rick_wong

November 17, 2014

I have visited Yellowstone during the winter 5 times and like you my wife and I spent Christmas at Mammoth Lodge. As Bob said the snowcoaches are a better way to photograph the park. My last trip two years ago our group of 5 had a snowcoach to ourselves. the first time we stayed at OF snowlodge we preaty much had the park to ourselves and shared a snowcoach with another couple going from West yellowstone to the lodge and back.

West Yellowstone is a better base camp because there are more options and things to do than Gardiner. There will also be more snow in west yellowstone and is a easy daytrip to OF.

Rent a SUV with 4 wheel drive if there is ice or snow on the roads you will be glad you did and it is better than putting on chains if you get stuck.

Link to Yellowstone gallery

<a href="http://riwong.smugmug.com/NationalParks/Yellowstone/">http://riwong.smugmug.com/NationalParks/Yellowstone/</a>

May 5, 2014

This link is to an Air Canada flight... People think it is safer to check luggage in at the Gate... Think again...

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQZYPjRPUb0">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQZYPjRPUb0</a>

This one as bagage is coming out of the plane

<a href="

February 3, 2014

had no problem around sunset found out that most people know nothing about the church and had know idea where it is.

January 24, 2014

another option after visiting Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons is to head east towards Devils Tower

if you have travel this far you should visit the Badlands... <img src="http://riwong.smugmug.com/Travel-Journal/2007-Roadtrip/i-532vbks/0/M/NP_Badlands_06092007_0600-Edit-M.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="398" /> and close by Mt Rushmore with, Crazy Horse Memorial is just down the road. Heading back to Yellowstone there is the little bighorn battle field, cities like Cody WY., The Black Hills, Sturgis, and small towns that were a part of the wild west

December 20, 2013

Like every has said better to invest in a good tripod than buy a cheapo one. here is a video that goes out of his way to convince you to spend the money on a gitzo.. silly but he does get the message across <a href="

rel="nofollow" target="_blank">

article By Thom

<a href="http://bythom.com/support.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://bythom.com/support.htm</a>

December 2, 2013

I did not ride the Aurora train but I have rode that same train during the summer. The problem is that unlike a plane there is very little overhead space for your gear and if it is a full train you will not be able to spread your gear around you. I also did not want to check in my camera gear, if they stop you just walk over to the baggage car and hand it over to the porter. I was able to take my photobackpack onboard and the conductor allowed me to stash it by his area. think of your seatting area like a bus or commuter train.

November 19, 2013

This Link will take you to an article on shooting the northern light but more important what you must plan for. <a href="http://www.luminous-landscape.com/techniques/aurora.shtml">http://www.luminous-landscape.com/techniques/aurora.shtml</a>

If you plan on driving away from Fairbanks to the North Slope just be prepare and error on the cautious side. You do not want to run out of gas and if the temps drop around -20 there will not be somewhere to plug your car in or get a jump from a dead battery. I was there during spring break last year and saw a group of young people driving up the steese highway in a minivan they were dress in ski clothing (heavy sweaters and wool overcoats girls tight ski pants and the guys jeans) I saw them at the arctic circle pullout but never saw them again. The only gas station before the north slope is in coldfoot where I spent the night before heading out to the North slope

saw lots of moose seen a lynx a Fox and some Caribou so if you are out they are around.

on the train there is no problem with your gear. the plane you need to check in your big stuff like your tripod.

link to a slide show of my trip

http://riwong.smugmug.com/photos/swfpopup.mg?AlbumID=28700598&AlbumKey=HhZFFJ

November 4, 2013

last year I spent 10 days between the Northslope and Talkeetna Alaska. the coldest was out on the northslope where it was -27F during the day. when shooting the northernlights I had my Nikon d800e and sony nex5R both camera's had no problem with the cold and using my nikon I was able to set the built in intervalometer to fire my camera every 10 sec (8 sec exposure) sometimes up to an hour with no problems. One set of batteries would last me a night. my sony had no problems I would use the wireless remote to fire the camera which I kept in my coat pocket. the old problem is that with the bigger cameras you will need a bigger tripod for your long exposure. It was funny watching people with their joby table top tripod laying in the snow and people with cheap tripods that froz up.

<a href="http://riwong.smugmug.com/Travel/2013-Winter-EdVenture#!/i-6L3ZBnW/A">http://riwong.smugmug.com/Travel/2013-Winter-EdVenture#!/i-6L3ZBnW/A</a>

In Harbin I only had my sony A850 but had no problems with the cold at -30F

<a href="http://riwong.smugmug.com/Travel/Harbin-Ice-and-Snow-Festival">http://riwong.smugmug.com/Travel/Harbin-Ice-and-Snow-Festival</a>

August 25, 2013

I carry a 250 gig ssd which I only use to down load and then upload to my main computer at home. during this last 4 week trip I filled up my 360 gigs of cards and 860 gigs on a 1 tb drive. since I decided not to bring a laptop on this trip so I am not able to save files to my tablet with out filling it up.

August 25, 2013

Sandy I am sitting in Frankfurt waiting for our plane back to the states. Just spent 4 weeks in Europe with 2 weeks in Italy. my main camera was my D800-E with a 70-200 2.8 and a 16-28 2.8 wide angle lens and my nex5R with a 16mm, and 50mm and one Nikon to Sony E adaptor.

As for weight my basic kit for just walking around was my dslr and 70-200 with my nex5r with 16mm attached which fit in my cargo pants pocket. When I was there temps were in the 90's and one day hitting 100.. did not want to carry extra gear in a black backpack. When I knew that I needed wide like in a building or working narrow alleys I had the 16-28 mounted but I found my workhorse lens was my 70-200. I also carried a tripod or mono pod for after dark photography but it also makes a good club.

as for how safe is it.... I am 60 and my wife is only 5.6 ft tall so we are no threat but we are city wised so know better than hang around rail stations and places where people are bumping up to you. twice the zippers from my backpack were unzipped and our open train tickets were stolen out of our room. so keep all your things of value with you our locked in a hotel safe. there are lots of people around and the police are everywhere and armed.

have fun and if you have a chance visit Cinque Terre you will be glad you brought your dslr..

May 6, 2013

Sol Duc Falls and hot spring is sort of an overlooked place but those in the know will be there and it can get packed with people.

<a href="http://www.nationalparkreservations.com/olympic_solduc_hotsprings.php?utm_source=msn&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=Sol%2520Duc&utm_content=Lodging%2520and%2520Hot%2520Springs%2520in%2520the&utm_campaign=Olympic">http://www.nationalparkreservations.com/olympic_solduc_hotsprings.php?utm_source=msn&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=Sol%2520Duc&utm_content=Lodging%2520and%2520Hot%2520Springs%2520in%2520the&utm_campaign=Olympic</a><a href="http://www.hobuckbeachresort.com/">http://www.hobuckbeachresort.com/</a>

Shi Shi Beach is kind of out of the way not too many people or photographers because it's a 3 mile hike just to get there. <a href="http://www.hobuckbeachresort.com/shishi.html">http://www.hobuckbeachresort.com/shishi.html</a>

Oylmpic National Park is big if you like the Mountains you can Spend your time on the East side of the park where there are big cities and closer to access to the Mountains. If you like the beaches the West side is were the ocean is and you can stay at resorts and even a casino to rustic cabins or backpacking it in to backcountry camp sites. At Forks you can park your car in a lot and be at the ocean beaches within 100ft or go to Shi Shi beach with a 3.3 mile hike from the trail head. Then there are all the in betweens or head down to the Washington Costal beaches and drive your car right on the beach.

February 23, 2013

<a href="http://www.lensrentals.com/?exit=true">http://www.lensrentals.com/?exit=true</a>

I use lensrental.com you can have it shipped to the local fedex wearhouse to be picked up or maybe have it delivered to your hotel

August 28, 2012

I own 4 diffrent types Kayaks a Touring 17 footer which I took on a 21 day backcountry tour in Alaska, a inflatable which I use in rivers a 14 foot fiberglass Easyrider for day tripping and my photo kayak a Hobie Mirage Revolution 13. The reason I bought the Hobie is because I can drive the boat and shoot at the same time it is a sit on top but I find it more useful as a shooting platform than a sit inside kayak. It is more stable than my touring kayak when just floating still and there is plenty of room in it's two hatches and my Pelican case sits right on deck for easy access. There is plenty of room to setup a tripod on deck and great to ride side saddle or when using my underwater housing to dive in and out of this kayak.

Down side it is a sit on top so there is no protection from the weather and waves will get you wet. the other thing is when using the foot drive there is no reverse. I have been Kayaking for years and when the sit on tops came out I though they were a joke. but now I find my Hobie is my goto kayak for photography and fishing.

They do have tandoms but afer owning a tandom Kayak it is no fun to paddle a tandom solo. so ended up buying a 2nd for my wife.

<a href="http://www.hobiecat.com/kayaks/mirage/revolution-13/">http://www.hobiecat.com/kayaks/mirage/revolution-13/</a>

All this gear fit into my touring Kayak on a 21 day tour in Alaska.

Kayak loaded with all my gear.

July 16, 2012

If this is what you are hoping to see then yes you need to visit during the winter when the feilds are flooded and before the rice has started to grow otherwise it will be a solid green. we were there three days and on the third day the weather gods allowed the skys to clear enough for us to even see the fields

I have also visted during monsoon season and saw the fields flooded

but as you can see when the rice is growing it is not same

July 15, 2012

It looks like you be driving north from CA. to Glacier NP in Montana? if you are then exploring eastern OR might be an option. The painted hills is not a traditional tourist spot. <img src="http://riwong.smugmug.com/Travel/Oregon/DSC1977/1109721696_QQaCp-M.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="399" /> Heading north to mt hood the medows should be in bloom since we had a late summer this year. <img src="http://riwong.smugmug.com/Travel/Oregon/Mt-Hood062020050224-Edit/1109615728_T8zvd-M.jpg" alt="" /> Heading north head for Hoodriver OR and you will be at the eastern end of the columbia river gorge. <img src="http://riwong.smugmug.com/Travel/Oregon/DSC8178/1089416946_n63dg-M.jpg" alt="" /><img src="http://riwong.smugmug.com/Travel/In-Washington/palouse/183925838_Rojd5-M.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="398" /> since you will be traveling east head on over to the Palouse harvest should be just about over but I heard they had a late start this year and we kind of had a wet summer. Link to more Oregon images <a href="http://riwong.smugmug.com/Travel/Oregon/10231873_zwL6tQ">http://riwong.smugmug.com/Travel/Oregon/10231873_zwL6tQ</a>

July 15, 2012

It looks like you be driving north from CA. to Glacier NP in Montana? if you are then exploring eastern OR might be an option. The painted hills is not a traditional tourist spot. <img src="http://riwong.smugmug.com/Travel/Oregon/DSC1977/1109721696_QQaCp-M.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="399" /> Heading north to mt hood the medows should be in bloom since we had a late summer this year. <img src="http://riwong.smugmug.com/Travel/Oregon/Mt-Hood062020050224-Edit/1109615728_T8zvd-M.jpg" alt="" /> Heading north head for Hoodriver OR and you will be at the eastern end of the columbia river gorge. <img src="http://riwong.smugmug.com/Travel/Oregon/DSC8178/1089416946_n63dg-M.jpg" alt="" /><img src="http://riwong.smugmug.com/Travel/In-Washington/palouse/183925838_Rojd5-M.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="398" /> since you will be traveling east head on over to the Palouse harvest should be just about over but I heard they had a late start this year and we kind of had a wet summer. Link to more Oregon images <a href="http://riwong.smugmug.com/Travel/Oregon/10231873_zwL6tQ">http://riwong.smugmug.com/Travel/Oregon/10231873_zwL6tQ</a>

June 8, 2012

Hi Ashley

Welcome to Photonet

Like the others have said when it is wet outside you will be surprised of what you can get while shooting in the rain...

Shooting in the iris fields while raining wasn't too bad except for getting the pound of mud off the bottom of my boots.

but if you want to stay indoors hows about still lifes of flowers?

maybe photos of your lunch?

or hows about setting up a table top set to shoot water drops in your kitchen

or street shoots in the rain

June 5, 2012

Sagar like the rest have said to do it right you need to spend some more time... but if you just want to scout out the parks it is doable... July is not the best time for the mountains since we had records snowfalls this year the wildflowers will not be showing until Aug. this year. Last week there was 7 inches of new snow at mount Rainier and it is snowing again this week.

So I would do this on the 1st head on up to the north cascades on I-5 take ws20 to ws97 to Yakima then ws410 to mt rainier. Do this route the first three days and it will take you through some of Washington's most photogenic country side <img src="http://riwong.smugmug.com/Landscapes/The-NW/DSC5004/22357000_Mo8Dk-M.jpg" alt="" />

North Cascades near Rockport

As you take WS410 from Yakama try to be at Tipsoo Lake around sunset or sunrise some of the best views of Mount Rainier can be capture right off the highway....

From Mt Rainier you will only be 70 miles from Seattle so spent the 4th with your friends.

Early on the 5th head south on I-5 to WS101 and head out to the Ocean to Lake Quinault. The is the SW corner of Olympic NP work your way around WS101 till you are in Bremerton and take the ferry back into Seattle. My route some people call backwards because others take the ferry across first and then travel counter clockwise but if you do it my way you can start at anytime and not depend on the ferry timetable and at the end of your trip take the ferry back to the start.

Rialto Beach

Another reason for spending more time at Olympic NP is that it does not really matter what the weather will be you can always find something to shoot. Since you will not have that much time the following sites are within a mile or two hike.

Sol Duc Falls

Hurricane Ridge

Hoh Rain Forest

In the three days of exploring the park you will be going in and out driving outside of the park. Unlike other parks where roads will take you through the park to see the attractions at this park requires you to travel outside of the park. This will allow you to stay in bigger towns and cities along the way. If you want to explore the Ocean side of the park there are short beach hikes like Rialto Beach where just crossing the parking lot and you are at the beach or head to the tip of Washington State to start your Hike to Shi Shi Beach considered the "best nature beach" by the Travel Channel

Rialto Beach at sunrise

Shi Shi Beach (if you are there during low tide you can walk right up to the sea stacks)

Shi Shi is a longer hike but you can do it in a day during this time of the year. sunrise is at 5:16am and sunset is at 9:09.... but the magic hour is about an hour long so around 4:30 am it starts getting light and the skys turn black around 10pm

June 5, 2012

Sagar like the rest have said to do it right you need to spend some more time... but if you just want to scout out the parks it is doable... July is not the best time for the mountains since we had records snowfalls this year the wildflowers will not be showing until Aug. this year. Last week there was 7 inches of new snow at mount Rainier and it is snowing again this week.

So I would do this on the 1st head on up to the north cascades on I-5 take ws20 to ws97 to Yakima then ws410 to mt rainier. Do this route the first three days and it will take you through some of Washington's most photogenic country side <img src="http://riwong.smugmug.com/Landscapes/The-NW/DSC5004/22357000_Mo8Dk-M.jpg" alt="" />

North Cascades near Rockport

As you take WS410 from Yakama try to be at Tipsoo Lake around sunset or sunrise some of the best views of Mount Rainier can be capture right off the highway....

From Mt Rainier you will only be 70 miles from Seattle so spent the 4th with your friends.

Early on the 5th head south on I-5 to WS101 and head out to the Ocean to Lake Quinault. The is the SW corner of Olympic NP work your way around WS101 till you are in Bremerton and take the ferry back into Seattle. My route some people call backwards because others take the ferry across first and then travel counter clockwise but if you do it my way you can start at anytime and not depend on the ferry timetable and at the end of your trip take the ferry back to the start.

Rialto Beach

Another reason for spending more time at Olympic NP is that it does not really matter what the weather will be you can always find something to shoot. Since you will not have that much time the following sites are within a mile or two hike.

Sol Duc Falls

Hurricane Ridge

Hoh Rain Forest

In the three days of exploring the park you will be going in and out driving outside of the park. Unlike other parks where roads will take you through the park to see the attractions at this park requires you to travel outside of the park. This will allow you to stay in bigger towns and cities along the way. If you want to explore the Ocean side of the park there are short beach hikes like Rialto Beach where just crossing the parking lot and you are at the beach or head to the tip of Washington State to start your Hike to Shi Shi Beach considered the "best nature beach" by the Travel Channel

Rialto Beach at sunrise

Shi Shi Beach (if you are there during low tide you can walk right up to the sea stacks)

Shi Shi is a longer hike but you can do it in a day during this time of the year. sunrise is at 5:16am and sunset is at 9:09.... but the magic hour is about an hour long so around 4:30 am it starts getting light and the skys turn black around 10pm

May 7, 2012

I have stopped using film the last few years. still have my blad. As for Beijing it is a modern airport like the states but unlike the states they mostly speak chinese and if you do not know how to ask for a hand inspection they just might take your bag of film and put it through the scanner anyways. If this is not a photo tour your guides at the airport might not understand why you want a hand inspection because they are told it is safe for fim and most people donot use film any more.

As for leads line bags I use to use the lead foil bags until I found that if they cannot see into the bag they will up the power until they can see through the bag and well expose the bag longer to study the content. Next time watch how the operator run the scanners and how much detail shows up on the screen. If all your film is in a clear ziplock bag and nothing else. Just hand it over to them like you do not know what to do with it and you might have a 50 /50 chance they will not send it through the scanner but if they do it will most likely just travel through without stopping.

If you plan on using the subway at some stations they have x-ray scanners that you must send your bags through. Another thing that is diffrent You will have a window of time to check in and go through inspection. When there is a problem they do not send someone out to talk to you instead take you to the main office which means at another part of the airport. (happen to my wife because she had a few bottles of water in her pack and the wanted to question her why she had so many).

April 12, 2012

When we arrived it was around sunset but hundreds of people at the site. I then ended up talking with the security guard and asked is there any time when no one is around. The guard told me that there was only two times when the crowds are not at the site. when they close for the night and when they open in the morning.

March 28, 2012

FYI if you plan on doing timelapse and astro photography you will be using lots of battery power to keep the shutter open. might be better yo shoot with a film body if you want star trails.

just shooting this series drain 2 set of battereies on my Sony A850.

If shooting timelapse it is even worst because your camera will be running for hours.

<a href="http://riwong.smugmug.com/Other/Timelapse/Stars/9943339_mCGsZf">http://riwong.smugmug.com/Other/Timelapse/Stars/9943339_mCGsZf</a>

When I do need extra power I bought a digitalcamera battery power pack.

<a href="http://www.digitalcamerabattery.com/">http://www.digitalcamerabattery.com/</a>

I have been able to use this battery as a backup for a week with no problems.

I have been researching this power pack and it looks good

<a href="http://www.tekkeon.com/products-mypowerall.html">http://www.tekkeon.com/products-mypowerall.html</a>

March 28, 2012

I have owned many gps trackers and hand held gps units. Sony, Magellan, garmin, Delorme, phototrackr, to name a few, some I lost some broke. My current solution is to use the gps in my smart phone and a app like GPS tracker and then send a email to myself with the GPX data which I then import to Lightroom4 to tag my photos. I have found that since I have wifi on my phone and the gps chip in my phone works without a data connection I can use my phone anywhere in the world. since I can swap out my battery to my phone I have been able to keep my phone running without having to recharge. but have found it is better to start a new track every day.

October 4, 2011

<a href="http://www.easyriderkayaks.com/outriggers-k.htm">http://www.easyriderkayaks.com/outriggers-k.htm</a>

I own a Easyrider Dolphin. You can outfit easyriders with sails and outriggers

I also own a old town loon <a href="http://www.backcountry.com/old-town-loon-15t-tandem-kayak">http://www.backcountry.com/old-town-loon-15t-tandem-kayak</a>

It's not the best handling kayak but you can paddle this one solo and because it is just one bgig cockpit it is easy to center your seat when paddling solo. when fishing and shooting this is the one I take out it's stable whe stopped and because it's 15 ft long it's fairly fast. It's beamy enough for me to use my gitzo.

<a href="http://www.hobiecat.com/kayaks/mirage/revolution-13/features/">http://www.hobiecat.com/kayaks/mirage/revolution-13/features/</a>

Hobie make an interesting kayak where you can also use leg power.

August 8, 2011

They are one and same the Alaskan Brown bear can get a lot bigger because the food supply is a lot richer. The one that I shot looks like it was a young adult maybe 2-3 years. The bears that I had close encounters with where all on the young side.

The Hubbard Glacier photos were also shot on a Celebrity ship. The 4 hours is spent cruising the bay. On that day the Ice dam broke before we entered the bay so Icebergs were all over the place and our ship could not get very close. Therefore I was shooting mostly with my 80-400 VR lens. It helps it you have access to a motion stablization lens like nikons vr lenses. 2nd I was out on deck the whole 4 hours that we visited the bay. Most people will only come out on deck when your ship is close to the glaciers spent a half and hour take a few snapshots then head back inside. Dress warm bring something to eat and drink and be ready. when the Ice is breaking off and falling into the bay it will sound like Thunder. You will hear cracking sounds just focus your camera in that area. If it beaks on the otherside don't worry about it if you start chasing around you will miss it all. One of the shots I have shows a closeup of ice calving <img src="http://riwong.smugmug.com/Travel-Journal/Cruisin-the-Inside-Passage/hubard0051/22289223_2BNSw-M.jpg" alt="" />

That whole face broke off and sent a 30 foot wave heading to our ship and all I got was the one chunk that broke off. And of the 2000 + people on board only abou 40 of use were on the deck when it happened. to give you some scale of this shot those little black specks on the water are fur seals resting on icebergs. I try to be on the lowest deck that you have acces to the POV is better than looking down on everything.

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Posts posted by rick_wong