New video, even though this time I wasn’t planning on making one. I was also very tired, but the beauty of the Oregon Coast gave me enough energy to push through, make some images, and record a little video. Hope you enjoy it.
I visited, hiked and photographed Mt Hood more times than I can count during the 6 years I lived in Portland. It’s a place where I’d go in search of peace and calm. Seeing that magnificent mountain helps to put things in perspective, how small we and our problems are.
But I’d never spent the night up there. I guess that having a comfortable bed just one hour away didn’t make it sound very attractive. I took it for granted, as I prioritized farther away locations.
This time, though, I wanted to fix that. I wanted to do the Timberline Trail over 4 days and 3 nights, but the amount of downed trees on the trail from a recent windstorm made that option almost impossible. I still wanted to spend a night up there, so I hiked as far as I could in one day, set up camp, and enjoyed the views.
It was perfect: there was no wind, it wasn’t too cold, clear skies, an almost full moon, and the whole place for myself.
Why do we go through such hardship for a few images? Why do we wake up so early? Why do we face the elements? Why are we willing to be cold, hot, wet, burnt, exhausted... all for an image? Why do we keep trying, over and over?
Why?
It's because we need it, as much as we need to breathe.
It's because it makes us feel in peace.
It's because we can see.
It's because we want to feel alive.
The world reveals itself when you pay attention. Our duty is to witness the beauty and show it to others, to become their eyes.
We are half crazy, or full crazy.
We pour our souls and hearts, we are obsessed, dedicated, passionate.
We want to show what needs to be seen, what needs to be known.
A day spent making images makes us feel. Calm, excited, exhausted and happy. Part of something much bigger than ourselves.
We wander, we are free.
When the time comes to pack and head back home, we are not the same. We are changed, every shot, every photo, every place, every subject is now part of us, they make us who we are. But the fire never goes away, AND we are excited because we know we get to do it again tomorrow.
Video was filmed at Dog Mountain, Washington.
Another video I’d forgotten to share here. I had an absolutely great time in Portland, as usual, but a few things happened on one of those days, making it not as good. I was happy with the images I got, though!
A beautiful morning it was, indeed. Forgot to share this video from Bend, Oregon.
"Beautiful images, but where is the Bronica?"
If someone paid me $1 every time I get asked about the Bronica, I'd be making a very comfortable living off of photography.
We like to say we don't care about gear but at the end of the day, it's what we pay the most attention to. After all, buying a new camera and learning how to use it is a clear goal, something actionable anyone can do. We feel like we make progress.
Figuring out what to do with that camera is harder, though. Even though the purpose behind our photography is all that matters in the end.
I struggle with this like everyone else, and sharing my journey as I try to get closer to the what and the why, and not the how, is my purpose.
What's yours?
"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?", asked Alice.
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to", said the cat.
"I don't much care where---", said Alice.
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go", said the cat.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
I've been in Portland for almost 3 weeks now, but my time here is coming to an end. I was looking forward to being back in this beautiful city where I lived 6 years of my life. There were so many places I wanted to visit and photograph. I did go to some of them, but every day has been a struggle.
Back at the beginning of this trip, when I was in Colorado and Utah, I had fewer options. Not because of a lack of places, but because I did not know about them. The day the snowstorm hit Fort Collins, I just got in the car and drove. Somewhere. Anywhere. Everything was new to me, I had zero expectations. I made some images and it felt good.
Here in Portland, I know where the roads go. I have expectations. Choosing one option is very hard. I feel overwhelmed by the many options and the very little time!
Last night, I spent a good couple of hours thinking about what to do today, where to go, what to photograph. I couldn't make a decision, and the result is that I didn't go anywhere. And here I am, regreting it and writing this post instead of being outside taking photos.
I spent so much time thinking about which road to take, that I forgot that I don't really care where I go as long as I'm going somewhere. I just want to make images. Literally a walk around the neighborhood would've been better. Instead, I got stuck at the intersection, contemplating my options.
Wake up and get out, I wrote 3 years ago. That's still the most important lesson I've learned about photography. The key to make great images is to put yourself out there. It doesn't matter where. As long as you are somewhere.
The Alvord Desert is one of my favorite spots in Oregon. A remote place in the vastness of SE Oregon, we first visited this place a few years ago during Thanksgiving. It was a trip I will never forget.
In this video, I remember that trip, and try to make new memories… and images. The weather didn’t cooperate as much as I’d have loved to, but we still had a great time.
Mt Timpanogos, in the Wasatch Range, rises almost 12,000 feet above sea level. The view of the Salt Lake valley and the neighboring mountains was something I had to check out in person. So I did.
This is not an easy hike: 15 miles round-trip and almost 5,000 feet of elevation gain. Count on 4-5 hours to reach the top. Because I was recording myself and had to walk back and forth many times to retrieve the camera, my hike clocked at 22 miles and 6,000+ feet elevation gain. It took me almost the whole day.
Despite its difficulty, it’s a pretty popular hike: I did it on a Friday, and the trail was pretty busy. Plenty of people in their late 60s (one man was celebrating his 68th birthday by summiting the mountain) and even kids.
If you are planning on doing this hike in late summer / early fall, make sure to bring plenty of water. There are a couple of streams at the beginning, but nothing after that.
The trail is well maintained and easy to follow, although it requires some scrambling in the last section, where you should expect loose rocks. Even though people climb this mountain year-round, I’d definitely not do it (at least the last section) with snow or ice on the ground.
When it comes to photography, the place offers plenty of opportunities for great images, but I wasn’t very happy with what I got. The weather and nearby fires didn’t help, it was kind of bland and hazy day. The hard climb takes a lot of your physical and mental energy as well, so I found it difficult to focus on making images. But I’m glad I went for it: a mostly peaceful hike to a beautiful peak with stunning views.
I spent a few days photographing the Great Salt Lake, and this video is the result of that time. What a beautiful place.
We are moving again, leaving Colorado and heading towards Utah. In this video, we talk about how we travel, why we do it this way, what we carry with us, and I make some images in Salt Lake City.
There’s never enough time at a location. That was definitely what happened to me in my recent visit to Rocky Mountain National Park. A beautiful and huge place, and only 2 days to enjoy it.
In this video, I share some tips on how to make the most of a photography trip, so we can go back home with as many good images as possible.
I am on the road again! And what better way to start the trip than with an unexpected snowstorm at the beginning of September. I welcomed and embraced the snow, and tried to make good images at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
A little video of Rachel and I having fun doing some photography around Goshen, Indiana, with our two small cameras.
Hello, friend, from somewhere in Iowa.
I’m typing this on my iPad from the passenger seat of our truck. Today, we left Indiana after being there for a couple of months, as we head West in the search of new adventures.
We’ve “moved” several times in the last few years. It doesn’t get any easier. Leaving behind a place and a routine, the comfort and safety they provide, and the people you shared your life with even if only for a few weeks, is always hard. And in some ways, the uncertainty of a road trip can be a bit scary.
I’ve come to realize that all of this is a good reminder, though: nothing lasts forever. Memento mori, some say. This is a fact we all are aware of, but it can get lost in the everyday, automatic behaviors we engage in.
Knowing that we only have a few weeks left of whatever we are doing, of wherever we are, and of whoever we are with, makes me enjoy all of it a bit more. It makes everyone around us that way.
It wasn’t too long ago when we were saying good bye to everyone in Spain over meals and drinks, or when we were celebrating being back with our loved ones in Indiana. This week, it was time to enjoy the last few days with them.
Even though I always try to keep in mind how lucky I am to even be alive, this approach to life has made me even more aware. Every day is special in a different way.
Take it all in today. Because we aren’t going to be here tomorrow.
A beautiful scene is not enough to make a good image. Photography is not about capturing, it’s about creating our own fantasies and illusions to express what we feel. For that, we need to stop seeing reality as it is, and start seeing “in images”.
I still remember the moment I threw that last cigarette butt on the ground. It’s been almost 5 years since I quit smoking.
Health had always been a concern, but at the time, all I could think about was all the money I was going to save by quitting -money I was planning to spend on new cameras and lenses, of course. It was an exciting plan and it helped me quit.
Indeed, I was spending a lot of money on tobacco. It was hard to see on a daily basis, it was “just” $5 a day. But I did the math, and turned out to be more $2,000 a year. Or, the way I started to see it, a new A7iii every year.
Humans are terrible at understanding things that are far away in time. That’s why most services today are based on subscriptions: it’s just X a month!. These little things add up, though, and quite fast. Translating the annual cost into photography gear helps me see the big picture.
These are other ways I stopped wasting my money:
I don’t drink alcohol anymore. I used to, at least one beer a day, and probably a glass of wine afterwards. Definitely more on the weekends. This amounted to even more money than smoking: 500 rolls of HP5 a year.
Starbucks must miss me. I used to go there on a daily basis, spending at least a couple of good ND filters a month, or a new RX100vii a year.
The brewery1 we had downstairs in Portland? We used to go there at least once a week, and going through the charges of 2017, I see we spent a Hasselblad 500cm with 80mm lens on that one place in just 10 months. Today, I go out less often -and yes, the pandemic has helped quite a bit here- and save a lot of money.
My phone (an iPhone 7 Plus) is 4 years old. I used to switch to a new phone every year, which cost me a round-trip to Iceland every 12 months.
A beer here. A coffee there. A dinner out. A new gadget. Nothing big, just little treats. But these small things add up and were making a dent on my savings.
Most people think that the key to save money is to make more, when it’s much easier -and faster- to lower your expenses and live below your means. And the good thing is, this doesn’t have to involve big changes, but we can do it by changing small bad habits we do on a daily basis.
Just by not smoking, not drinking alcohol, making coffee at home instead of getting it to go, cooking at home more often, and not buying a new phone every year, I’m saving a lot of money. Money I can invest on things like camera gear or a trip somewhere to make images. Translating those saving into specific things you can do with that money -like buying photography gear- can help.
Big change is always about the little things.
1: The brewery closed its doors just a few months after we left Portland. Apparently, they couldn’t afford rent anymore. Coincidence? Or did our departure have something to do? I will never know.
We, outdoor photographers, need to be able to deal with the heat and the cold, the sun and the snow, standing up at the same spot for hours waiting for that shot, or hiking for miles looking for an image.
If we can go further, stay out for longer, deal with uncomfortable situations better, and remain focused on the goal, our chances to make a good image increase exponentially.
For the last few years, but especially in this very challenging 2020, I’ve been experimenting with different approaches to nutrition, exercise and lifestyle in general that are making me stronger, and in the process, helping me grow as a photographer.
In this video, I want to share some of those ideas and practices, because they might help you too.
When was the last time you were hungry? I don’t mean a craving, nor your stomach complaining a bit around noon. I mean really hungry.
We are an overfed society. We’ve forgotten what it means to be hungry, to the point that we avoid it at all costs. We are always snacking. Always seeking comfort.
Our bodies are supposed to experience hunger from time to time. Somehow, it is when your body starts to complain about the lack of food, that we have the most mental clarity and even physical energy. The body is probably telling us is time to go out and pick some fruit, or hunt a rabbit.
I’ve been experimenting with intermittent fasting for almost 2 years. On average, I fast 2-3 days a week: I go through periods of time where I fast for 20 hours a day and eat all my calories within the other 4-hour window, what is called a 20:4 fast; other times, I settle on a 16:8 schedule.
As a bare minimum, I go 14 hours without food - the time between dinner and breakfast. I usually have dinner 2-3 hours before bed, and I don’t eat anything until at least 3 hours after waking.
While challenging at first, intermittent fasting has taught me many lessons about myself:
Is that feeling in your stomach hunger? Or is it produced by a craving? Could it even be anxiety? If you haven’t felt hungry in a while, it can be really hard to tell.
I’d forgotten what real hunger feels like. Now, I know, so I can act accordingly.
My mind is much sharper when my body isn’t busy digesting food. I try to do all my writing and reading on an empty stomach, and leave leisure and more passive activities (like watching YouTube) for after meals.
I go on a 6-mile walk / run every morning, followed by 100 push ups. Only then I have breakfast. I’m just unable to perform if I have food before any kind of exercise.
Of course, if the physical activity extends for a long period of time (say, a long hike), I’ll have snacks here and there to replenish my energy.
3:00pm is my favorite time of the day. After working out in my bedroom and an hour of incline walking on the treadmill, I’m ready for lunch. I reward myself with a huge -and I mean it, huge- salad.
Every bite tastes better than the previous one. I appreciate every single flavor in that salad because my body is ready for that food. When we keep ourselves fed all the time, meals become an almost automatic and mindless activity - there’s no joy, just comfort seeking.
In a time when society seems to seek comfort at all times, I believe it's more important than ever to embrace uncomfortable situations. If we never face discomfort, we become weak.
As photographers, we need to be ready to face the heat and the cold, the sun and the snow, standing up for hours waiting for a shot, or hiking for miles and miles looking for that image.
Fasting is just one thing we can practice often so we don’t get used to comfort, and we can remain strong. Exercising, and even taking cold showers are other two examples.
It's about time we tell our bodies to not get too comfy.
Stay hungry.
In this video, I'll try to show you why using APS-C lenses on a Full Frame body not only might make sense, but it can also be a great way to achieve performance that'd be very hard to get otherwise.
I used a Sony a7rii and the following APS-C lenses: Rokinon 12mm f/2, Sigma 16mm f/1.4, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, Sigma 56mm f/1.4, Sony Zeiss 16-70mm f/4, Sony 70-350mm f/4.5-6.3. Check out some of the examples in this gallery:
