Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2022 i Outdoor Photographer

“From redwoods come silence and awe. They are ambassadors from another time.”–John Steinbeck The Monterey Bay of California’s coast has seen more than its fair share of ups and downs since the days of the Gold Rush when promises of wealth drew settlers westward, harvesting California’s natural resources, giving birth to major metropolises, and scouring the oceans for a seemingly endless supply of fish. Forests fell, drought set in and fur traders all but wiped sea otters from the region. For all those troubles, there also arose a consortium of conservation-minded people. Organizations such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Big Sur Land Trust and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration put their muscle behind protecting and restoring the bay and its surroundings in what has now become one of the greatest…

For several years, I had wanted to travel to Antarctica and explore the region photographically. Images that I had seen from this part of the Earth seemed truly otherworldly. In February 2019, I finally had a chance to go as part of a photo workshop led by John Paul Caponigro and Seth Resnick, two outstanding teachers. Travel to this region was a bit arduous, but the excitement of finally getting to see the southernmost part of the world more than overcame the long travel. A day after we arrived in Punta Arenas, Chile, we flew to the Antarctica Peninsula. Later that day, we set sail on the icebreaker ship that we were to be housed on for the week. Each morning and afternoon, taking off from the base ship, we…

Backcountry Ski Photography Gear, technique and creative advice for photographing ski action in wilderness settings. By Liam Doran Wild By Nature Melissa Groo’s recurring column on wildlife photography considers all of the elements for success, from equipment to techniques and good field ethics. Assignments Share your best shots in our weekly “Assignments” photo challenges. Submit images that fit the week’s theme—you may be our next Assignment winner. Tip Of The Week Available on our website—or delivered directly to your inbox—our “Tip of the Week” provides shooting and processing techniques to sharpen your photography skills. Sign up today. Connect With Us Get the latest news and be inspired by great photos from the Outdoor Photographer community. Newsletter Subscribe today for updates on the latest features, how-to articles and photography news. outdoorphotographer.com/newsletter…

Grand Prize Weathering The Storm By Chuck Robinson “Just off the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park, there are these old gnarly trees overlooking Saint Mary Lake. With the winds blowing about 50 mph, I put on a 6-stop ND filter to capture the fast-moving clouds as streaks across the sky. It was so windy that I had to set my camera up just a foot off the ground to minimize camera shake. As I was waiting for the sun to set, I got a couple of breaks in the clouds allowing the sun streaks to add some drama to the scene.” Second Prize Illuminated By Dave Drost “This awe-inspiring image was taken as the Milky Way rose over a lone pine tree and the surrounding white sandstone, with its…

“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.”–Albert Camus If you want to create a beautiful winter image, you’re going to have to embrace the snow and cold. The challenge of cold weather photography can be daunting and even painful at times, but the results can be magnificent. The key to enjoying yourself while photographing in winter conditions is dressing for the part. Many of my fondest memories in all my years in photography revolve around challenging icy conditions. When others would just call it a day and stay indoors in the comfort of their home or hotel, I’d get out there and explore. Winter has often offered me exceptional opportunities to photograph memorable scenes, whether in urban locations with a fresh…

Depending on which poll you consult, most people’s favorite season is either spring, summer or fall. Regardless of the rankings at the top, one constant across these surveys is that winter places last by a noticeable margin. It is generally seen as bleak, colorless and depressing. I hope to show you that at least as far as landscape photography is concerned, it is anything but. Among outdoor photographers, I would wager that autumn is the prevailing favorite, and for good reason. Most popular destinations are less crowded, the temperatures become comfortable for hiking around with heavy camera equipment, and, of course, visual contrasts and extravaganzas of color abound as foliage goes through its yearly transformation. Earth is covered by 3 trillion trees, and as they change, so does the landscape.…

Ninja Prairie Dog “After a heavy snow last year on the Front Range of northern Colorado, I went to check on a nesting pair of bald eagles,” recalls Arthur Trevino. “This one was perched on a bare cottonwood tree. I pulled my car over and waited for it to fly off. When it did, I followed it with my camera, firing away as it dove to grab a prairie dog. It missed and landed a few feet away. The prairie dog turned around and lunged at the eagle and startled it, which gave the prairie dog time to scamper away to its burrow and live another day.” See more of Arthur Trevino’s work at pappadukes.com.…

Our lead feature in this issue showcases Frans Lanting’s latest project, Bay of Life, which celebrates the success of efforts to restore California’s Monterey Bay and its surroundings, where Lanting lives. The centerpiece of the project is a book of his beautiful images that reveal the unique biodiversity of the region. The book will be supported by a series of public presentations and a traveling exhibition produced by the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History. Lanting views this project not as a culmination of conservation efforts but as a positive record of the progress made—and an inspiration to continue the work. “It’s not like, ‘OK, we’ve healed Monterey Bay, and now we’re done,’” Lanting says. “There’s a lot more we need to do, but we have a lot of…

Location Heading north up the Alaska Highway? Did you know that hundreds of thousands of birds fly a similar route known as the Tetlin Passage each spring? The Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge (TNWR) is situated within this natural corridor of the Upper Tanana River Valley, a major migratory route for birds traveling to and from Canada, the Lower 48, and both Central and South America. Because it’s a migration corridor for sandhill cranes with important nesting habitat for trumpeter swans, this region has received special recognition from the National Audubon Society as an Important Bird Area. Established in 1980, the TNWR covers 730,000 acres. It stretches south from the Alaska Highway and west from the Canadian border. The major physical features include rolling hills, hundreds of small lakes and two…

I was standing on top of 2 feet of snow in an open North Dakota field more than a quarter of a mile from where I parked my truck. I was fully encased inside a down parka, carrying a full photo backpack and a large tripod with snow feet. The 1996/1997 winter was especially snowy—it would eventually flood the entire Red River Valley, causing more than $3.5 billion in damage—and everything was awash in blinding white. The temperature was hovering in the mid-20s, and the surface of the snow was a hard crust, which supported both me and my tripod. I don’t remember what, exactly, I was photographing at the time, but I do recall I was out on that snow for more than an hour as the sun rose.…