Super Moon Over Pioneer Peak, Alaska ©2011 Dave Taylor/Sixtyone North (Canon 5D Mk 2, 100-400 @ 100mm. Mountain exposure = 15" @ f/11, ISO 800. Moon exposures = 1/400" @ f/8, ISO 1600)

It’s now 1:23 Am… not quite sure how I managed to figure out how to save this image file to the hard drive from Photoshop… I am ‘plum tuckered out’. Jena & I headed for the “Palmer Moose Flats” area this evening to photograph the so-called “Super Moon” as it paralleled Pioneer Peak in its rise towards the heavens. I had checked “The Photographer’s Ephemeris” program a few days ago and knew exactly where the moon would rise and at what time. I also used the programs “Geodetic” feature to predict the apparent elevation of the moon in relation to the mountains, and found that the full moon should follow a path almost precisely parallel to the northeastern flank of Pioneer Peak. The Geodetic feature showed that it would maintain a fairly constant elevation clearance of this ridge from moonrise to when it would pass the peak, from 9:13 pm to roughly 10:56 pm. So I set out to attempt a series of photographs, 15 in total – 1 every 5 minutes (programmed by my Canon TC-80N3 remote timer). The composition would remain the same, as would the exposure – it would just record the moon’s path over the 75 minutes. After the series was taken (once the moon had moved well out of frame), I took one additional photograph exposing for the sky & mountain silhouette. When I got home, I merged all of the moon images together into one photograph using PS CS5, then merged them with the silhouette/mountain frame. The camera was not moved once throughout the nearly 2 hour sequence.

It was a really fun experiment and I’m happy with the results. For me, the moon seems to making a summit push on Pioneer Peak. I’d like to hear your thoughts, so please chime in below in the comments!

Stay tuned…

“Hiking Reed Lakes, Alaska”!

I drove up into Hatcher Pass and parked near Summit Lake, then climbed past a waterfall to some suspended lakes in the high alpine. By the time I reached the top of the waterfall, the sky was already brightening. Unfortunately, the predawn colors I was hoping for never materialized, too many clouds on the eastern horizon. So I continued hiking, gaining a little more elevation until I circled the back side of a small lake (or large pond) and scouted a few more spots to shoot in the future. My back was to the rising sun when I noticed a beam of warm light shooting past me and spilling over the valley and peaks beyond. I turned to see the sun cascading from behind the peaks.

Well, didn’t see that coming. I had just glanced that way 5 minutes before and noticed clouds obscuring the sky. I rushed back to a previous location and set the tripod up, turned on LiveView and fired off several bracketed shots, knowing that 1 frame would never record the dynamic range before me. Fog (I call it fog, since it was below me… but actually it was a lower cloud layer) rolled  through the valleys and washed over mountain sides, the warm light caressing the land gently. Magical moment, and it lasted less than 2 minutes. Funny, 2 minutes before I saw that beam of light, I was getting ready to pack up the gear and head home.

A New Day Dawns, Talkeetna Mountains, Alaska. ©2010 Dave Taylor/Sixtyone North (Canon 5D Mk 2, 70-200/4 IS @ 89mm. F/13 with 3 bracketed shutter speeds. ISO 200. Blended manually in Photoshop)

Just goes to show… be patient.

I honestly don’t have a clue as to how Scott does his magic with the video stuff – it is sooo beyond my comprehension. I’m just thankful he knows how.

We are working on more of these photo tip videos, set in amazing wilderness locations all over Alaska. I hope you enjoy it!

Stay tuned…

What can I say? I’ve got talented friends.

We met shortly after 8 last night and drove the 1/2 hour to my “Back yard”. Yes, it’s a 1/2 hour away, but I can see it from my bedroom window. Hence, it’s my back yard. My logic is undeniable. Anyway… It seems as though I have just started seeing this area with new eyes. And the possibilities are endless.

Ever since I moved here, Hatcher Pass has been my backyard. My first evening here, my best friend Tim drove us the 4 minutes from my new home to the entry to Hatcher Pass. Here, the Little Susitna’s (Lil’ Su) turquoise waters rush over beautiful gray and white rocks. The river looks like a soft blue milk, with a hint of gray – one of my favorite colors on the planet.

Summit Glow, Hatcher Pass, Alaska ©2010 Dave Taylor/Sixtyone North (Canon 5D mk 2, 24-105 @ 24mm. 2.5" @ f/16, ISO 200, B+W CPL filter.)

These mountains are some of the oldest in Alaska. On the westernmost edge of the Talkeetna Range, they have eroded peaks and ridges, not sharp and defined like newer ones. But just a few miles to the east the range shifts dramatically; precarious spires and razor sharp ridge lines arc throughout the skyline. The valleys are home to hundreds of moose, and the alpine slopes to countless marmot and birds. There are fox and wolf in the area, although I have only seen the “sign” and not the actual critter.

In the summer months, this area is lush with plants and wild flowers. There are verdant green valleys that run for dozens of miles in all directions, small streams coursing their way and nourishing the wilderness. Old and abandoned mines dot the landscape, skeletons of a history not so long ago yet so very different present day Alaska.

Summit View, Hatcher Pass, Alaska. ©2010 Dave Taylor/Sixtyone North (Canon 5D mk 2, 24-105 @ 24mm. 13" at f/16, ISO 200. B+W CPL filter)

There is one road, Willow Fishhook, that cuts through the western reaches of this range. It is a rough unpaved road, but the views can be extraordinary. Atop the pass (above Independence Mine), the road cuts next to Summit Lake. This was where we parked and began the slow trek high into the surrounding mountains. Our time was cut short, but our views were not. Despite the steadily approaching storm and driving rains, we could easily see the city lights of Palmer 13 miles away. To the north, we could see the lower ramparts of Denali at sunset. We climbed to about 4800 feet, then traced the ridge as it ran east-southeast, then slightly north, finally turning west and descending to my vehicle. It was only 4 hours, I could have spent a much longer time on the ridge, but it was very exposed and the weather hit us right after we summited. Scott and I are already planning our next trip up, a multi-day backpacking/filming trip. Should be spectacular.

Slope Life, Hatcher Pass, Alaska. ©2010 Dave Taylor/Sixtyone North (Canon 5D mk 2, 24-105 @ 24mm. 3.2" at f/16 base exposure @ ISO 100. 1/4" at f/16 flower exposure @ ISO 1600. B+W CPL filter.)

For the photographers out there – here’s a brief breakdown of how I created the last image in today’s post.

In the Field

The wind was gusting pretty strong, but inconsistently. Because of the vast scene I knew that I needed to maximize my depth of field by using a wide angle lens and a small aperture (in this case, f/16). Of course, the problem is the wind. At f/16 I was getting a shutter speed of 3.2 seconds at ISO 100. Far too long of an exposure to stop the motion of the foreground flowers. The option was to boost my ISO up so my shutter speed would be high enough to stop their motion, but this meant an ISO of 1600. Higher ISOs like this mean noise. Noise is bad (…usually). I don’t own a tilt/shift lens, so I was kind of stuck.

Or… was I? (it helps if you say this while turning your head slightly sideways with a serious look on your face.)

My solution was to shoot the shot twice, once at a low ISO to capture the scene without noise and to focus on the middle and back ground. The second shot would be to focus on the flowers at a higher ISO to stop their motion. The exposures turned out like this: flowers = f/16 @ 1/4″, ISO 1600, with focus set on the flowers. Everything besides the flowers = f/16 @ 3.2″, ISO 100, with focus set on the rock outcropping in the upper left third of the frame.

Post Production

Once I had imported all of my shots into Lightroom, I did minor adjustments to the colors/saturation/contrast/etc. Then I exported both images into Photoshop as separate files. Now, here’s where it gets top-secret tip kinda zone… If you tell anyone how I did this, I’m telling your mother on you. With both files open in Photoshop, I selected FILE:AUTOMATE:PHOTOMERGE.

“But Dave, that is a program for making panoramics! You can’t use it that way, you’ll be arrested!”

Yes, I know. You are being way too dramatic. The problem with shooting two images of the same scene with slightly different focal points is the scenes don’t overlap perfectly. There is a slight misalignment. Don’t believe me? Try it out. Back? Ok… let’s continue. The great thing about Photomerge is not only its ability to merge side by side images into a stitched pano, but also to correct for misalignments in Blended Images. In essence, what you are doing is creating an image with much more depth of field. So, I selected the “Auto” feature and sat back. In a few seconds, it was done. Two images of the same scene, focused on different areas, overlaid and matched perfectly. I selected the layer that was the image taken at a higher ISO and positioned it as the bottom layer. The image with the low ISO (and no noise) was set as the top layer and I added a layer mask to it. At this point, the image looks nice. No noise, but flowers are blurred because of the focal point change and the motion caused by the wind. So I selected the layer mask I just created and “cut through” the top layer (blurred flowers) to the higher ISO layer below, but only where the flowers and immediately surrounding area was.

Presto Bango… an image with great depth of field (sharp from foreground to background), razor sharp flowers, and a clean sky with no noise visible anywhere. Yes, there is some noise in the flowers. But the sharpness of the detail overcomes that, plus the noise appears to be texture on the flowers. The noise is only visible at very large magnifications on my monitor – it will not be evident on even a very large size print.

One additional note, this is the supreme law of digital photography. If you can only take one photo and have no chance of blending an image (an example would be a wildlife shot), ALWAYS boost the ISO to stop the action. I would rather have a sharp noisy image than a completely clean blurry image.

I hope this technique inspires you to try some new comps, next time you’re in the field.

Stay tuned.

I love dirt.

Rather, I love silt. Glacial silt to be specific. Glacial silt is velvety, the granules are so small that it is more like a powder, or talc. A few weekends ago, Jena and I went out to the Matanuska Glacier. Watching someone who has never seen a glacier before (other than in photographs and videos) standing atop one is a a great experience.

Jena Jumping a Melt Stream, Matanuska Glacier, Alaska. ©2010 Dave Taylor/Sixtyone North

Something changes in a person when they witness something so gigantic beneath their feet. Something that has seen so much history. Something that starts as a light, ephemeral snow flake. It is hard to conceive that that same snow flake can slice through a mountain, carve valleys, and transform a landscape completely over many millennia. The things that glacier has witnessed; ice ages, devastating earthquakes, volcanoes erupting then becoming dormant and repeating the cycle. Forests growing from grasslands newly seeded, then plowed over by the advancing ice sheet. Ancient people. Mammoth, sabre toothed tigers, and gazelles on a continent that would become known as North America. We are but a flash in a pan compared to the enduring legacy of the glacier.

Glacial Silt Pattern, Matanuska Glacier, Alaska. ©2010 Dave Taylor/Sixtyone North (Canon 5D mk 2, 24-105 @ 105mm, 1/160" @ f/10, ISO 400)

If we are lucky, we may walk this land for 100 years. Many glaciers are several thousands of years old. Sometimes, they are much older. As the snow falls in the mountains, it is compressed over time by later flurries and blizzards. When there is enough weight, the air is compressed as the snow becomes ice. The weight of the ice is pulled down hill. If there is enough weight and enough ice, it will level/carve/grind through anything in its way.

Glacial Silt Pattern, Matanuska Glacier, Alaska. ©2010 Dave Taylor/Sixtyone North (Canon 5D mk 2, 24-105 @ 105mm, 1/160" @ f/10, ISO 400)

Glacial Silt Pattern, Matanuska Glacier, Alaska. ©2010 Dave Taylor/Sixtyone North (Canon 5D mk 2, 24-105 @ 105mm, 1/500" @ f/8, ISO 400)

As the ice sheet flows down over rock and earth, mountains are ground down to large boulders, rocks, pebbles, then into silt. These pieces are carried along on top of and within the ice strata. Finally, when the ice reaches the end of its journey, the silt is flushed away from melt water and deposited for miles in front of the glacier. Sometimes, hundreds of miles from its source.

Glacial Silt Pattern, Matanuska Glacier, Alaska. ©2010 Dave Taylor/Sixtyone North (Canon 5D mk 2, 24-105 @ 105mm, 1/250" @ f/11, ISO 400)

Glacial Silt Pattern, Matanuska Glacier, Alaska. ©2010 Dave Taylor/Sixtyone North (Canon 5D mk 2, 24-105 @ 105mm, 1/400" @ f/8, ISO 400)

The patterns glacial silt take on can be mesmerizing; swirls, strata, etchings, dunes and channels. The variety is endless, as are the colors and textures. It’s a playground for intimate landscape photographs – not quite macros, and not landscapes. These are the remnants of ancient mountain ranges, from lands that were never witnessed by human eyes. Standing atop the Matanuska Glacier, I reached down and cradled a small fistful of damp silt in my right hand. In that moment, I held a mountain and stood atop the ruins of countless others.

Glacial Silt Pattern, Matanuska Glacier, Alaska. ©2010 Dave Taylor/Sixtyone North (Canon 5D mk 2, 24-105 @ 105mm, 1/200" @ f/5, ISO 400)

Stay tuned…

This is a 6-image pano. Each one shot vertically to increase resolution across the panorama. I used a graduated neutral density filter (2-stop soft edge Singh-Ray) to balance the exposure of the sky with the reflection.

This was one of those incredible moments to witness, let alone photograph. And the best part was… not being there alone. As the clouds shifted color and deepened to a pure crimson, the slack-jawed look on Jena’s face was classic. Until she reminded me that I had the same look. Great evening. Nuf’ said.

Please click on the image below to view it larger. Want to see it even larger? This one needs to be viewed large. This image is roughly 5 feet long by 2 feet high in it’s native form. I’m looking forward to having one on display as soon as possible. As soon as I calculate a couple of print options, I’ll post an update. If you have a large, blank wall… perhaps it’s time you fill that space with an image of Mount Foraker, Hunter, and Denali reflecting on a calm lake in the interior of Alaska.

Kashwitna Lake Sunset, Denali and the Alaska Range. ©2010 Dave Taylor/Sixtyone North (Canon 5D mk 2, 70-200 @ 111mm, 1/4" at f/13, ISO 200. Singh-Ray 2-stop soft edge grad ND filter. The images were manually merged in Photoshop.)

Stay tuned. I’ve got several more photos from the past few weeks that I’ll be posting shortly.

I’ve been craving spring lately – not gonna lie. Green is a color I haven’t seen in a while, not in its natural form anyways. Flowers? What exactly are those again? You know us Alaskans are “just a bit crazy” when we look at the forecast (yeah… from those guys/gals) and see 31 degrees and think, “Wow! Heat wave! It’s time to break out the sun tan lotion, shorts, and start thinking about parking our snowmobiles till summer is over. In 2 weeks.

I shot several images right next to the Matanuska River, just outside of Palmer, looking due south at Pioneer and Twin Peaks. I was hoping for a bit more in the “clouds department”. I left my jacket at home, because… you know… it’s a heat wave. Of course, after the sun set, I hurried back to my car so I could blast the heat.

Pioneer Peak Reflecting in Matanuska River, Palmer, Alaska - ©2010 Dave Taylor/Sixtyone North (Canon 5D mk 2, 24-105 @ 50mm, 3.2" @ f/16, ISO 50. B+W CPL & Singh-Ray 3 stop soft grad ND)

Heading back out again tomorrow morning, same great location.

Stay tuned…

Pioneer & Twin Peaks, Palmer Moose Flats - Copyright 2010 Dave Taylor/Sixtyone North (Canon 24-105 @ 24mm, 5D mk 2, 1/5" @ f/18, ISO 200)

At just before 9, I noticed a slight glow on the horizon out my window. Well, that can’t be – the weather idiot said to expect cloudy skies and a good chance of snow on the horizon. And they’ve never been wrong before. I parted the shades and sure enough, just spotty clouds and full view of the mountains.

Time to go.

Ice Sheet, Frozen Pond in Palmer Moose Flats - Copyright 2010 Dave Taylor/Sixtyone North (Canon 24-105 @ 24mm, 5D mk 2, 1/10" @ f/18, ISO 200)

Less than 5 minutes drive from my home is the Palmer Moose Flats. Moose Flats, you say? The Glenn Highway cuts south through the Moose Flats as it winds towards Anchorage. I have seen many dozens of moose along this stretch in the past, almost entirely during my commute. When I shoot in the area, I never see moose. Is this Murphy Moose’s Law?

The color wasn’t quite as nice as some times in the past, but it’s just nice getting out and breathing in the cold, refreshing morning air. Doesn’t hurt to have a scene like this for a view either.

Paw Prints & Chugach Mountains - Copyright 2010 Dave Taylor/Sixtyone North (Canon 24-105 @ 24mm, 5D mk 2, 1/20" @ f/18, ISO 400)

Ok, so my front yard isn’t the “standard” front yard…

*A quick side note regarding these images – each is a blend of two separate exposures, taken back to back. One exposure was for the foreground and the second exposure is for the sky. The camera can not capture the dynamic range that the human eye can see, so photographers have 3 options: 1 – get only 1/2 the exposure correct and live with the results (either the sky will be too bright or the foreground too dark), 2 – use a special filter called a ND-Grad (it’s darker on the top half to bring down the exposure in the sky), 3 – take 2 shots and blend them in Photoshop (my preferred method). The 3rd method (which is what I used) is more flexible than resorting to using a filter in the field and gives me higher quality than I used to get when using filters. To each their own though, use the tools you have to the best of your abilities.

Stay tuned…