Whether you know the full story or not (we usually don’t) compelling images often have a story attached. Sometimes creating the story for ourselves is what captivates our interest. Or sometimes placing ourselves into the image/story is what causes us to gaze at an image for more than the 1.3 seconds it takes to scroll through on our Instagram feed. The idea of the story behind the image is the topic of this post. Having just returned from a trip to the mainland, several of my recent images have stories I think I’d like to share. As such, this may be the beginning of a short series. This isn’t a short story, but if you’ve ever tried to go that extra step and move from taking snapshots to photographs, I think it may resonate with you.  

A few weeks ago, we took a trip to Washington and Oregon to visit family. Even before my daughter and I stepped onto the airplane I had already found myself thinking and struggling to come up with a plan about how I would most efficiently spend my time once we finally arrived in my childhood hometown for a week-long visit with my family. The limited time and limited resources (we weren’t going to have our own car on the trip) all promised to make my planning even more challenging. On the surface, the time seemed pretty good. It was the end of the lunar cycle, which meant dark skies and, because we were headed to the deserts of Central Washington, the chace that there’d be a nice clear night, perfect for shooting the Milky Way, was high. 

The schedule was simple enough,too. We’d arrive in Seattle on Sunday evening, hop in my dad’s new, he’d made the trip over that day to pick us up at the airport, and drive the 2 ½ hours to Yakima, the only home I really knew before moving away for college. We’d get into Yakima late, then we’d have the week to spend with family and a few old friends. My wife would arrive from Las Vegas on Tuesday and I imagined the week would be spent swimming in my sister and brother-in-law’s pool and watching our daughter cultivate friendships with her cousins. Should be time to shoot in there. No problem. There were a few other obligations peppered in, but I was confident that I’d have plenty of time to take photos, something I had never really done in Yakima before.

I thought I was pretty well prepared on that end. I did my research on various photography websites. I’d become reasonably familiar with my newly purchased Canon RP, and collected the gear I thought I needed for the trip (I will cover my packing/gear list in another post). I had some very specific shots in mind and some inklings about a few day trips I wanted to do from Yakima (stayed tuned for those blog posts!). The one thing I didn’t have, though, was a solid idea of where I could shoot around town. I wasn’t too keen about trying to get up for sunrises (in the summer, sunrises in Washington are bloody early), but the opposite of that is that sunset is late, after 9 pm, and I could do that after whatever family dinners that were planned and after my daughter had gone to bed.

Monday and Tuesday were quickly filled and before I knew it, it was Wednesday. After some more research and a few scouting trips around town, I finally settled trying to shoot the Fred G. Redmond Bridge that traverses Selah Creek just north of town on I-82. It’s a cool arch bridge and, because it’s on the Interstate, I thought I might get lucky and catch some light trails from traffic, as well. The plan was this: I could do the normal bedtime routine with my daughter and then make the quick 10-minute drive from my dad’s house to the bridge. There is a rest area just before the bridge which would not only provide an easy, safe place to park, but also a reasonably clear and unobstructed view. With any luck, I could make the rest stop, park, and find a decent composition all before the sun went down at 9:08. I’d be looking east which isn’t ideal, but I hoped there’d be cool light in the sky anyways. 

As most of my plans go, this one hit a snag early. I left the house a little later than I’d planned. Regardless, I hopped into my dad’s car and got out of town quickly. As I made my way up the hill outside of Selah, I remembered: the rest stop for north-bound traffic was ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE CANYON! I thought fast as I drove and weighed my options. I considered pulling over on the side of the interstate and shooting from the side of the road instead of the rest stop. This idea seemed pretty good because then I’d actually be shooting west, into the sunset, which was exactly what I wanted. The downside was, it was probably a little more risky than I was admitting at the time. A second option was to drive to the rest stop for northbound traffic and try to walk back to the canyon. Again, I’d be shooting west, so that might work, too! My last option was to turn around, come back south, and then I could follow the original plan and pull over at the original rest stop. Again, I’d be shooting away from the sunset, but it would definitely make the whole process easier. 

With echos of my wife’s voice in my head, “be careful” (translation: “don’t do anything stupid”) I opted for the safer options. I drove to the rest stop headed northbound and got out of the car. I knew pretty quick this wasn’t going to work. I was nearly two miles past the bride and an arm of the canyon stood between me being close enough to the bride for a realistic shot. In short, there wasn’t a feasible way to get to where I needed to go. 

Back into the car. Tick, tick, tick. The sun is setting now, and I realized I needed to move quick or I could miss it all. At this point, I was struck by another realization that, 25 years ago, when I was driving this road regularly, would’ve been a problem I could have identified with very little problem and/or fanfare. Unfortunately, not only have I not LIVED in Yakima for multiple decades, even when I visit I don’t always drive this route. Along this 30 mile stretch of I-82, nearly the entire way to Ellensburg, I could not envision a single place to turn around. Well, shit. The quick drive didn’t bother me, nor did the lost evening or premium gasoline that I would have to replace. The biggest disappointment now is that I’ve wasted one of the few sunsets I was available to shoot over the course of this entire week. Just as I was having this thought and discomforting realization, something incredible happened: I crested one of the hills and, to my absolute and total astonishment, I witnessed a blazing red/orange sky that I would have NEVER seen, if I hadn’t driven that far north. 

This was, quite possibly, the savior to my night and much too good to pass up. Now, if you have ever driven that 30+ mile stretch, you’re probably thinking the exact same thing I was at that moment: THERE’S NOTHING OUT HERE! No trees, no buildings, no grass, no wildflowers. I-82 runs along a US Army training facility, commonly referred to as the Firing Range. A barbed wire fence divides Department of Defense sagebrush from Department of Transportation sagebrush, but that’s not helping my immediate problem. 

At times like these a comment from Chris Burkard, a professional photographer, often rolls through my consciousness like the prices of stocks on CNBC’s ticker: “If you’re not willing to suffer for your craft, then I don’t know what to tell you.” Keeping my own safety (and that of my dad’s new car) in mind, I made the executive decision that I had to capture this. I pulled safely off the highway and braved rattlesnakes, slippery/wet terrain, barbed wire, and the US Army and ran to the top of North Umtanum Ridge. 

Now, I’m a poor judge of distance (and, though I meant to, I forgot to check my Apple Watch). I’m sure it was less that ¼ of a mile up the hill, but in my defense, I imagine I gained about 200-300 vertical feet (a quick review of my workout app on that day shows I climbed “20 flights of stairs”) from the road to the summit of the hill. As I gasped for breath and felt my jeans and socks soak through from the wet brush, I quickly set up my trusty Sirui tripod, mounted, and switched on my RP. This image was my reward for all that hard work. 

After firing off a few more shots with slightly different compositions and settings, I realized the light wasn’t going to improve any more than when I first got there. I packed up my stuff and headed back down to the car. Going down is always a little more difficult. Maybe because it was wet and slippery, maybe because it was a bit darker, or maybe it was because I wasn’t in as much of a hurry. Either way, I got down without incident and resumed the drive, still heading north towards Ellensburg. 

A few more miles and I found a military exit which allowed me to head back south. I was already there and there was still light in the sky, so for good measure, I pulled over at the rest stop and shot the image of the bridge I’d originally intended as I set out that evening. 

Neither image is technically perfect and I could spend time finding some pretty obvious faults (or things I would improve on next time) with each. Many people may not find either image all that aesthetically pleasing, but to someone who spent their formative years hiking, camping, and mountain biking through terrain just like this, both images actually make me smile. And the story just makes them that much better. 

Thanks for reading! A hui hou!

The post What goes into a photograph? appeared first on CloudBreak Photography.

It’s a few days after Christmas and, because of the
materialism that surrounds most people’s Christmases, it seems like a good time
to post this blog. I’ve been thinking about this topic for quite a while and
more so over the past few weeks. Photography is expensive and it doesn’t take
too much for it to become VERY expensive. Once someone makes the decision that
they would like to get serious about photography (i.e. start taking pictures
with something more serious than just their phone), they can easily find
themselves running up bills that can easily stretch into the thousands of
dollars.

When I started taking pictures a little more seriously about
a year ago, I didn’t have a whole lot of money to invest. I had an entry-level
DSLR (Canon Rebel T3) that my wife had bought me for Christmas when we first
moved to Hawaii in 2011. After a trip to the Big Island, I decided I was going
to get more serious and actually put some money into my hobby. As a buddy of
mine put it: I could either invest some money (and time) into the hobby, or I
should stop complaining about not getting good results! The easiest place to
spend money, and perhaps the most exciting, is to invest in a new camera. Everyone
likes getting new toys and cameras can do some really cool things these days.
Plus, every good photographer has an expensive camera, right?!?! So…if I want
to be a good photographer, I should get a fancy camera! Makes sense, right?

Let’s think about this for a moment, though: The common trap
that most of us fall into is that if we spend more on our gear, our product
will be better. Logical thinking will tell us that is just silly. In
photography, we try to remind ourselves that it’s the person behind the camera
that makes the biggest difference, not the camera itself. To compare it to
another art medium, it’s like saying I’ll be a better painter if I had nice
brushes (BTW I’m a horrible painter). Same logic with photography. That being
said, much like a more expensive car, a more expensive camera will do things
mine cannot. It may work better in low light. It may take photos much faster.
It may make my life a little easier, but it won’t necessarily make my
photography any “better.”

It was difficult, but I made a decision last year, with some
help from a few trusted mentors whose work I highly respect and appreciate, to
invest in three very different areas. Instead of the shiny new camera, I chose
to invest in two new lenses (50 mm prime and 10-18 mm zoom) for my older camera,
post processing software, and education.

High quality lenses, or glass, really can make a difference
in images. Up until that point, I was using my kit lens (the lens that comes
packaged with the camera body) and didn’t realize how much of a difference it
does make. Much like anything, the quality and price of the lenses can vary
greatly. Personally, it didn’t make sense for me to go REALLY high-end, so I
spent about $400 on two lenses. This provided a better product than the plastic
kit lens that came with my camera, but didn’t break the bank. These are the
only two lenses I have used since. I don’t use my kit lens anymore and I’ve had
zero regrets.

The second area of focus I chose was post processing
software. Not every casual photographer owns and spends time on post processing
software, but many people (including myself when I first started) don’t
understand exactly what post processing is. Post processing does not
necessarily mean you are distorting images or changing colors to manipulate
something to the point that it is “fake.” My goal, when I edit, is to represent
on screen (or print) what the scene looked like to my eyes when I shot it. Sometimes
I might take out a distracting branch or leaf (or trash can). But I’m not
usually spending my time making a totally surreal image. Sometimes that can be
fun and I’m not judging anyone if that’s what they like to do, but that’s just
not my style. One thing I realized: post processing is a skill that can
certainly improve your images. Even if you are using the software to simply crop
or straighten the horizon, it can be the difference between a poor image and a
good one.

The final area I mentioned was education. As I mentioned I wanted my investment to help improve my skills. Education, much like post processing, has the potential to make me “better.” This is where, in my opinion, most people should focus most of their time, energy, and money. There is always something new to learn. I recently made an investment that I’m VERY excited about: I purchased an annual pass to watch as many online classes as I want through an online company called Creative Live. Among other topics, they offer photography classes that cover everything from basics (which I watched last year) to highly specialized classes covering very specific areas of photography. I’ve also taken classes in Photoshop and post processing software.

In terms of dollars and cents, the amount I spend on my educational investment is approximately 5-10% of what I would have been spending on a new camera and everything that goes with it (lenses, etc.). In terms of security of the investment, education is something I will never lose, break, or have stolen. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been tempted to buy some new, pretty camera body that will take amazing pictures. As I said, I’ve been shooting with my T3 (which has been discontinued) and I think I get pretty good results. I’ve sold a few prints and recently released a calendar that has gotten a lot of support (thank you, everyone who ordered a calendar!). As a co-worker of mine said, “you’re making money with your camera. You don’t need a new one!” I’ve rented some fancier cameras and they are definitely a lot of fun. They do things mine doesn’t and, because mine is pretty old, particularly in “technology years,” I’ve realized that some of the things those fancy cameras do are actually pretty basic these days, such as having an electronic level built-in. Someday I will invest in a new, shiny camera, and maybe sooner rather than later, but at this point I almost consider my T3 as a badge of honor. And, if I drop it on the rocks (again), or it gets stolen, or breaks, or gets soaked by a wave, it won’t be as traumatic.

Everyone works differently and I can’t say that my path was the best. It seems to be working for me, though, and I think it’s a good plan to get me where I want to go. As we start into 2019, I hope my skills keep improving and, who knows…I may just acquire some new gear along the way!

The post How do I improve? appeared first on CloudBreak Photography.

I have never done a blog before. I have never made a website before. This is all new to me (and moving at the pace one would expect from a person in this position). Along the way, I’m hoping to help other people who were (and maybe still are) in the same position as me, so here’s a little bit of my story:

Photography is something I get really excited about and has always been something I wanted to do better. I initially started in high school. I borrowed by grandad’s awesome SLR (film!) camera and spent several months trying to figure out how to work it and how to make images that would lead to a passing grade. I took photos of my friends, I took photos of inanimate objects, and just about everything else I could find. I took the camera when we went mountain biking and hiking and camping. I learned how to develop film in a darkroom. I have good memories of those days, but didn’t continue to put a lot of energy into getting better once my class was over.

Fast forward to college graduation. My dad gave me my first point-and-shoot digital camera, a Canon (I think it was 5 or 6 megapixels!) but I had no idea what digital was about or how it was the different (or the same) from that old SLR. I’d seen a friend in Europe with one, but it went through batteries in about 20 minutes and just seemed too big. Instead, while I was living in Europe, I’d gotten another film camera, but all you did was drop in the film cartridge. No winding. I don’t even remember what they were called now, but they were the next big thing for those of us who couldn’t drop a couple grand on a digital camera, which was very new technology in in 1999-2000. I got some great photos, but they were really what most people would consider snapshots. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…but here’s an example of how I didn’t really know where or how to focus my efforts in the right places. Even with that first digital camera. I had no idea how to use it, aside from, quite literally, point-and-shoot. That digital camera my dad gave me went to Japan with me. We did some cool stuff together. It also took good photos and its capacity, almost certainly, exceeded my ability.

Over the next few years, when I had a little bit of money, I replaced that original digital camera, but with another point-and-shoot. An Olympus this time! I was investing in the wrong equipment because I didn’t have any knowledge to back-up what I was trying to do. I took it on some awesome trips: back to Europe, Costa Rica, New Zealand, and the Cook Islands. I look at some of my photos from those trips and REALLY wish I’d had a more versatile camera (and, more importantly, knew how to use it)!

Fast forward a few more years and, after talking to my wife for a long time about wanting to get into photography, and seeing some friends go that direction, she finally got me a DSLR. If you spend any time reading photography articles/blogs/etc. you’ll hear over and over again…it’s not about the gear! Very true. I’m still shooting on the same DSLR from Costco that my wife gave me our first year in Hawaii, 2010. It’s a Canon T3. It’s basic, but it’s been great for learning. I have upgraded the lenses (which made a HUGE difference), and I’ve rented some VERY nice gear, but the biggest change came from actually putting time (and some money) into learning HOW to use the camera. I took a few online classes (which have become quite additive) and found some great folks who have offered some guidance and mentorship when it comes to this stuff. And you know what, it’s fun! I’m enjoying myself a whole lot more now simply because I’m getting the reward of seeing some pretty cool images that I’ve taken.

I also put some time and money into learning Photoshop and Lightroom. It makes a huge difference. If I had only known! In addition, now that I have very little free time, I’ve been putting in more time at the RIGHT time. I go out and shoot early in the morning. I sacrifice a little sleep and get up for sunrise, at least once, almost every weekend. My friends and family are super supportive, which is very cool. It’s crazy to think that it’s only been about 12 months since I first finally decided to take that initial online class…that DSLR sat on a closet shelf for several years before it started to get some regular use!

So, here’s my next step. I’ve decided it’s time to put a little time and a little money into making a website and starting a blog. With any luck, in a few months, maybe I’ll list this as the next helpful step.

Thanks for reading my story. I’m sure there will be much more to come.

Aloha,
Todd

The post There’s A Creator In All Of Us appeared first on CloudBreak Photography.