5 Tips for your Photography Trip to Alaska

Traveling to a new location can be intimidating. It takes time to research the best locations to photograph. Most of the time you probably have a limited number of days to make the most of your trip. You don’t want to waste time with the smaller details like trying to find a good place to eat. Here are 5 tips that I hope will help you when planing a photography trip to Alaska to make the most of your time in this wonderful state.

Introductions and Call for Feedback

This is the first audio-only episode of the Camera Stupid Podcast. Subscribe on iTunes here. I’ll be doing short video tutorial and tips episodes on a regular basis. I think video lends itself to better communicating many of the visual concepts of photography. I will also be doing a audio-only episodes, but these will mostly follow a question and answer format or will consist of an interview with someone related to the photography industry.

In this episode, I introduce myself and my wife and give a little background in our journey in learning photography. I also make a call for feedback on the podcast and the Camera Stupid Website. If you have feedback or would like me to write about a certain topic, please contact me using one of the following methods:

Story Behind the Photo: Seaplanes at Lake Hood – Anchorage, Alaska

ISO 640 17mm f/4.0 1/200 sec

Lake Hood

During my short photography assignment in Alaska, we found some time to stop by and photograph seaplanes at Lake Hood Seaplane Base directly across from the airport in Anchorage. Lake Hood offers seaplane pilots a place to dock their aircraft and a waterway to take off or land. It’s the perfect location for taking some exposures of a variety of small aircraft in a beautiful setting. For the above shot, I was looking for a unique angle to show off the aircraft. I got the idea to try out my 17mm lens and see if I could keep the wing tip in focus as well as the body of the aircraft. The lens is wide enough that the entire airplane is in focus even at f/4.0. I like how the wing tip provides an interesting foreground to the image, the wing leads your eye the body of the aircraft in the mid-ground, and the sky and water serve as the background. This composition breaks the image into thirds, from top to bottom.

Lowepro Rover Pro 45L Camera Bag Review

Heavy Lifter

While preparing for a photo assignment in Alaska I realized I really didn’t have a comfortable way to hike with my camera gear as well as extra clothing, food, rain jacket, crampons, and other odds and ends that you need on a longer hike. I have and love the smaller Lowepro Flipside Sport, but it makes more sense in an urban environment, or shorter hikes where you are not worried about weather or food. I started researching Lowepro’s other offerings and discovered the Lowepro Rover Pro line. I purchased the 45L version which is the larger of the two available.

Hiking a glacier in Alaska with the Lowepro Rover Pro

Simulate a Sunny Day – Backlight an Outdoor Portrait with Flash

I was on assignment shooting video and still photography last week in Alaska. As is common in Alaska, the weather was always changing and unpredictable. We set out on day one hoping we’d get enough of a break in the wind and rain that we could create some image of our model collecting wild blueberries. It can be nice to photograph while it is overcast as the light and shadows are soft and flattering. I decided to try and simulate some sun backlighting the leaves and our model so I setup a speedlight on the ground behind the subject.

Smoothing a White Backdrop in Photoshop

Sometimes when photographing a subject on a white seamless paper backdrop or fabric drop cloth, wrinkles can show up and cause an eyesore. I’ve attempted many different techniques for smoothing, smudging or doge & burning out those wrinkles but the frequency separation method I show in this video seems to work the best.

You can download the frequency separation Photoshop action I use in the video herehttps://camerastupid.leadpages.co/leadbox-954.js.

Photographing Waterfalls – Get that Silky Smooth Look

Watkins Glen National Park, Watkins Glen, New York

There are a few images in my portfolio that always seem to provoke people to ask the same question. Those images are of waterfalls and the questions I always get is: How do you get silky smooth water when photographing waterfalls? Here’s some tips to get smooth water in your shots.

How to get the Matte Film Look in your Photos + Free Preset

***Update*** – If you like the matte look, checkout my new premium preset collection, Vintage Matte.

One popular post processing look that I’ve seen come and go over the past couple of years aims to imitate the look of film photography developed onto Matte finish photographic paper. I have to admit, there are times when this type of look can add a warmth and feeling that you sometime lose in the ultra crisp, clean, contrasty look that high resolution digital cameras give us. The key is to not take it to far. Subtlety will go a long way in selling this effect. I’m always a fan of post processing that doesn’t draw attention to itself. Add the effect because it will help the story of the photograph, not because the effect is cool and you hope it will help improve your otherwise underwhelming photo.

Photo Challenge: Shoot the Same Location 10+ Times

One of the more memorable photography assignments from my college years involved photographing the exact same location 10 or more times on different days and at different times of day. I remember the professor advised us to pick a location that we could easily get to on a regular basis during the duration of the assignment. I’ll be honest, when the assignment was first announced, I groaned inside. How could photographing the same location over and over be anything but boring busywork?