Two-Heel Drive

Before dawn on the 22nd of August last year, I got up early to catch the sight of the sun illuminating the peaks of the High Sierra just west of Bishop. Here’s one of the pictures I took:

I stopped at a bend in the road just north of the Grandview Campground in the Eastern Sierra a few miles from the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, home of the oldest known trees on the planet. I was camping out with 4WheelBob and Rick McCharles, and this would be the day when Bob set out on his epic three-day hike to the White Mountain summit.

Turned out I wasn’t alone at that bend in the road. A young guy with a camera had the same idea in his head. We chatted, took some pictures as the sun painted the far peaks pink, and went on our way.

A few minutes ago I checked my Flickr page for fresh comments and noticed one from a guy who added me to his contacts list the other day. Long story short: he was that guy I met that morning. Here’s a link to his picture. Turns out he fetched a bunch of excellent shots of the pines (here’s his photo album).

His name is Jason Armstong; he lives in Boulder Creek and is quite the avid hiker/photographer. His Big Basin shots make me jealous.

Small world, eh?

If you feel like a trip down memory lane, check out:

• My White Mountain album at flickr.
• Rick McCharles’ video of Bob’s trek.
• My favorite images from the adventure.
• Bob’s description of his hike at Backpacker.com.
• My quick summation of the adventure.
• Tenacity, thy name is Bob — and essay I wrote at my personal page that many of you might not have seen.

The light at Mission Peak was amazing this afternoon.

In honor of my previous post linking to my first-ever Mission Peak summit, I decided to head up there again this afternoon. Oddly enough, after days and days of storms and other climactic obnoxiousness, the skies cleared up and revealed the absolutely best time to shoot the peak — late in the afternoon, in winter (it’s apt to be too hot and dry the rest of the year). The sun dipping in the western sky does a wonderful job of lighting up the peak’s west face.

Won’t be much need for hiking descriptions — I did the basic Stanford Avenue route to the top, though I did go around to the back side, which yielded excellent views of the snowy high country in the Diablo Range around Rose Peak.

The pix:

Try this in the morning and the background gets all blown out.

You know my thing with trees. I think this one’s alive, though.

I took the back way primarily because I’ve been sitting on my arse too much of late and getting a bit out of shape, and felt a bit too tired to take the direct route to the peak. The view on the back side was very nice.

Even a bit of snow on the shady side of the peak.

More great views from the summit.

The Summit Post, with Mount Diablo far in the distance.

My favorite shot of the day.

Note the date: Jan. 28. Hard to believe how much green there is already.

I’ve passed these rocks dozens of times and never noticed the colors before — mainly because I’d never been this way with this light.

Unwritten rule: cows must be included in Mission Peak photo essays. Well, I guess it’s written now.

That same tree on the way back down.

Nothing profound about this outing, though I am beginning to see why the better photographers often return to the same settings — the more you see of a place, the more you see subtleties missed on previous visits. Even works for a hack like yours truly.

I bought one of these Gorillapod tripods last spring and finally made up my mind to take it out in the woods and see how handy it is for hiking.

Turns out it works pretty well — it stands on benches, grasps on branches, balances on rocks… there really are about a zillion configurations. It’s lightweight and easy to use, for the most part, but it’s got some limitations, such as:

1. Your camera’s tripod mount can affect how well it works. Canon A-series cams like mine have the mount absurdly installed on the left-hand side, which makes balancing tricky because the cam wants to fall over to one side. Less of a problem on those really small compact cameras, assuming they have tripod mounts.
2. Don’t be lulled by all the tricks it can pull. I set mine up on a rock looking down at a pool of reflecting water, set the timed shutter release (mandatory, I’ll get to that next) and waited. Not that I’m prone to seeing the dark side or anything, but suddenly the image of my cam falling into the creek flooded my brain. Didn’t happen, but I can see how it could. Bottom line: Keep your hands near the cam so you can grab it if it slips.
3. Why timed shutter release is mandatory: Because it doesn’t hold your camera firm like normal tripod would. It’s kinda floppy. If you try to click the shutter yourself while the cam’s mounted on the Gorillapod, you’re apt to get enough shake to defeat the pod’s purpose. So, learn how your timed shutter release works and give it 10 seconds to let the cam stop shaking after you let go.

Overall it’s a handy little doo-dad for day hikes, but no substitute for a real tripod. There’s also a larger size for big-body SLRs, though I gotta say I’d be reluctant to rest a thousand-dollar camera on one.

Ask Steve why he never takes a camera hiking and he’ll mention the boxes & boxes of slides from backpacking trips of days gone by that he never looks at anymore.

Then there’s Dan, who could equip a polar expedition on what he’s shelled out for high-end camera bodies, lenses, tripods & such.

I’m in the middle — I don’t want to carry the weight, spend the money or endure the aggravation of a bigger, better camera. My digital point-and-shoot brings home OK pictures most weekends; the quality depends mostly on the scenery.

A few conclusions based on a few years of hiking, taking pictures and posting them online:

• Image stabilization technology is the best thing to happen to cameras since the flashbulb. If you’re looking for a light point-and-shoot for hiking & backpacking, pay extra to get it (I’m thinking it’ll be pretty much standard on all digital cameras in a couple years.)
• Cameras that use double-A batteries are far more flexible — you can buy a recharger and a bunch of cheap rechargeable batteries and always have some power ready. GPS units often also use double-A batteries, so you get multiple uses.
• Pictures you plan to air publicly should be cropped for best effect.
• If you’re planning to post a bunch of pictures, leave out redundant images, even if they’re from different locales.
• Master all your current camera’s functions before you buy another one with even more functions.
• Backlighting is evil. You can get some cool silhouette effects, but otherwise, make sure the sun’s over your shoulder.

Well, these are the first that spring to mind … feel free to add suggestions.

Stephen W. Oachs of San Jose won first place in the “Mammals, Amateur” category of National Wildlife Magazine’s 2007 photo contest.

Oachs photographed play-fighting grizzlies near Yellowstone National Park at a nonprofit preserve for bears and wolves. The rest of the contest winners here.

The pix put my shutterbuggery to shame. Stephen’s Web site is here, photoblog here. Here’s his photographic philosophy:

I have never taken any formal training. What I’ve learned has been from a lot of trial and error, photography websites and books. I have been asked “how do you get images like this?”. The answer is simple, 1) Using the right equipment and 2) know where you’re going to shoot. It is very difficult to go on a weekend trip to a location and come away with a dozen great photos. But the post cards in the gift shop always look so great, Why? Because they are usually shot by local photographers — those who live in that area and have 365 days a year to capture a scene in just the right time of day and light. Good photographers don’t walk around taking great shots. They learn the subject or location and choose when is best.

Light is everything. If you think about a camera and how it works, you are painting your picture with the light that enters the lens. Learning how your camera works and how to control it goes a long way. The magical hours for light are early morning (sunrise) and dusk (sunset). The light is indirect and makes for ideal photography conditions. I like to take advantage of that pristene, early morning light and then use the day to scout for other locations, when the light is often too harsh.

Translation: you have to stop walking long enough for something interesting to arrive in your viewfinder. This one always foils me.

Cynthia caught a squad doing a helicopter rescue drill at the park over the weekend.