Tips for Better Fall Photography, Clikelite Pro Adam Barker

Fall is quite possibly my favorite season. Perhaps it’s because the change in the air is so dramatic. Color, crispness, cooler temps–it’s allllll good. Fall pushes photographers everywhere to dig out both their camera and their personal commitment to creating meaningful imagery. It’s exciting to see the lanscape change so drastically, and quite honestly–there’s beauty in nearly every direction. Nothing fuels a photographer’s fire like gorgeous subject matter at a stone’s throw from nearly every canyon drive.

I’ve had opportunity to get out quite a bit with several workshop students and shoot some of fall’s finest here in northern Utah. The weather, however, has been challenging for the most part, with clear skies and warm temperatures. It has forced us to get creative and really search for meaningful shots without dramatic skies. We did luck out one morning with fantastic storm clouds, and we took full advantage, knowing it was a gift.

While gorgeous in their own right, colorful leaves don’t themselves a memorable image make. I imagine you, just as countless others, have come home from your fall photography forays only to find your images were flat and struggled to convey the sense of grandeur that you witnessed in person. The challenge, is depth. Conveying depth in our fall images is what really helps to take the viewer “there”. A flat mountainside with pretty leaves just won’t cut it. Sure, it’s pretty. But does it have impact? Probably not. Read below for a couple of tips on creating fall images with depth.

1. Establish compositional zones. Find foregrounds, middle grounds and backgrounds for your images. Longer lens shots fall images here in the Wasatch are particularly well suited to this, with intersecting ridge lines and areas of strong color.

2. Search out broken light. Spotty clouds cast spotty or broken light. This random placement of lit and shaded areas carries viewers through the frame and creates that near/far perspective that helps to convey three dimensionality.

3. Use a polarizing filter. Even better, know where and how to use it most effectively. A polarizer will help to reveal full color in the foliage, by removing the natural sheen or reflection. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly (especially on those boring, crystal clear days), a polarizer will deepen skies, helping to add depth and interest to your fall photos. A polarizer is most effective when shot at 90 degrees to the sun–find those compositions that help the polarizer help you!

4. Change your angle to the sun. Fall color takes on a completely different look, depending on your angle to the sun. Front lit aspens can appear dull and washed out, but as soon as place that light source behind them, they glow with life. This is a technique you can use to capture stunning imagery even into the mid-day hours.

5. Use Grad ND Filters. Not sure what they are? Search this blog or get on the Google. I use Singh Ray filters–the best! There’s absolutely no better tool out there for balancing difficult dynamic ranges and allowing you to capture dramatic skies.

6. Get out there. The golden rule of landscape photography. Simply being there will allow you to make magic. It’s too easy to stay home and wait for what you think might be the perfect conditions to capture that five-star fall keeper. How do you know that you haven’t already missed it? Nothing helps to get the creative juices flowing like being out in nature. You’re sure to find something that floats your boat, and then some. Forget the boring weather forecasts or lackluster color-get out there and find a way to excel behind the lens.

To see more of Adam Barker’s work, or to see details on attending one of his workshops, visit his website at http://www.adambarkerphotography.com/

Our Hiker pack is reviewed in this month’s issue of Outdoor Photographer

Check out the Hiker review that Outdoor Photographer did in this months issue (September).  Click Here

Review: The Pro Elite for back country video

Liam Doran: Ski Utah Shootout

I just returned from a great week at the Ski Salt Lake Photo Shootout.  We had all sorts of weather from cloudy, to sunny, to snowing and everything in between, providing the backdrop for some amazing imagery.  The photographers and athletes were all great folks and it was a fantastic opportunity to meet and work with everyone. Choice of gear is always crucial for adventure photographers, and for the most part I have my “go to” pieces pretty dialed in…with one exception. For the last five years I have been looking for a pack that addressed the needs of a true backcountry photographer.  I have finally found it in Clik Elite’s new Contrejour.  The Contrejour has enough room for a professional series camera, multiple lenses, flashes and accessories.  The kicker is that it also has ample room for all my avalanche gear(shovel, probe)skins, water, food, extra layers and more.  The frame and harness are very well thought out and carries a heavy load better than anything I have used in the past.  I highly recommend the Contrejour (available fall 2010) to every photographer that spends long days outdoors off the beaten path searching for great light and fresh subjects.

Liam Doran
Breckenridge, CO
www.liamdoranphotography.com

Thanks to Adam Barker for capturing Liam in action >

Gearing up for Outdoor Retailer

Several new product announcements will be made in Salt Lake next week at the Outdoor Retailer trade show. Read about the Escape and Jetpack in SNEWS – both packs will be available in February. Also, attendees will get a sneak peek at products available this fall including the new “Cloud Series” that breaks free from conventional camera packs with super light construction and Neoprene camera compartments. Also appearing: The Contrejour, a no-holds-barred ski pack for serious photographers who love snow sports. We’ll keep the news feed coming, stay tuned via Twitter and Facebook as well! (see the links to the right)

JETPACK release>

ESCAPE release>

Adam Barker Review – Zion in the Fall

I recently had the opportunity to travel down to Zion National Park with fellow photog Kevin Winzeler to check out the fall foliage at its peak. The Box Elder and Cottonwood trees were going off, making for beautiful yellows, contrasting against the red rock. Unfortunately, an unusual cold spell had pretty much stripped the maples of their red leaves, leaving the color palette somewhat one-dimensional. I’m a bit embarrassed to say this was my first time down to Zion. It didn’t disappoint, but it did overwhelm to a certain degree. Much like any other iconic photo location, Zion presents a challenge in finding original identifiable images.

The one thought I had while shooting in Zion over a short 3-day period is that you really must put in your time not only to research the locations, but, more than anything, to hopefully luck out with some dramatic weather. We were stuck with clear skies whether we liked it or not, which made for good bounce light in the Narrows, but uninteresting sunrise and sunset shoots otherwise. You see so many shots from places like Zion, that you really must score unusual weather conditions if you hope to come away with something unique and memorable.

One of the shooting opportunities most unique to Zion is found in the Narrows. Carved over time by nothing more than rushing water, this deep slot canyon harbors a plethora of otherworldly images just waiting to be captured. It’s not too common to see direct sunlight in the Narrows, but high canyon walls serve as perfect natural reflectors, sending bounce light to and fro, creating colorful glows in unusual places. Should you decide to venture this way, be prepared to wade through ankle to thigh deep (and sometimes deeper) water the entirety of the canyon. Bring a sturdy tripod, and don’t forget your polarizing filter.

My pack of choice for the Zion trip was Clikelite’s Pro Elite. This is my workhorse pack, the one that carries pretty much everything but the kitchen sink. I’m the type of photographer that most often chooses to travel heavy rather than light, and the Pro Elite excels with loads of 25 lbs. or greater. I like to afford myself every opportunity to get the best possible shot, which means taking all the gear I think I may use. One of my favorite features of this pack are the dense foam shoulder straps–super comfy especially with heavier loads carried over longer distances.

If you have the opportunity, get yourself down to Zion National Park next fall–and don’t forget your Clikelite Pack!

Adam Barker
www.adambarkerphotography.com

Carolyn Guild Review

I’ve purchased and used many backpacks in the eternal quest for that elusive perfect pack. For the most part, I’ve used Lowe Pro’s Photo Trekker AW II, and the Compu Trekker for airline travel because of the laptop sleeve. Problems with these packs for me: the Photo Trekker weighs in at 9 lbs. empty. The Compu Trekker is just uncomfortable.

A few months ago, I stopped into my fav camera store Pictureline in Salt Lake City, desperately looking for a smaller pack to carry 1 camera body and a couple of lenses for a trip to Wyoming and Idaho. They showed me the Clik Elite Medium Nature pack…. I tried it on, and thought PERFECT…. I’ll take it.

And now those several months later, I am soooooo glad I did. The pack fits like a dream. It has an adjustable harness, so it doesn’t matter if your torso is short or tall, you can adjust the fit. It takes a couple of days wearing to mold the dense foam to my body, but then it’s the most comfortable pack I’ve ever worn. Even when I’d overstuff it with bodies and lenses.

Quality and workmanship are topnotch. The material sheds water. It cleans easily. And even with the abuse I’ve given this pack, there are no signs of wear.

I HIGHLY recommend this pack for short day trips, hiking from a vehicle or base camp etc…

OK….. time to think about replacing the 9 lb. Photo Trekker. I’m really wanting a pack that will carry 2 pro bodies, and several lenses. I took out the Click Elite Pro today, and was pleasantly surprised. Even though I loaded it up with gear (for testing) it was comfortable, and had plenty of support for the load. Lots of pockets with room for extras, including a laptop sleeve that will hold my 17” computer. And I think Clik got it right: the computer sleeve is on the outside of the pack, not against your back. I feel this allows the pack to ride correctly, and therefore be more comfortable than a pack with the laptop against my back. Same adjustable harness. Same high quality material and workmanship. You guys just do it right! Thanks tons!!!

Carolyn Guild
www.carolynguild.com

Carolyn Guild’s photographs have gained International attention. She has won numerous awards including most recently B&W Magazine’s Gold Award for Seascape/Nature, First Place at PX3 — Prix de la Photographie — Paris in the *Professional — Nature* category and several Honourable Mentions from IPS — International Photography Awards. Her work can be found in public and private collections and is exhibited in galleries and museums.

Using long exposures, Guild takes photography beyond the realistic view and into a world that explores the unseen —  transforming the natural world over time, allowing glimpses into an enchanted landscape. Her images have a  surrealistic evocative feel.

Guild, born in 1951, currently splits her residences between Mexico, California and Utah with her husband. She travels extensively to capture her transfixing black and white photographs.

Clik gets reviewed in the NY Times

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“Joe Decker, a nature photographer based in San Jose, Calif., tested five of the latest camera packs while hiking in the Sierra Nevada this fall. The photographs of the bags were taken at Pomponio State Beach, Calif.”

Read the column here>

Clik review here>