Skateboarding and Explosions in Slo-mo... need I say more?

Gales of November - Still Teasing

Long exposure on the beach at Agawa Bay. 

So, I am waiting to hear back from the editor at C&K magazine. I am not sure what I should publish on my blog and what I shouldn't. What I'm worried about is devaluing an image by posting it online.

In the meantime here are some more images from the event to help you get a feel for the area. Lake Superior Provincial Park is an amazing place. If you ever get a chance to make it up that way – Go! 

More to come.

The place I called home for three nights

4 image pano of the area around Sinclair Cove

Dave, Dave, and Stan exploring the pictographs

Not a bad way to end a day

Paddler getting ready to put in at Sand River

It was a good day of surfing... now time for dinner!

Relaxing back at the ranch

Long exposure of Agawa Bay - 1 hr

Gales of November - Teaser

Always good to leave a note

What a great weekend. I had the opportunity to paddle in a beautiful area, met some amazing people, and just plain had a good time. However, I'm going to be late for work if I sit here much longer, but I thought I would try and get a couple images out there. I will be post more later... check back!

Greg OUT!

Getting ready to paddle at Sinclair Cove

Pictographs along the shore featuring Mishipeshu the cause of all rapids, waves and whirlpools

Dave and Dave under the pictographs

Dave working his way back to the parking lot

Just another sunset over Lake Superior

Ultimate Backcountry Machine...

Seats 4 comfortably with space for gear or dogs...

More Surfing Fun on Lake Superior...

Well, the waves were pretty decent again...

I saw the forecast for today and it looked pretty promising. The wind was going to be blowing all day and the waves were forecast to start picking up in the evening. The only question was whether or not things would get good before it got dark. Yesterday after seeing the forecast I called Timmy to find out if he wanted to join me. The last time we went out I had the wetsuit and I thought that it was only fair for him to get to use the wetsuit this time. My plan was to use the drysuit I'm borrowing (thanks Sammy) and head out in the kayak. However, things did not go as planned.

When we got out to Mclain State Park we found the lake in good shape. Timmy finished putting on the suit and headed out, while I grabbed the camera to snap a few shots. I should have known better than to grab my camera. Once I started taking photos I couldn't stop. I never did make it back to the car to unload my kayak and the images are ok, but shooting in such low light means using a higher ISO than I would prefer. With my D300 I find that much above ISO 800 and the images start getting noisier than I would like. What are you going to do... most of these images were shot at ISO 1250, F2.8, 1/200. As things got darker I just bumped the ISO and the later images got up to ISO 3200... and were still really dark, hence the conversion to black and white and some pushing around of the sliders in Lightroom.

It was a good night. I'm hoping things pick up again in the next couple of days as I would like to get out again. In the meantime enjoy the pics.

Later

Cowabunga! - First Time Surfing on Lake Superior

wow... aren't these suits attractive

Let me preface this post with...I had/have no idea what I was doing.

Now that we have that out of the way...

Wow, yesterday was a ton of fun. My friend Sam was out of town and had left his board and suit in case the conditions were such that I could get out and give it a go. So, I had been watching the weather for the last couple of days and yesterday was the day.

I started the day off by getting up early and heading out to McLain State Park a little after 7:30am. It was still dark, but I wanted to get out there and get ready so I could be in the water as soon as it was light enough as I had to be to work at 10:00. Finally around 8:00 it was light enough for me to feel comfortable getting out in the water. Standing out in the wind I was feeling a bit of a chill, but that would soon go away once I got in the water.

You would think that getting up early to go jump into water that's in the low to mid 40's with air temps a touch below 40 degrees isn't the smartest thing in the world. Also, it might be hard to believe that you could be comfortable in said conditions. Well, I just want you all to know that it is smart, and you stay plenty warm.

The first couple of times I paddled out through the waves just to see what that was like. First, it is a great way to warm up. Secondly, it's a lot of work and I found it more enjoyable to run out to the end of the breakwall and then jump in.

So a little after 9:00 I decided I needed to get out and get on my way to work. When I got to the parking lot Pete Rynes had shown up and Mike Dziobak wasn't too far behind. I wished them well, went home, showered, dropped Mari off at school, and made it to work before 10 after 10... not bad.

Work was fun, but the waves weren't going away. Timmy Kostner called and wondered if I was headed out again and decided to come along. I left work at 5:00 and headed home to grab a drysuit for Timmy and to put on the wetsuit... it's a pain in the ass. We then headed back out to McLain.

When we got there Pete was just leaving and Mike was still at it. We got ready and then I made a couple of runs before Timmy gave it a go. I think not having a hood kind of deterred him from going again. He ended up leaving and I stayed out for a while longer.

In all I think I spent a little over 3 hours in the water yesterday. I didn't get up once, but by the end I could get on all fours... but not completely stand up. It's a lot harder than people make it look. Monday is looking like another good day. Hopefully I'll make it out again.

Here are some pics from Timmy's camera

Later.

Me... taking the plunge!

Some wave action...

Mikey making it look easy...

Timmy giving it a go...

Surfboards make great body boards...

This was a pretty typical scene...

Timmy and Tucker... all smiles!

Cokin Filter System Review...

UPDATE: Here's an advantage to the Cokin P-system that you might not be aware of... When the adapter ring is on Nikon's 70-200 2.8 it doesn't stick out very far and is almost impossible to use. You can unscrew the filter a bit and the filter holder will go on. Now what this means is that I can leave the adapter ring on and my hood will fit over it. Now you can't use the hood and the filters at the same time, but when not using the filters I don't have to take the adapter ring off... cool... yes it is.


Alright... now initially I was going to write a big bitchy post about how much this system sucks... but I don't think that will be as productive as it could be.

What I am going to do is complain about all the other reviews out there. Before purchasing this setup I did some research and a lot of people were saying that the P-series holder sucked. However, they were stating why it sucked and in the meantime it appeared like they continued to use the system. I don't see how writing a review of something and just saying it sucks helps anyone. Maybe it will make you feel better, but it's not productive.

Now, in the face of all the poor reviews I went ahead and purchased the Cokin P-series filter holder, 77mm adapter ring, and the P121S (soft, 3 stop graduated ND). Now, I don't expect too much from the filter. It was cheap and if I like what I see than I will invest in something made out of glass from one of those other companies.

It's the filter holder system that's putting a twist in my knickers. The actual holder itself is pretty decent. It didn't cost much, it seems pretty durable, and it holds the filters securely. Not too much to complain about here except some vignetting... but I expected that... so it's not really a fault.

The thing that sucks about this system, and I'm sure many of the other reviewers just forgot to specify this, is the adapter ring. This ring threads into your lens and creates the flange that the filter holder mounts onto. The 77mm size doesn't consist of very much metal and the one I received was all bunged to hell and required quite a bit of "adjusting" to get it even close to being flat/true so that I could screw it onto my lenses without feeling like I was going to bung up the threads.

Now, if you are using a lens with a smaller diameter... I think you will be just fine. These adapter rings will have significantly more material which should help keep them true throughout the manufacturing/shipping process. As for using the P-series filters on lenses with a 77mm diameter... probably shouldn't do it. You should most definitely be using the "Z-Pro" series which is 100mm and whose adapter ring should be less prone to getting bunged up. Yeah... it is more expensive, but you just paid almost $2000 for that 24-70 f2.8... remember, you get what you pay for.

So, I guess I don't really have a beef with the Cokin filter system. I should have bought the Z-pro system, but I didn't. I'll play around with this and if I like it I will upgrade.

I hope this is helpful. If not let me know... I hate wasting my time reading useless info. Don't let me waste yours.

Later.

Playing around in post... and thinking...

This evening I was thinking about my upcoming trip to Ontario to photograph the Gales of November. I've never done anything like this before... I wanted to... I want to... but I thought that I would get to assist someone else before it was my turn to step up to the plate. Now, I'm not worried about producing great images. I've got quite a few ideas, and in the end I feel like it will all come down to conditions and time. What I am worried about is all of the other stuff that transpires that is not directly related to creating the image, but is essential to the image making process.

Things like getting to the site of the event, feeding myself, lodging, equipment insurance, etc... Who is going to pay for these things. I've been told that I will receive a $100 travel premium and I'm sure that's not going to cover my expenses. Part of me doesn't care as this is one of those opportunities that I can't pass up... and I get to go kayaking. However, another part of me knows that doing jobs like this isn't a sustainable business model. What I'm hoping to glean are those things that would make this employment path sustainable.

Also, I was thinking about the fact that the information I received concerned with delivering my images has me providing the RAW files. Now, I totally understand wanting to see the RAW file to make sure that images weren't fabricated and that the photographer is doing their job with the camera and not in photoshop. However, the RAW files will need to be processed and I am not comfortable letting someone else do my processing. And part of me isn't really that comfortable letting someone else crop my image, as that too changes the story that the image tells. I should have control of the way that my images are presented. Good or bad... it should ultimately fall on me.

Hopefully I am just naive and most of these issues will be cleared up once I talk to the editor.

Anyway, with that in mind... what do you guys think of the images below? This first one is the original image... more or less. I'm sure that when I originally processed it there were some black and white point adjustments, a curves adjustment to add some contrast, and probably a little tweaking of the colors. Not totally sure on those, but those are my typical goto's when in photoshop or lightroom.

The second image is something I worked up this evening pretty quick-like. While looking at it this time I felt it was a little "cool". So, I warmed it up a little, bumped the colors and the contrast, and added a little creative vignette which most of you probably wouldn't/don't even notice.

So, I guess what I would like to know is which one you like the most and why? Does that fact that I goosed one in photoshop bother you? When you saw the photo at the top did you think, "That has to be photoshopped"?

Please feel free to leave any other comments...

Later.

Seattle - Day 2 & 3

So, the big plan for this trip was to get out camping somewhere. I've been out to Seattle a couple of times now, and the city is great, but it is still a city. Last year over Thanksgiving I was out for an extended amount of time and found myself really bored of city life. This time I was determined to stay busy. Also, with Justin coming out, I knew I would have a partner in crime no matter what we decided to do. So, we went out there knowing that we were going to try and go camping, but not really having a plan as to where and when. On Sunday (day 2) Justin and I stopped at REI and to try and gather some information concerning the different backpacking options in the area. Inside we were greeted by a woman that was extremely determined to help us and had a lot of great information. However, in hindsight, the trail she suggested didn't meet the criteria that we provided. So, despite her enthusiasm I am going to have to give her 2 stars out of 5.

After all of the information gathering, we decided to tackle the Thunder Creek Trail in the North Cascades. That night when Eric got back into town we still needed to to some convincing and eventually he decided to take another two days off from work to come with us. The next morning we got up kind of early and headed into REI so that Eric could pick up some hiking pants and a pair of hiking boots. Then we got in the car and started driving. We only had two days to be out as Johnny had Wednesday and Thursday off and I wanted to be back to be able to hang out with him. Also, Eric was happy to go hiking, but I could tell that he was feeling like he needed to get back to work as soon as he could.

In the end it as a beautiful drive up into the mountains and the hiking we got to do was great. The colors were out and the temps were perfect. We ended up having to do a little hiking in the dark to reach our campsite, but it was all good. I like these little adventures. Yeah they're a little lame, but we got out. We weren't stuck back in the city wandering around buy overpriced coffee and wishing we were somewhere else. Also, the company couldn't have been better and this trip is something that could easily be repeated on a weekend.

Anyway, you may have noticed that my picture taking has been a little sporadic. Lately, I've been struggling with whether or not to take my camera, and even sometimes when I have my camera with, whether or not to take it out and take photos. It's not that I'm getting tired of taking photos, but I do feel that sometimes I get caught up in the image making and forget to enjoy the experience at hand. On top of that I want to start messing around with video and was using my little P&S to capture some different moments in order to have the raw materials to play with. So, as you will notice I didn't take too many photos on the way to the Cascades or on the initial hike out. On the return trip I did decide to pull the camera out and that is why there are more images from our trip back to the car.

So... here are some images from the trip... Like Them!

Greg Out!

Can you say distraction?

Justin just couldn't resist getting a coffee from a bikini clad barista...

Getting ready in the parking lot...

Creepy shot of Eric lit with my headlamp...

Home sweet home...

All I can say is that 3 guys in a 2 guy tent = warm...

Eric refilling his water bottles -- the water here tasted awesome!

Self portrait... I never get to be in any of the photos

Seattle - Day 1 & 2...

Typical photo from Kerry Park...

So, I'm back from Seattle. It is always a lot of fun out there, and this time it was especially fun because my friend Justin from Idaho made the trip also. I don't often get to see him, and because I'm so bad at answering my phone... I don't get to talk to him that much either. Anyway, the plan was to not have much of a plan. We knew that we were going to try and hang out with my brothers John and Eric, that we were going to try and go hiking somewhere, and that, if possible, we would try to fly down to Portland to visit Mari who was attending a conference.





On Saturday I flew into Seatac and met Johnny in the baggage claim area, he gave me a key and told me how to get to their place. Johnny was working a double so he had to go back to work and wouldn't get home until around 7am. In the meantime, Justin picked me up and we headed into the city, found their place, and went to bed.

The next day Johnny had to work again, and Eric wasn't due back from Grand Rapids until late. So, Justin and I decided to hit the city on foot. However, before that could happen we needed to get out of the house. Apparently, the place where John and Eric were living had been broken into a couple of weeks ago. The door had been kicked in and the door and frame had been broken. You'd think this would have been something to fix quickly. However, the landlord thought that the tenants should pay for it, while Eric and Johnny thought otherwise. In the interim, as a quick fix, the landlord had screwed the door shut. This meant that you had to go through the garage or squeeze around back.

Here's Justin making himself smaller so we can leave the apartment...

How does Johnny do it?

After escaping from the apartment Justin and I headed towards downtown, stopping first at REI to get some info about backpacking in the Cascades and the Olympics and to look around. Unfortunately, there was a sale taking place and Justin was forced to pick up a few odds and ends. Below you can see a creeper photo of Justin and a freaked out check-out girl.

After REI we swung by Glazer's Camera store... just took a look around, then decided that we were hungry and started looking for places to eat. We just happened upon Zeek's, a pizza joint near the space needle. I had eaten here once before and started really craving their Thai pizza. I convinced Justin that this is where we needed to eat and we ended up getting the Thai Pizza and another one called the Cherry Bomb... both were awesome!

After lunch we continued downtown stopping for coffee near the Catholic Seaman's Club... don't ask... we didn't. We then cruised through Pikes market as things were closing up, made a detour past the gum wall, then turned around stopping at the space needle before heading back to the apartment.

Approaching the Gum Wall...

Justin recently purchased himself a pretty nice dslr... the T1i from Canon, and he was looking for opportunities to use it. So, after resting for a little while we decided to jump in the car and go looking for a place to take a good photo of the city. You'd think that we would have just gotten on Flickr found some images of the city we liked and looked to see where they were taken. However, that's not how we roll... so we just jumped in the car, fired up the GPS, and started driving.

The first place we ended up was off limits to motor vehicles and would have required some significant walking to get to where we wanted to go. The second place we ended up might have had a decent view if there hadn't been a marina in the way. The third place we stopped had some good views... but wasn't great. The fourth place we ended up didn't have any good views, but the street the park was on offered a unique vantage point.

At this point we were rather close to calling it a night. However, many of the streets around this location continued to go up. So... what the heck... let's see where they go... "Hey look, there's another park up ahead"... "Kerry park..? Well, let's check it out".

What we didn't know was that this was the place where everyone goes to take photos of the city. There were buses dropping people off with their cameras... it was pretty crazy, although not incredibly busy. Anyway, the view was pretty decent and we did take a photo or two. Below, after taking few photos of my own, I made it my mission to document Justin documenting the city.

After the photo excursion we headed back to the apartment and waited for Johnny and Eric to get home, then went to bed.

What happened next will have to wait... Seattle - Day 3&4 coming soon