Landscape
September Desktop Calendar: Moon and Color
I can’t believe it’s been nearly three weeks since my last post, but the absence has certainly been warranted. Work is steady, the visual subject matter certainly hasn’t lacked any interest, and I’ve been staring at a computer screen so much over the past three months that I’m probably going to need to visit an optometrist (dealer of bad information for photographers)!
Nevertheless, the new month must push on, and with it comes a new look. I made this image in January, but to me, it says more about the color in the sky during the autumn months. I love the graduated shift in color as you move from the bottom of the frame to the top. The moon gives it a “cherry on top” appeal. I’m not normally one for shooting just the sky and no ground, but these colors were pleasantly appealing and certainly acknowledging of the natural beauty we’re blessed with quite a bit in West Texas.
Feel free to download as many as you need. Right click the link, and open it up in a new browser for a more efficient way of saving the file to your computer:
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June Desktop Calendar: Lonely Mediterranean
Summer is nearly upon us, and even though everyone is slowly getting in to “hot weather” mode, we all know we enjoy the season’s energy. It’s certainly starting to come on in full swing in Malaga, Spain. The coastal city is a popular place for Europeans from the north to visit during the summer months, and rightly so. The beaches are uncluttered, the people are great, and the Mediterranean is a vibrant blue! I had a good time explaining to the citizens living in Malaga that in the United States, we refer to those people that move south for the Summer as “snowbirds.” I suppose birds of any kind enjoy warmer climates when they get a chance!
Enjoy the desktop, and have a great start to the Summer!
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Photo of the Day: Spring Is Here!
What’s the start of the season that reinvigorates life without a symbolic visual representation? In all actuality, this shot really does embody all that the new season comes roaring in with in tow. The storm has passed over, the wonderfully warm evening light appears, and a rainbow spreads across the sky and in striking contrast to the turbulence that once existed in its spot. Whew! I for one am glad Winter’s over!
Here’s to a happy new season!
Speaking of reinvigorates, it’s high time this blogger cranked back up a new season of Field Lighting posts! More to come…
March Desktop Calendar: The High Lonesome
It took me the first four days of this month to clean up the dust spots on this image, so I have a good excuse for its tardiness (right?). This image was made on the same outing in to the wilds of northern Mexico detailed in this earlier Finding Favorites post about Maderas del Carmen. This lonely stand of trees on top of the 30,000+ acre Mesa Los Fresnos stood out against the setting sun and intensely blue sky. In the distance, you can see the continuing range of mountains that run north and south in the state of Coahuila, a desolate area bordering the Rio Grande, absent of most people. A wonderfully wild place in the world!
Just click on the size links below, then save a copy of the image to your computer! As always, thanks for dropping by!
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Finding Favorites: A Truly Wild Place
For this second installment of Finding Favorites, it wasn’t hard to come across an image that invokes the kind of memories surrounding a place and experience that persist years from the moment you push the shutter button. That is the point of this series, right?
While pulling some images for a project I’m working on with Hartsfield Design, a superb, local design and production shop, I reached back in to my archives from 2007, only to find myself afterwards going through some images from a conservation photography and video shoot in a truly wild area of Mexico called Maderas del Carmen. Maderas del Carmen is a 500,000-acre stretch of mountain range that runs adjacent to and southeast of Big Bend National Park, 170km through the Mexican state of Coahuila. It is managed by the global corporation, CEMEX, and I say “truly wild” because it is managed so well that it is as pristine as it was thousands of years ago. If you ever wished to see a conservation project that has achieved success, this would be the place!
The image above was made atop a 30,000+ acre plateau grassland called Mesa Los Fresnos. The mesa is reminiscent of the U.S. High Plains region, home to native long grasses and dotted periodically with cacti and juniper and oak trees. To be there in the evening is a clarifying experience. Surrounded by nothing but wilderness, part of an ancient mountain range, you can’t help but feel how natural and indigenous the area is through visual, sound, and all other sensory mechanisms. You might think I sound like a hippie in describing the mesa, but the feeling is mutual for all who’ve experienced a truly wild place.
Part of photography is immersing yourself in the environment you happen to be looking at through a lens. Take a moment to put the camera down, hang it over your shoulder, and just walk through the place you’re so busy documenting. Open your senses, and allow the environment to react viscerally with your vision. Create a memory that immortalizes that moment just through acknowledging and appreciating where you are at that singular moment in time. I think you’ll find that doing so helps you move beyond simply photographing the environment to visually telling its story and the story surrounding your experience there. This is exactly what happened when photographing the Mesa Los Fresnos.
It was a total experience and adventure in itself getting to the top of the mesa. Initially, our intention was to ride horses and/or mules miles along a narrow, rocky trail in order to get to a place suitable for hiking the rest of the way to the flatland. Instead, we opted to ferry our gear and personnel with three Honda ATVs (pictured above). These ATVs are the backbone of traversing the conservation area, and without them, who knows how many photographic opportunities we would have missed during our stay. We packed light, knowing that we still had a couple miles to hike before arriving at our destination. I can’t remember how long the round-trip was in miles or time, but I will say this: we left during mid-afternoon, and we didn’t get back until several hours after sunset. As for the trail, we might has well have been riding mules, given the rockiness of the pathways, often pushing the front end of the ATV off the ground to gain balance, while at the same time keeping from tipping over a 100+ foot vertical wall to the side. Coming down during the dark was a hoot!
When we reached a location from where there was no distinct trail, we hoofed it a couple miles across several ridges and valleys. On the surface, it doesn’t look to rough, but you soon realize that the highlands of the Chihuahuan desert is no friend to ankles and feet (drives home being thankful for good hiking boots). From where we parked the ATVs, we gained approximately 1,000 vertical feet over the span of a couple miles of hiking, stopping a few times to rest and survey the surrounding area. Along for the ride/hike were Wyman and Sylinda Meinzer (Wyman, Sylinda, and I were hired by CEMEX to document the conservation area through still photography and HD video; Wyman has been coming to Maderas del Carmen for years with the same mission), as well as Santiago Gibert Isern, a staffed biologist and photographer for Maderas del Carmen.
When we finally made it to the top, the golden hour was upon us, and it was time to work. I spent a good portion of the time shooting video of the mesa, taking note of the gramma grasses and various trees and cacti. The light was so vibrantly reflected from the large grassland, it was hard to find a bad shot! A photographer with any sense of composition could work the heck out of the mesa! But then, that wasn’t necessarily the point. The point of our being there was to tell the land’s story, to make sure our documentation of its features spoke volumes about its natural history. I distinctly remember dropping the camera to my hip and simply feeling the wind blow by and listening to the quietness of the open plain. Nowhere in the world at that time was that happening. The world could move by as fast as it could possibly move, and yet, this 500,000-acre slice of Mexico was holding on to the characteristics of a truly wild place. I guarantee you Wyman, my photography mentor, felt the same way at some point during that evening on Mesa Los Fresnos.
Then we put the cameras back to our eyes, and we made images until the light gave us no more to shoot.
Photo of the Day: Misty Reflections
Across West and North Texas, as well as North Louisiana, we’ve seen a rather mild winter so far. Add a little moisture, humidity, and some sub-freezing morning temperatures, you have a combination for rather clear days and fog on the water. This low fog just south of Sibley, Louisiana, provided a thin enough shroud for reflections across a waterfowl stopover. The stark contrast between white-barked deciduous and the dark tones of the evergreens made the ghosts in the water that much more attractive.
Back in Texas for the time being. New Mexico might be calling soon!
November Desktop Calendar: Close of the Day
I can never complain about being busy, and I don’t intend to start here. It’s just no excuse, though, for getting the calendar up late. I mean, how am I supposed to even know what day it is…
These lone Live Oak trees stand sentinel to the rolling plains of the big ranch country between Fort Worth and the Pacific Ocean, where it’s about as natural as it can get for most parts in the state. We published a book a couple years back called Inspiration, Texas Style, and iconic Texas writer, John Graves, penned the introduction to the text. In it he talked about the subsiding naturalness of places…places in general really. With it, though, he also related the hope we all express for the conservation of these places and the good in humanity that makes acts like this possible.
I’m reminded of this writing every time I travel across the open “naturalness” of this nation and others. At the close of the day, we are, after all, working together to enjoy this “place.”
You know the drill! Feel free to download at will for your desktop calendar pleasure!
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Enjoy the month!
Aspen Wallpapers
We trekked it back home from Colorado yesterday evening, tired from the road, and ready for rest! The week was spent mostly with family, yet the weather cooperated enough that on our hikes and off-road drives through the Rio Grande National Forest I could walk away with some nice images. As evidenced in a previous post, the water was flowing nicely, and the cool mountain lakes were full. I’ll have more images to post later, including another natural light Field Lighting post, but I thought I would capitalize on a suggestion made not too long ago. The images seen in this post are freely available to you as backgrounds for your mobile phone and Internet devices. Just click on the links for your respective device(s), and display away!
The Aspens were quaking beautifully the past week, and photographers cannot get enough of these trees. They offer such wonderful patters in nature, and they stand out so distinguishably against the evergreens. So much so that you notice that they often survive forest fires, standing polished against years-old burned firs. They are the everlasting shaman of the forests, and their high-reaching canopy shifts brilliantly against dark greens and cobalt blues.
I know not all of you have an iPhone or iPad, but the images are all JPEG, and if you can put them on your (insert other brand of mobile device here), then you can more than likely set them as your background or lock screen. Even for the non-iPhone 4 users, you can download them and set one (if you like) as a lock screen background. The iPad backgrounds are formatted as square 1,024 X 1,024 images so they’ll cooperate with your frequent turning of the device.
I hope you enjoy the Aspen Tree wallpapers, and there will be more in the future. I’m finishing up design work on a new Wyman Meinzer/Henry Chappell book, and afterwards, I’ll have a host of posts to throw up there, including a few new reviews and Field Lighting posts.
Eight Hiking Tips For Photographers
Photographers are often outdoor enthusiasts, and there are a slew of shooters out there that have made successful livings out of their passion for the outdoors and what exists in the natural world. Fortunately, I have been lucky enough to work in this area over the past several years, and I’m never more excited to shoot than when I get to explore some place new or revisit areas that have offered shooters great images in the past.
A great way for photographers to access this world is though hiking the literally thousands of trails created and maintained by various entities throughout the world. Here are just a few tips for photographers to consider when preparing for and going on day or overnight hikes:
1. The trail is there for a reason: sniff it out! Whether you know it or not, this is why you are at the trailhead anyways. Historically, areas set aside in part for your hiking pleasure (i.e. national and state parks, historical sites, conservation areas, etc.) exist because they mean something to us! Many trail hikes in these areas are even named in such a way to represent their historical significance. Consider this part of the experience! A photograph tells a story, and a story that accompanies the hike you are on can often inspire a variety of images. If you’re at a national or state park, pick up some literature at the HQ or access points, and you never know what you may find out that you didn’t read on the Internet before you got there!
2. Save your back (as much as possible). It’s hard enough as an outdoor enthusiast to not take all the cool camping and hiking gear you were so stoked to buy for a specific excursion, but it’s even harder to combine that with being a photographer, right? I’m as guilty as the next photographer that thinks he/she needs all the gear that one could possibly fit inside a camera backpack, but after several years of doing so, as well as hearing from other outdoor photographers, it doesn’t necessarily make for the most comfortable, and subsequently enjoyable, hike out there. Again, for some, it’s hard to pair down what you actually need for a hike, but consider this: justify every piece of gear you carry with you. Simple as that. Have a vision in mind, and work toward it to determine your gear needs. If you need three speedlights on a hike (which I often take for lighting plants; more on this later), then take them. But if you are not sure about taking that honking 400mm f/2.8, then it might not be the best thing to haul that extra 13lbs around.
3. Do your research, and plan your trip/shoot. This suggestion goes along with #1. It pays to go in to a situation and have been somewhat versed in what to expect. The Internet is a great resource for this type of information. At any time, you can access all of the state and national park services’ Web sites (here’s the link for the National Park Service). Also, take a look at your social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook, and find those organizations/individuals that are in “the know.” I frequently find interesting links to information about parks, hiking gear, and histories from folks like @thehikingcenter, @trailgirl, and @nature_org. There are literally tons of sources out there, and I would encourage starting with these folks to find others! Lastly, talk to your local experts. I’m a huge fan of the local outdoor shop, and some of the best tips, suggestions, places to find, etc., can be found through talking with those that live and breathe it everyday!
4. Consider taking a tripod. And extra cards. And a filter or two. And… Alright, why’s the gear tip so buried in this post. If you’ve read this far, then you probably know why, but gear is essential for photographers on a day or overnight hike. While you do want to minimize to literally save your back later, think about the images you looking to get. More than likely, a sturdy, light tripod would work to your advantage (obviously, carbon fiber sticks are the lightest). If you’re hiking anywhere near water, this piece of equipment is essential! Extra memory cards (or rolls of film for that matter) are light, and really, who doesn’t need more of these. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Take several! I’ll be the first to tell you that filters are not my thing, but they do come in handy when in the mountains and around water. Consider taking a neutral density or graduated filter along with you, just in case you see the need. There are other essentials, but many of them, you will have to determine for yourself. Keep in mind your chiropractic visits in the future while you decide…check out ultra-light bags as well, such as Andy Biggs’s (@andybiggs) Gura Gear Kiboko. It weighs under 4 lbs!
5. Don’t just think about “the shot.” Not that “the shot” isn’t worth taking, but like I said before, a trail has a story written all over it. You might be hiking a certain way through the mountains to get that awesome shot of the Tetons and the Snake River that Ansel Adams made so famous, but don’t forget about what you see along the way. It’s your turn to tell the story of the land, so don’t forget all the smaller things that work their way up to the grand finale!
6. Build endurance before you make the hike. Don’t go in to a hike, particularly if it involves elevation changes and/or climbing, without having prepared physically for the terrain. I see this affecting more photographers at workshops more than anything, and not anticipating a bit of a workout while hiking can change your attitude about the entire day, and it may keep you from getting where you want to be. Take it easy when you need to though, and be safe. Also, make sure you are carrying in enough water. Dehydration is a wicked, wicked thing to chance!
7. Think about your feet. Besides the water recommendation, this may be the most important thing you consider when getting ready for the hike! We can talk about jackets, breathable shirts, climbing pants, hats and sunglasses all day long, but in the end, you are going to be on your feet. Our doggies take a beating, so it pays in spades to dedicate a portion of any hiking gear budget to a nice pair of terrain-worthy boots/sandals and socks. I’m a fan of Keen sandals, because I like my toes to be guarded (although Chaco’s are great as well), and they make a nice boot as well. My favorite pair of socks at the moment is a pair of Smartwool hiking performance socks (@smartwooligans), and I was just turned on to Falke socks today through a tweet from @codevader.
8. Be considerate, and DON’T LITTER! The heading should say it all, but unfortunately, you will often come across someone else’s garbage. Don’t let the next person come along to yours. Clean up, pack out what you packed in. Remember, you’re not the only one (human or otherwise) on the trail. The trails stay enjoyable because of all the people that care about them, and it’s all of our jobs to make sure it stays that way!
This list is not exhaustive by any means, but it’s a start! Leave any other tips in the comments below for future readers! The outdoor community is definitely unique in their connectedness, so it works to our advantage to pass on resources and information to others!
Photo of the Day – Bluestem Blues!
During high school, I was part of the plant identification team, and I became fond of bluestem grass. As funny as this sounds, bluestem always seemed like a graceful organism to me, much like the gracefulness of a willow tree. It flows along with the wind in such a way that it seems like a flock of synchronized birds moving together in the sky. At the right time of year (and at the right time of day, evening in this case), bluestem will exhibit colors a photographer salivates to capture, and when the sun is just about to go below the horizon, this particular field of bluestem threw off the brightest pink I’d ever seen in grass. A lot of grasses in West Texas are golden in nature, so this was a treat!
Shots like this remind me of images from one of my influences, Jim Richardson. Particularly, his work in the Kansas Flint Hills, which serves as a testament of the beauty seen in the calm flowing terrain of the plains!
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About Jerod Foster
I'm an editorial and natural history photographer based out of Lubbock, Texas, as well as a photography instructor at Texas Tech University. My work primarily focuses on features and environmental portraits for magazines, books, and commercial purposes, and I'm available for both domestic and international travel.
I'm a regular contributor to the Manfrotto School of Xcellence, an educational resource for amateurs and professionals alike. I'm also a partner and editor for Badlands Design and Production, a publishing house that focuses on high-end coffee table photography books.
- jerod.foster@gmail.com
- (806) 789-6850
