steve_cook

Check out the following website:

http://www.beaverhead.com/redrocks/default.htm

I would call the refuge to get the best information. I go there to shoot landscapes. Beautiful and isolated country. There is a nice campground at the upper end of the refuge. There is another campground at the lower end, but it is out on the flats and exposed to the elements. This can be cold and windy country. Have fun. You should be able to get some excellent shots of trumpeter swans.

Steve Cook

Just too heavy for backpacking, in my opinion. I bought a Bogen 3001

for the Paria trip, which worked well. Of course, I swore I would

never backpack with the Pentax 6x7 ever again. It's a great camera,

but pretty heavy. Also, I'm investigating renting a burro for my

future backpacking trips. That way I can take all my camera gear and a

cast iron frying pan.

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Steve Cook

Hi again,

Believe it or not, but the real point of my posting was to always carry your camera with you. This was an exciting photo opportunity that I missed. I'm really just a landscape photographer trying to make it in this field. The issue of the Yellowstone buffalo is hugely complex, and is probably beyond the scope of this forum. It involves (but is not limited to) the following:

Biology - actually, for our vet friend, I have read plenty about this issue (my post was written in the heat of the moment and could have been better composed). The elk will be the next big problem, as it is starting to be an issue in Wyoming and Idaho.

Management - do we want a bunch of cattleman managing our wildlife (in Montana, they are king, followed by the hunters).

It is my fault for revealing my opinions on this subject, but it still was a worthy situation to photograph. My goal is to use these kinds of photographs (gathered over several years) as part of an photo essay on Yellowstone Wildlife. Yellowstone could become a large zoo if the proper decisions are not made in the near future. Since I live just outside the park, I can visit and photograph there often (heading there tommorrow in fact).

Last, remember, use sunscreen and always take your camera with you.

Steve Cook

Always read your posts at least 20 times, to detect errors. In my post, I stated that the MLA was removing buffalo from the park, but in reality, they are removing animals that have wandered outside of Yellowstone National Park. And please ignore the typos. Give me another beer.

Steve Cook

Hi,

About 2 weeks ago, a friend told me that the success to making it as a

professional photographer was to always carry your camera with you.

He said that you never know when something will happen that you want

to photograph. Today I ignored that advise and missed an incredible

photo opportunity.

I drove down to the local gas station at 4 Corners (5 miles south of

Bozeman, Montana) to buy a newspaper and a six-pack of beer. When I

drove into the gas station, I could hardly find a place to park. When

I got out of the truck, I saw a sheriff and a buzz of activity. At

first, I thought that some driver was in trouble and getting the riot

act. As I walked around the corner of a truck with a large horse

trailer, I heard a young women crying about the poor beasts. I looked

at the trailer and know immediately they where buffalo, and not

cattle. I immediately realized I had just wandered into a high-energy

protest situation with lots of adrenaline flowing (As background, the

Montana Livestock Association has been removing buffalo from

Yellowstone National Park that are suspected of having brucellosis and

shipping them of to slaughter). I was looking at about 10 buffalo

that where about to become jerky. And guess what? I did not have a

camera with me (not even a dammed point and shoot)!!! So I went over

and looked at the doomed buffalo. This is one of the saddest things I

have ever seen, and the protesters realized I was with them. Now, as

I looked around, I saw a photo opportunity rich environment. There

was a lot of paranoid people wandering around, and the lone sheriff

had his hand constantly on his revolver (but he was not being heavy

handed with the protesters, since there was alot of people wandering

around). The drivers hauling the buffalo seemed to be enjoying the

situation, as you would expect. I went in and bought my beer, came out

and watched the situation. The protesters where using a video camera

to record the scene, but I thought they where missing the real

interesting pictures. They where just too emotionally attached to what

going on to record what were potentionally incredible photos.

At this point, I knew that I was hooked on photographing these kinds

of events (if only I had a camera with me). The energy is incredible,

and I am still wired at this moment.

I will never, never, never go anywhere without a camera again. Also,

the Montana Livestock Association has just created one of it's biggest

enemies, and I plan on showing them just what photography can do to

show the public the true story. Photography is not dead, and still

has a mission.

Steve Cook

High Plains Photography

I'm looking for a backpacking tripod for my Pentax 6x7. Last year I carried my Bogen 3021 on a trip (one time only and never again)! This year I'm going into the Paria Canyon and would love to bring back some photos of the slot canyons. These require long exposures and even a monopod would not work. Does anyone have experience using this camera with a lightweight tripod such as the Gitzo Mountaineer. Any comments or recommendations will be appreciated. My 3 lens are 55mm, 105mm and 200mm. I probably will not carry the 200mm on this trip.

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Thanks

I am looking at buying a teleconverter for my Pentax 6x7. I would be interested in opinions on the Pentax 1.4x vs. the 2x. This would be used with my 200mm lens. I have held the Kenco 2x teleconverter and didn�t like the feel of it. I am finding I need a little more magnification at times, but have not convinced myself to buy the 300mm (and I can only dream of the 400/4 ED and may need to save some money for the new version of the Pentax 6x7).

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Thanks,

Steve Cook

I'm looking to buy an extension tube set for my Pentax 6x7. I would like to get a copy stand for duplicating photos (my grandfather carried a camera with him when he was building roads 60 years ago and these are family treasures which need duplicating). Also, I would like to improve my close up focusing ability for landscapes. My 3 lens are the 55mm, 105mm and 200mm.

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B&H Photo carries 3 sets:

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1) Auto Extension Tube set (Inner) : 3 separate tubes.

2) Extension Tube set (Outer) : appears to be for the real big lens.

3) Helicoid Extension Tube: single tube with range of 2 and 3 of #1.

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My question is whether I would be better off with the 3 tube set (#1) or the Helicoid tube. The price difference is only $60, so the main concern is flexibility and functionality.

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Thank you

I'm interested in opinions and experiences with the

Pentax circular polarizing filter for the 6x7 camera.

I've narrowed it down to either the Pentax filter or

the B+W Kaesemann circular filter. This filter will be

used on both my 55mm and 200 lens.

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Thank you,

Steve Cook

I'm interested in opinions and experiences with the

Pentax circular polarizing filter for the 6x7 camera.

I've narrowed it down to either the Pentax filter or

the B+W Kaesemann circular filter. This filter will be

used on both my 55mm and 200 lens.

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Thank you,

Steve Cook

Thanks Bob!!! That is the kind of shot the public should see.

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Steve Cook

I have recently seen a posting of a picture of a captured eagle in the nature forum. The problem I have is the promotion of zoo photography as something to be respected. I find zoos to be one of the sickest and saddest places on earth. While zoos can be homes for orphaned animals,

most are scenes of animal abuse. People need to wake up and realize what a sad state our planet has reached when zoos are the last place for people to see animals. I personally would rather never see an animal that have to see one in a zoo.

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As photographers, we would do a better service by documenting the abuses to animals in a zoo rather than trying to pretend we are taking pretty pictures of them. The last zoo I visited (Anchorage, Alaska) had a number of visible animal abuses going such as very small cages and freaked out animals.

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I hope this sparks some discussion on zoo photography (which is not nature photography, but caged animal photography.

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Steve Cook

I just bought a used Pentax 6x7 with the standard lens yesterday!!! This was after reading probably a thousand entries on various forums. Lots of opinions out there.

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I would like some ideas on various lenses for wildlife and landscape photography. I read a great review on the 55mm/f3.5 for landscapes and would like a longer lens for critters (Yellowstone Park is just down the road). I am looking at something in the 200/300/400mm range along with a 2x converter. All opinions would be appreciated.

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Last, (this may be a stupid question), I have an Olympus T32 electronic flash (we all have a past life). I was wondering if this would work on the Pentax 6x7 if I got the proper connections.

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Thanks,

Steve Cook

High Plains Photography