PCT CrayCray

                                                                                                                      PCT @VasquezRocks/iPhone Pano/by Eric

As some of you know (some of whom I've talked with others who have used their superior detective skills on Facebook & Instagram) that I have decided to backpack over 500 miles this year, at one time, on my own.
  Those who know me know that I am an Eagle Scout and have been hiking/backpacking/camping my whole life. That said, although I am not the jackrabbit on the trail, I have always immensely enjoyed life on said trail. I have always wanted to hike the Pacific Crest Trail aka PCT but, like many others out there, never have the 5 to 6 months to hike the 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada! So 500 seemed like a bite size goal for only about 7 weeks.
  I was watching a documentary on the John Muir Trail portion of the PCT (the 229 miles from Yosemite to Mt. Whitney) called "Mile, Mile & A Half" -streaming on Netflix- with about 20 of my Sierra Club friends last year and that got me thinking... again.  Some of you may have seen the movie recently released called "Wild." That did it. So from Christmas 2014 I began training by slowly gaining strength and stamina first by walking (at least 3 miles every day) then hiking and backpacking 6-8 milers at least once a week. So far so good. The other aspect is that we backpackers obsess over pack base weight (the pounds before consumables like food, water and fuel are added) so spending lots of time (mostly while walking) thinking about the gear I own and improvements to be made, always a cost vs weight and need vs want battle. Oh, and I also needed to loose about 30 to 40 lbs of my own 'base weight' haha off my knees and ankles. Again, so far so good.
  Those who know me know I have never been a 'new year's resolution' kinda guy, so like my world traveling adventures, I decided to make an all-out attempt at this beast, new year or not. There is a lot of planning and preparation, from food preparation and food drops (caches or mailed to locations ahead of you on the trail) to permits (the 'Whitney Zone' is a bureaucratic nightmare) that I have mulled over for years.
  From my Mojave Desert home, I join up with the PCT in Big Bear and walk North to the summit of the highest mountain in the lower 48, Mt. Whitney at 14, 505 feet!!!
  I try and not put too much stock on outcomes, or at least I am teaching my self not to, but I hope this will be yet another trip of a lifetime off the preverbal bucket list. And of course I could not do it without the support (in any form) of my friends and family (some of whom have signed up to do a few miles with me). So keep it up and keep me moving... Que gingle.

http://www.pcta.org

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Whitney

Caffeine Fueled Adventure

Five weeks to 'wheels up' on another adventure! I am so amazed, but not too surprised, at the awesome resources and friends I have discovered on the internet! I have made new friends to hang out with down there already. Its like photographers are just friends anywhere in the world and want to hang out shoot. And I am so looking forward to the coffee:)

Ansel Adams prints on the cheap:)

Ansel Adams prints on the cheap:)

Before the internet was actually useful to most of us I took on a personal challenge to get an Ansel Adams photograph for next to nothing and were not talking postcards. For those of you who don't know, images taken for the government, Federal U. S. Government in this case, are under public domain. Which means the copyright is not owned by the photographer because you, the taxpayer, already paid for it. In this case, if you know anything about out late Master Photographer Mr Adams, prints can and have sold for tens of thousands of dollars. And as many know, his popular black and white images of the Yosemite Valley are his most know works.

Enter the commercial professional photographer. All pros of the photo persuasion can tell you of the work that needs to be done to actually pay the bills. Most true artists do not let this stop them from creating imagery that sings to them. Adams was no different. Some of his major commercial ventures were government projects. One of which is "Fiat Lux" a book on the University of California system up to the building of UC Irvine in the 1960's. Another was to document the Manzanar, the Japanese American Internment Camp near Lone Pine California. Located in the shadow of Adams' favorite subject, the Sierra Nevada he spent time documenting the war relocation camp in 1943. I have had a fascination with this period of American history for a long time. It is important to remember what choices we have in time of war and the consequences of those choices.

Because his work was paid for by the people of the U. S. Adams' work can be reprinted and purchased at cost from the Library of Congress in Washington D. C.

What we take for granted now was a three hour, three building process in 1993. That was the first year I had an email address and was savvy on all things photo while about to graduate from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

The print. I had a good idea where to start because as with most libraries you need a library card to get anywhere. Once a card was obtained it was off to the archive building to the research microfilm and books of archive images by subject to find an image I wanted. Once I lighted on that it was off to a reproduction building to order the 16x20 archival mat print! It turns out I was the first person to order that image so an internegative needed to be made so the original negative can be preserved. Again, before a digital scan could be made. Four weeks later with print in hand, I began the process of spotting for three hours and matting and framing it myself. I have enjoyed it ever since.

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/manz/

A New Venue for New Work

A new venue for new work. I felt it would be to appropriate to officially work with Zuma Press, an international picture agency based in San Clemente, Calif. upon my return from Asia. Founder and CEO Scott Mc Kiernan and I had a long conversation before my latest trip and he gave me some sage advice...(I'm paraphrasing of course) "Don't bring back crap." So upon my return I presented my projects to the news director and got the green light for us to work together.

http://zumaland.com/2013/08/14/zuma-welcomes-eric-reed-new-contract-photographer/

I have also (since you have to be a Zuma member to see them there) posted a coupple of the photo stories I have edited and sent in on my new Photoshelter.com site.

http://ericreedphoto.photoshelter.com/index#!/index

Ps This will be a good excuse to post a few stories and photos from the Asian trip here too:)

Packing Light

Well. After great time and consideration, I was able to get my internal frame backpack to 50lbs. Through a miss calculation it was 60 and I whittled 10 lbs more off here n there. Much of the weight however is the minimum camera gear necessary to still achieve the quality I expect in the field. The minimum list (20 hrs before wheels up) is: Nikon D3s with video. Three lenses, all Nikon 2.8 17-35 and 70-200. A 50 1.4 a Zoom H4N audio recorder and the minimum amount of support gear. I guess one flash and a teleconverter may be in order. And a Canon G12 as backup ;)

3 Weeks to Takeoff

Standby for fun for you and me! January 1st 2013 is launch for a 47-day photographic odyssey in Asia. The pieces are falling into place for Cambodia, Thailand, Nepal and India. I will make every effort to post here and or Facebook when possible.

Holliday Lighting

Its that time of year again... no not Christmas. Newspaper players of the year, and its my lighting for the holidays :) Sports portraits are a bit more fun than the average because of the potential for action. I have always liked the look of well lit portraits but I am trying to push my understanding and skills of lighting a bit more for this year's resolution.

Here on Yucaipa High School senior volleyball outside hitter Kelli LeClair, I used three sources of light. (I should draw diagrams and post them if anyone wants to see them?) A six-foot diffusion pannel with three heads to light her from the left and head to toe, a bounce fill from the floor and a softer fill umbrella from the upper right.

Melissa Fairchild of Serrano High School in Phelan is a cross country runner who I lit on campus with three lights to our right. Side, frontish and from the ground. Needless to say the focus on the last two shots was a B----.

St. Lucy's senior Jackie Macy in Glendora, made for a nice clean portrait in the gym with only five lights. Grid spot to the left, barn doors to the right, umbrella overhead, back light and accent on the cross on back wall. One may notice I shoot all this at 2.8 for various reasons. This shot is with the Nikon 35-70 at about 60mm. The runner with a Nikon 70-200 at about 135mm and the jump shot with the Nikon 17-35 at about 24mm.

A little exercise in light: I got to shoot a cycle class at the Fontana 24 Hour Fitness and decided to bring the light to play with. Sometimes a different look at the usual flash on camera off ceiling and room light look.

24 Hour Fitness member Roslynn Pomahatch of Rancho Cucamonga exercises during a cycle class in Fontana. This was the 17-35mm as well with three lights: front umbrella, bounce fill on the leg and a back accent light behind the instructor.


Redlands High School's Jacob Rubio, right, against Fontana High School's Robert Duran (win) during, Thursday night's, Dec. 15, 2011 varsity 145lbs weight class wrestleing match in Redlands. This match was (no joke) 10,000 iso at 2.8 at 1/125th with out the lights! No bueno! But I fix... three lights, left and right Nikon SB 800s and the on camera master as a fill and voilà its 2.8 at 1/500 at ISO 800. The sensor on the D3s can handle very high ISO ratings so I like to push it a little to save battery and recycle times on the flashes.
As with lighting a very poorly lit high school gym...
Which brings me to a tool that makes this all possible... wait for it... Radiopoppers. Yes, 2.8 in the daylight, high ISO and high sync speeds with any other strobes does not fly:)