Sixtyone North

Under Construction

David Taylor — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:14:24 +0000

I’m doing a little website template work, so you will probably notice some missing functionality for a little while. I apologize for any inconvenience and will have the site up and running as soon as possible.

Thanks for your patience!

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.

Digital Panning Blurs – A Photoshop Tutorial

David Taylor — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 07:08:30 +0000

It is not like me to go back, years later, and ‘revisit’ an image. ‘Re-work’ it. I can probably count the times I’ve done this on both of my hands. I don’t know why this is…

Perhaps I became so busy shooting new material that I just never had the time to go back. Nonsense… you can always make the time to go back.

Or maybe I was just satisfied with the work I had done – I had completely fulfilled my vision the first go ’round. Nooooot likely, I’m my own worst critic. I don’t know if I’ve ever been truly happy with any of my photographs. Oh sure, I’ve been proud of work – but I can still find at least one two faults in every image.

I honestly don’t know. Maybe I just got lazy?

Regardless, I recently stumbled upon the work of Philippe Sainte-Laudy, on Google Plus. Philippe is a very talented French landscape photographer – I was especially drawn to his photography of local forests. In a few of his images, he used a technique that emulated a vertical pan taken with a long exposure. This technique has recently become somewhat popular in more ‘impressionistic’ photographs of forests. It is a fairly simple technique, but the end result is that it blurs everything in the frame. Where Philippe differentiated himself and his photography is the combination of blurred and sharp areas within the same frame.

It occurred to me that I could reproduce this effect in Photoshop, which is (I believe) the method he used. So I set to work

The concept is simple enough:

1 original image, optimized in your RAW converter of choice (or a full resolution JPEG/TIFF – if that’s your thing) – I use Lightroom
Duplicate the background layer so there are two identical layers (for this tutorial, I’ll be using Photoshop CS5)
Apply a motion blur to the top most image
Adjust hue/saturation to liking
Utilize a layer mask to show tree trunk(s) in original ‘Background’ layer – if desired.

Let’s break this one down, step by step.

Image Selection

For this technique – it is best to choose an image with several vertical trunks, preferably with one or more clearly defined trunks without branches obstructing their view. You can also try this technique with a forest scene with a view of the forest floor in the fore and mid-ground. Like all photography, there really are no rules – so experiment, and learn what works best for you.

Here is the image that I’ll be using for this tutorial.

Original image - no optimization done

Image Optimization

Use your favorite raw converter to optimize the image. I will skip this section for now – perhaps an Adobe Lightroom tutorial will be in the works for the future…

If you are using a JPEG or TIFF file, be sure to color correct and prep your image as if they will not be edited further. There are no shortcuts to image optimization. Like photography in the field, you must put the time in to get the highest quality results.

This is my optimized image – for reference, this has been the version that I have included in my Wild Lands & Wild Life Catalog. Now that I have been working with this new technique, I wonder if I shouldn’t replace it with the new version… Time will tell.

Optimized image - "Gold and Ivory"

Photoshop Steps

Open your optimized image in Photoshop.
Duplicate the background layer. Since it’s Photoshop, there are many ways to ‘skin this cat’. Choose your weapon. You can:

Right Click the ‘Background’ layer and choose: “Duplicate Layer”…
Drag the ‘Background’ layer to the 2nd icon from the right at the bottom of your ‘Layer’s Palette’…
Select the ‘Background’ layer and then click the dropdown menu button at the top right of the’Layer’s Palette’ – choose “Duplicate Layer”…
Click “Layer: Duplicate Layer”

Your Layer’s Palette should look like this now.

Next, we’ll work on the panning blur.

Select the top layer, “Background copy”
Click “Filter: Blur: Motion Blur”
Set the Angle to 90 degrees & the Distance to 999 pixels
Click ‘Ok’.

This is what my screen looks like, with the Motion Blur dialogue box open.

The image looks somewhat drab, but we’ll adjust the hue & saturation later on. Also, the pan blur is not as smooth as I would like it to be, so I repeat step #3 from above. Again, I set the Angle to 90 degrees and the Distance to 999 pixels.

That’s better.

My next step was to reveal a tree trunk from the original image (still present in the ‘Background’ layer – beneath this new blurred layer). This is an optional step, but I wanted to add a bit of realism to a surreal image. To do this, we’ll add a layer mask to the ‘Background copy’ layer.

To do this, select the top layer ‘Background copy’ and, along the top menu bar, click “Layer: Layer Mask: Reveal All”. This will add a layer mask to the blurred layer. The mask itself will be filled with white, obscuring your view of the original, non-blurred layer beneath. To reset your brush palette to black & white, type “B”, then “D”. Then type “X” to reverse the colors, so Black is on top.

Now you can draw (with the layer mask selected) in the layer mask with a black brush size, along the tree trunks you want to reveal. Don’t worry if you make mistakes, just type “X” to switch brush colors and brush over the error with White ‘ink’.

I use a Wacom stylus and tablet for the majority of my Photoshop work. It allows me to set the cursor to work with pen pressure. Basically, the harder I push on the tablet with the stylus, the more ‘ink’ it applies in Photoshop. This gives me the ability to carefully fade in my mask brush work. Using this method, I revealed a single trunk from the original image below.

At this point, I also decided to clone the errant branches & yellow aspen leaves from the base and top of the revealed tree trunk. I know, they never did anything bad to me, but hey – they bugged me. So I took ‘em out. ‘Cause that’s how I roll.

From here, I selected the blurred layer (making sure that the mask was no longer selected) and clicked (in the top menu bar) “Image: Adjustments: Hue/Saturation”. You can also skip the clicks by just hitting “Command” & “U” at the same time (this is on an Apple computer… I can’t really help you Windows ‘Heathens’…)

I upped my saturation and shifted the hue to include some more warmth, shifting the yellows to a rich orange. This, of course, is all a personal taste thing – so do as you see fit. This is what my image looks like at this point.

What I don’t like about this image (at this point), is the tree being on the left of the frame. It anchors the image, but placing it on the left side stopped my eyes from moving throughout the frame smoothly. My eyes enter the frame from the left side (the left bottom to be exact) and come to a screeching halt when they hit that detailed tree trunk. In order to jump this psychological/visual hurdle, I will rotate the flip the canvas (image) so the tree is on the right side of the frame. To do this, I select “Image: Image Rotation: Flip Canvas Horizontally”. Now the detailed tree trunk is on the right part of the frame, and my eyes are able to drift through the entire canvas more freely.

This is the final result.

What do you think? No, it won’t work for many images, but it is a fun technique to experiment with. I’m looking forward to having this one printed large, by my friends at West Coast Imaging. Perhaps a large acrylic mounted print would work for this image?

I’m also including the Photoshop Action here, feel free to download it (no charge, of course) and install it in Photoshop (disclaimer, this action has only been tested in PS CS5. I can make no guarantees that it will work in any previous versions). If you have any difficulties with this action (or if you feel like I just wasted the last 18 minutes of your life), please feel free to email me and chew me out. I can take it;)

Click here to download the Action. It has been ‘Zipped’, so you’ll need to ‘Expand’ the file, then install the .atn file in your version of Photoshop.

"Dreams of Aspen Past" Final Version

Stay tuned, I’m working on more ‘Tips & Tricks”, techniques that I use both in the field and in the digital darkroom.

Arctic (Blue) Fox, St. George Island, Alaska

David Taylor — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 06:46:07 +0000

Sorry that the blog has been so ‘dull’ lately, I haven’t been very good about posting updates. I’ve been very busy with handling the logistics and then getting the word out about my 2012 Alaskan photo tour options. Really excited about each of the (4) scheduled tours and the (13) ‘Flex’ tour options now available. I’m also finalizing some very unique boat-based single & multiple photo tours in Prince William Sound and Kenai Fjords National Park.

Life is good.

From day photo treks on a glacier to Aurora Borealis Photo Tours in Fairbanks, and many options in between, we’ve got some really exciting tours for 2012.

I was just going back through some of the images I captured while on St. George Island, in Alaska’s Pribilof Island Group, and realized that I still have several to share on the blog. I’ll be posting more images over the coming days and weeks.

Arctic Fox Pup, St. George Island, in the Pribilof Islands, Alaska.

Stay tuned…

VERY Limited Special Tour Price!

David Taylor — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 03:39:54 +0000

This kind of deal doesn’t come around very often, but I figured – ‘what the heck?’

You may have seen the video promo for my ‘Wild Lands & Wild Life: St. George Island’ exclusive photo tour. If not – look below!

So, what’s all the excitement about?

First of all – this is an incredible location! Hundreds of thousands of sea birds, thousands of northern fur seals, arctic fox (up close and personal), and mind-blowing landscapes to photograph.

The tour typically runs $6,890. This is an all inclusive price:

Lodging in Anchorage while on tour
Lodging in St. George while on tour
All transportation while on tour including:
Air transportation from Anchorage to St. George Island & back to Anchorage
Ground transportation on mainland and St. George Island
Day cruise with Kenai Fjords Tours in Kenai Fjords National Park
All meals while on tour
All guiding & permits (where applicable)
Photography instruction if requested

But what if I told you I would pay for your roundtrip airfare from Anchorage to St. George and back? Thats an $875 value! Not only that, but I’m also going to pay the same roundtrip airfare (Anchorage to St. George and back to Anchorage) for the first 3 people to sign up for the tour!

St. George Island

This brings the tour price to an unbelievably low $5995 per person for solo travelers

or $5,640 per person for double occupancy!

What’s the catch?

No catch, just a limited time offering and minor restrictions:

I must receive your tour deposit before December 15th.
As always, no refunds on deposits unless the trip is cancelled by Sixtyone North.
This special price is only for the first 3 people to sign up for the tour.
Double occupancy rates only apply for friends/travel companions – there will be no pairing of people unfamiliar with other clients.
In the event that 2 spots (2 solo travelers or a pair of friends) are filled and I am contacted by a pair of friends/travel companions wishing to join, these two will be offered a discounted rate of $5995 each.

What, not enough for you? Ok – well, if the 1st three spots fill before December 15th, I will extend a discounted price to anyone else who signs up with a friend/travel companion (photographers only).

This brings the tour price to a great deal of $6,390 per person!

Restrictions:

The discounted rate for this promo goes into effect only if the 1st 3 spots have been filled before December 15th.
You and your friend/travel companion must have your deposits in before December 15th.
Restricted to 2 pairs of friends/travel companions, a total of 4 people.
As always, no refunds on deposits unless the trip is cancelled by Sixtyone North.

So, how does all of this break down?

If you are quick (and have an equally quick friend!) – you can score $1,250 off this extraordinary tour.
If you are quick (but can’t ‘wrassle’ any photog friends into joining you) – you still get $895 off & you get to flaunt all of you amazing photos to your friends upon your return.
If you and a friend are just ‘moderately speedy’ at signing up, you can still get $500 off!
If any of this confuses you – don’t hesitate to contact me, I’ll be happy to explain your options.
Heck, don’t hesitate to contact me about this tour – this discount will not last long and will not be extended.

Otherwise, on December 16th, this tour goes back to the standard rate of $6,890. So get it while the getting is good!

New Alaskan Photo Tours & Workshops for 2012

David Taylor — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 07:51:32 +0000

I’m proud to announce my 2012 Alaskan Photo Tour & Workshop lineup.

One of the greatest privileges I have is the opportunity to show off some of Alaska’s wildest and most beautiful subjects to my tour clients. Many of my clients have dreamt of Alaska, as I did, as one of the ultimate canvases to draw inspiration from. It is my honor to be your guide, to show you what makes my heart race so rapidly, to return to areas that take my breath away at each visit. Since ‘words are so beggared’, we will make the best use of our camera gear to make our own abridged translations through images.

2012 is going be a very exciting year for photo tours and workshops with Sixtyone North. Not only will I be offering 4 incredible group photo tours, but I am also unveiling a completely new series of guided photo tours designed with lower cost, flexibility, shorter duration and complete customization in mind.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

I invite you to visit Alaska on a Sixtyone North photo tour in 2012. Together, we will do as Mark Twain suggested so eloquently. We’ll Explore. Dream. Discover.

Your adventure starts here - Alaska Photo Tours & Guiding

Here’s a quick preview of just one of the offerings for 2012! I can’t wait to return to St. George Island, in the Pribilofs!

Stay tuned…

2012 Wild Lands & Wild Life Print Catalog Now Available for Purchase!

David Taylor — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 05:31:07 +0000

2012 Wild Lands & Wild Life Print Catalog

I’m very proud to announce that my 2012 Wild Lands & Wild Life Print Catalog has been completed. This 164-page catalog features 133 of my best photographs. For the first time ever, they are being made available as custom fine-art prints.

Multiple size options for nearly every image.
Each print is available in 4 incredible display options

Acrylic Display – a beautiful, nearly self-luminescent, ready-to-be-hung/no framing needed, display option.
Canvas Wrap – the image is printed on a lovely artists canvas and is stretched over a wooden subframe. Display ready, this print option needs no further framing.
Glossy or Watercolor Print – looking for a way to purchase a ‘bare’ print that you can have your own framer design a custom from to match your home or office decor? This is the option for you. Just choose between the glossy or watercolor option and a print will be mailed to you. Just take it to your local, trusted frame ship and finish it to your liking.

Each print is signed and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.

The Print Catalog is available for purchase at the link below; there are two great options.

A digital download option (a PDF which you can peruse on your iPad or computer) for only $2.99
A physical professionally printed catalog that doubles as a beautiful portfolio to show off on your coffee table or office. It includes a free digital download for only $36.00 + shipping/handling.

2012 Wild Lands & Wild Life Print Catalog Issue 1:

2012

By David Taylor in Art

More Photos from St. George Island, Alaska

David Taylor — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 02:59:52 +0000

Here are a few more photos from my recent adventure on St. George Island, in Alaska’s Pribilof Island Group. I have been working on editing the nearly 3,000 photos created over those 3 days. The “Selects” have been narrowed to a much more manageable group of around 30 images. That is 1 “Select” image out of every 100 clicks of the shutter.

There is an old-ish saying that I first heard from Galen Rowell,

“The difference between a professional and an amateur photographer is that a professional takes more bad photographs.”

Over the past few years, I’ve been focusing more on my landscape photography. St. George Island gave me a very unique opportunity to shift my main focus to the incredible wildlife, albeit with a few distractions where I was forced to resort back to my landscape roots – as you will see below.

The wildlife photography was stunning though, such a wide variety of subjects – most within close proximity. As we planned for this trip, I lamented not being able to pack a 600mm lens along with a teleconverter. I was concerned that I might not be able to get the images I desired with just a 400mm lens. We decided to go with what we had, and make the most of the situation.

When we arrived on the island, we were met by one of the very friendly and informative locals who drove us to our hotel – we hurriedly unpacked, grabbed our gear and headed out the door. We made a b-line for the cliffs at the edge of town. A two minute walk. As we neared the sea cliffs, I could hear the ragged snorts and bellows of the northern fur seals, and the cacophony of thousands of sea birds. Beyond the bellowing, snorting and screeching, the pounding surf of the Bering Sea reverberated against the basalt formations and rugged coastline.

Dozens of kittiwakes were circling above the ledge, and I knew there was a decent chance at finding other bird species on the cliff walls below. We approached the precipice slowly, worried we might cause the birds to scatter and fly away if they felt threatened. As I peered over the edge, the world fell away and the rocky coastline revealed itself. My eyes were instantly drawn away from the incredible boulder strewn beach to hundreds upon hundreds of birds perched on rocky outcroppings below my feet. Not just kittiwakes though. Horned puffins. Tufted puffins. Parakeet auklets. Least auklets. Common murres. These were not 600mm + a 1.4X teleconverter subjects. These were (often times) just a few feet away! A 70-200 would do well, but a 400mm lens was perfect. Within 20 seconds of standing upon those cliffs, my worries of ‘not having enough reach’ completely melted away.

More to come! Stay tuned…

Ps – I’m on Google+ now! If you are a member of Google+, please consider adding me to your circle(s).

Beyond Wild. Beyond Words.

David Taylor — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 06:15:09 +0000

To quote Jodie Foster’s portrayal of Dr. Ellie Arroway in Robert Zemeckis’ “Contact”:

No words to describe it. Poetry! They should’ve sent a poet.

Alaska has been kind to me. I’ve visited locations most photographers dream of & seen things most will never witness. But Alaska is always full of surprises.

I spent the past 4 days at a location that I’ve been dreaming of visiting for several years.

St. George Island sits just 45 miles to the east of the Continental Shelf. In this region, everything about the Earth’s crust is precipitous. If you were able to stand atop the ‘cliffs’ above the Continental Shelf, you’d already be in nearly 600 feet of water. But vanishing into the blackness below would be a drop off that would swallow the Grand Canyon whole. Twice. The sea floor drops over 11,000 feet, nearly straight down.

St. George Island rises out of the ocean to form a varied plateau. The island’s volcanic history is evident along every section of coastline. Basalt columns line and comprise the staggering sea cliffs that encompass the island, geometric patterns reminiscent of The Giant’s Causeway, in Ireland. The cliffs rise dramatically from the crashing Bering Sea, some are over 1,000 feet tall. Inland, the treeless landscape has a distinctly arctic feel, rolling plains and tussocks, interspersed with small ponds. At this time of year, you can’t walk 5 steps without being confronted with vast fields of wildflowers, most notably are the arctic lupine.

But the big draw, for me, was the island’s wildlife.

Vast amounts of birds call this area home, between 2-4 million in all. I’m not a great birder, but in our all-too-short time on the island, we spotted several species that I’ve wanted to photograph for quite some time. Not only did we spot them, but they were in numbers. And at very close proximity. Horned and Tufted Puffins, Common Murres, Least Auklets, Murrelets, Red-legged & Black-legged Kittiwakes, Parakeet Auklets and Cormorants. It was utterly incredible.

We (including my good friend, Scott Slone – of Alaska HDTV & my collaborator on our new venture, AlaskaPhotoVideo.com) also had several great encounters with the island’s resident Arctic Fox population. One of the fox families we photographed had 8 very cute pups! Mom was quite busy making multiple runs a day to bring back enough food to sustain the large family. We watched her return to the den with a kittiwake, and saw her carrying a dead puffin another time. Good job, mom!

The people of St. George are very friendly, always offering to help or to tip us to yet another incredible location or situation.

One thing is certain about this location, I can’t adequately articulate the feelings we were overtaken with while on St. George Island. I don’t think it has fully set in yet, how lucky we both were to be able to witness a place so spectacular. I hope my photographs will do a better job at filling in the gaps my words can’t occupy.

In closing, I would like to thank the warm-hearted people of St. George Island. Thank you for welcoming us onto your beautiful island with such grace and helping make our trip such an absolute success. Also, a huge thank you to Pen Air, for providing our transportation to and from the island – the service was great and everyone on staff was fantastic to work with, from beginning to end. Finally, a big thank you to Tanaq Corporation, for all of the ‘on-island’ logistical help, lodging and rental vehicle.

As always, it is a pleasure to travel and work with Scott Slone of Alaska HDTV.

This was a true collaboration, in every sense of the word. Our success is due primarily to your generosity, hard work and vision. I can not wait to work with you again, and revisit St. George Island, in the future.

Some of you might be interested in knowing that I will be offering an exclusive photo tour to St. George Island, next year. I’m still working on the logistics, but I will announce the full details here as soon as possible. Again, to paraphrase “Contact”:

They still want photographers to go… Wanna take a ride?

I’ll have more images up soon, stay tuned…

Hartney Slough Sunset, Cordova, Alaska

David Taylor — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 21:01:20 +0000

Hartney Bay has a lot to offer, photographically, and I visit it often whenever I am in Cordova. In early May, hundreds of thousands of birds use the bay as a resting ground as they migrate north to the Arctic Slope. During June (while guiding my tour), it is not uncommon to find moose wandering the Slough side, amongst tall grasses and wading through the shallow stream. Eagles circle overhead, and bear scat can be found without too much searching.

Who can blame the animals for spending time in the area? It’s incredibly beautiful; with the Orca Inlet across the bay, and Hartney Slough leading to Heney Ridge further inland.

At high tide, the salt water of the eastern Prince William Sound invades the fresh water coursing down from the mountain, and the slough floods in dramatic fashion. Because of the high water, it calms considerably, becoming a nearly flat & mirrored surface to reflect the trees at the back of the slough, the mountains and sky above.

This is an image from this years Wild Lands & Wild Life: Cordova Photo Tour. Taken at sunset, Scott & I trained our cameras at the beautiful grasses displayed in warm light, the alpenglow covered mountains and the darkening clouds overhead.

More photos from Cordova, Alaska to come, stay tuned…

Print of the Month, July 2011 – “Every Day an Eternity”

David Taylor — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 03:19:04 +0000

If you are a subscriber to my twice-monthly newsletter, you may already know that I announced my newest Print of the Month Collector’s piece, today. This new image, created a few weeks ago while cruising the incredible waters of Kenai Fjords National Park, is the 4th image in this new series. If you are not already subscribed, you can read the newsletter here. Be sure to click the link at the top left of the page to check out the archived newsletters, or sign up!

Stay tuned…