stan_murawski__jr.

Since I?ve never photographed in the fog or mist, here is what I?ve heard some professional nature photographers say. You meter the fog or mist one stop light. In other words treat fog or mist as a lighter than medium.

I?ve been to Zion twice the first week of November. Most restaurants and motels are open including Zion Lodge. The best part is not having to ride the park buses. They shut down in late October. The fall foliage starts changing at that time. The trouble being that you never sure if the trees are at or near peek color. If the weather is nice Zion will still be somewhat crowded. Last November 3rd I was at Bryce and it snowed. It wasn?t New England cold and the new snow made for a great photo opp. We spent the sunrise and sunset at Sunset Point. The Bryce lodging and restaurants are closed. There are many more places to stay now than before when Ruby?s Inn was the only place. I?ve been to Coyote Buttes twice in early November. The day isn?t as long because of the later sunrise and earlier sunset times. The hike, though tough, is more comfortable with the lower daytime temps. Lower Antelope Canyon under clear sky is extremely satisfying.

I would suggest you hold the filters up to your eye and see if you might like one better than another. I always hold both the 81A and 81B up together and make my determination.

Since you are shooting film this probably doesn?t apply to you. According to Tim Grey, who teaches at the Lepp Institute, if you?re shooting digital use no filters. Add the filtration in Photoshop.

The reason it costs more to get into Upper Antelope is because the Native Americans have raised their price if you are a photographer. That means the photo tour companies have to up theirs too. Gail Gaylor?s tour company told me this in March 2003. You get a three hour tour. Two hours in the canyon and one hour round trip drive. Lower Antelope you pay $19 for two hours, what I was told, and walk in by yourself.

 

Robert Hitchman told me the best time to photograph the Antelope slot canyons is around the last week of April the first week of May. The best time of day is between 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM.

 

I?ve to Upper three times in late March. Unfortunately, two of the days had high overcast. My first was a sunny day but it was pretty windy, I felt I could grow potatoes in my ears. Shot one roll of film because I was afraid to open my camera to load a 2nd roll.

 

I went to Lower Antelope one day the first week of April 2003 and another day the first week of November also 2003. Both times we went in around 10:30 and spent over two hours in the spring and somewhat less time in the autumn. Both times there was no wind and no crowds. There was great light in the spring. In November the started somewhat cloudy and then it became cloudier as the morning progressed.

 

In January and February the sun probably won?t be high enough in the sky to give good light all the way down into the canyons. You can still zoom higher up the walls and great images. During the summer months there is always the danger of flash floods. In August it seems to rain everyday in the southwest.

Using your hand to determine exposure. First focus on your subject. Place the palm of your hand in the same light as your subject. Then without refocusing, meter the palm of your hand and open up one stop. It doesn�t matter if your hand is Caucasian, African, Asian or any other color; the palm is one stop lighter than midtone. If you refocus, you change the length of the lens so the light reaching the film changes.

I think that if your camera and lens have been out in the cold and closely match the outside temperature you wouldn�t require protection. If it a wet snow and isn�t snowing too hard, maybe a piece of plastic covering your head and the equipment would be all you need. Remember not to point the camera up into the snow and rain. I think the only time you need to protect the equipment is during extremely heavy rain.

 

The rule of thumb for print film is expose for the shadows. Slide film is more difficult since it has less latitude, you have to expose for the highlights. Metering snow in sunny and/or cloudy conditions can be difficult. It�s best to find a middle toned area in the same light and meter that. If you meter off your hand you only open up 1 stop, but your hand should be in the same light. First focus on your main subject, then without changing the focus settings meter your hand or a middle toned area and you should be in the ballpark. You can still bracket if you aren�t sure.

What about pinching off dead flower buds? Anyone have concerns there?

Has anyone insider information on this years crop of wildflowers in

Colorado. The areas I plan to visit/photograph are Crested Butte

area, the Maroon Bells and Yankee Boy Basin. Any info you have would

be greatly appreciated.

Hi again Paul,

 

Another thing to remember is the Cottonwood Road is mostly clay and you don�t want to be caught out there in any type of rain. We hit rain in November 2001 and it was worse than driving in snow. The car looked like it came thru a snowstorm and was covered with clay in the wheel wells and inside the tire threads. If rain is in the forecast avoid going.

Hi Paul,

 

Three places that I can think of on or just off Cottonwood Road in Grand Staircase Escalante are Grosvenor Arch, Cottonwood Canyon and Kodachrome Basin. You might want to purchase Robert Hitchmans�s Photograph America Newsletter #52 Grand Staircase/Escalante. His website is http://www.photographamerica.com/.

Hi Loree,

 

I�ve been to that area once and it was in mid June. I thought the scenery was most beautiful. Our only problem was we had few clear blue-sky days. It rained for parts of four days and when it cleared, there was a double layer of clouds so we never got a clear blue sky. The clouds were good but not enough blue was more robins� egg blue so the sky didn�t stand out as well as I wanted.

Ake,

 

On our trip to Alaska, we arrived on June 20th. We spent a week in Denali. At that time, we saw wildflowers on some walks near the main visitor�s center. I�m under the impression that you might be a little early.

I was wondering if anyone has current info on the expected desert

wildflowers in the Tuscan, Phoenix and Organpipe Cactus areas of

Arizona. The last time we had an El Nino the wildflowers were at

their best. Is there a web site or hotline available?

Thanks, any info would be greatly appreciated.

I have attended workshops with John Shaw as the workshop leader in Acadia National Park, wildflowers of the Texas hill country, and in Page, AZ for the slot canyons.I attended a photo tour near Ouray, CO for fall foliage where he was the leader, also. I�ve attend at two lecture in CT where he spoke of the normal basic photo stuff like composition, exposure, equipment and what do I carry in my camera bag on the 1st day. The 2nd day was on the business of being a nature photographer. He talks and teaches just like he sounds in his books. As a pro he has to be a salesman, because that�s his business. He has always been willing to share his knowledge and photo hotspots/locations. He isn�t all business in his talks and he doesn�t sound like a technical manual. He gets his point across with his vast knowledge and sense of humor. On his photo critiques, he might say, �Now this bunch of tangled brush isn�t the reason you took this picture. It was probably this view of Saguaro Cactus that caught your eye. Why not eliminate the brush and concentrate on giving us a better view of the cactus.�

Here are some photo rental companies� websites pro photographers� suggested.

Glazers in Seattle: http://glazerscamera.com/

Samys Camera in LA: http://samys.com

Roberts photo in Indianapolis: http://www.robertsimaging.com/site/

Lens and Repro equipment Website: http://www.lensandrepro.com/rental.html

I rented from Robert�s because they were closest to my home so I could save on shipping, but it still cost around $50 each way.

Hi Brad,

 

I agree with Alan Olander about the Bogen/Manfrotto tripod and the 3055 head. I used this combination for a number of photo trips. Though you don�t have to modify it immediately, the head works much better when it is modified by Kirk Enterprises, http://www.kirkphoto.com/products.html, to take his quick release plate. I also had Kirk modify the tripod so it went flat to the ground while using his center post. The big problem with the tripod, it doesn�t extend high for use by a taller photographer. I never used it with longer than a 400mm lens.

Can anyone give me information as to the location of a place or state

park called "The Desert of Maine" or something similar. I haven't

found any reference to it surfing the net.

 

Thank You.

Momo,

 

Most of the professionals use the lenses with maximum aperture of f2.8 because the additional light allows them/you to see better through the lens while focusing. They probably never use that lens at that aperture. According to George Lepp, Canon�s 28-135mm IS zoom lens would be the lens to have in your camera bag.

Paul

 

Last November the people at the ranger station gave me a guide and I�ll give you their website so you can check them out yourself. They did a good job by me. http://www.hikinguide.com/index.html

Hi Stefan,

 

First of all Bryan Peterson and Moose Peterson although professional photographers are two very different people.

 

You can�t trust the most sophisticated camera�s program and matrix metering system for all images. Check out John Shaw�s column on metering white on the Joe Van Os website, http://www.photosafaris.com/ and many of the other archived columns for other interesting subjects by world famous photographers.

 

Most professional photographers I�ve encountered make their exposures using a system where they metering the main subject in a scene and determine its tone and set exposure from it. I agree that John Shaw�s latest book �Nature Photography Field Guide� and video #1 �Understanding Exposure� of his video series by Frank Hughes Productions is also a very good teaching aid. Another good source for exposure direction and fundamentals would be John Gerlach�s �How to Shoot Perfect Natural Light Exposures on Color Transparency Film�. He hands this out at his seminars so you might have to email him at, gerlachjb@aol.com, to obtain a copy. To use Shaw�s or Gerlach's method you must perform tests with each film you plan on using to get correct ISO settings in each camera you plan on using. As a follow-up, check out Campbell�s Photographic Art website, http://www.photonaturalist.com/, and his teaching aid �ChromaZone� a tool that helps you determine different tonalities. Arthur Morris� book is another outstanding source of metering on the fly, again you have to do quite of bit of experimenting. Check out his website, http://www.birdsasart.com/, and read some of his old newsletters in the archive section. He show some of his photos and explains how he exposed most images.

 

Getting the correct exposure is essential to obtaining great images and requires use to use our brain as well as the camera manufacture�s.

Hi Jeffrey

Since he has been acknowledged as one of the premier bird photographers, I would suggest you go to Arthur Morris� website: www.birdsasart.com. Search some of his archived newsletters like numbers 65, 67 and 68 which include pictures and how he uses evaluative metering and fill flash and flash for his subjects. He also explains most of his secrets in his latest book, The Art of Bird Photography. I would suggest you subscribe to his free newsletters if you are interested in bird photography.

I will add a postscript to my previous answer.

 

United Airlines was allowing 2 carry-ons in Colorado Springs on Oct 1st. I flew Northwest, which said 1 carry-on and either a briefcase or purse. I put the equipment I required least in my smaller backpack and placed that inside a suitcase. I carried on the equipment I couldn't get along without in my other backpack. I always put my tripod inside my luggage and hand carry the tripod head, feeling I can buy a cheap tripod if needed. Some people on my flight had 2 giant carry-ons.

Hi Jon,

My wife and I traveled from Hartford, CT thru Minneapolis to Colorado Springs, CO on Sept 18th. Flying out wasn't much different than before. They checked us with the wand after going thru the metal detector even though I didn't set it off. They were concerned about metal tabs on my wife�s jeans, though. They allowed hand checking of my film

On Oct 2nd we returned the same route. My wife was frisked because of metal on jeans. They didn�t allow hand checking of film unless film was 1000 ASA. National Guardsmen with weapons were in Colorado Springs. Saw none in Minneapolis, one with a sidearm in Hartford. Seeing them was not a nice feeling.

We arrived more than two hours early for both flights. Both flights were uneventful, not completely filled and even arrived a little early.

My biggest concern is with mailing/shipping the exposed film. As stated by the Arthur Morris articles, they are x-raying all, x-raying only some or no x-raying at all. I sent my film by Priority Mail on Monday the 1st without giving it a second thought. Now I�m worried about the damage.

Dick

 

I�m flying out tomorrow the 18th on Northwest. They are saying one carryon plus a purse or briefcase. Hopefully my Pro Trekker AW will go. Otherwise I might just stay home. I had a photographer friend Email from the gate yesterday; his flight was canceled on Saturday. Haven't heard from him since so I assume he left OK.

Hi Denise,

 

I probably should have attached this comment to your zoom lens question. My favorite time at Yosemite is late May, usually starting around the last two weeks of May and continuing into June. If you are lucky the Tioga Pass Road, Glacier Point Road and other areas will be free of snow and open. The amount of water flowing thru Yosemite is mind boggling. Bring your rain gear to protect you and your equipment. You will see wildflowers, giant Sequoias and other spectacular sights

 

Yosemite in winter can be just as beautiful as in spring as long as there is snow on the ground. If there is no snow the brown foliage looks as bad there as it does anywhere else in winter. If there is snow cover, it last for quite a long time. It doesn�t melt or fall off the trees like it does in Connecticut where I live. The snow cover helps a little with the contrast between the light and the darker areas.