Sixtyone North » sky

“The Truth Will Out”

David Taylor — Fri, 06 May 2011 07:51:55 +0000

Australian professional landscape photographer (and fellow Fstop gear user!), Christian Fletcher, is having a great discussion over on his site. It’s in regards to creating art that people haven’t seen, particularly in photography.

Photographers far more elegant than me have handled this topic before. Here in America, one of my friends and ‘phantom mentors’, Guy Tal has said:

“Photograph for yourself and satisfy your own sensibilities and aesthetics. True artists do not pander to a pre-selected audience. Instead, they carve an audience of their own from those who will encounter and be moved by their work.”

“The best way to use your imagination is simply to not stand in its way.”

I think he’s right. We have to shoot for ourselves first & let the cards fall where they may. If we consume ourselves with making $100,000 prints and worrying about getting the shot for someone else while shouting “It’s bloody ROARING!” on camera, we’ll die a slow, very public, artistic death.
Shoot for ourselves. Embrace our own passions. “The truth will out” & people will be drawn to our work because they will identify with something not seen within the frame, but felt within their hearts – if we’re lucky, they’ll identify with us. They’ll identify with something they haven’t seen before, because we showed them a new perspective. Ours.

“Discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”
~ Marcel Proust

How is your creative vision?

edit: In responding to my good friend, Scott Slone’s comment below – I was reminded of a favorite quote, which posted below may not get the attention it deserves. So here you go:

One of my favorite quotes of all time, is by Stephen King, from his book “On Writing” (which I cannot recommend enough!). Of course, he is referring to being an author – but this message can be easily bent to suit your own pursuits:

Put your desk in the corner, and every time you sit down to write, remind yourself why it isn’t in the middle of the room. Life isn’t a support system for art. It’s the other way around.”

Here’s to life support via passion.

Want to be kept up to date about all of my Photo Workshops & AdvenTours, tips & tricks, and news? Only Newsletter subscribers receive special discounts on Print of the Month Collectors Prints! Click here to sign up for the free Newsletter. Looking for a way to experience wilderness on a whole new level? Want to step into the Alaskan environment and witness incredible Wild Lands & Wild Life? Be sure to click here to look at The Best Photo Tours offered in Alaska.

Timelapse HD video of Aurora Borealis over Alaska

David Taylor — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 06:06:48 +0000

This is a quick (very quick – only 3 seconds total) timelapse video of a 13 1/2 minute aurora storm from my first of 2 “Aurora Borealis, Winter Landscapes & Wildlife” photo tours – February 26-March 3 of this year. Winter has left us and we are full into spring mode here, in south central Alaska – but the aurora are still whirling overhead. Tonight, in fact, we are predicted to have a decent showing. Hope to view it from my comfy bed – wish I could make it out tonight to film it, but it just isn’t in the cards. Perhaps this weekend…

Stay tuned…

Aurora Borealis Over The Denali Highway

David Taylor — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 05:23:18 +0000

Just a few short days & I’ll be leaving for my second “Aurora Borealis, Winter Landscapes & Wildlife” Photo Tour. I’m really looking forward to traveling with this next group. We haven’t met, and yet it feels like we’ve known each other for a long time.
Here is another image from last month’s tour – this one is very appropriate. The ‘level’ surface you can see between the dark objects in the lower right third of the frame is the Denali Highway. It’s not maintained during the winter, but our 8 passenger (enclosed and heated) track vehicle took us where ever we needed to go. Simply amazing, being surrounded by all of this wilderness and engulfed in the utter silence… listening for a crackle of static 300,000 feet above.

Stay tuned…

“Super Moon” Summit Attempt on Pioneer Peak, Alaska

David Taylor — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 09:45:53 +0000

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…

More Aurora Borealis Photos From Alaska.

David Taylor — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 20:48:28 +0000

I’m back again with 2 more aurora borealis photographs. The first was taken about 10-12 miles from the wilderness lodge that hosted our tour. The second photo is identical composition wise to a previous post (Flicker, Flame, Fire, inFerno), but a few seconds earlier. This shows the dramatic change just a few seconds can make in a fast moving aurora! I still look back at that evening in absolute awe.

I’ve got a BUNCH more aurora images from this trip to post – including a ‘movie’ of the aurora activity… it blew my mind.

Stay tuned…

Announcing – Wild Lands & Wild Life: Denali Highway Fall Color Tour

David Taylor — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 07:06:51 +0000

I’m very happy to formally announce the 4th tour of 2011. The “Wild Lands & Wild LIfe: Denali Highway Fall Color Tour”. August 26-September 1, 2011.

I’d like to invite you to join me on an epic, small group, wilderness photo tour into the heart of Alaska.

The Denali Highway – 135 mile long ‘improved’ road, stretching from Cantwell (near the eastern border of Denali National Park) to Paxson at the east end of the road. From 1957 to 1971, this was the only access to Denali National Park. Since ’71 it has become mostly derelict and poorly maintained. It crosses some of the most dramatic and incredible terrain in the United States. Mountains. Glaciers. Rolling tundra. Taiga forest. Kettle ponds. Raging rivers.

And ‘Big Sky’ that Montana can’t even fathom.

Then there’s the wildlife. The Nelchina caribou herd passes through this area, every year. 36,000 strong – free ranging, un-penned, wild caribou. Thousands of moose call this region home. Wolves, wolverine, fox, rabbit, lynx, marmot & a wide variety of migrating birds.

It truly is a buffet for the adventurous photographer.

We will spend long days in the field, and our nights at a rustic self-sufficient lodge at the center of all this wilderness. Bring your appetites, you will eat well throughout this adventure. Hearty meals, no frills & no skimping on portions.

Bring your stamina, this is your window seat to adventure. Get ready to be swallowed whole by a landscape so breathtaking that you’ll refer to this photo expedition simply as ‘the trip’ – for the rest of your life.

Most importantly, bring your passion for photography. This is the trip you’ve been dreaming of. The adventure of a lifetime awaits.

Alaska awaits. Where will you be this fall?

Full trip description coming very soon.

If you are interested in this 7 day/6 night all inclusive (meals, guide, instruction, transportation & lodging) epic experience, send me an email now and get on the ‘the short list’. These 6 seats will fill very quickly.

I’d like to thank Scott Slone (of Perfect Blend Media & Alaska HDTV) for producing this very special commercial for the Fall Color Tour. Scott will be joining us again to film our adventures & has offered a crash course in videography/production and editing to our participants. Thank you very much, my good friend. As always, it is a pleasure and honor to travel with you.

Aurora Storm in Wilderness Alaska

David Taylor — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 03:36:14 +0000

Here are a few more aurora borealis photos from my recent “Aurora Borealis, Winter Landscapes & Wildlife” Photo Tour. The first was taken nearly 12 miles into the wilderness from our lodge. The mountains in the background are a branch of the Alaska Range. The second image was created by turning the camera skyward – straight up in fact – directly at the aurora’s ‘corona’. From this position, I could capture the direct impact of the aurora overhead. The light spilled from above, scattering and swirling in all directions. What an amazing night!

: Aurora Borealis ‘Corona’, Alaska. ©2011 Dave Taylor/Sixtyone North (Canon 5D Mk 2, Tokina 16-28 @ 16mm. 5″ @ f/2.8, ISO 3200)

Stay tuned…

Alaskan Aurora Over Wilderness Lodge

David Taylor — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 05:41:48 +0000

Just a quick post here with a few more aurora photos from last week. I’m still trying to catch up on lost sleep. In another 3 weeks I should be around par. Then, of course, I leave for round two.

: Aurora Over Alpine Creek Lodge, Clearwater Range, Alaska. ©2011 Dave Taylor/Sixtyone North (Canon 5D mk 2, Tokina 16-28/2.8 @ 16mm. 5″ @ f/2.8, ISO 3200)

Stay tuned…

Flicker, Flame, Fire, inFerno

David Taylor — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 07:26:38 +0000

I’m just back from nearly a week deep in the heart of the Alaskan wilderness. I spent six days with 9 very talented South Korean photographers at an exclusive lodge 65 miles from… well, anywhere.

I’m heading back in just 3 weeks for a repeat. Yes, Jena. I promise to start packing earlier for this trip. This exploratory tour turned out to be much more an expedition, than a simple photo tour. We were confronted by extremely cold temperatures (-35 at times), and highs just over 0. The group never once complained about the adversity though – they just kept shooting and producing tons of incredible images!

We went 5 for 5 with the aurora; every night of the tour we lucked out with ‘the best show above the earth’. 3 of the 5 were ‘quite good’ shows, 2 were fantastic, and very early Tuesday morning was… well, unequivocally incredible.

We moved our group to a small knoll a quarter mile from the lodge. Above us and rising over the lodge were the Clearwater Mountains, just south of the mighty Alaska Range. Towering over them was a single band of green. It started around 10 pm Monday evening and developed over the next 2 hours. Just after midnight, it erupted and the sky caught fire. We had every classic auroral formation known: curtains, arcs, striations, pillars and a writhing corona directly overhead. We witnessed green, burgundy, yellows and reds. It lasted for about an hour, and then waned. A bright green haze covered the majority of the sky for several hours afterward.

For the most part, the Koreans in my tour were quiet and reserved people through much of our time together. That changed dramatically when the aurora formed that night. Cheers and a tangible awe rose from that small knoll in the middle of a snow covered wilderness. They reverberated off the mountains and climbed up to greet the incredible light show far above.

It was a night I will never forget. A moonless night where the brilliance in the sky made the ground at our feet glow a soft electric green.

I’d be terribly remiss to not thank my good friends, Claude & Jennifer Bondy (owners of Alpine Creek Lodge and our hosts for the 6 day tour), their lodge employee Kyle (I’ve rarely met a harder worker, especially at such a young age!), and of course my good friend Scott Slone of Alaska HDTV – I couldn’t have done it without your help, buddy.

All the seats have been filled for my upcoming Aurora Borealis, Winter Landscapes & Wildlife Photo AdvenTour (March 26-31), but I am starting a list for next years offerings. So, after the success of the first tour, it is never too early to get on the list for March of 2012 – people are already looking to sign up. This is a destination adventure that you don’t want to miss. Click this link to send me an email to join the list!

Stay tuned…

Distant Light. Distant Mountains.

David Taylor — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 21:18:04 +0000

Here’s another quick image from last weeks Denali Highway Fall Color Shoot. We had amazing sunrises almost every morning. I wish we would have returned to the lake from my last post. I imagine the pano I shot from the previous post, reflected in the kettle pond. Would have been even more spectacular. Oh well… next year.

Speaking of next year… Keep watching the blog for an announcement regarding TWO fall color tours I’ll be offering back-to-back. If you are looking for an incredible photo AdvenTour in some of the wildest yet accessible lands in all of Alaska, these tours are just what you’ve been waiting for.

Stay tuned…