Yesterday I received an email asking me what gear I carried around the island. I thank this person for having the decency to give me an idea of what to talk about here today.

I am not saying that in my excited state proclaiming six days (the length of island time) of unique material was silly (a little), but afterwards I started actually counting ideas based on the stuff I had shot, and I kept landing on five… So thanks for the assist, dear emailer.

This is what I brought in the boat:

1) Nikon and lightweight dry bag (orange thing underneath)
2) 80-200mm f2.8
3) Nikon with 10.5mm f2.8 fisheye (In my hand)
4) Radio triggers
5) Speedlight Grid
6) 17-55mm f2.8
7) Eight Rechargeable AA’s with charger, and extra camera batteries
8) Rocket Blower
9) PEC-PAD lintless wipes and Ziess electronic wipes
10) 85mm f2.8 PCE lens
11) Flash sync cable, radio trigger cables
12) Two Nikon speedlights
13) Dan
The case is a Pelican 1510, which is their carry-on case.

I would say that this kit is pretty much what I take on all my jobs, (with the exception of Dan). Sometimes I also take big lights, a battery pack and some light modifiers when I can justify it.

Something else that I should probably have is a set of ND filters and a gradient filter or two. I don’t do a lot of landscape stuff, so I have never justified the expense but I will buy them eventually. They make proper outdoor exposures much easier to accomplish in-camera.

I also really want a waterproof housing. But, you know…

John demonstrating carrying what it takes to get the good stuff.

One morning I stepped outside with my case and bags and John was standing next to me with his gear at his feet. Austin stepped up on the porch, looking at the two of us and said “Don’t you guys know how to pack light?”

Photographers? Not usually.

For today’s island tip:

I will say to not be afraid to take what you want, or leave what you don’t. I often struggle with what to take, usually wanting to take everything. Sometimes it has paid off, and sometimes it just means I carried a lot of stuff around all day for nothing. I am talking about camera stuff, but also other gear as well.

I often struggle with minimalism.

I would like to be the guy who arrives at the airport without a checked bag.

I would enjoy showing up at the boat and having someone say, “That’s all you are bringing?” and reply in the affirmative with a smile and without hesitation or secretly feeling like I should have.

I would like to wander out into the world with nothing but determination, spirit, and what’s in my pockets.

Unfortunately I have yet to find a pair of pants with that much carrying capacity.

-Alex who reminds you to stretch prior to any strenuous activity.

On this day we thank:

William Joseph
&
Simms
&
Montana Fly Co.

A brief(ish) technical interlude, aka silly camera speak ahead

Click to see image a little bit bigger.

One thing that I love that I don’t to enough is long exposure light painting. The process, generally accomplished at night when it is possible to expose images for long periods of time, allows the building of light from both natural sources (enviromental) and from various devices like speedlights, flashlights, cell phones, etc.

The image of The Fisherman’s House above is an example of what you can do with a little time, a tripod, a flashlight, and some patience. Once you get a little practice, how long it takes you to get the shot you want just depends on how much time you want to spend running around in the dark.

The above image was shot with a 10.5mm lens, in manual mode with a 15 second exposure (meaning that the shutter of the camera was open for 15 seconds), at f5.6 and an ISO of 280. Step one is setting up your tripod where you want, and getting your framing and focus. Sometimes this can be hard when it is really dark, so it always helps to have a good flashlight on hand to illuminate the subject and see exactly what you are pointing at. Once you have camera set and focused, it is generally best to switch the camera focus to manual so it stays where you set it, ensuring that your subject will stay sharp. In this case I think I just let the camera focus on the light from the windows, which was a pretty good point.

Once that is all set, then you need to set the f-stop, ISO, and shutter speed to achieve a good balance of natural light exposure. In this case, the sky is what I was looking at. I wanted a nice bright sky, and I set the ISO low, which reduces the amount of visible noise the sensor will create, keeping the image smooth and clean looking. Next I determined how long I thought it would take me to run from the left side of the house with the flashlight, around the front and to the other side, over by the tree. I figured that 15 seconds would do it, so last I set the f-stop (aperture) where it would give me the exposure that I was looking for in the sky and in the ambient lights around the house. Getting that exposure right just takes practice, as sometimes I have found in the dark the image on the LED screen can be deceptively brighter than what you will see on your computer screen. Getting in the habit of looking at your histogram on the camera helps also, if you have that feature.

Once that was set, I used a remote (you can use the timer on the camera also) to fire the camera while I was running around lighting the house. Each time I would walk back and look at the preview on the back of the camera to see if I was giving the different parts of the house enough light with the flashlight.

The set of motions that I went through for the final image was to stand on the left side of the house, click the shutter then “paint” with the flashlight the grass near the porch. Then I ran around behind the camera and started waving the light over the front of the house in a up-and-down motion, like spray painting, until I thought the porch and wall was properly lit. I ended the movement over by the tree on the far right, where you can see the branches are bright, pointing directly at the guys on the porch to give them some extra light.

The whole operation from getting the camera out took probably 15 minutes. You can imagine if one were to spend a good amount of time on a particular subject, with different lights, colored gels, strobes (for stopping motion and getting sharp subjects), etc, what you could accomplish. The possibilities are limitless.

One more example:

This photo of Kevin hanging out by the lighthouse (as well as the opener of Dan from the last post) was set up the same way: get camera, ambient exposure, and focus (on Kevin) set, then open the shutter and add your light.

In this case, the light was a speedlight. (strobe) This emits a quick, bright light that is good at capturing detail on things that may move around during the exposure. (People, trees, etc) I sat behind the camera and had my assistant (I think it was John- I may have had a few beers before this night photo-outing) pop the flash on my command from over off camera left. If you look at the shadow from Kevin you can get an idea where the light was.

We had to do it a few times to get it right, and I had to keep moving the tripod to keep the moon right there poking out from behind the top of the lighthouse.

I am just disappointed that Kevin is not in the habit of wearing tuxedos around for fun on the island, because a bond-ish look with a martini glass would have made this pretty epic. Or a banana suit. That would have been pretty epic, too. (Kevin, get on that.)

Obviously there is a lot to this type of photography, and I am just skimming the surface when it comes to the finer settings and techniques. If you have interest, I have been told that this book is a good resource, one of these days I probably should buy it and check it out.

For today’s island tip

To stay in the vein of taking photos at night, I would advise to take a bag or backpack and keep track of your crap in the dark when out playing. Leaving lenses, remotes (did that on the above photo) and other stuff out in the grass is a great way to lose things you probably need. An off camera speedlight (or 3) is helpful, as we as a good, bright, multi-lumen output LED flashlight for painting light and looking for lost things in the dark. (Also, a flashlight with a clip or lanyard will help you not lose the thing you need to find other things.)

Also, if you think you are going to be in the habit of slinging around expensive gear in the dark while partaking in the consumption of alcohol, be sure you have an insurance policy on your stuff. Peace of mind, and all.

-Alex who promises that tomorrows post will contain photos of fishes. Also, I had to bang post one out eleventh-hour, so please excuse any grammatical nonsense or other textual errors.

On this day we thank:

Smith Optics
&
Patagonia
&
Howler Bros.

Every place is unique. Every little town or big city has things that set them apart, while the parts that seem familiar give a sense of something known. Every place is a little different, and a little the same. Almost.

Beaver Island, at least for me, was a complete stranger.

As a traveler from the desert we met for the first time, and I struggled to place the face. Sure, I have been to Michigan, but it wasn’t like that. I have been to Wisconsin, but that didn’t feel right, either.

When the sun was shining and the light breeze pushed ripples around the shallow clear water of the flats if I squinted it might have been a beautiful early spring day in Florida, but no, that wasn’t it.

When the fog hung thick around the lighthouse in the still morning air it reminded me of… nothing, actually. (Fog is pretty foreign to me. Also lighthouses)

And when I ran my fingers through the sand and heard the call of the gulls, San Diego came to mind, but again, everything was wrong.

And everything was right.

I am intrigued by Beaver Island. I suppose you could say I have a crush on the place.

I want to be around. I want the island to like me, to invite me to parties, to introduce me to friends and smile when I tell stupid jokes. I want to know the roads, and drive them to places I feel welcomed where people will smile and say “Hey, man good to see you! Pull up a chair!”

I suppose for now I will have to settle for a long distance relationship.

As far as hitting it off with the locals, I suppose we did alright, considering that we were only there two days and had already warmed chairs at every bar and even got invited to a house party for a local girls high school graduation. (Which was a great party, if your wondering) And I would like to think that it had little to do with the fact that we were “media”, and more to do with how awesome we are. Either way, it didn’t hurt.

For today’s island tip

I will tell you to not forget to wave. If you are driving a car, or walking down the street, or standing in a window, or sitting on a porch, whatever you do for the love of all that is holy, wave. Wave at everyone. Always.

If you are sitting at the living room table and hear a car go by, wave.

If you are washing dishes and hear and engine approaching, wave.

If you are sleeping in your bed, dreaming of hungry carp, and in your dream you see someone behind the wheel of a vehicle, wave.

And try to mean it, when driving a car, especially. It’s easy, just keep your steering hand at “twelve” and throw up your fingers with a little smile, maybe give a head nod if you recognize the person. Not hard. In principle.

I had Kevin’s truck for an afternoon, and Dan was freaking out in the passenger seat thinking that we were going to get kicked off the island because I kept getting distracted by passing shiny objects and forgetting to give other drivers acknowledgement. I felt bad, but more so for the fact that I realized that I was wearing Kevin’s bright green jacket, and driving Kevin’s red truck. That evening I kept expecting to see a mob carrying the poor guy toward the ferry dock kicking and screaming, tied to a bag of rocks.

-Alex who is waving at you, right now.

On this day we thank:

Liam and Marylyn at the Stoney Acre Grill for the great drinks and the better company.
&
Scientific Anglers
&
Bozeman Reel Co.

One thing that can make or break the good times of a trip is group dynamics. The people that you are about to spend approximately 16-18 hours per day around for many days in a row, while engaging in the types of behavior that can bring out peoples difficult side (fishing, weather, alcohol, inadequate bathroom facilities, etc), had better be able to get along.

And I can say without hesitation that these are some kick-ass guys.

The Beaver Bash 2014 crew photographically, in no particular order:

Cameron Mortenson

Austin Adduci

Matt Smythe

Dan Frasier

Steve Martinez

John Arnold (the semi-incognito)

Kevin Morlock

And, your Photographic Narrator

Cameron Mortenson Photo

That is what a good times havin’, drink swiggin’, fish stickin’, bunch of guys looks like, if anybody asks.

For today’s island tip

I would say that within a closed environment where peoples actions will ripple and echo throughout such as a small island community it is important to be with people you get along with (whether they like the movie Spaceballs or not). It makes everything a whole lot more pleasant. If you do find yourself in the company of questionable personalities, just sit a few seats away at the bar, keeping your guilt-by-association to a minimum. (I did notice at one point that I was the last remaining person belly-up at the Stoney one night…)

Pete McDonald once said that the only two rules of fly fishing should be 1) don’t be an asshole, and 2) make the cast. Some time later Pete truncated the thought to solely “Don’t be an asshole.” Which is perfect. (Making the cast, however, never hurts)

-Alex who appreciates the company of good people.

On this day we thank:

Angela Lefevre, and Island Airways for giving us amazing service and just being some damn nice people.
&
Steve West, and the Beaver Island Chamber of Commerce for their great hospitality, and Steve in particular for the fine drinking company.

You may already be aware, but I try not to assume too many things these days so I will start at the beginning while my coffee is still warm.

We dudes (see previous post), organized by by Mr. Mortenson at TFM and the boys at Indigo Guide Service, gathered as like minds in mutual promotional effort to display in our various media the community and fishing destination that is Beaver Island, located in northern Lake Michigan. If you want more technical details, ask the Goog.

Over the next six days(ish), I will show an image or a set of images and talk about them, give a little technical data for those who care, thank a selection of those who donated time, money, or gear to our mutual sillyness and drop a tidbit of island knowledge that I picked up during my time on BI. This may be something as simple as that the horseradish roast beef wrap is a solid boat-lunch choice from the nice ladies at Dalwhinnie Bakery & Deli, or a more complicated subject such as how to graciously accept an apology from your previous nights bartender when you can’t remember why she was mad at you and calling you names to begin with.

See you tomorrow.

-Alex who will refrain from being lewd, as it is too easy in this case.