Tag Archives: Alaska

Comparing Last Year’s Favorite Photo With This Year’s Version

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As a spastic, high energy cyclist and action photographer, I practically live for cyclocross season. I find it to be an incredibly fun way to spend a few hours on a Saturday morning in the fall, as I cheer on friends and race my own bike through the mud and whatever other obstacles and challenging terrain get thrown into the course.

I also find it to be one of the best ways to practice my photography chops and test out the fast action and autofocus capabilities of my camera gear. In fact, during the past few years, I’ve pretty much used cyclocross as my benchmark to test out just how well the Fuji cameras and lenses perform when shooting very fast subject matter. 

And as with any subject that I’m passionate about, I’m always trying to better my skills and vary my approach, in the hopes that I can come up with something really incredible. Sometimes I get really good images, and sometimes… occasionally, on rare occasion, I get a truly great image.

This photo above is from last year’s race at Mirror Lake near Anchorage, which featured a 30-foot long creek crossing. Just one of the 698 frames that I shot while standing by the creek during last year’s race, it’s a photo of my good friend Amber, who always seems to look great in action photos.

It was captured with my Fujifilm X-T3 and the XF14mm f/2.8 wide angle lens, at ISO 1600 with an exposure setting of 1/210 sec and f/5.6, using the Mechanical Shutter at 11fps in Aperture Priority Mode, using the super cool PRE-SHOT ES setting.

With the X-T3 set to ACROS Film Simulation, I also added a warm tint in the WARM/COOL BW ADJ settings menu.

I was blown away when I saw it, and in fact, I deemed it to be the coolest action photo that I’d ever shot in my 22 years was a pro action photographer. Here it is again.

Fast Forward to This Year’s Race

The minute I saw that the Mirror Lake course would be included in this season’s cyclocross race schedule, I got all giddy inside, because I knew I’d get to relive the magic from last year. The cheering… the splashing… the chance for another killer action photo.

Of course, I had set a pretty high bar for myself. Having made my coolest action photo ever, at least up to that point, I knew that the pressure would be on for me to come up with another awesome image.

That’s the great thing about photography, you always have room to improve. Even if you were to shoot the best, most amazing image of your entire life today, you can potentially shoot an even better one tomorrow. That’s a really cool thing to think about, and it’s what drives us, right?

All week, leading up to the race, I’d been playing it over in my mind. I’d been thinking about how I might approach the race this time, and wondering if I could indeed come up with something at least as cool as last year’s image, if not better. That said, when we’re talking photography, maybe “better” is not necessarily the right term. Let’s go with “equally cool, but different.”

Come race day, I drove out to Mirror Lake, scurried down to the creek, warmed up by shooting the intermediate men’s race, and waited for the pro women to start. Call it nostalgia, call it favoritism, I was really waiting for Amber. As I said, she always looks awesome in photos and I love capturing hero shots of my friends.

In my quest to come up with a different approach, I shifted my vantage point and moved to the other side of the creek. Shooting again with the XF14mm f/2.8 lens, I set the X-T3 to PRE-SHOT ES with 11fps bursts, this time using the Electronic Shutter.

I also set the camera to the ACROS film sim, since I love shooting cyclocross in black and white, and once again, I used the WARM/COOL BW ADJ setting, but with a slightly cooler tint than what I’d used for last year’s image.

Standing on the on the edge of the creek, and reached out as far as I could, holding the X-T3 horizontally out over the water, using the Vertical Battery Grip for a more ergonomic purchase. I set the focus to ZONE AF, adjusted the location of the zone to a medium sized box at the right side of the frame and kept my finger on the Grip’s shutter button as I waited…

During the first lap, I grabbed some shots of Laura, Jessie, Andrea and Kate.

During the second lap, I could see Amber through the trees as she came flying down the tail opposite the creek and made the turn. When she hit the water, I did a front-to-back horizontal pan and shot an 11fps burst at ISO 800, 1/140 sec at f/4, with a +.7 adjustment on my EV+/- dial.

She was true to form, looking awesome with her determined expression as she splashed through the creek. This shot was the fourth in a seven-frame burst and I’m blown away by just how sharp she is, despite the amount of camera movement there was in the shot. Let’s just say that I’ve had a lot of practice with this panning thing. Still it doesn’t always come out that sharp.

After she came though, I checked the frame on my camera and was quite exited. It was good. Very good, and certainly different than last year.

My Favorite Shot from This Year’s Race

Then it happened. Amber’s daughter Cadence hit the creek forty nine seconds after I grabbed the shot above. She’s racing really strong this year, finishing 3rd place in the last two races, and she’s every bit as photogenic. I’d shot a few photos of her during the first race two weeks ago, and I was really psyched by the results.

I was ready, having shot the two other women who were spaced in between. Using the same panning technique, I angled the camera down just a tiny bit to give the shot a slight more dynamic feel. Honestly, I don’t remember if I did that on purpose, or if it just happened in with all the excitement.

This was the seventh frame out of the eight I grabbed as she flew by and raced her way to another 3rd place finish. For some reason, the shutter speed had switched to 1/300 sec, so this frame is definitely darker than the other photo, but I think it looks pretty cool. It has a lot of definition and a nice contrast between sharp and blur.

There’s something a little bit different about this photo than the other frames I shot at the creek this year, it just has a little bit more energy, more water and a more exciting feel.

Comparing it to my favorite shot from last year, I think it holds up well. It definitely shows off the action capabilities of the X-T3, and from a creative standpoint, it satisfies my itch to continually push my own boundaries as a photographer and walk away from every scene with an original image that truly excites me.

With that in mind, I wonder how things will play out next season…

Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you’re having fun pushing your own creative boundaries as well this fall.

My 5 Favorite Cyclocross Photos from This Past Weekend

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The cyclocross season continues, with our second Anchorage race of the series taking place this past Saturday, which, of course, meant another great opportunity for some action photography.

As always, I spent a good two hours running around with my camera like a spaz, looking for cool vantage points and experimenting with different lenses and looks as I photographed the racers with my Fujifilm X-T3.

Since I shoot this sport regularly almost every fall, I try to come at it with a slightly different approach each time. I’ll play around with different film simulations and color palettes, I’ll use a variety of lenses, or maybe I’ll shoot a race with just one lens, and sometimes I’ll even use different cameras, formats and aspect ratios. 

For this week’s race, I brought four lenses with me: the XF14mm f/2.8, which is my favorite Fuji wide angle, the darling little XF35mm f/2 WR, which I find to be incredibly versatile, the XF50mm f/2 WR, which I absolutely love, and the supremely sharp XF90mm f/2 WR, which, by all counts, is truly a special piece of glass.

To make things interesting, I switched to a new lens for each lap. This kept things fresh and it reminded me of the compositional strengths that each focal length offers. It also gave me a chance to brush up on my skills, because nothing hones your chops like regular practice.

I shot about 1,200 frames during Saturday’s race, often using the awesome PRE-SHOT ES feature on the X-T3. Here are my five favorites, with a little bit of behind-the-scenes explanation for each one.

1. Jumping The Barriers

Early in the race, I grabbed a shot of my friend Pat Crabbe as he jumped the barriers under the waterpower. Pat is one of those “upper 50s and fit as hell” guys that I aspire to be like when I grow up. I’ve raced with him in the mountain bike series and he smokes me every time.

For this shot, I used a low vantage point with the XF35mm f/2, which gave me the classic “hero shot” look. Shooting low, especially with normal to wide lenses can often add a lot of drama to your people images. The 35 worked well, because it kept the scene tight, and the subject sharp, while creating enough separation between him and the background.

I used the ACROS film simulation on my X-T3 and a little bit of the warm toning effect, which is found on the X-T3 and X-T30. This is one of my favorite creative settings on the X-T3, and I make heavy use of it on a regular basis. I’ve even put this setting at the top of my “My Menu” folder, so I can access it with just one click.

2. The Run-Up

The run-up in Saturday’s race was particularly grueling, especially after about five or six laps. (I did eight total). Here’s my friend James Frederick chasing Pat and another racer on about the 3rd lap.

The XF50mm f/2 WR short telephoto gave me a nice tight view and a very shallow field of focus. In fact, the only thing that’s sharp in this frame is the tiny patch of leaves by James’s foot in the lower right corner.

Shot as part of a series at 11 frames per second, this ended up being my favorite, even though it’s mostly out of focus. Call it a happy accident.

For whatever reason, the camera’s AF system decided to grab something other than the center of the frame for this brief moment. Maybe my own highly erratic movement in trying to capture this highly energetic, fast moving scene caused me to blow it. Maybe it’s because the vertical orientation AF (Store AF Mode by Orientation setting) had the zone positioned in the lower right part of the frame.

Who knows. Either way, I love how it looks. Sometimes you can get away this kind of thing. Here, we know exactly what’s going on, and even if the racers aren’t sharp, the message of this scene comes across loud and clear.

In fact, that section of sharp leaves in the lower right corner does pull your eye, and with James’s foot being right there, it sets up a nice pathway for your eyes to track up his long diagonal leg. The combination of focus, softness, angle and prominent subject matter create a lot of motion in the image.

3. Pavement Sprint

Although the average cyclocross race takes place in the dirt, mud and grass, traditionally cyclocross races feature at least some pavement. During Saturday’s race, there was a long, 500-meter straightaway on the pavement to after a long singletrack section in the woods.

This was a nice way to break up from the sketchy gravel, the relentless roots, the soul-sucking run-up and the wipe-out potential of the tight forest trail. Of course, it also provided a key place to pass and be passed, so it’s not like you could really let up much on this “rest section.”

Here, I positioned myself at the edge of the road with the XF14mm f/2.8 lens and used the Classic Chrome film simulation with a shutter speed of 1/27 second, panning forwards to back in line with the racers. It’s pretty blurry, but the message of speed definitely comes through.

4. In The Woods

Who doesn’t love a good panning shot, especially when you nail it? They key to getting a successful pan is having a good mix of sharp and blur, and this one has just the right contrast in the places where it counts.

As you can see, the rider’s upper body is pretty sharp, and his expression is clearly visible. At the same time, there’s a lot of separation between him and the background. The leaves add nice contrast and the motion of the pan itself is quite pleasing. And, that patch of white at the top right acts like a spotlight to highlight his face. That part was just luck.

This was also shot with the XF14mm f/2.8 lens, using that low-angle “hero shot” technique. It’a a classic illustration why wide angles make for great action lenses.

5. Katrina in the Woods

Yet another picture made with the XF14mm f/2.8 lens. This time, I’m using it to get really close, so I can feature the rider prominently in the frame, and and still show off the environment of the scene.

My friend Katrina has worked really hard at her cycling skills during the past couple of years, so it’s really exciting for me to grab a shot like this and make her look like such a badass. I love making my friends look like heroes, and since I’m photographing many of my friends during these weekly races, that actually drives a lot of my motivation.

I was pretty psyched to find this exposed downhill corner. I knew that people would have very focused expressions as they whipped around the bend. There wasn’t much room on the trail, and I had stuffed myself right at the edge, which was another reason the wide lens worked so well here.

I also love the timeless feel that the warm-toned black and white imparts on this picture. I used a few more clicks towards the warm side than what was used on the first “barrier” picture above. I think the pronounced warm tone works really well with all of the foliage and it adds a lot of drama to the photo.

There you have it, my five favorite shots from Saturday’s cyclocross race, all shot with the Fujifilm X-T3, all made with small, compact Fuji primes and all made with a maximum excitement and passion, knowing that after that it would be my turn to race.

If you want to see more cyclocross shots, click here to see the photos from last week’s race.

See My X-T3 Footage in RUSCH To ALASKA on Outside TV

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I’m excited to announce that RUSCH TO ALASKA: Iditarod Trail Invitational is now being aired on OutsideTV, and I’m especially honored to have the Director of Photography credit.

This past winter, I had the awesome assignment of filming Rebecca Rusch’s Alaska fat biking adventure along the Iditarod Trail, and the episode has finally been released! Rebecca is a professional athlete, and although she’s no stranger to suffering through difficult expeditions, the extreme 350-mile Iditarod Trail race was the one race she said she’d never do.

However, after being talked into it by her friend Jay Petervary, who has won the race many times, she accepted the challenge to push her limits in ways that she never had before.

Having worked with Rebecca last summer, she enlisted me to film her adventure, and although I had never done a full-length, immersive video project like this before, I accepted the challenge in kind and jumped in with both feet.

The full 22-minute episode, which premiered this week, alternates between my footage and Rebecca’s own GoPro footage out on the trail. A few scenes shot by other people are included as well, since I couldn’t be everywhere all the time during the race.

The title photo for the episode is a selfie that Rebecca shot of herself out on the trail. I was blown away when I saw it and immediately knew that it would be the best option for the key art. I can’t take credit for the shot, but I did introduce Rebecca to the “Portrait Mode” feature on the iPhones. 😉

I shot everything on my Fujifilm X-T3, which has full-on pro video capabilities, using a variety of the shorter Fuji prime lenses, including the XF35mm f/2, XF50mm f/2, XF23mm f/1.4, and the XF50-140mm f/2.8.

For most situations, I attached the vertical grip for the X-T3, simply because it gives you those two extra batteries. Shooting video drains them much more quickly; add in cold temperatures and it almost becomes a necessity, especially if you’re shooting longer clips. During downtime, I could charge two batteries together by plugging the grip into the wall via the include 9v AC adapter.

For audio, I mostly used the Fujifilm MIC-STI Stereo Microphone, either in the camera’s hot shoe, or extending it with a 10′ cable, sticking it on a Manfrotto Justin clap and clipping it to anything I could find that would offer me closer placement.

For all the interviews, I used clip-on lapel mic, and monitored sound via a pair of BOSE headphones that were plugged directly into the X-T3’s headphone port.

Even though I’m a relative video newbie, I felt that my extensive photography experience translated well to this new format. After all, it’s still based on light, framing and being able to recognize key moments as they unfold.

Following with my regular style, I often shot handheld and moved around quite a bit. However, depending on the lens and framing, certain shots necessitated the use of a tripod in order to avoid getting that “shaky” look to the video

Except for scene in bright sunlight, I tried to shoot everything at 48 frames per second in order to give the footage a more “film-like” feel rather than a fast “sports video” feel. I mostly used the stock ETERNA film simulation, which is modeled after Fuji’s classic motion picture film.

Throughout the project, I made use of a number of the X-T3’s video features, including the ZEBRA SETTING highlight warning, which I kept at 95%, and AF-C CUSTOM SETTINGS, which lets you adjust how the autofocus performs with regards to acquire speed and “lock-on.” When shooting stills, you always want the fastest acquire possible, but with film, you sometimes want a slower acquire so that it doesn’t look too jumpy.

Overall video performance of the X-T3 was incredible. It worked fine in the cold, down to -20F, the autofocus did great, although to make sure it didn’t “hunt” during a low-movement scene, I often locked on, then switched to Manual Focus with RED/HIGH peaking, and I made use of FACE DETECTION AF whenever possible.

Overall, I’m super excited to see this project finally come to air. I’m really proud of my work on this episode, I learned a ton and was super impressed at how well the X-T3 performed. I definitely look forward to doing more projects like this in the future.

Since filming this episode back in March, I’ve jumped even more into the world of video. I’ve even added to my equipment arsenal with the purchase of an ikan Delta 7″ HDMI external monitor. I’ve found this to be an extremely useful item when shooting the video lessons for my new Photography On The Brain series.

You can watch the full episode of RUSCH TO ALASKA by downloading the free Outside TV app and subscribing to their premium channel. Or you can just do the 7-day free trial.

Huge thanks to Rebecca for including me in this amazing opportunity, and also to Allyson Davis, Kathi Merchant, Revelate Designs, Speedway Cycles and FUJIFILM, and all the people I interviewed for their awesome support.

A Variety of Outdoor Images I Shot Last Week

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Ah… summer. Long days and late evenings, when playing outside until sunset means getting home well after midnight and eating dinner at around 1:30AM. Welcome to my life during the month of June in Alaska. With such a diversity of … Continue reading →

June Special – Save 20% On My BEHIND THE LANDSCAPE eBook

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Now that June is finally here, we can pretty much count summer as being officially underway. For us Northern Hemisphere photographers, summer means bountiful landscape photography sessions and long days exploring outdoors with our cameras. For you Southern Hemisphere people, … Continue reading →

Aerial Glacier Photography – Ice From Above

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If you pay attention, you’ll find a multitude of patterns in nature. They exist on all levels, from intricate details that are only seen very close, to giant patterns that can only be seen when you pull your vantage point … Continue reading →

Filming Rebecca Rusch on the Iditarod Trail with the Fuji X-T3

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I spent last week documenting Rebecca Rusch’s fat biking adventure along the Iditarod Trail Invitational, a 300+ mile ultra winter endurance race that crosses the Alaska Range and traverses through vast sections of wilderness in brutally cold temperatures. This was … Continue reading →