An extraordinary day

Today is Easter Sunday. Some of my friends here celebrate the day, others do not. But this is an extraordinary and wonderful day for all of humanity, every single person, not just for Christians who do celebrate Easter. Let me explain why I think so.

I would guess that we would all agree that we live in a broken world. At times, that brokenness seems extreme. We have wars, brutal dictatorships, anger and bitter hatred in our national discourse (here in America and around the world), along with an increasing amount of suffering caused by natural disasters globally. And I am only scratching the surface of the mess that surrounds us and fills our news stories. The promise of modernity and the enlightenment, that humanity and society would grow better and better has long been shown to be completely empty.

What is worse, that brokenness, is not just “out there”. None of us escapes it, and we can’t claim to be just victims. As Alexander Solzhenitsyn said, “The line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.” Or, as G.K. Chesterton, in response to the Times newspaper’s question, “What is wrong with the world?” is reputed to have replied, “I am!”.

I don’t know anyone who disagrees that the world is a crazy, messed up place and so are we. Even in our finest moments, we, all of humanity and each of us as individuals, are not who we hope to be.

And yet, this conversation is not meant to be a downer. In fact, my intention is quite the opposite. It would be depressing if the only option we have to fix society is by hard work and our best intentions. And similarly, if the only way to be the good people we aspire to be is by pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps, then we would be in a sorry state.

And that is why Easter Sunday is extraordinary. In fact, “extraordinary” is a cosmic understatement. The claim that stands behind the traditional greeting of Christians on this day, “He is risen”, is, if true, profoundly life changing. The story that surrounds Easter is grand, thrilling, rich and so, so deep, and I do it no justice trying squeeze it into a nutshell, but, nevertheless, here’s its premise:

  • There is a loving, personal God
  • He is not surprised or thwarted by my, your and everyone else’s brokenness
  • God became a human being, the man Jesus. And he died to rescue us from all that is wrong in us and the world at large, knowing that we are incapable of doing it ourselves
  • Then the part that Easter Sunday is all about – he rose from the dead. Yes, he literally and spectacularly came alive again as proof that this was no accident, and that he has the power to fix all brokenness, even death.

And that isn’t the end of the story. There is much more to explore – so much more to talk about than this, already lengthy, post allows. We will have to leave that for another conversation.

Novelist Marilynne Robinson, remarking on the uniqueness of Easter (and Christmas), wrote, “In these two moments, narrative fractures the continuities of history. It becomes so beautiful as to acquire a unique authority, a weight of meaning history cannot approach.” Most would agree that the story is nothing if not extraordinary. You may not agree with all its tenets. Maybe you don’t believe in God, or at least not a personal one. Perhaps Jesus being God and the resurrection narrative are just myth to you – but even then, it’s still quite an extraordinary story. And therefore, it’s worth your and my time to explore and discuss it. I love talking about the story that the Bible tells. Maybe some of you fundamentally disagree with the premise or just can’t understand my passion for it – and that’s OK. I am always open and happy to discuss views that completely contradict mine. You can tell me that I believe in myths, and I won’t be offended. So, here’s an open invitation – explore this with me one day and let me know what you think.

And for those who believe the myth, as I do, or as C.S. Lewis said, “The heart of Christianity is a myth which is also a fact”, then Easter Sunday, is not only extraordinary, but it’s inexpressibly wonderful too.

Happy Easter! He is risen.

Most significant pictures of 2018 – Part 2

This is part two of my list of favorite pictures from the past year. You can see Part 1 here.

Top 10

I saved my top 10 picks for today. Hats off to any of you who waded through my 33 shortlist pictures from yesterday. I had a hard time picking my top 10 – many of those in yesterday’s post came very close. All of my top 10 pictures are landscapes. This was not the year for wildlife shots or people photography. So, without further ado, here are my favorite 10 landscape images from 2018.

Geiranger Falls

It takes a long time to climb from the bottom of Geiranger Falls to the top. Even if you are fit. I have pictures that capture the whole scene, but as impressive as that view is, my first top ten pick is instead a close-up abstract view of the falls.

I love the color of the water in glacial run-off streams, and Fossevandring Geiranger (Geiranger Falls) is no exception. The moss on the rocks is such a vibrant green color as well. And of course, the flow of the river, as it tumbles down a series of falls, cascades and rapids, is quite spectacular. For me, this very small piece of the whole cascade captured the essence of the place better than a wider view on the day we visited Geiranger. Normally I use 1/6 – 1/8 of a second for waterfalls, but this close in view needed something a little faster and so I used a 1/15 second shutter speed.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/10 ISO-250 1/15 sec.

Moody Mount Hood

We camped on the slopes of Mt. Hood, Oregon, for 4 days last year. What a beautiful place on the edge of the Columbia River valley. The time we spent there afforded several opportunities to see the mountain in different types of light and a variety of weather conditions. Two of the shots of this mountain made it to my Top 10 list. The first of these is much more moody and worked really well as a black and white. This was taken early one morning. I had hoped for a sunrise shot, but the sun did not show up on schedule. Instead, the clouds provided a lot of drama and a wonderful backdrop to this impressive mountain.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/14 ISO-64 1/80 sec.

The Hole in the Ocean

If the ocean has a drainplug, you will find it on the Oregon coast at a place called ‘Thor’s Well’. It is an interesting part of a very beautiful coastline. It is also quite dangerous. At least one person was killed here this year. At any time, rogue waves may come in that can knock you down or wash you away. And yet even while I was there people were standing right on the edge of Thor’s Well without paying attention to waves coming towards them. If you stand back about 20 feet, the photography is so much better, and it is a whole lot safer.

For this shot, I spent some time preparing by checking the tide schedule and matching an almost full tide (the ideal time to view Thor’s Well) with sunset. Good sunsets are not guaranteed in Oregon, but I was not disappointed with the light on the day I was there. All that was left was to slow the shutter to 1/15 second to catch the flow of water going down the plug hole, and wait for the right wave to come in.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/11 ISO-64 1/15 sec.

The Hut

Full disclosure. One of my favorite photographers is a Danish guy named Mads Pieter Iverson who also took a picture of this same hut with the same background. His composition is a little different, and the lighting and season also add some variation, but I want to acknowledge that I was inspired by his picture. I see that he has ‘The Hut’ as one of his top 10 picks from 2018 as well. You can find Iverson’s work here.

My composition choice was to contrast the sizes and align the shapes of the hut and the mountain (Ostinden) behind it. There are some complementary color themes, as well as some contrast too between the hut and the mountain. More than normal, this picture needed some work in Photoshop – to remove a set of steps on one side and a rail on the other – that detracted significantly from the composition.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/18 ISO-200 1/100 sec.

Art Nouveua at Night

After a fire destroyed the Norwegian coastal town of Ålesund in 1904, it was rebuilt under the direction of several young architects in an Art Noveau style. Beautiful homes and hotels reflect in the waters of the harbor, lined with flower boxes. I have some wonderful close-up shots of those buildings and the tall ships moored nearby.

But it is this view from Aksla, the hill overlooking the town, as the sun was setting, and blue hour was taking over, that was my favorite and easily made it to my final 10 list.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/13 ISO-125 20 sec.

Paint splashes

I included a picture of the vivid colors of the Painted Hills in Oregon in my blog post yesterday. This image is taken from the same location.

With the clear leading line of the dry creek-bed that heads down to the conical mound, this is a composition that really worked out really well. I try hard with scenes like this to draw the movement of the viewer’s eyes into the picture and then try to keep the focus there. The longer I examine this picture, the more the different colors of yellow, red and pink fill this unreal landscape. And then, in time, I start seeing the folds and creases in the rocks that look more like a living creature, in some ways, than rocks and sand. Hopefully this image sucks you in just like it does me.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/14 ISO-64 1/5 sec.

Green skies over Hamnøy

I mentioned in yesterday’s post that the hamlet of Hamnøy is one place I would go back to in a heartbeat. This shot illustrates why. In September, there is a pretty good chance you will get to see the Northern Lights in Lofoten. The red fishing huts, called ‘rorbuers’, add so much character to this place with its fjord and mountains. We rented the cabins in the foreground of this picture and got to enjoy the Aurora close to ‘home’ for a good hour before the rain came.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 14-24mm f/3.2 ISO-1600 13 sec.

On fire

There have been plenty of fires in the Pacific Northwest over the last few years, including in the Columbia River Gorge, so you could be forgiven for thinking that this is what is going on here. But there are no fires and there is no smoke in this picture. One June evening, wispy clouds formed around Mount Hood as the sun was setting giving this absolutely epic display. We just had to show up.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/13 ISO-64 1/5 sec.

Uttakleiv Beach

Near the town of Leknes on the Lofoten (pronounced ‘Loofooten’) Islands in Norway there is a lovely little beach. This line of boulders at the shoreline, is more than just a leading line to the mountains behind across the bay, the rocks bring a color variety that contrasts with the blue of the sea and the lightness of the waves.

I chose a long exposure to smooth out the water a lot. Uttakleiv is not only one of my favorite places in Lofoten, but also provided one of my favorite pictures from the islands too.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 12-24mm f/20 ISO-64 2 sec.

Morning in Hamnøy

Did I mention that I could be persuaded very easily to go back to Hamnøy? Of course, I did. So, the final pick in my Top 10, is another shot of this re-imagined fishing village. The road leaving the village crosses to the next island via a high one-lane bridge over the Reinefjorden. This makes for a wonderful viewpoint and photography spot. If you visit, be prepared to share this bridge with several other photographers at all times of the day and night. This scene even appeared in a recent National Geographic article.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 12-24mm f/18 ISO-200 1/40 sec.

And so, we have come to the end of my review of 2018 favorites. I hope you enjoyed ‘traveling’ with me through this series as much I did pulling my list together. I know that as I look back on these pictures, I realize how absolutely blessed I was to get to visit such amazing places this past year and how thankful I am to have had the chance to photograph the beauty that God has made. The rhetorical poem, found in Job 38 and 39, assumes greater weight as you look on majestic mountains, and see the stars and northern lights in the night sky. So many of the spots I stood in to take these pictures filled me with a sense of awe and a reminder that “He has made everything beautiful in its time.”

Feel free to leave a comment below. And let me know if you have a favorite from my list.

Colin / mtk

Most significant pictures of 2018 – Part 1

It has been several years since I published a “most significant” list. I don’t get to do this very often simply because of busyness at the time of the holidays and early in a new year as well. But I really do like the idea of doing a review of pictures from the past year. It is great to reflect on the moments represented by the pictures. And taking a step back and looking at the pictures again after some time, provides a different perspective from the first impressions when the picture was fresh. Quite frankly, there are pictures that no longer matter or make my favorites list a few months later.

I have had fun doing this review, although it has been agonizing trying to make my final picks. And hopefully, by sharing these, you get some enjoyment from these images too.

Three categories

I have divided my pictures into three categories. People, wildlife and landscapes.

Some of you know that I consider photographing people to be an enormous challenge. I am in awe of portrait photographers that take wonderful pictures of your families, famous people and random strangers. This does not come naturally to me and the three pictures I include in this category just represent the fun I have had photographing my grandsons.

In previous years, wildlife shots have dominated my photography. Although I love shooting wildlife, and had an opportunity to photograph elk, bear, deer and a wide variety of birds – from eagles to bluebirds – only two very common wildlife shots made the cut in 2018.

Landscapes are my real passion, and this year I was blessed with the opportunity to shoot a wonderful and diverse set of scenes in a wide variety of spectacularly beautiful places. While on a trip, I dropped a lens and damaged its ability to focus resulting in many disappointing shots. Despite this, as a result of so many opportunities, my “short list” ended up being very long. I eventually culled this list down to 38 pictures. 28 of these are shown here and my top 10 picks I will save for tomorrow’s blog post. Watch this space!

People

My three pictures in this category are all family. I picked these ones because the subjects are special to me and the I have tried with these pictures, in some small measure, to capture their personalities.

Bookworms

This picture captures the love of books that both these guys have along with some real emotions. Nico is obviously enjoying the antics going on behind the camera, and Christo, who had been crying, is trying to decide whether he is ready to join in the fun.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/6.3 ISO-4000 (no flash) 1/320 sec.

Nonchalant

Our grandson, Nicholas, is all of 3½ years old. Somewhere along the line he went from being a toddler to being all boy. Taken at the Chicago Botanical Gardens after their Christmas decorations were put up, he managed to strike this completely nonchalant look.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/6.3 ISO-500 1/80 sec.

The wonder

Christopher is nearly two, and life is all about discovery and imitation. And there is so much to discover, especially at Christmastime. This is a precious moment captured. As his Mom tells him to peak around the tree and look at Gramps, the wonder in his eyes and glow of the lights on his face is just perfect. I had planned to use the framing of lights out of focus in the foreground to frame the scene, and with some luck, they ended up in just the right place.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/6.3 ISO-500 1/250 sec.

Wildlife

I only have two wildlife pictures in my favorites list this year. Not only is that unusual for me, but both pictures are quite mundane – a cardinal and a chipmunk. Despite the opportunity to see grizzly bears and bald eagles, and other exotic wildlife sightings up close, it is good to remember that so often the close-to-home and the common that can be memorable.

Posing in Banff

On the shores of Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park, Canada, with its blue/green waters seen in the background, this chipmunk calmly posed for this picture. He allowed a really great close-up. This shot is memorable (unfortunately), because a couple of hours later I dropped the lens used for this shot onto the hard ground of a parking lot. It was never the same afterwards and this is the last sharp picture I got using it.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/7.1 ISO-125 1/125 sec.

Winter beauty

On cold and snowy winter’s day, this female northern cardinal perched in the lilac bush in our back yard. The contrast of its beautiful but subtle colors, not as vibrant as its mate, with the pure white snow, makes this very simple shot a favorite of mine.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 80-400mm f/5.6 ISO-1600 1/2500 sec.

Landscapes

My goal was to pick my top ten landscape shots. This was harder than I thought. I had 38 images that were very significant to me, either because of the memories they evoked, the beauty of the scene or because photographically and compositionally I felt they stood out.
Below are the first 28 of these pictures. I am sorry in advance – that is a lot to work through, so skim through, or even skip them if you want – I will never know ;-).

I decided to put these pictures in chronological order as I had no particular reason to rank them in any other sequence.

And tomorrow I will share my top ten.

Pink and green

If you have been to the Badlands in South Dakota, I am sure that you have been blown away by the sheer scale of the landscape. At times you wonder if you somehow just landed on the surface of the moon. Depending on the time of day, you will see vibrant colors – yellows, purples, frequently shades of red and pink – in the rocks and hillsides. The contrast with the green of the grass is quite lovely.

I was struck by the leading lines of the ridge in front of the camera, leading to another ridge and in turn leading to circles that keep your eyes in the frame. This picture may have made it to one of my top picks if I had had the presence of mind to include a person in the picture. These hills are massive, maybe the equivalent of 15-20 stories high, but without a reference object, such as a person, it is hard to get a feel for the sheer scale of these ridges and slopes.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/11 ISO-400 1/200 sec.

Swiftcurrent

In the Many Glacier side of Glacier National Park, the Swiftcurrent creek flows out of Swiftcurrent Lake via the dramatic Swiftcurrent Falls. This more serene spot is where the creek flows into Sherburne Lake. Moose graze here, and the surrounding hills join the scene to make this a beautiful viewpoint.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/14 ISO-64 1/80 sec.

Flow

Maybe this stream, also in Glacier National Park, should be also be called Swiftcurrent, like the previous one. In fact, in this picture my goal was to capture the swift flow of this little river, Baring Creek as it flows from Baring Falls. The beautiful colored rocks below the surface just add to the mood of this little valley. I chose 1/8sec as the shutter speed to capture the flow of the water. I found that slower shutter speeds caused the white blur to dominate the picture, taking away from the color in the rocks.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/14 ISO-64 1/8 sec.

Green river

There are many waterfalls on this river that flows through Johnston Canyon in Banff National Park. Some have names, like Lower Falls and Upper Falls, but many, as far as I know, do not. This spot afforded the opportunity for some evergreen framing of the river, highlighting the stunning natural green color of the river. This location also highlights the curve of the river over multiple little falls, leading the eye into the picture. A slower shutter was essential to show that this was a fast-flowing river.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/16 ISO-64 1/10 sec.

Victoria and Louise

One of the most magical places in the world is Lake Louise. With the magnificent Fairmont Chateau behind you, this is the view across Lake Louise to the Victoria Glacier. The lake was named after the 4th daughter of Queen Victoria, making this location a family affair. It is hard to capture the beauty of this place in a picture. The color of the lake, caused by the high levels of glacial flour (aka rock flour) is striking by itself, but the surrounding forested mountains and the glaciers in the background are impossible to describe in words. It would take many pictures taken over many weeks or months to show the different moods of this place as the light changes.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 14-24mm f/16 ISO-64 1/5 sec.

Dawn over Moraine Lake

If the color of Lake Louise is striking, it is hard to overstate the impact the color of Moraine Lake has. Once again, the magic of its hue is caused by the high levels of mineral rich rock flour from glacial runoff. When we first visited here it was raining. This turned to an early summer snowfall and the following morning at dawn, this was the view that awaited. I was hoping for some alpenglow. This appeared ever so briefly, for just an instant, and I was not quick enough to get a good shot. However, I am not disappointed in the cooler colors of this cloudy morning and the fresh snow on the peaks that provide a backdrop to Moraine Lake.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 14-24mm f/16 ISO-64 1.6 sec.

The long and winding road

In this case, my cliched title leads to the mountains of Banff National Park not far from Moraine Lake. There is nothing quite like a winding road to provide a sense of depth to a picture, especially when the Canadian Rocky Mountains provide the backdrop.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/10 ISO-400 1/125 sec.

Tuscany in Washington

Those who live in Washington in the area around Spokane, and areas south of there, find it hard to imagine why people would choose to come here and photograph this place. And yet, this is picture almost made my top 10 list. I love the alternating shadows and light that provide such texture to rolling hills of the Palouse near Steptoe Butte. It really does remind one of the landscapes of Tuscany.


Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/14 ISO-64 1/8 sec.

Lavender fields

The rows of lavender are beautiful anywhere, and when they are in the foothills of Mount Hood, the scene is even more lovely. In order to get the lavender in focus up close, all the way to the orchard in the background and Mount Hood too, I had to focus stack multiple images. This is actually 3 pictures merged to provide focus from the first flowers all the way to the horizon.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/14 ISO-64 1/80 sec.

Wood grain

I would love to have included an abstract in my top 10 list, and this picture almost made it. Near the rocky shore of the central Oregon coast, I found this massive tree that had been blown over. It had been sun-dried and bleached by the weather. This is the view of the base of the trunk and the patterns and texture just draw me in. The light parts, the dark grooves and holes, and the lines and swirls draw both the eye and imagination.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/14 ISO-64 2 sec.

Blue mirror

The waters of Crater Lake are a stunning reflective blue. This midday picture, despite the harsh light, captures the color well and the reflected clouds give highlights in the water surface. And the lake is massive too. This is a panorama of three pictures stitched together and it still doesn’t quite fit the lake in.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/16 ISO-64 1/80 sec.

Aglow

Painted Hills, Oregon, is off the beaten path. There were not a lot of people there on a beautiful summer’s day. This is probably because it is not close to a major city or airport, but the colors in the rocks make this place quite stunning. And if it is beautiful during the day, at sunset the colors really come alive. As the setting sun hit the yellow, orange and red rock the glow is almost luminescent. I so wanted to add this scene to my top 10 list but instead saved a different image from the same place for that honor.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/14 ISO-500 1/200 sec.

Fjordland

When you drive in Norway, you need to keep your wits about you. You can round a corner or exit a tunnel and suddenly a jaw-dropping scene could appear. The trick is to quickly find a safe place to pull over to get a shot like this one. And the scenery around so many corners is stunning and there are so many tunnels, including the longest in the world (which we drove through. As you drive west from Bergen to Voss, near Furnes and Kråi, this fjord comes into sight the moment you come out of a tunnel. Thing quick or you could miss it.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/18 ISO-500 1/2 sec.

Dawn in Undredal

In Norway you can cruise Aurlandsfjord and Nærøyfjord from an electric powered boat – I guess it’s like a nautical Tesla ;-). Both fjords are among the most beautiful in Norway and if you visit the town of Flåm, this is one of the many ‘must do’ activities.Just before you leave Aurlandsfjord, the little hamlet of Undredal appears, and with early morning sunlight hitting the tops of the mountains, makes for a classic Norwegian scene.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/9 ISO-320 1/250 sec.

The valley floor

There are many glaciers in Norway and one of the more accessible is Nigardsbreen. You can drive to the valley floor and join a hike onto this glacier. That is unless you arrive to late to make the last hike of the day, in which case you can photograph it instead, which is not too bad an alternative. In fact I have two pictures in a row here of the glacier we never hiked on. I really love this one, the U-shaped valley with its lush green floor and the S-shaped glacier combine in this image to provide a lot of depth.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/13 ISO-160 1/160 sec.

Nigardsbrevatnet

As is common, the Nigardsbreen glacier (actually, that is redundant as “breen” in Norwegian means glacier) terminates in a lake. The lake at the end of the glacier is called Nigardsbrevatnet and the mineral-rich waters here give a very silvery reflection. The surrounding hills and waterfall just add to the beauty of this place and the pictures that are here for the taking.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/10 ISO-160 1/160 sec.

Blue ice

If you miss the glacial hike on one glacier, you look for plan B. About 15 miles up into the mountains from Nigardsbreen there is another glacier, Jostedalsbreen, that is accessible via a 15-minute inflatable boat ride. It requires dodging icebergs that have calved from the glacier. It is best not to fall into the icy lake as I learned inadvertently. The ride across is just beautiful with the blue end of the glacier, standing about 7 stories high clearly visible as the goal, in the center of this picture.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/10 ISO-160 1/160 sec.

Crevasse

Hiking on a glacier, with crampons and roped up for safety, is an experience that I definitely want to repeat. The size and depths of the crevasses is hard to appreciate, but you get a bit of perspective when you see the size of the ‘mountain’ shown in the previous picture in the right side of the glacier. This is the ‘rock’ that shows in the background of this glacial view. I realize that this picture made it to my shortlist mostly because of the memories it evokes and it is here more to document the epic nature of a glacial hike than as a wonderful composition.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/10 ISO-250 1/200 sec.

Misty morning on the fjord

Often in Norway hotels and bed and breakfasts are placed right on the edge of a fjord. When you arrive, like we did, late at night in a village like Fjærland, it is exciting to wake up in the morning and to step out onto the deck of your B&B and be stunned by the view. Here we woke to the view of Fjærlandsfjorden as the morning mists were clearing. This could never got old or mundane.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/14 ISO-100 1/20 sec.

Jolstravatnet

I mentioned earlier, that you have to be prepared to find a place to stop at a moment’s notice when driving on the roads and passes in Norway. Coming across the lake called Jolstravatnet was just such an occasion. The moss-coated rocks, the reflection, the looming clouds and the green-covered mountainsides seen here definitely forced one of those quick stops. And I think you will agree, it was worth it.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/16 ISO-320 1/250 sec.

Ferry ride

When you are not driving across a mountain pass, or through a tunnel, you frequently are getting to where you need to go by ferry. And this is what a ferry ride can look like. Here we are passing another ferry on Geirangerjord, one of Norway’s many stunningly beautiful fjords.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/10 ISO-800 1/100 sec.

Trolls

One of the most famous roads in Norway is the road of the trolls – Trollstiggen. There are many excellent pictures of the road which zig-zags down the hillside. I chose instead, after driving to the bottom of the pass, to take this picture of the river and its waterfall, Stigfossen. You can see the one bridge where the road crosses just below the falls. It was late in the day, and much of the valley was already in shade. But parts of the river’s edge were picking up that beautiful late afternoon warm light.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/14 ISO-160 1/4 sec.

Curtains in the sky

A trip to Norway is not complete without a visit to the Arctic Circle and a chance to see the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights). Skagsanden Beach, in the Lofoten Islands (pronounced ‘Loofooten’), is an excellent place to get the luminous green curtains in the sky and a green carpet reflected in the wet sand of a retreating tide. The Borealis appeared quite early this particular evening, it meant that we were able to capture the last hints of the setting sun in the West (left of the picture), the stars clearly shining on this clear night and the northern lights just exploding in the scene.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 ISO-640 1/20 sec.

Fishing village

If the southern fjordland area of Norway is stunning, with beauty around each corner, the Arctic islands of Lofoten take that up several notches. Near the southern end of Lofoten is the town of Reine. With its harbor in the foreground and the imposing Ostinden mountain behind, this scene is best described as epic. This is another picture that was close to making it to my final 10.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/14 ISO-200 1/80 sec.

The eye of the dragon

We hiked a mile down a trail looking for this feature, The Dragon’s Eye, only to get a text from our wives that it was right down at the beach near Uttakleiv where we had started our hike. So we hiked a mile back, lugging cameras, lenses, tripods and all. I think it was worth the trek. The dragon is eyeing the dragon-shaped mountains of Hagskolmen across the bay.


Nikon D850 Nikkor 14-24mm f/18 ISO-160 1/15 sec.

Å

The end of the road in Lofoten (or should I say the beginning, it is called “A” after all) is the town of Å (pronounced something like ‘aw’). From here the view down the rest of the Lofoten chain looks a bit threatening and austere. This is especially true in this B&W rendering of the scene.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/16 ISO-400 1/125 sec.

Pillow-top mattress

In much of Lofoten, the terrain is covered in beautiful mosses and berries. When you walk on it, you find it is spongy and feels exactly like you are walking on a mattress. You may expect that it is marshy or wet underneath, but you find that this is only very occasionally the case. There are red berries and blueberries, and the moss comes in yellow, white, red and of course green.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 14-24mm f/16 ISO-500 1/160 sec.

Dramatic Hamnøy

If I had to pick one place in Norway to go back to, there is no question that I would pick Hamnøy. Not only is it by itself a stunning place to take pictures, but it is a perfect jumping off spot for many of the other Lofoten locations that feature in many of the pictures I have shown here, and several that made it to my top 10 list. This picture, so nearly made it into my final list too. The stormy waters of the fjord, Vorfjorden, lead your eye right into the frame. In the background, Festhelltinden towers over the scene and then dominating the center of the picture are the red fisherman’s cabins called “Rorbeurs”. You can see the trestles for hanging salt fish (Bacalao) right behind the cabins. You can rent these cabins, and in fact, the ones in this picture are where we stayed for four nights. Not too shabby a location, I’d say.

Nikon D850 Nikkor 14-24mm f/18 ISO-100 1/1.6 sec.

Top 10

Well that’s it. Wow! You’ve made it through 33 of my pictures. 3 pictures of people, 2 simple wildlife images and 28 landscapes. I am impressed that you are still reading this.

I plan to share my top 10 pictures of 2018 tomorrow. Stop by for a look if you’d like.

Colin Michaelis / mtk

The “T”

Tesla Model S85 @ 18 months

On New Year’s Eve 18 months ago I was given the key to my Tesla. It was a pretty exciting and scary day. Since then I have driven over 30,000 miles (48,000km) in the car in all kinds of weather. There have been boiling hot days close to 100⁰F, freezing cold days around -20⁰F, snowy days, hailstorms, sunny days and torrential rains. And so I figured it may be worthwhile doing a quick report on how the car has behaved.

First, what’s a Tesla?

I’m glad you asked. Have you heard of Elon Musk? He’s the South African (we have to stick together) who helped found PayPal and turn it into a billion dollar business. After he sold out he became the CEO and brains behind SpaceX (who are successfully sending rockets to space) and Tesla, a new kind of car company. He has turned both into highly successful, multi-billion dollar companies.

Oh yes, back to Tesla. Tesla is an entirely electric car. It’s not a hybrid like a Prius, or a half-baked idea like GM’s Volt car. Teslas have no engine and there is nowhere to put in gas or petrol. All they have is a big battery and an electric motor. The cars are made in the USA – they come from a factory in Fremont, California – and they have racked up an impressive set of accolades – maybe more than any other car ever? The car received the highest safety rating of any car tested in the USA, was awarded Car of the Year by Motor Trend and Automobile magazines, Consumer Reports said it was the best car they had ever tested and Car and Driver magazine rated it the Car of the Century. [Update: Consumer Reports just retested the Tesla (Model S P85D) in August, 2015 and basically it broke their rating scale.  It scored 103 out of 100 because of the amazing acceleration combined with incredibly low fuel consumption, causing CR to rethink their linear rating system.]

OK, but why all the hype?

Another good question. I think it is a combination of things.

1) It’s electric. That means it is very kind to the environment and your wallet. To give you an idea just how good – I averaged about $200/month in gas for the Audi I drove for 12 years before getting The T. My electricity bill went up $215 for the entire first year that I had my Tesla. And I drove roughly the same mileage. And all of that with zero emissions. Ah – I hear some of you say. Is it really green? Doesn’t the energy to charge the car come from coal-powered power stations that put a lot of bad stuff in the atmosphere? True – some of the energy does. But it’s less than 50% of the energy where I live and more importantly, remember you are consuming somewhere between 1/5 and 1/10 of the amount of energy of an equivalent polluting ICE (Internal Combustion Engined) car. So the net result is a dramatic reduction in net emissions.

2) They are gorgeous and they’ve solved the problem of range-anxiety. Teslas overcome the limitations that all other electric cars seem to have. First the others all tend to look rather awkward and in many cases downright ugly. And then they have a range problem. The Tesla on the other hand goes 300 miles (480km) on a charge. That is a game-changer. If you are like me your first reaction is – yes, but what happens after 300 miles? I can’t just pull into a gas station you say. OK, let’s think about this. First, most people, it’s certainly my case, don’t travel anywhere near 300 miles a day. I do about 80 a day. And every night I plug in my car in my garage and it remembers to charge itself starting at midnight when my electricity rates are lower. The car is completley charged up in about 2-3 hours. Every morning I leave the house with a “full tank”. And when I hit the road on a long trip? Well Elon has been thinking of that too. Tesla has built a network of Superchargers that can charge Teslas at the rate of about 400 miles/hour. And they are free. On a long trip a quick rest stop to grab a cup of coffee or lunch, and within 45 minutes you’re on your way again. On a recent trip from Detroit to Chicago which is about 350 miles, I had to stop for about half an hour to charge my car. Oh, and did I mention that charging my car is free.

3) Teslas are insanely fast. The slow models (like mine) do 0-60mph in 5.5 seconds. The 4-wheel drive performance model does it in 2.8 seconds. Not bad for a 7-seater family sedan. If you are not sure how fast 2.8 seconds is, there may only be 3 other cars in production right now that can match or come close to that and they are exotic Italian and British sports cars. But it is not just fast, it is also silent – remember no engine. And the power is instantaneous and continuous. The moment you hit the accelerator you get 100% of the torque and because there is no transmission, there are no gear changes to interrupt the acceleration. Even in my “slow” model I can almost guarantee getting a “Tesla grin” on the face of my passengers when they feel that incredible thrust back into their seats.

4) There is almost no maintenance. Over the life of my car I will never have to do an oil change, replace the timing belt, water pump or other belts. There will never be transmission issues, or a radiator flush and there is no check engine light, period! I will never have to get my brakes done either. Why, you ask? Because most of my braking is done by the car harvesting the energy and recharging the battery, I probably use my brakes about 1/20 of the amount needed in a regular ICE car. I may have to change brake pads in about 60 years.

I created an estimation model comparing the costs of fuel and maintenance/repair expenses between my Tesla and an equivalent ICE car. Over a period of 10 years (I kept my previous car for 12 years and 200,000 miles), I estimate that I will save between $25,000 and $30,000. And that includes the cost of one battery replacement (the batteries have an 8-year unlimited mileage warranty).

5) Continuous improvements. The car is largely computer controlled. Think of it as one big mobile Apple computer on four wheels. The Tesla has a 17 inch monitor that controls almost all of the functions in the car and is connected via a 3G connection (provided by Tesla) to the internet. The cool thing is that every couple of months I get a software update over the internet. Some of the updates are small, like the improvements to the map programs I got this week. Sometimes they are new features controlling how the car operates – like new braking features or the recent speed improvement provided via a software update. And recently autonomous driving has been added. Already Teslas can drive themselves as long as it is on private property. So you can arrive home and tell the car to go park itself in the garage while you get the mail. Pretty cool. And this feature was added via a software update at 2:00am over the ether. Tesla is now working on further improvements to allow the car to drive itself on public roads.

Finally, the review

I know, I know! I said this was going to be a review. But first I had to explain why I bought one. The factors above were all key in my decision 18 months ago. Now let me tell you about my experience.

The good.

The car has performed as well as I had anticipated. In every sense. The cost to run it has matched my calculations. The only unanticipated expense has been my impetuous visits to the car wash to keep it looking good. ;-). The performance, even in my “slow model” is wonderful. The car handles amazingly well for a large family sedan and the acceleration still blows me and my passengers away.

The use of Superchargers on road trips has worked perfectly. I would say that there is no need for range anxiety, however, you do have to plan ahead – no point in waiting until you are almost out of available range to start looking for your next charging station. But Tesla have made that easier recently (with an over-the-air software update of course) with the car automatically planning the charging spots along your route for you and displaying them on the map on the big screen.

The Tesla service experience is also wonderful. I get a lot of service, like tire rotations regularly, at no charge and I have always been given another Tesla as a loaner for the day.

The not so good.

The only mechanical issue I have had is water inside my reverse lights. Tesla replaced the lights – at no charge of course.

There are three other considerations. These are not bad, just considerations.

  • The model I bought is rear wheel drive. I live in an area that gets lots of snow in winter. I would definitely get the 4-wheel drive version if I was buying now. It wasn’t available until about a year after I bought mine. However, the RWD Tesla does amazingly well in the snow. I have driven in intense storms and have not come close to getting stuck and the car handles the conditions amazingly well.
  • Battery life is reduced when the weather is colder. Especially on those days when the temperature is below 0⁰F (-18C). We have had way too many of those in the last couple of winters. I reckon that I lose about 20% of my range on those days. This is as a result of the car having to heat the battery as well as the occupants. This is not a showstopper, just a consideration. Thank goodness for all the range Teslas have so that giving up 20% is no sweat.
  • The whole car is made of aluminum. Nice and light. Unfortunately the paint is a little soft on the aluminum and quickly shows scratches and nicks. Also the hood is vulnerable to getting a little bend or dimple in the front, if you push the hood in the wrong place. My car has one of those. L

Would I buy the same car again and would I recommend it?

Really good questions. The answers are – YES and ABSOLUTELY! In fact let me go out on a limb here. I think it is only a matter of time before we are all driving electric cars. Just like it is inevitable that in the next 20 years or so, trucks and cars will be moving to autonomous driving, I think we are not far away, maybe less than 20 years, from the tipping point when the benefits of electric cars will be matched by the infrastructure to support them. Tesla is leading the way and I am having a lot of fun driving mine.

Just to add to the fun, I get a lot of interesting and entertaining questions and comments. Like, “What kind of car is that? It’s a Tesla. Oh – who makes it? Tesla! Where does it come from? It’s American. Really?” Or the strange looks I get when I pop the frunk (front trunk where people expect the engine to be) and out comes a suitcase.

By the way…

Recently, Tesla offered its owners and future buyers an incentive to collaborate. Elon Musk sent me a couple of emails this week. Anyone who wants to buy a Tesla and uses my code http://ts.la/colin8593 gets a nice discount – and so do I. So if you know anyone who is thinking about getting a Tesla, let them know about this offer.

Questions and rides

Maybe you have questions or comments. I’d love to hear them. Oh and if you’d like a ride in my Tesla, just let me know. I would enjoy seeing if I could get a “Tesla grin” onto your face.

On white

A few weeks ago I tried something new. I wish I could claim it was an original idea (although some would claim that no such thing exists any more), but no, this is a complete copy (in concept) of a post by the best photography educator around, Scott Kelby. In a recent blog entry (http://goo.gl/ES8XTM) he demonstrated a theme that he stumbled upon accidentally.

The idea is based on something we are all very familiar with – products, cars, models and so on, photographed on a seamless white background. It is great for achieving a clear, undistracted view of the product.  We almost take this look for granted when looking at a product catalog and many advertisements.

So, how about putting buildings on white? It is a little hard getting a roll of seamless white paper that long. But fortunately there is an easier way. All it takes is a slightly overexposed shot and a few simple adjustments and we have a building on white.

Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago

It is really not hard to achieve this look, especially with Lightroom or Photoshop. First, bump up the contrast – a bunch and then a bit more. Also boost clarity quite a bit too. These tweaks will make the bright parts of your picture and the lighter mid-tones brighter (almost white) and do the reverse for the darker parts of the image. With one or two of the images, I also needed to do a little bit of local dodging to achieve the desired amount whiteness. I also took Scott’s advice and sharpened the picture like crazy.

Baha’i Temple in Wilmette just north of Evanston and Chicago.

At this point, you could choose to go black and white and I think that would be perfect for some buildings. I did not do that with any of mine shown here. However, you do need to do something about the color as the increase in contrast has accentuated colors unnaturally.

Marina Towers in Chicago.

To solve the color accentuation, I just lowered the saturation and the “vibrance” of the picture.



I will experiment with this look some more. It suits some buildings and some angles more than others. The first image, of the Trump Tower is particularly well-suited to this look, but others perspectives and compositions could work well too.

Chicago Harbor Lighthouse

Why not give this a try and share your images with me. And let me know what you think too.

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Ps. My blog was feeling neglected and ignored. The last post was 6 months ago. Let’s hope I can do another post before too long.

 

Hot air

A Favorite

One of my favorite landscape pictures of all times came out of a recent trip to California when we had the chance to take a hot air balloon ride. I say “came about” advisedly because I think the best photographs involve some planning and certainly careful consideration of the composition. In the words of that famous quote by Ansel Adams, “You don’t take a photograph, you make it”. So while I was able to prepare for this shot in many ways, it was my first balloon ride and not knowing what to expect, a lot of what took place involved quickly reacting to the circumstances. The opportunity for this picture “came about” as the altitude and direction we were facing changed.

This, my favorite shot of the whole experience, came when the balloon rotated round to face the folds of the hills and mountains, with mist nestling in their valleys. That by itself made for a beautiful vista. However, seeing the multi-colored striped balloon rising as we were descending allowed me to time a shot with the other balloon in the skies above the hills, in a way that was well balanced.

I have just been asked to co-author and article on hot-air balloon photography on pixsy.com. The article provides a few tips to enable other photographers who like me had never taken a ride in a hot air balloon to be prepared.

Tips for balloon photography

Hot air balloon rides are a wonderful way to get some very interesting landscape shots from a different perspective than you would normally when both feet are planted firmly on the ground. I always believe that to get the shots we would like, it is best to prepare as much as possible. If you have never been in a balloon before, it may be hard to pre-visualize the shots, but you can definitely break down the categories of shots you may look for and be prepared for those.   Here are just a few suggestions.

The pre-launch phase of the excursion provides some fascinating opportunities for color-filled photographs. Most balloon rides are done in the early morning.  So be prepared for some low light shots with bright flames pouring into colorful balloons.  A high ISO will likely help here.

Think also about people shots – both catching the feelings of anticipation while on the ground and of course when in the balloon’s basket.  Think about how you can get a good depth of field to have your subjects in the basket, just a few feet away in focus, and the environmental context behind clear too.

Maybe the most obvious shots from the ride will be the broad landscape shots from high in the sky.  Make sure you get an outside position on the basket and of course have a wide angle lens available. For the series of shots that this image comes from, I was alternating between single frame exposures and bracketed shots for HDR processing, depending on the contrast level in the scene.  The balloon is almost constantly slowly rotating and so at times you may be pointing almost directly into the sun with very high contrasts.

A good balloon operator will alternate between high altitude (6,000′ or more) and low altitude (skimming the trees) phases of the ride so think about the different views that this will present. Remember, just as with any other photography, don’t get stuck on one point of view. Don’t just look out for the horizontal shot. Look down and think wide as well as zoomed in.  Look up too and into the balloon, especially when the flame is roaring.  Whichever direction you are looking, think carefully about the position of objects of interest, for example another balloon.  Where does the object best fit in your composition?

One final tip – don’t forget to take the camera away from your eye and just enjoy the awesome fact of floating across the countryside in the early dawn hours.  It is magical and some of the time you need to just look around and experience it!

You can read the original Pixsy article and enjoy other balloon photographs at http://www.pixsy.com/hot-air-balloon-photos/.

Final thoughts

If I get another opportunity to get up in a hot air balloon, I will jump at it. I will follow the advice I have given others after our first magnificent experience, if you are taking a balloon ride, pick a beautiful place. Colorado anyone? New Mexico? How about the Amboseli in Tanzania? I’m ready! I was going to say “fired up” but just couldn’t bring myself to do it ;-).

One bed

A Short Visit

Last weekend I got to spend a very short time at “the garden” – i.e. the Chicago Botanic Garden. This is a magnificent place especially at this time of the year. I only had just over an hour there before needing to meet friends for dinner. So you may wonder – what can you see in the garden in that short time.

I decided to spend most of my time in a small area just south of the walled English Garden. On the way there I came across this hollyhock. Interesting that the brick wall behind was in shadow and almost disappeared when I metered on the white flower. After stopping just long enough to take this picture, I moved on to the part of the garden that at this time of the year is filled with zinnias, salvia, marigolds and a few other brightly colored plants.

As you can see, when I say brightly colored, I am not overstating the feast for the eyes of rich and vibrant colors. In this picture, one zinnia is a stand-out from the rest which with use of a narrow depth of field become a strong blur (bokeh).

I am not the only one who was enjoying this bed. Yes, there were plenty of other people, some with cameras and some just stopping to smell the flowers. But the animals, birds and insects were feasting on the flowers too – quite literally.

This Cottontail Rabbit was trying hard to look innocent as if it had no idea where the pile of Crackerjack Yellow Marigolds lying on the ground came from.

Cottontail has been caught in the act and is finding it hard look innocent now.

This year, there seems to be an abundance of insects too. Lots of bees and bumble bees are loving this bed of flowers.

Also, a dusting of hummingbird moths are sucking nectar with their super-long proboscides from the salvia. These are so interesting to watch as they look and behave like hummingbirds. They hover, drink from the same plants, and methodically move from flower to flower. But then, the White-lined Sphinx Hummingbird Moth has a striped back and wings, which makes it look quite different from hummers.

The hummers were there too. At this time of the year only the females are around and of course, in this part of the country only the Ruby-throated Hummingbird considers this area home.

It was a short visit, but the flowers and all those that enjoy them made for a very satisfying and fulfilling outing.