and the water is like glass, reflecting the whitewashed stucco houses that spread up the hills surrounding the marina. The peaceful moment is soon replaced by bustling chaos. Awkward with our huge packs, we catch the city bus packed with European tourists and grocery toting YaYas (Greek Grandmas). The bus winds slowly up a narrow one lane road, the only path out of the city. The route snakes past old churches, ancient ruins, and cemeteries, to the tiny coastal village of Masouri.

Hiking up to the cliffs above Masouri smells like we’ve stepped into a Mediterranean kitchen. Thyme, sage and oregano grow wild in the arid climate. Passing a stately olive tree, Sonja unlatches a gate fashioned out of an old battered shipping pallet and frayed y

ellow twine. We’re hit by the pungent fragrance of goats. These semi-wild goats can be spotted moving freely through the hills, sometimes under the watchful eye of a shepherd and sometimes not. When we reach the rock I know we’ve come to the right place. Anxious to sample the goods, Sonja and I rope up and sink our hands into the deliciously sharp limestone pockets. Our first climbing day ends with the sun setting over the small island of Telendos. As the light melts from pink to deep purple we admire windsurfers playing th

e breeze blowing down the narrow straight between Kalymnos and T

elendos. By headlamp we descend to Masouri for gyros and Greek Salads at a roadside grill calle

d Mr. Souvlaki.

After several days of climbing near Masouri we’ve rented a scooter to explore the rest of the island. Buzzing north through the cool morning air I feel content. Just riding a scooter through this landscape is an adventure. The winding road hugs th

e coast, passing a tantalizing white sand beach tucked between rock outcrops. Across fro

m the beach sits the Chapel of Kasteli with whitewashed steps that appear to descend rig

ht into the Aegean. The chapel marks ruins of a Byzantine castle that was inhabited until the 10^th century. A 15 minute scooter ride brings us to the Arhi climbing area. Arhi, meaning “beginning” in Greek, was the first sector developed on Kalymnos. The names of the climbs here reference Greek mythology and set the standard for all the

routes on the island.

Our plan for the day is to warm up climbing on easy terrain before attempting our hardest climbs of the trip. It turn out Kalymnos is great place to challenge yourself on the rock. The climbs here are consistently well protected and safe. This also makes it an ideal place to try climbing for the first time. We’ve met climbers of all abilities from all over the world. From easy slabs to learn on, to extreme overhanging test pieces, beginners and world class climbers can be found roping up side by side. Sonja and I find ourselves somewhere in the middle of this spectrum. Today I struggle mightily through a classic called Thetis, an awkward hip crunching route unlike anything I’ve ever tried in the States. The tuffa rock is formed by the slow buildup of deposited minerals accumulating from periodically dripping water. The route hints at the more dramatic climbing found on the huge stalactites hanging on the overhanging routes in the caves here. Though frustrating, it motivates me to come back and try harder routes in the future. Sonja on the other hand, cruises effortlessly up two of her personal bests, Apolus and Adonis, proving she’s completely adapted to the subtleties of the Greek limestone and mythology.

With raw fingers and taxed forearms, we ride into the hamlet of Eborios for dinner. Settling into an open air waterfront restaurant serving up fresh calamadri, fried zucchini in garlic yogurt sauce, and grille lamb, we reflect on our adventure here. Someone dives off a lone sailboat moored out front, their figure silhouetted by the setting sun. A woman’s laughter drifts across the water. My tender fingertips are happily wrapped around a cold Mythos beer and in my head I’m already planning a return trip. This place, I think, is almost perfect!

Climbing in Thailand

2009-03-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

Winter's almost over here in Salt Lake, and we're off to Thailand to kick-start our climbing season on the Ratburi limestone towers of Tonsai. The plan is to spend our first couple weeks on the beaches of Railey and the Phi Phi Islands seeing how much we can sweat and then travel north to explore the sights of Chiang Mai. Climbing will be our primary focus, but we hope to break things up with plenty of snorkelling, sea kayaking, exploring and of course, photography. When the opportunity presents itself we hope to upload some fun photos and stories to this blog.

A Season in the Wasatch

2009-02-17T10:26:00.000-08:00

Its been another amazing season in the Wasatch this year. Perhaps not quite as much snow as last season, but plenty of big storms followed by bluebird days. Its the kind of combination that makes you never want to leave. We've been busy skiing and shooting photos and here's some of the fruit of our "labor" so far...
This is Brook Golling taking full advantage of the nice soft landing left by the last storm (near Twin Lakes Pass, just outside Solitude's rope line)

Sonja sampling the white smoke on Tom's Hill on the north side of Big Cottonwood Canyon.
This is Kelley Paasch enjoying a long, deep ride in White Pine above Little Cottonwood Canyon. We had to break trail for most of the day, but this was some of the best snow conditions I've ever seen...and we didn't see another soul

Sonja making it look easy on an afternoon tour in USA Bowl. These were the last rays of good sunlight before the leading edge of the next storm rolled in from the southwest.

Brook Golling skiing the Pinnacle on Fantasy Ridge at Solitude. This picture doesn't even begin to tell the whole story. Check out the whole sequence on our flickr photostream here.

Darren Yandorf rippin early morning in Milk Run at Solitude

And later in Black Forest...
Sonja in the aspens of the east side of Reynolds Peak in the Big Cottonwood backcountry
A "busy" Saturday morning in the backcountry of Big Cottonwood Canyon

Matt Parmer making turns on Patsy Marley, Little Cottonwood Canyon

First Officer Eric Moles just after take-off...
Matt Parmer laying down the carve in the Little Cottonwood Canyon Backcountry

Washington Trails Association Photo Tips

2009-01-05T08:13:00.000-08:00

Check out our photo tips on the Washington Trails Association's Website www.wta.org. The WTA is announcing its annual Northwest Exposure Photo Contest winners, you can see those here. The Washington Trails Association works tirelessly improving, maintaining, and repairing hiking trails across the state of Washington. They lobby hard for conservation and Andrew Engleson puts out a great bi-monthly magazine. The Northwest Exposure Photo Contest is where I had my first color photo published back in 2003. The contest gets more competitive each year and the awesome winning shots are now on display in Seattle at the National Parks Conservation Association Gallery in Seattle from Jan. 8 through March 28, 2009. We're always happy to contribute photos and writing to try to give a little something back and help conserve one of the best parts of Washington State.

Waterfall Photography - A Tutorial

2008-12-06T11:51:00.000-08:00

Waterfall Photography – Tutorial and Tips for Shooting Waterfalls

So you just bought a new Digital SLR and you’re ready to take the next step as a photographer and learn how to use it. Here's a fun self assignment to help you leave the Automatic camera setting behind for good. Learn about the shutter speed and aperture settings and create gorgeous landscape photos at the same time!

Waterfalls make great subjects for nature photographs because they’re both dynamic and consistent. They flow in a consistent, repetitive patterns, presenting photographers with great opportunities to play with their natural forms. By using slow shutter speeds you can capture the movement of the water, adding a dynamic quality to your shots. Alternatively, with extremely fast shutter speeds you can freeze the action of splashes and moving water in a way we can’t appreciate with the naked eye.

How to create the blur effect: The blur effect seen in many waterfall scenes (in the above photo of the Subway Narrows along North Creek in Zion National Park), is achieved with very slow shutter speeds. To create this effect of blurred, flowing water you’ll want to use a tripod. The best shutter speeds for blurred water range from ½ second to 2 seconds, far longer than those used in "normal" photos. It's impossible to hold the camera completely still for this long without a tripod (or some alternative way to steady the camera). Once you’ve settled on a subject and set up your tripod, adjust your camera’s command dial to the shutter speed setting (S). Start by choosing the longest shutter speed possible within the range of correct exposure. Note that the f-stop or aperture setting should be as high as possible (anywhere from f-16 to f-32 depending upon your lens and camera). Alternatively, you may use the aperture (A) setting and select the highest possible f-stop within correct range of exposure. This will automatically provide the longest shutter speed possible. Note: pick the slowest available ISO setting on your camera to achieve the longest possible shutter speeds (on most digital cameras this will be an ISO of 100 or 200).

In order to achieve the desired long shutter speeds, you'll need to shoot during the parts of the day with the lowest light levels. Early morning or late evening are the best times for long exposures, and cloudy, overcast days also offer good, low-light conditions. If the edges of the day aren't an option, seek out subjects in the shade or out of the sun (The North Creek image was shot in a deep, narrow slot canyon, where the sun only reaches the ground at noon). Another trick to slow down shutter speeds is to add a polarizing filter to your lens, which will reduce the amount of light by as much as two full stops. A polarizing filter will also reduce reflected light off the water, which can be a plus in some situations.

Bracketing several different exposures will quickly give you an idea how different shutter speeds effect the level of blur. Here are two looks at the same scene using a fast shutter speed to "freeze" the pouring water (first) and a slow, 2 second shutter speed to capture the blurred movement of the cascade (below).

Try starting with 1/15 of a second (this will read as 15 on your camera) and bracket a string of longer exposures up to several seconds long. 1/15, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1 seconds, 1.5 seconds, and 2 seconds should give a good idea of how the different shutter speeds produce varying effects. Get a feel for how much blur different shutter speeds produce and take it from there.

Ideas of Composition:

Okay, now that you've mastered the basic blur effect, here are a couple tips (with examples) to make your waterfall images a little more interesting. In photos that have a lot of moving water, I seek out "anchors" within the composition to give the viewer a point of reference. Rocks or other objects the water is moving across, around and through will give the blurred water context.

You'll also notice there's no sky in this image. With the extremely long exposures necessary to create the desired blur effect, skies tend to appear unnaturally washed out. A split neutral density filter can help some with this, but I've found its better leave out the sky when possible on my waterfall photos.

Focus on the details!

Look for ways to take make your images captivating. Are there fallen leaves on the bank of the river? Remember, sometimes less is better. Keep it simple and focus your audience.

Search for unique patterns in the water. Here there are bubbles in a creek below the falls and they've created a circular in the pool. Notice the washed out sky in the upper left corner of the frame.

Can you find any interesting patterns in the rocks to focus on? Let the natural lines in landscape draw the viewers into the photo like these white igneous intrusions. Also notice the tree reflecting in the small puddle on the rock. The quiet pool of water adds a nice contrast to this rushing waterfall.

Find an interesting foreground to focus on, and use the blurred background to complement it in the background. These frozen leaves on the Stilliguamish River are the real subject of the picture, but they wouldn't be nearly as interesting without the river moving along behind it.

These ideas should provide you with the basic tools to go out and shoot appealing waterfall photography. Its relatively simple and easy to do, and it will force you to learn about shutter speeds. Start by learning the simple skill, apply your own creativity, and see what you get!

Matson Adventure Media in the Northwest Travel 2009 Calendar

2008-11-21T08:18:00.000-08:00

Our photo of the Elephant's Head wildflowers blooming in Stanley Basin, below the Sawtooth Mountains in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area is featured for the month of July in Northwest Travel's 2009 Calendar. It's an honor to be included with other excellent Northwest photographers Mary Liz Austin, Rod Barbee, Terry Donnelly, Robert F. James, David Jensen, Chris Markes, Dan Sherwood, and Tom Kirkendall.
The beautiful calendar is available with a subscription to Northwest Travel Magazine that you can find here. https://www.northwestmagazines.com/nwt_subscribe.php.

30 Days of Adventure Photography - Day 23

2008-11-06T17:09:00.000-08:00

The first day of skiing in the Wasatch.

30 Days of Adventure Photography - Day 22

2008-11-06T17:00:00.000-08:00

Looking across the Great Salt Lake from Antelope Island.

30 Days of Adventure Photography - Day 21

2008-11-01T21:19:00.000-07:00

An awesome afternoon climbing on the Purple Wall, Little Cottonwood Canyon. Matt Parmer on Purple Haze.
Mike Matson on Bubbles and Booze.
Matt Parmer on the crux move of Bubbles and Booze.

30 Days of Adventure Photography - Day 20

2008-10-28T18:58:00.000-07:00

Michelle and Sonja climbing up at the Industrial Wall, Little Cottonwood Canyon

30 Days of Adventure Photography - Day 19

2008-10-27T10:26:00.000-07:00

Matt leading up Entre Nous at the Salt Lake Slips, Big Cottonwood Canyon

30 Days of Adventure Photography - Day 18

2008-10-25T08:39:00.001-07:00

Floating leaves on our hike up to Dog Lake with
Matt, Michelle, Kahna, and Beeler.

30 Days of Adventure Photography - Day 17

2008-10-24T09:49:00.000-07:00

We helped Paul build a garage climbing wall. And we got to test it out!

30 Days of Adventure Photography - Day 16

2008-10-18T14:02:00.000-07:00

Hiking up Mount Olympus above Salt Lake City.

30 Days of Adventure Photography - Day 15

2008-10-16T13:50:00.000-07:00

Biking in the snow.

30 Days of Adventure Photography - Day 14

2008-10-14T11:25:00.000-07:00

Why let a little snowstorm stop you? A gorgeous walk up to Ouzel Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park.

30 Days of Adventure Photography - Day 13

2008-10-14T11:17:00.001-07:00

We went to Boulder, Colorado for the weekend to visit friends and drink lots of good beer at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. We fit in a couple quick visits to Rocky Mountain National Park as well, despite less than perfect weather.

30 Days of Adventure Photography: Day 12

2008-10-09T18:56:00.000-07:00

The ridges of the Wasatch Range at sunset.

30 Days of Adventure Photography - Day 11

2008-10-09T16:10:00.001-07:00

We went bouldering at The Gate near the base of Little Cottonwood Canyon. It was more of a scouting mission than a bouldering session, though we did manage to get on a few V0s.Sonja topping out.

30 Days of Adventure Photography - Day 10

2008-10-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

Another glorious fall day.

30 Days of Adventure Photography - Day 9

2008-09-30T21:33:00.000-07:00

A look down Big Cottonwood as the days last light catches the top of the ridges. The color change is in full swing now, and each day brings new bigger, bolder patches of beauty to the mountains.

30 Days of Adventure Photography - Day 8

2008-09-28T20:42:00.000-07:00

30 Days of Adventure Photography - Day 7

2008-09-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

Looking at the east side of the Wasatch Range framed by quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)

30 Days of Adventure Photography - Day 6

2008-09-24T21:57:00.001-07:00

Another perfect day in the Wasatch! Headed up to Katherine Lake in the Brighton area. Got an earlier start today and had a little more time to enjoy the evening light. We saw a shy bull moose, who immediately took cover in thick willows when we tried to get photos. Then as we headed further up the trail, we watched him reappear and circle the lake. You can see the snow still lingering from our first storm of the season.

30 Days of Adventure Photography - Day 5

2008-09-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

Rocky Mountain maple (Acer glabrum)

30 Days of Adventure Photography - Day 4

2008-09-22T21:16:00.000-07:00

Today marked the first day of snow in the Wasatch this season! With visions of skiing dancing through our heads we headed up to Brighton and hiked up to Mary and Katherine Lakes. Patches of aspens have started to turn color and you can tell the alpine flora is preparing for a new season. Here's a couple interpretations of Mary Lake. (Sonja's photo above, Mike's below)

Time Lapse from Deer Mountain

2008-09-21T20:43:00.000-07:00

This is a short time lapse video of the fall weather coming over Deer Valley from Deer Mountain, Utah.

30 Days of Adventure Photography: Day 3 - Lost Prospector Trail

2008-09-21T20:35:00.001-07:00

We went on an evening ride exploring a new trail, Lost Prospector Trail near Park City.

30 Days of Adventure Photography: Day 2 - Going Small

2008-09-20T15:41:00.000-07:00

Going small. Took a little time today to get close to the ground and check out the little parts of nature you know are out there but never really take the time to see. Here's a close -up look at the grotesque beauty of a pallid-winger grasshopper Taeniopoda eques. Below is a honey bee Apis mellifera.

30 Days of Adventure Photography - Day 1!

2008-09-19T19:25:00.000-07:00

Fall has arrived and coincidentally we're wrapping up writing Moon Camping Utah this week. It feels awesome to be finishing up our first book project, and it'll be even more fun to see it published next spring. That being said, it's time pick up the camera again, not for work, but for the love of it! To get ourselves back into the creative mode, we've taken on a self-assignment: 30 adventure photos in 30 days.

For the next month we're going to make an effort to take a great outdoor photograph each and every day. The underlying goal is to get outside at least once each day and watch the beauty of fall unfold. I'm really excited to see the fall colors develop in the Wasatch, this being the first full autumn we've spent here.

We'll be posting a new shot each day, so you can follow the project along with us. Please let us know what you think of the shots!

Point of View Action Photography

2008-09-09T10:05:00.000-07:00

Recently a friend of ours was looking through the Adventure Gallery on our website and asked about this photo. “How did you make this shot?” He’s not the first person to pick this image out as intriguing. His initial assumption: the image had been Photoshopped to create its circular blur effect. Not true.

I think shots like this are part of what makes photography so cool! I’ve always been interested in making photos where I don’t have complete control of the process. Point of View photographs fall into this category because most of the time the photographer can’t physically look through the viewfinder to take the shot. They’re dynamic photos, where the shooter is part of the action, and by the same token unable to stop and compose. Whether the action is riding narrow singletrack, skiing a steep line, or dropping a waterfall in a kayak, there’s no way they’ll be able to carefully compose a photo, much less use their hands to push the shutter. It’s this “lets shoot it and see what we get,” philosophy that makes point of view shots really exciting. Sure, there are times when I want things to come out exactly as I envision them beforehand, but there’s something magical about leaving part of the process up to chance. And in the modern digital era there’s no penalty for shooting away and seeing what happens. You can also evaluate your shot immediately, adjust and improve upon earlier attempts. So go out and give it a try!

Here’s how it was done:

This shot was created by strapping a camera to my body using a chest harness, setting the self timer and riding down the trail until the shutter released. As I rode the bumpy track, the camera twisted on my chest during the relatively long exposure. On this dark Pacific Northwest forest trail, the shutter speed was just slow enough to show the blur the camera created as it twisted in its harness. This combined with the forward motion of camera created the distinct impression of riding down a tunnel. Not unlike the actual feeling of flying down a well groomed trail on a mountain bike. A little fill flash froze the bike handlebars and created an anchor for the viewer in the otherwise motion dominated shot.

Getting technical:

A few technical suggestions for creating an image like this one.

I’ve found through trial and error that shutter speeds between 1/30 and 1/10 of a second find a happy medium between the abstract blur we’re looking for and the grounding visual clues of the immediate trail environment. Too much blur and you’ve got a featureless mess. Not enough blur and the photo lacks visual appeal.

Supplementing the photo with fill-flash will freeze the handlebars and foreground of the photo while letting the motion be captured further away from the camera. I’d recommend using your camera’s pop-up flash rather than an off camera flash for simple reasons. A camera strapped to your chest is cumbersome enough, let along an additional flash that could be easily broken. I used rear-curtain sync and dialed the flash down -1.3 to -2.3 stops depending upon the ambient light. Otherwise you’ll end up with white-hot hands in the foreground. These types of shots are easiest to create in low light, so riding just before sunset, or in a dense forest works well.

If you use a self timer to trigger the shutter, remember to set the camera to manual focus and pre-focus before you start. This will keep the camera from searching for a focal point while you’re moving down the trail. Remember to shoot lots of shots, some will be throw-aways, but you’re only looking for one keeper!

A final word of caution:

This might sound silly, but be careful trying to ride and press the shutter at the same time. You’d be surprised how quickly things come at you while you’re looking down at your camera and riding at the same time! Also be sure not to ride beyond your limit with your camera strapped on. It’s not worth a smashed lens or camera body to get the shot. Choose smooth trail segments until you feel out what you’re comfortable with.