Beauteous Maximus! (Shootout '07)

[schmoo]

The shootout was great. I'm sure everyone can see that from the threads popping up right and left. Although I took many gigs of photos and haven't had much time to go through them I thought I'd just go ahead and start posting the ones I've processed (on layovers, waiting in airports, waiting for internet, etc).

The first day (Wednesday) I made it in time for the sunrise. I am not overly impressed with my shots from that morning but I blame it on not being able to focus. How can you when you're thrown into a wonderful group of talented photographers who you've been waiting months to see? :) And it's really dark and really cold so everyone looks the same bundled up in their winter coats? So I'll skip ahead.

It was the day of waterfalls. We had a nice-sized group hike out to St Mary's Falls. This was not the time to regret having only one 3-stop ND filter between two people who share equipment. :rolleyes

Scott_Quier considering his composition:
http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/203419145-L-2.jpg

I call this one We Must Not Be Beholden for the Loan of an 8-stop ND Filter because Marc convinced me to use his (c'mon, the first one's free!) but I didn't see him to give it back to him until late the next day. And yes, that's a Laura Ingalls reference.

http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/203419836-M-2.jpg

There were 4 different waterfalls along this trail but all of them were swarming with this weird cult of photographers in red baseball caps! Where did all those nutjobs come from? :lol3

So to get a clean shot I looked in the other direction to admire the mountain peaks through the evergreen trees.

Turn the Other Cheek
http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/203415246-L-2.jpg

And anyway, the details in the forest floor were just as lovely (if not more so) than the waterfalls. This branch of yellow leaves spanned a moss-covered crevice and it reminded me of a photo by Vincent Versace. Just as he depicts in his shot, a beam of sunlight broke through the clouds just as I was setting up my camera. I'll take that as a sign to hit the shutter:

http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/203420171-L-2.jpg

Later that evening we drove out to Many Glacier to catch some sweet light. The clouds were variable, however. We made Nikolai pull over so we could climb down to the lake and take some shots. I was incredibly lucky to catch some god beams over the water:

http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/204057940-L.jpg

After dinner we did some moonscapes since it was a full moon. I kind of felt like I was wasting my time because they looked the same as the evening shots, and I could have saved my frozen fingers by just shooting sunlight. :lol3 However I regret that now because so many other people got great vistas and this is all I got:

Chasing the Stars
http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/203429985-M-2.jpg

Zweiblumen wouldn't let me walk down to this area alone because he was afraid I'd get mauled by a bear. :scratch

The following morning we were all back at Many Glacier to shoot the sunrise. I had trouble deciding where to be and ended up moving around so much I missed most of the good light. Ah, well. Live and learn. I found that indecision was the greatest impediment of the shootout -- too many people I wanted to be with, too many things I wanted to shoot.


http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/203428921-M-2.jpg

http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/203429112-M-2.jpg

This one looks like it was light painted but I swear Nikolai had nothing to do with it :D

http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/203429520-M-2.jpg

This day (Thursday) was the day of The Hike. Although Andy told us it was a serious hike I didn't really believe it until we were climbing uphill for hours and still nowhere near Grinnell Glacier. I've never felt the impact of high altitude so seriously before. It would have been more exhilarating if I had been sure I'd make it back to the lodge in one piece.

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/203428683-M-2.jpg

Feelin' Edgey
http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/203427976-L-2.jpg

I enjoyed climbing down here, practically on a dare! If not for dares would we really push the limits to where we'd go? Nah.

Bone Dry
http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/203427497-L-2.jpg

Finally at midafternoon we decided that it was turn back now or never see our friends or family again. It was a long painful climb down. Ow. But the three lakes below us in the area were clear, cold, and beautiful.

http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/203430721-L-2.jpg

The forests were a rich combination of greens and golds, light and shadow, life and death:

Dark-Adapted
http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/203443270-M-2.jpg

That's all I have for now. I'll put up the rest once I get through them in this thread to keep things neat.

Edited to add my link to snapshots (http://www.schmootography.com/Workshops/387846). Neatness FTW!

[jdmphoto]

Great photo's:clap
I can see that I need to get to the east side of the park a lot more.

[gluwater]

I'm not sure which I like more, your photos or your comentary. Both are exceptional Schmoo. I'm kind of glad I took the wrong path and went to Grinnell Lake instead of to the glacier. It was still a hard hike, especially at the end when Chris and I scrambled along the steep hillside and over the shale to the rarely visited falls made by Grinnell Glacier melting. I hope I get to see you and Travis agian next year.

[Andy]

I love Schmootography!

:clap :clap

Honestly, it's been a blast to watch you grow so much as a photographer in just the past several months. :bow :bow

I'm richer for knowing you, too. :wave

[pathfinder]

Wow!! What Andy said!

You set the bar pretty darn high, Schmoo!

Kathy and I enjoyed seeing you again and meeting Travis as well.

Great set of images. Great!

[coldclimb]

Awesome work Schmoo! Some very cool stuff here! :thumb

[gubbs]

Great set :clap

[GREAPER]

I loved them, you did a great job of seeing things differently. Well done.

[Pixel Popper]

Well, I 've been a great fan of your work since the first time I saw one of your posts. This is no exception. So impressive!

I particularly enjoy We Must Not Be Beholden for the Loan of an 8-stop ND Filter, Chasing the Stars, and Bone Dry.

I feel a little redundent telling you how great your work is over and over but, dang it, Schmoo, it's the truth. :bow

[dmmattix]

But your storytelling is an art form. God I wish I could do that.:bow

I mean you can take some stuff we all see each day, photograph it, put it in context, and it is amazing. It is quite a gift.

In amazement and keep it up,

Mike

[f00sion]

great shots! i really like chasing the stars.

[cwphotos]

Awesome Miss Schmooo. Your God beams picture is great. I love your use of light in all them. Bravo. :clap

[schmoo]

I love Schmootography!

:clap :clap

Honestly, it's been a blast to watch you grow so much as a photographer in just the past several months. :bow :bow

I'm richer for knowing you, too. :wave
Holy cow Andy you're making me turn pink. :lust I feel like I'm just starting the long journey to achieving the results I want, but it means a lot to wake up to such a humbling public response. I blame it all on you and Marc and Smugmuggers for sharing all of that knowledge... though if you want to peg it on just one person I nominate that DavidTO guy for organizing all of these workshops and opportunities! :giggle

And here's to many future chances to shoot with Dgrinners old and new. :beer

Nick I wish I could have seen the lake up close. The hike up the mountain was nice but yeah, there was just too much to see. And those weird clicking grasshoppers were really getting to me. I'd wondered where you guys had gone because our group kept getting smaller and smaller the higher the path went. :D


(And now I think I used up my emoticon quota for 2008.)

[schmoo]

I love your use of light in all them.
!!!!!

This means so much to me because it's what Marc tries his best to teach! And sometimes when hiking around the harsh wilderness when the weather isn't cooperating it's really easy to get a bit downtrodden.

I confess that more than few times out in the field I was near tears because I was so frustrated...

[cwphotos]

I think its the uncertanty of light and when it will appear that makes it so much better. For every down moment there is ten times as many up moments. I think you managed to find them all. Awesome work Schmoo-dizzle.

[Grizzle6]

Very nice stuff Schmoo. I am blown away by that Many Glacier shot. Very, very cool.

[greenpea]

Great series schmooo! :clap

I'm feeling like I really missed out by not joining you all on the second hike. For the 2008 trip, I think I'll have to make a few clones of myself so that I can be everywhere at once. :D

[schmoo]

Very nice stuff Schmoo. I am blown away by that Many Glacier shot. Very, very cool.

Thanks Adam! A big fan of your landscapes, this means a lot to me. :)

Andrew you stole my idea exactly! I left my clone at home because I was only allowed two carry-ons.

I'm already counting down the days to Moab. It's going to kill me to have to step away from shooting photos long enough to try climbing (sorta). :D

[PaulThomasMcKee]

Great stuff Schmoo! I like them all a lot, but especially "Chasing Stars".

Looks like you guys had a blast.

[Fred W]

Stephanie, How did I miss your post? Like everyone said, you captured some nice light with great composition !!!! Well done !!!! :clap

[Ann McRae]

All very lovely, Stephanie. My favorites are the Many Glacier B&W and Bone Dry.

And what really surprises me is how quiet you were during the shootout, and yet how elegantly you speak here!

ann

[schmoo]

All very lovely, Stephanie. My favorites are the Many Glacier B&W and Bone Dry.

And what really surprises me is how quiet you were during the shootout, and yet how elegantly you speak here!

ann
That's very true, I don't say much in real life until I get to know you (and sometimes not even then!) :giggle I always have a lot of thoughts running through my head, but very little actually makes it out my mouth.

The size of the shootout was a scary prospect for me: I wasn't sure I would be willing to go because it would be too many strange new people. But as usual I didn't regret the experience. Next year it may be a little harder because its half again as many shooters... but at least I am familiar with you all now. :D

[denisegoldberg]

...The size of the shootout was a scary prospect for me: I wasn't sure I would be willing to go because it would be too many strange new people. But as usual I didn't regret the experience. Next year it may be a little harder because its half again as many shooters... but at least I am familiar with you all now. :D
Love your photos schmooo.

But I have to tell you, I was really glad to see this comment about the size of the shootout being a scary prospect for you - because I just signed up for next year's shootout, and large group gatherings are really not my thing. It just seems like a great opportunity to learn from good photographers. So I'm going to try to keep my fear in check over the next 12 months.

--- Denise

[DavidTO]

Stephanie, How did I miss your post?


Maybe because you didn't see the links I've been posting here (http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=45567)? :D

[wxwax]

OM gosh, this is great!

http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/203415246-M-2.jpg

And this, too!

http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/204057940-L.jpg

[devbobo]

Steph... wow !!!!

:jawdrop

I am so totally jealous...you have an amazing eye. :bow

[Marc Muench]

Schmoo,

I totally agree with Dev:thumb:thumb:thumb
I think you enlightened my 8 stop ND to somewhere around 4 stops:rofl

[Nikolai]

Great stuff, girl! :thumb :bow

[Terrence]

Speechless and impressed. Fantastic work. I wish I had 1/10 of your eye and creativity.

[schmoo]

Love your photos schmooo.

But I have to tell you, I was really glad to see this comment about the size of the shootout being a scary prospect for you - because I just signed up for next year's shootout, and large group gatherings are really not my thing. It just seems like a great opportunity to learn from good photographers. So I'm going to try to keep my fear in check over the next 12 months.

--- Denise
:wave Hi Denise! I find this so i nteresting because I've been an occasional reader of your blog for a while. When I was redesigning my site I really liked checking yours because it was so clean and simple and easy to get around.

I hear you and I think it's great you'll be coming out. I don't like crowds bigger than 5 or so people but at the very least we all have a common passion. It could be a lot worse than that, right? :) See you then!!

[schmoo]

I am really speechless myself with all of the comments! Coming from such wonderful and accomplished photographers as Dgrinners I do not feel worthy! :bow

But today I finally had a block of time to plow through some more shots, so here they are:

First, here is a pano from Wednesday morning. I don't think I posted this one anywhere yet, from Wild Good Island. The kind of sweet light you wait and wait and freeze your fingers off for doesn't always happen, of course. We were lucky that it did appear then, but the clouds were still a bit annoying and the light was limited

http://www.schmootography.com/photos/203426653-L-2.jpg


And picking up from Friday morning, here is another 24mm TS vertical pano from before the sun came up. I love getting up at 5 AM to share experinces like these:

http://www.schmootography.com/photos/204151818-L-2.jpg

Friday was one of the best days I've ever had, period. Good company, wonderful cool weather, lovely leaves, no work obligations (though I'm paying dearly for that now, heh). What else could you possibly ask for? After the sunrise and before breakfast, Zweiblumen and I took a quick detour on my request down to St Mary's River, near the lodge. The bridge crosses over the water here but I wanted to see what it was like down there. It was OK. The setting moon was a lot more impressive in real life.

Yet another TS pano (with barely controllable chromatic aberrations)
http://www.schmootography.com/photos/204158919-L-2.jpg

But after breakfast we followed the pros up to Waterton, Canada.

Marc knows all the great spots. I'm convinced he's got some sort of Great Shot Detector that tells him when to pull over and explore for an unbeatable view. (When I try this on my own at home I just get lost in ugly neighborhoods...) The first truly memorable spot was a small two-track dirt path through some aspen trees, barely a driveway and full of mud. It was so rough that some of the cars in our caravan couldn't even make it through and the poor photographers had to walk. :D

At the end of the muddy-brick road, however, was a picture-perfect reflecting pool that cast back the image of Chief Mountain.

(Note that there is no reflection of the actual mountain in my shot. :giggle )

http://www.schmootography.com/photos/205140085-L-2.jpg

Um, but I don't have many photos of this view. Cuz right on the other side of the water were the remains of an abandoned logging camp and like a moth to a flame I had to go! :D

http://www.schmootography.com/photos/205140729-L-2.jpg

For a while I was alone there. All week up until this point I had a rising wave of panic inside me because I was so displeased with my performance and my shots. At first I laughed it off because the shootout was a social opportunity and a vacation, I wasn't really there to work. But I was really lying to myself. I was just rushed; rushed, stressed, and asking too much of myself when dropped suddenly into a strange beautiful land with too many things to see and do at once.

Fixed in the Montana silence, faced with things that (while a bit different) are broken pieces of civilization that are familiar to me, I finally reached my Zone. I approach these types of subjects in a methodical way and up until this point I had never really realized this. But in the 20 minutes that everyone else was distracted with the reflecting pool and the aspen logs I had a piece of home to myself and I was able to finally be grounded. After I took a few of my "traditional" abandonment shots I was relaxed and confident again. I hadn't realized how unbalanced I had been feeling until I had it back.

Dust to Dust
http://www.schmootography.com/photos/205139353-L-2.jpg

These may not be my best shots, but they were very meaningful to me.

Twist
http://www.schmootography.com/photos/205141060-M-2.jpg

Look up (Hang nail)
http://www.schmootography.com/photos/205140308-M-2.jpg

Montana rainbow
http://www.schmootography.com/photos/205141569-L-2.jpg

There were a few other lookout spots where we got out to shoot on the way to Canada. Then there was the border crossing, which was fun because I had brought my passport but left it in my suitcase. Justiceiro (Ryan) had described to us the night before the kind of hike that was involved in Waterton - something about 900 feet of elevation in one mile. I wasn't exactly looking forward to it but knew that the exercise would be welcome.

Once we got to the town of Waterton we spotted a place that looked good for lunch, so we ate there. At this point I was still thinking we were stalling for time making that hike, so I was happy. But after lunch it was getting late and I was SO relieved to find out that there was no grueling hike planned. Instead it was coffee time. :D

These deer were made famous by all the Dgrinners who visited Waterton. They just sit there chewing their grass, as pretty as can be until you actually try to touch them or put stickers on their butts. (http://smuggy.smugmug.com/gallery/3427069#204191799) Then they get kinda snippy.

http://www.schmootography.com/photos/205149885-M-2.jpg

On the way out of Waterton the clouds were a little more dramatic and the light marginally better. It was also getting quite cold with the wind chill so the sojourns outside of the car were relatively brief. The scenery on the Canadian side is impressive and I'm sorry I didn't get any sweeping panoramas but it is rolling, wild, and empty.

Driftwood beach, the place where the park sign tells you that it's a good place for nature photos. Well, I wasn't gonna argue with the government...

http://www.schmootography.com/photos/205150336-L-2.jpg

More later. And if anyone has any feedback as to how I could make these better, feel free to lay in on me, please! I love me some CC. :D

[cwphotos]

Awesome work on this second set. The looking up board shot is intense. The black and white conversion is awesome.

[zweiblumen]

I agree with Dean. Lookup Up Board is incredible. I also love the deer shot from Waterton... talk about a deer in headlights look :):

[schmoo]

Here's my (probably last) installment of photos from Montana.

From Saturday, when it was cold and snowing and freezing and I lost a good chunk of my shots due to setting my files to jpg for a speed pano and then forgetting to switch it back to raw. :|

Another TS pano from Two Medicine waterfall, starring shizzy. Of course, I'm not pointed at the waterfall here, since everyone else was.

http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/206292934-L-1.jpg

One of the few river rocks shots that wasn't too marred by melting snowflakes on my lens:

http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/206292111-L-2.jpg

That water is really cold.

Gotta remember to pay attention to the little guys:

http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/206292358-M-2.jpg

There were many stops to photograph the aspen leaves. The colors were marvelous and changing so fast you can practically sit there and watch them blush.

Fountain of Youth
http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/205368232-L.jpg

You'd never guess that this little spot was literally covered in shredded cardboard and Coors Light cans. A bit of a local hangout, I guess.

The road back to St Marys - blissfully clean of hit-and-run victims.

http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/205828905-L-2.jpg

All in all I learned three very important things this year:

The landscape as a subject is intimidating because you are limited in what you can do to manipulate it as a photographer. You cannot change the shape of it, or the weather, or the light.

Montana has surprising good classical radio stations.

Bendr is a wonderful pianist.

[Marc Muench]

All in all I learned three very important things this year:
The landscape as a subject is intimidating because you are limited in what you can do to manipulate it as a photographer. You cannot change the shape of it, or the weather, or the light.
Montana has surprising good classical radio stations.
Bendr is a wonderful pianist.

Schmoo,

That is why the art of landscape photography is in the discovery of little bits of clarity amongst all the chaos.

[schmoo]

Schmoo,

That is why the art of landscape photography is in the discovery of little bits of clarity amongst all the chaos.
Ah I wish it hadn't taken me 5 months to start figuring this out! :giggle

I feel like what you are saying is just the tip of a huge iceberg. But I'm going to try to see how far I can get. :D

[ian408]

I dig the words and the work. The art of combining the two...ah, I wish I could
as well as you.

[schmoo]

I dig the words and the work. The art of combining the two...ah, I wish I could
as well as you.

Sure you can! A little birdie told me you had made corrections to stuff that I had done. :D

[wholenewlight]

http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/206292111-L-2.jpg

That water is really cold.

Gotta remember to pay attention to the little guys:

http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/206292358-M-2.jpg




Sometimes simple things are greatest things.

I love all your shots but these simple ones . . . ooooh. . . . aaahh. . . nice!

[WaterfallRich]

I haven't posted in a while, but decided to check in and was blown away by your shots. What an excellent collection! I have to agree with other posters that you have a good eye for great shots. You should be very proud of these :thumb

[ian408]

Sure you can! A little birdie told me you had made corrections to stuff that I had done. :D

I did :ear

[gus]

:thumb WOW !! That is a great eye you have schmoo. I was beside you for some of those shots & didnt get half your colour & perspective.

Seriously excellent set.

[Dixie]

Stephanie,

Great shots. I especially like the close of the falls and chasing the stars. Excellent work. :thumb :thumb

[grimace]

Simply Wow!! Wonderful, wonderful work!!

[Llywellyn]

Okay, now, I know you rock in your realm of abandoned places and objects, but to find you seriously rock at landscapes, too, is a wonderful surprise. You have a fantastic eye, and I love seeing the world through it. :bow :bow

Bone Dry and Look Up had the greatest impact on me, and your panos are beautimous. Keep it up, chica. :thumb

[JenGrace]

Fabulous photos! And entertaining commentary too... :clap

[Ann McRae]

:bow :bow
Interesting that you felt you didn't find your stride or hit the zone until Friday. I don't think I ever found the zone once we were in Glacier - not sure if it was a week of shooting before, or just the fact that the trip became so social for me.

In any case Stephanie, lovely work. Keep turning that camera the opposite direction, as you see in a wonderful, unique way.

ann

[Michael Atkins]

Schmoo, your photos are amazing! You have a lot of great captures here and I've really enjoyed browsing over them.

[Phyxius]

Schmoo! I missed the updates on this post somehow. :scratch I'm so glad this thread came back up to the top. You've some more amazing shots and if I had to pick two favorites they'd be
http://www.schmootography.com/photos/204151818-S-2.jpg

and the River Rocks T/S with it's gorgeous colors and wonderfully blurred water. :clap :clap


I'm a little worried about next year's shootout, this time I could cheat and revert to wildlife photography whenever the landscape stuff wasn't working out for me. I have a feeling we're going to be lacking in wildlife in the desert.

Again though, fanstasic job and now that I've seen these I want to find time to go through more of mine. Thank you for the unwitting encouragement.:D

[schmoo]

Wow, way to bump a thread! :giggle

Thanks Michael and Christina. Hey don't worry too much about missing the wildlife - on the Wild Utah workshop there were plenty of lizards and creatures to be found. Although I know a lot of them stay asleep during the day I'm pretty sure with a little know-how you can find them. :D