The Archives

August 2008

Colorado
Grizzly Peak
August 29, 2008 | Permalink | 1 Comment

Grizzly Peak, 13,738 feet, reflected in a small pond in the San Juan Mountains near Silverton, Colorado. Notice how the grass is starting to turn its golden yellow autumn color.
Videos
The Living Camera
August 24, 2008 | Permalink | 1 Comment

Stephen Wilshire, the “Living Camera”, draws a detailed aerial view of Rome from memory after one trip in a helicopter. Tip from Michael Brown.

I would love to see these drawings in person! More cities by Stephen below.

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Gear
Goodbye Sigma DP1, Hello Olympus E-420
August 22, 2008 | Permalink | 8 Comments

In my Quest for the Ultimate Compact Camera, last winter I bought a Sigma DP1. I have had two goals in this quest: to find a good complimentary camera for my big and heavy 4×5 large format system, and to have a stand-alone camera to take on longer backpacking trips when I leave the 4×5 behind. While I loved some aspects of the DP1, namely it’s wonderful image quality and it’s tiny size and weight, the camera didn’t really fulfill either of my goals very well.

With no other viable alternative on the market to fulfill my Quest, my main goal shifted to obtaining a lightweight do-it-all camera setup for my longer backpacking trips when I leave the 4×5 setup at home. The solution was the Olympus E-420, currently the lightest and smallest digital SLR on the market. I didn’t buy the regular kit lenses for this camera; instead I opted for the more expensive but very high quality 12-60mm Olympus lens. I consider this lens to be integral to this camera setup, and as you read my review you must remember that I am reviewing this lens as much as the camera itself.

Read the details of my experience and comparison of both cameras below.

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Backpacking & Camping, Colorado, Mountain Stories
Luck in the Needle Mountains
August 20, 2008 | Permalink | 6 Comments

This last week I did a 7 day backpacking trip through the high and rugged Needle Mountains south of Silverton, Colorado. See my photos from the trip here. This trip had a couple unexpected events in store for me, but fortunately, Lady Luck was really by my side this time.

A near tragedy for my camera! I woke up at 3:30am one morning, and hiked up 1200 feet in the dark to the summit of aptly-named Knife Point, a 13,265-foot spire with a killer view into the heart of the Needle Mountains. Once the dawn light started illuminating the surrounding peaks, I started to take some photos. At one point, I decided to switch spots, and grabbing my tripod I started bounding up some rocks to get to the other side of the summit. I heard an odd jiggling sound coming from my tripod, and turned to look just in time to see my camera falling off the tripod, crashing and bouncing off boulders. Oh crap. In a state of shock and denial, I jumped down to the camera, noticing shattered glass and dismembered plastic. OH CRAP!

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Backpacking & Camping, Colorado
CDT: South San Juans
August 7, 2008 | Permalink | 4 Comments

This last week I hiked the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) through the South San Juan Wilderness with two of my friends. It’s a 60+ mile trek from Cumbres Pass near Chama, New Mexico to Wolf Creek Pass near Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Although we initially planned for 6 days out there, we ended up hiking an average of 13 miles per day, finishing in 5 days.

This hike was the longest distance backpacking trek I’ve ever done, and the first time in a long time that I’ve gone on a trip where the priority for me was the hiking itself, rather than the photography. We had a lot of ground to cover and we spent a good portion of each day just hiking. The photography was mostly unplanned, take-what-you-can-get shots along the way.

It’s pretty amazing to hike so far, basin after basin, each day looking back at distant mountains on the horizon and knowing that you just walked all the way from there, step by step. Although I usually prefer to hike shorter distances each day (to have more time to relax at each camp spot and concentrate more on photography), the South San Juans are well-suited for this style of long multi-day trekking. The mountains are remote with poor access, and the trail is fairly flat and mostly on high tundra with the logical camping spots being few and far between.

See my gallery of photos from the trip here.
Colorado
Sunset over Ouray
August 1, 2008 | Permalink | Post a Comment

Sunset alpenglow light shines on the Amphitheater above the town of Ouray, Colorado. To see the opposite view, looking at the town from the top of the Amphitheater, check out this photo. Goes to show that mountains always feel much bigger when you’re on top of them rather than when you’re looking up at them.