From the Darkness into the Light

The eternal hypnotic mesmerizing flicker and jumping flames of the campfire. How many collective hours, weeks, years have been spent by humans sitting around fires for hundreds of thousands of years? How many songs, tall tales, and pipe dreams emerged from human minds by the glow of the camp fire?

The most recent estimate dates human control of fire to about 1.6 million years ago. Imagine life without it. Dark nights with predators, no bubble of warmth to huddle around, no light pollution, uncooked food.

There is a sort of primeval feeling that sitting around a camp fire seems to evoke in people. And why shouldn't it? The ability to create and control fire was one of the most important accomplishments that humans have ever made. It literally pulled us out of the darkness and into the light.

I took this shot while camping for a couple nights on the Sebastian Inlet in Florida. It was a 30-second exposure with a wide angle lens and the camera sitting on the ground.

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Shooting Photos in Cold Weather

I took this shot just below the Nokhu Crags of the Never Summer Range in Northern Colorado. Fairly warm day at 15-20 degrees F considering the altitude.

Shooting in the winter can be a little tricky. Pulling a warm piece of glass such as a camera out of a warm car, pocket, or pack usually cause it to fog right over.

If you're going to be out in the cold for a while it is not a big deal because once the glass reaches the ambient temperature the fog will dissipate. A little trick if you want to get some photos in a variety of temperatures in a short amount of time is to put your camera in a plastic bag when you are making the transition. This will keep your lens from fogging over and forcing you to wait a while for it to clear. This should work with any camera. If you're using a DSLR make sure you put lens and body in a plastic bag because the glass in front of the camera sensor can also fog up. Bueno suerte!

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Media Power

This video is little lengthy for us internet-age ADHD media consumers but I feel that it is worth watching. Truthfully, it is not an easy task for a piece of media like this to hold my attention for almost half and hour but this one did. Technically very well made and does a great job at pulling at the heartstrings.

As a photographer I really enjoy capturing the beautiful things in the world and in life but then reminders like these come along that there is a contrast to the good and beauty in life. And if you want to see an example of the personification of that contrast, bad and ugliness, take a look at what Joseph Kony does.


This video is an amazing example of what Jason Russel is accomplishing through Invisible Children and the most powerful tool many people have in their pockets--internet media. It is a great concept. You look at social media and what are people doing? On Facebook people spend their time "liking" pages and causes and joining groups. On Google plus you create circles and arrange people into these. It's a way for people to create an electronic persona, a digital character and show what kind of person they are and what they stand for.

Russel is taking this idea and saying, "hey, check this out. You can be a part of this group without too much investment and be a part of something that will without a doubt make the world a better place." It's great. It's the now and the future of how people are going to stand up for what they believe in. People all over the world can amass for a cause and make their voice heard. Strength in numbers.

I think that we will see this movement set a precedent for the way that compassionate people will speak out to great injustices in the world. I will do my part to help out and keep an eye on this effort to see if it does actually lead to the arrest of Joseph Kony. Because that's the idea, right? We're all watching.

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The Unsavory Seagull

I've stayed at this beach on a few different occasions while exploring California. There is a lot to explore, Northern California being no exception. The sign proclaims "Chadbourne Gulch" but the local folk call it Blue's Beach.

It's one of few undeveloped beaches left in California that you can camp on. But probably not for long. Don't be surprised to see raging bonfires and trucks parked on the beach on the weekends. The surf can break decently from time to time and it is common to see surfers testing their luck in the frigid water, toes dangling for Great Whites to sniff and sometimes nibble on.

We showed up with just enough time for me to wander around with my gear to look for a pleasing sunset shot. After walking about a quarter mile down the beach I learned that the big sentinel of a rock sitting just off-shore actually had a nice arch in it if you if viewed from the right angle. Tripod set up, wide-angle lens in place, wireless remote on and the layering of three bracketed photos later yielded this photo.

After lighting a modest fire, comparatively speaking, and a delicious fire cooked dinner/wine combo we turned in. I followed my usual protocol of sleeping under the stars.

I awoke just as the sun began to give everything a misty, dull glow and you could just make out the mountains behind and the breaking waves in front.

Or was I awakened?

My brain clicked on before I opened my eyes and as I laid there I got this strange feeling that something woke me up.

You know the feeling of getting lightly bopped right on the nose? It's not necessarily pain but a kind of reverberation through your face. That was what I felt next.

Then I opened my eyes.

It was moist and chilly out so I had cinched down the opening of my sleeping bag so there was only about a ten inch hole. The top of the hole was blocking my view so I pulled it down to peek out.

Well, what have we here mister beady-eyed seagull standing a foot in front of my face. I'm going to go out on a limb and chance a guess you are guilty of something that has to do with me being prematurely awakened at this wee hour.

You have probably pieced together this tale of wild-bird-treachery thus far. After many, many years of sleeping out under the stars in all types of environments with all sorts of nasty creatures lurking about, this is how it's going to be?

Months of sleeping on the ground in the deserts of Baja California with no friendly rattle snake or curious tarantula?

No, it has to be a big nasty unkempt looking seagull with a curved dagger of a beak that decided to taste the tip of my nose during my peaceful slumber. Drew blood at that.

I couldn't just roll over and go back to sleep so I got up and wandered the beaches getting some nice photos and throwing rocks at seagulls. Don't worry, I didn't hit any-it was just a symbolic understanding between them and I about boundaries.

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