The late, great Galen Rowell crafted the term “image maturity” to describe a quality of an image. In his 1993 book, The Art of Adventure Photography, Rowell explained that “immature” subjects require straight-forward depiction; with “mature” subjects, subtlety or originality prevail. He used a Snow Leopard and a deer as an example. A Snow Leopard […]
Photo Tip: Bird Photography Kayak __ 07/2009
I’ve photographed birds with a 500mm f/4 from kayaks since 2003, when I mustered the courage to risk the big, expensive glass for the task. Since then I’ve used the same set-up in a dozen or so different kayaks—kayaks from my own fleet, outfitter kayaks and rentals. All of these were closed-deck boats, which offer […]
Photo Tip: 10-day Power Trip ___ 06/2009
Gearing up to photograph for a ten-day trip without power—in this instance a sea kayak trip—has two obvious concerns: flash memory and batteries. You need enough capacity in both to shoot through to the finish. Still, ten days isn’t so long that you can’t keep it simple. On a recent trip around Isla Carmen in […]
Around Isla Carmen
An April, 2009, guided trip with Sea Kayak Adventures around Isla Carmen in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, with cactus and agave blooming, birds nesting, and the water refreshingly cool for snorkeling (sans wetsuit). April, 2009. Isla Carmen, Sea of Cortez, Baja, MX. (revised 6/14/09) ”Whale Shark!” A huge maw, a white-spotted gray body, a length maybe 25 […]
Sea Kayaking: Baja, Sea of Cortez
An early November, 2008, guided trip with Sea Kayak Adventures to Baja, Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, an ideal time for warm water, pleasing temperatures, moderate wind, and—lucky for us—blooming wildflowers in the aftermath of hurricane Norbert. November, 2008, Loreto, Baja, MX. My wife Kate and I are on a guided kayak trip with Sea Kayak Adventures, joined by […]
Orca Whales, Johnstone Strait
On a guided trip with Sea Kayak Adventures, we kayak Johnstone Strait off Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, to see Orca Whales. September, 2008. Telegraph Cove, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. The afternoon skies are a bright-overcast—photographer’s light—with just a wisp of a breeze that would make pulling the paddle through the tranquil water a joy if […]
Packing a Small Sea Kayak ____ 02/2008
Photographers carry a lot of photo gear, so a big-volume sea kayak logically meets the need. A long, large kayak can be fast as well, but can also be a heavy lift solo, and a bear wrestle in wind or in surf. Most photographers aren’t burly-burly men. They just want a kayak to get them […]
Photo Tip: Going Solo? Go Gorillapod! ___ 01/2008
Edited 03/15/2013. I often carry a Bogen Super Clamp or a tabletop tripod on kayak trips. The Clamp attaches to kayak U-bolts, rudders, or in camp from tree branches; the tabletop tucks under deck bungie for an action shot or gets the low-angle perspective while ashore. The Clamp weighs a full pound, so I never […]
Photo Tip: People in Nature ___ 11/2007
A missing element to make many a great scenic saleable can be pretty obvious. It’s an element that’s also ignored, overlooked, forgotten and even belittled by us nature photographers. Yet it’s an element we find endlessly fascinating, an element that grabs the attention in every scene. That element, of course, is people, and there’s no […]
Glacier Bay with Alaska On The Home Shore
Aboard the kayak mothership Home Shore, we paddle the kayaker must-do Glacier Bay National Park in Southeast Alaska for the tidewater glaciers, bears, whales and birds. May, 2008. Glacier Bay National Park, SE Alaska. The morning of our departure from Sitka aboard kayak mothership Home Shore (Alaska on the Home Shore), Captain Jim Kyle announced that the […]