Well with that being said, here's my first three weeks!
Week 1-Little Creek Overlook:
I decided the afternoon I took this that I was going to give the whole 52 week thing a shot. I had heard of other people doing it before, some even attempting a 365 version (I CLEARLY wasn't going to do that), and basically just decided why not? I could easily see how it would help my photography progress, and knew it would give me the motivation to get out and shoot every week. I had been slacking on how often I would get out, and how much I challenged myself. I hadn't been able to see things in a "new light" for quite a while. I knew I needed a push, and for that first weekend it was enough.
I loaded my gear, jumped in my truck, and realized I had no idea where to go. We had had a pretty good snowstorm a few days before, so I decided that I would head up to Little Creek Mountain and see what I could find. I had taken a few pictures at the overlook there before, but wanted to try to put a different spin on it this time.
As I pulled out of the driveway, I realized the sun was already a lot lower in the sky than I had originally thought. I admit that I sped the entire time I was on pavement, but this was an emergency. I just had to get there in time!
Once I got off the pavement, things were radically different. Instead of the decent dirt road I was used to, it was all snow. I still probably went faster than I should have, but I absolutely had to get there! I could see the sun getting lower and lower, and knew I would be cutting it close. Finally, after only momentarily sliding off the road once, I made it.
I jumped out of my truck and started looking around, trying to find something I hadn't done before. I walked up and down the edge of the cliff for a few minutes, then realized that what I wanted was 20 feet in front of my truck. I kneeled down, got as close to the edge as I dared, and began to set up. After a few minutes, I was finally ready. But in my haste to get everything perfect, I failed to notice the sun going behind clouds right on the horizon! I had lost the light! I died a little inside as I sat there trying to figure out what to do to make it work. I knew the light was everything, and that it makes or breaks every picture. I started to fidget with different settings on my camera. Somehow that seems to clear my mind and help me think while I'm out playing photographer. After a few minutes, I noticed a little orange glow on the end of my lens hood. I looked up, and saw the sun peeking from behind the clouds! I threw the camera back on the tripod, fumbled through the settings I had changed while fidgeting, and set my focus. I used my wireless shutter release to avoid shaking the camera while pushing down the button, and started firing away. Two minutes later, the sun was completely set behind the horizon. But I had done what I set out to do, and I believe that this shows it:
F-stop: f/14
Exposure: 1/2 second
ISO: 100
Week 2-Coal Wash on the San Rafael Swell:
Going into my second week, I knew things would be a little different. I was up in Ferron to listen to my younger brother Brian give his farewell talk in church before going on his mission (btw dude, you rock). I wanted to spend as much time with the family as possible, but I also knew I couldn't give up on only the second week of my challenge. Friday night, I decided I would wake up early and take the truck and 4-wheeler out to Coal Wash for a sunrise picture the next morning.
At about 9:30 Saturday morning, I finally got my lazy butt up. I wake up at 5:30 every morning during the week, and the opportunity to sleep in was just more than I could handle. But I was determined, I WAS going to Coal Wash, and I WAS getting a picture! I put on insulated overalls, a hoodie, a heavy coat, a beanie, and these stupid gloves that had hay flakes all over inside. I mean seriously, I know my dad wears them when he feeds the horses, but I'm allergic to hay! One of these days I'll get my own gloves instead of borrowing the hay-filled ones every time I visit. After putting on so many layers that I walked funny, I loaded up the 4-wheeler, and off I went. The trip there was pretty uneventful, so I'll spare you the details.
Most of the year, the first part of the 4-wheeler trail is basically in a small stream. But of course, this is the middle of January. Instead of riding in the small, cool stream, I rode on the thick sheet of ice over the top of it. I knew it wasn't deep underneath, but it would still be a pain to get out if I hit a thin spot and broke through. Once I reached the other side, it was full-throttle the rest of the way. I hadn't ridden a 4-wheeler in months, which for me is extremely unusual. So I just had to enjoy it! Besides, there was an arch a few miles down the trail that I wanted to scout out. I needed to determine when the best time of day to return would be, if I saw anything that would be worth it.
Once I finally got there, I didn't see much that I could work with. "Great," I thought. "I rode all this way out here, I'm bundled up like an eskimo, my hands are itchy from those stupid hay gloves, and nothing is striking me." Oh well, at least I had a fun ride, right? I turned around, and started the ride back to the truck.
Once I was heading north-west, I couldn't help but notice how blue the sky looked. It was a partly cloudy day, and the blue just seemed to balance out the white. It was almost as if it was photoshopped! I can't ever remember seeing a sky that blue before. As I was thinking this, I rounded a bend in the trail and saw something that made the whole trip worth it! The snow in the dry creek bed, the pinnacle rock, the blue skies, the white puffy clouds...this was it. This was the shot I came for. All it took was turning around before I could see it! I took out my camera, braced my arms against the handlebars of the 4-wheeler, and got my picture of the week:
F-stop: f/11
Exposure: 1/400 sec
ISO:100
Week 3-Coral Pink Sand Dunes:
For this week, I wanted a long-exposure night picture. The full moon was only a couple of days before the weekend, which would mean it would still be plenty big for a night shot. I called my uncle Kurt (because let's face it, night time is scary if you're alone in the middle of nowhere), and after talking for a little bit we decided to head out to the Coral Pink sand dunes.
Again, we left a little later than we should have (are you starting to see a pattern here?) which meant we wouldn't be able to find a spot we liked before dark. Heck, we weren't even close to the dunes by dark! The moon wouldn't come up for a few hours, which meant it was absolutely pitch black. Once we got there we slung on out camera bags, pulled out our flashlights, and started walking. We really didn't know where to go, and we couldn't really see anything beyond our flashlights. We were basically hoping to stumble upon something we liked.
We came up next to a rather large dune, and decided to climb it to see what was on the other side. Normally, that might not have been much of an issue. But since it's January, and the steep side of the dunes was the north side, it meant it was a layer of thick-crusted snow. And by the time we reached the top, we realized there was a 3 foot ledge of ice. Again, normally not much of a problem. But you try climbing that in the dark with 50lbs of camera gear on while already standing on a steep icy hillside! I absolutely did not want to go rolling down the hill, especially with all of my gear on my back. So after a little thought and kicking some decent footholes, we were able to make it up and over safely.
After climbing that dune, we saw pretty much the same thing as before: nothing. At least nothing within the reach of our flashlights. We knew we were heading in the direction of the main body of dunes, so we just kept going. However, we chose to find a way around the steep sides of the dunes from then on.
We finally stumbled upon an area that seemed like it could show some potential. I began to set up, and Kurt kept walking around a little to find an area he liked. We both settled on locations a few hundred feet apart, each taking pictures of old gnarled up trees. Once the moon came up, we were both able to open our shutters.
Now the thing with these long night exposures, is that they can take FOREVER. You have to leave the shutter open for long periods of time, so the camera's sensor can pick up enough light from the moon to be able to make the landscape look like day. My first picture was 45 minutes long, and after seeing it I decided I didn't like my setup. I had pretty much sat there in the cold for 45 minutes for nothing! It's ok, by then the moon was high enough I didn't really even need a flashlight. I could see my surroundings, and was able to find something that struck me. The way these trees gave a leading line to add depth to the picture, the rolling dune behind, positioning the North Star above the far tree...That's it, this would work. I set up, opened the shutter, and was able to capture this:
F-stop: f/5
Exposure: 23 minutes, 30 seconds
ISO: 100
Well, that's it for now! Sorry this post was so long, but I had to make up for three weeks! I'll hopefully have another one coming up soon from this weekend, so be sure to check back! If all goes well (and I remember) I'll update this once a week with my current picture.
