Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda
Username  

FM Forum Rules
Landscape Posting Guidelines
  

FM Forums | Landscape Photographer | Join Upload & Sell

1
       2       end
  

Archive 2017 · Utah Backpacking Trip

  
 
Ben Horne
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Utah Backpacking Trip


Hey all. This past April I went on a backpacking trip in Southern Utah. The weather wasn't ideal, but I still managed to get some nice reflected light to work with. These photos were taken with my Ebony RW810 8x10 camera using Fuji Velvia 50 film. I was able to carry a total of 4 film holders, which gave me 4 sheets of Velvia, and 4 sheets of Kodak Ektar. I was hoping to spend more time on the backpacking portion of the trip, but I ended up bailing a bit early because the weather wasn't ideal. It turns out that was a good move because a storm rolled through earlier than anticipated, and I was able to hike out of this canyon well before the rain hit.

The first photo is one that I shot on my third day of the trip. I found this tree the day before, and knew it would be best photographed in morning light. Though there were some clouds that day, I had a nice break between them with blue sky to give the the sort of light I was hoping for. This was taken with a Fujinon 300mm C lens at f/45 with about a 3 second long exposure.

The second photo is the scene I photographed the first day I arrived at the canyon. I loved the wall of desert varnish, and found this cool looking tree up against it. I liked how the tree had some character, and how half the tree had been sheered off, yet the tree was still thriving. It's pretty crazy how much abuse these cottonwoods can take. I call this one "Unbroken" because of the unbroken spirit of the split tree. This was taken with my Fujinon 600mm C lens at f/45 with about a 2 second long exposure of Fuji Velvia 50 film.













May 30, 2017 at 08:07 PM
psharvic
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Utah Backpacking Trip


Both are fine pictures, Ben. Glad I don't have to carry your pack


May 30, 2017 at 08:38 PM
ben egbert
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Utah Backpacking Trip


Just gorgeous.


May 30, 2017 at 08:55 PM
koarks
Offline

Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Utah Backpacking Trip


Great contrast in those shots.


May 30, 2017 at 10:00 PM
Jeffrey
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Utah Backpacking Trip


Two beautiful tree portraits. That wall in #2 is spectacular.


May 30, 2017 at 10:14 PM
m_deboer
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Utah Backpacking Trip


Of the two the second shot stands out to me, but both are fantastic!

Matt



May 30, 2017 at 10:24 PM
Rajan Parrikar
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Utah Backpacking Trip


The second image is especially marvelous.


May 30, 2017 at 11:33 PM
Lynn Ross
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Utah Backpacking Trip


Both of these are wonderful, got to love the red canyon country.


May 31, 2017 at 05:37 AM
Matt Anderson
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Utah Backpacking Trip


Wonderful images !


May 31, 2017 at 07:25 AM
Kenj8246
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Utah Backpacking Trip


I'd be interested to see that pack, Ben. I'm planning to do some pack humping out at Yosemite end of October but I'm only doing 4X5. Among other things.

Kenny

ps Lovely images.



May 31, 2017 at 08:08 AM
dmacmillan
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Utah Backpacking Trip


Lovely! There's nothing like throwing the dark cloth over the back of an 8x10 and staring at the ground glass. It's like going from a 21" TV to IMAX.


May 31, 2017 at 08:40 AM
Ben Horne
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Utah Backpacking Trip


Kenj8246 wrote:
I'd be interested to see that pack, Ben. I'm planning to do some pack humping out at Yosemite end of October but I'm only doing 4X5. Among other things.

Kenny

ps Lovely images.


I got my pack down to about 58lbs, which wasn't all that bad, but also I wasn't hining at high elevation. Next year I'll have a lightweight intrepid 8x10 camera which will shave some more pounds off my pack.



Jun 03, 2017 at 01:44 PM
Ben Horne
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Utah Backpacking Trip


dmacmillan wrote:
Lovely! There's nothing like throwing the dark cloth over the back of an 8x10 and staring at the ground glass. It's like going from a 21" TV to IMAX.


I love the isolation of a dark cloth and ground glass to be able to really concentrate on the composition. I will soon be getting an Arca Swiss 8x10 whicj is suppose to have an amazing ground glass. I am looking forward to it!



Jun 03, 2017 at 01:47 PM
Ben Horne
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Utah Backpacking Trip


Jeffrey wrote:
Two beautiful tree portraits. That wall in #2 is spectacular.


Thanks Jeffrey! The cool thing is that there are some more great trees around the corner so I can make use of that same wall for some more images.



Jun 03, 2017 at 01:49 PM
Ben Horne
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Utah Backpacking Trip


Thanks for the comments everyone. It was a very productive trip, and I look forward heading back there again.


Jun 03, 2017 at 01:50 PM
Anand Pichumani
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Utah Backpacking Trip


Both are amazing Ben.

I like the contrast of the red rocks against the trees.



Jun 03, 2017 at 01:56 PM
aFeinberg
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Utah Backpacking Trip


Always very Ben work when it pops up. Great stuff. I'm wondering if you could have used some movements in the first image to straighten out the back wall? 2nd is baller. Simple and effective. Fun!

aF



Jun 03, 2017 at 04:29 PM
ckcarr
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Utah Backpacking Trip


I always enjoy your work Ben. These are fantastic. In other words, an image doesn't always have to be dramatic to be exceptional.


Jun 03, 2017 at 08:24 PM
Ben Horne
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Utah Backpacking Trip


aFeinberg wrote:
Always very Ben work when it pops up. Great stuff. I'm wondering if you could have used some movements in the first image to straighten out the back wall? 2nd is baller. Simple and effective. Fun!

aF


You are very observant Aaron, and very good question! When I go backpacking, I take a super lightweight normal lens (Fuji 300C). It covers 8x10 with enough room for some decent movements, but the lens is tiny, and I felt I probably should avoid using any extreme movements. I'm still new with this lens, and thought I might be taking a risk by putting the front rise to the test.

After sharing the photo and mentioning that I was reluctant to use front rise, someone chimed in and said that the Fuji 300C is great in the middle, but as you move away from the center of the image circle, it really falls apart, and that not using front rise was a good move. If I was using my Nikon 300 lens, I could have maxed out the rise and be sharp all the way through.

That being said, in this case I think the perspective helps put some more attention on the tree and makes it feel bigger than it is. Also, I don't think I could have totally straightened those lines anyway since I had to look upward a lot.



Jun 04, 2017 at 12:03 AM
Brad Williams
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Utah Backpacking Trip


Great work as always Ben! The second one is my favorite of the two.


Jun 16, 2017 at 01:50 PM
1
       2       end




FM Forums | Landscape Photographer | Join Upload & Sell

1
       2       end
    
 

You are not logged in. Login or Register

Username       Or Reset password



This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.