Getting Wet

Mike fights a nice rainbow from his float tube near Talkeetna.

I love float tube fly fishing, it is as close to being apart of the fish’s world we can get and still use a rod
and reel. The quiet of Alaska’s many small lakes can be a godsend of relaxation and contemplating the
world as it should be, just me and the trout. This summer I decided to take my underwater photography
to this world and hopefully bring an understanding of what this to the outside world. Through a friend I was introduced to Mike Malone, a world class fisherman and really interesting chap to boot. He graciously volunteered to go fishing at his favorite lakes so that I could watch him catch fish. Like I said he is great guy, not everyone would give up their free time to go fishing.

Mike Malone prepares to release another nice fish.

Gear:
Camera: Canon 5D
Lens: Canon 17-40 F4 L
Housing: Ikelite with 8” Dome port
Wetsuit: O’neil 7mm

We found it works best if I stay in my safety boat (14ft Aire Super Lynx piloted by my wife) until he gets a fish on, then I slide over the side and start shooting. Once the fish has been safely released, I get back in the boat and repeat as necessary. This is where the super lynx is great, self bailing floors, and the stability for me to get in and out in deep water without risk of tipping over. It is a ballet in green water, between maintaining my orientation to the fisherman, where the fish is at, and where the light is coming from while not sucking in water or stirring up the bottom. Much like fishing it is about the challenge of proper execution that we seek, not necessarily the resulting catch or image. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing more frustrating than spending the day in a cold lake only to find out your images are out of focus or ill exposed. But, it motivates me to get back out there and make it happen and improve every time I go out. In the words of Joel Grimes, “Am I better than I was yesterday?” if the answer is yes, then it was a success.

Holly in the safety kayak

Anatomy of a Large Format Portrait Session

Large format photography knows no bounds; it is only limited by your bank account and patience. Want to shoot life size Polaroid’s? It has been done, and 20”x24” negatives are more common than you would think. Don’t bother asking Costco about them, they aren’t that common. I dabble in the lower end of this spectrum with 4”x5” Graflex Camera’s and an 8”x10” pinhole (we’ll save that for another day). People who get into large format photography are passionate about their art and very open to helping others get involved. I guess the more of us there are the more likely film will keep getting produced and labs processing it. Ultimately, I find large format to be an exercise in patience and attention to detail. Like any other camera or format it is only a tool, and is up to the user to make the tool work properly. I can equate this to my other hobby of wood working, power tools are nice and can cut down production time and decrease the learning curve (just like digital cameras) but do they add to the experience of producing the final product? If your only goal is the final image and you wish to do as little work as possible to produce it, then large format is not for you. It is a painstaking process that only offers challenges and few rewards that the masses will never understand. You have to do this for yourself and your need to create, and no other reason. Here is my process for every image I make with the Speed Graflex equipped with the 172mm f2.5 Aero Ektar lens.

Kara the owner of Dos Manos Gallery in Anchorage, Ak

Anatomy of a Session
Unload film cartridge in dark bag
Place exposed negative in dark box
REMEMBER TO CLOSE THE BOX BEFORE PULLING OUT YOUR HANDS
Clean all cartridges of dust
Reload each cartridge with film correctly and only one sheet at time. Without looking or itching your nose during the process (see above).
Did you remember to place all your negs right side up, and your dark slides right side out?
This has to be done by touch only and if you get a finger print on the negative you just ruined it.
Load the gear, cartridges, focusing loupe, light meter, filters, lenses, camera, tripod, dark cloth (focusing), light, bounce.
Want to shoot more than the cartridges you have, now bring your dark bag, and boxes of film.
Did you remember to write down what is in each cartridge (BW vs. Chrome vs. C41) and the ISO of each?
If not, start over.
Load your hulking tripod, gear bag and hot light (flash doesn’t work with my rig).
Get to your subject
Set up your gear on location; just remember it isn’t easy to move a large format camera
Take light readings, place your subject (ignore the strange looks), check your framing.
Answer questions about the camera and why you do this, as this never fails to be the topic.
NOW FOCUS, upside down and backwards on ground glass through a 12x loupe.
If it is bright outside, do this under a stifling black cloth.
Convince your subject to look good, and not move at all. Get them to relax at the same time, easy.
Grab an unexposed film cartridge nearby, as you didn’t forget your film across the room.
Watch your subject not move and load the cartridge. If they moved, start over.
Don’t move the camera as you slide in the cartridge.
Cock the shutter and set the shutter speed to your predetermined light reading.
NOBODY MOVE
Now pull the dark slide from the film (you didn’t grab an exposed one did you?)
Subject sill hasn’t moved and you haven’t bumped the camera
TRIP THE SHUTTER
Replace the Dark Slide
If you pulled the cartridge before replacing the slide while in a hurry,
START OVER.
Either way, check your focus again.
Engaged your subject
Check your focus
Rinse, Wash, Repeat……..

Sound like fun? It is to me, and I look forward to every session someone agrees to sit for. Why? When
I could just take the digi SLR out and a small strobe on location and shoot 200 frames and Photoshop
them to perfection? It is the process of making art that interests me just as much as the final product.
It forces me to focus all my energy into creating and image and break down the process step by step to ensure a final image that is worth printing. It took me over a year to figure out the above steps and
remember to them in order most of the time. My first tries were disastrous; I have a box of expensive film that is never going to see the light of day. It is ultimately the challenge of using the tool that the artist must enjoy. Why do some carpenters use only hand tools…..because it is the challenge that they seek, not just the final product.

Tintype, film, digital, it doesn’t matter, what matters is the process you go through to produce art. Do you engage yourself and your subject, if not it will show. Large format ultimately helps me immerse myself in creating an image, and requires my subject to engage as well. It demands patience, and practice, and lots of film and in the end only you will decide if it is worth it.

Want to learn more? Get started here
Graflex Custom Parts and Guru
The man who drove me to this

Good Health and Travels,
David

Razor Sharp

Ray Thibault owns Northern Knives of Anchorage, AK with his son Ryan. Shot with the "Burnett Combo" Graflex Speed Graphic with 172mm F2.5 Aero Ektar Lens on 100 ISO Kodak TMax.

Many years ago I fell in love with large format photography, well I fell in love with the idea and results of large format photography. David Burnett's work on Huricane Katrina was published in National Geographic and it was like nothing I had ever seen. I began an earnest search into who this man was and how he achieved these landmark images. After viewing his portfolio it was clear that he exists on another plane of imagery from us mere mortals. But, I also found out that he uses a very unique camera rig; a vintage 4"x5" Graflex Speed Graphic with a Kodak Aero Ektar lens. After researching these items it was apparent that more people than just me had taken a liking to this set up. A Dutch machinists had created lens boards, lens shades, and filter holders for this set up in addition to a slew of technical information and usage tips. It took me two years to find the right camera and lens and put it all together and about that long to pay for it. The whole rig cost me the same as a good Canon L series lens, even though it was about my fathers age. Now I had the mighty setup, but now the hard part......learning how to use it. A good friend sold me his sturdiest tripod and head (a mere 25lbs of metal) that he was unwilling to carry in the field anymore and now I had all the pieces of the puzzle. Except how to really use it. This would take another year and the equivalent of another L series lens.

Large format photography (4"x5" in this case) is not only about results but about the process and dedication it takes to make it happen. Could I use digital and some fancy photoshop actions, maybe. But that doesn't get at the heart of what big film is all about, patience.

I'll pick this up next week.
David

For better or worse....

My amazing wife in the Alaskan jungle before the rain at mile 6 of 12. (Holly is 5'2" in hiking boots)

NYX is my 86lb mutt and camp guard, trust me you don't walk  in unannounced.

Erebus briefly claimed the soft spot on the cabin floor.

For some reason I thought trail runners would be the way to go, mother nature thought otherwise.

.454 Casull my ever present trail companion

Holly and I took the summer off from Wedding Photography and turned our attention to our much neglected camping supplies this summer. Forest Service cabins are located throughout Alaska and are a great back country deal at $35 a night. But, they are hard to book and you need to make reservations 6 months in advance due to their popularity, and are therefore committed to using them long before a weather report is issued. I had rented the Aspen Flats cabin on the upper portion of the Russian River for the only still weekend available back in February. It sits roughly midway between Cooper Lake and the Russian River campground which is a 21.5 mile one way trip. This is some of the densest bear country in the world and we would hike it at the beginning of the sockeye run when the foliage is the highest and thickest. We had hiked the first four miles before from the Russian Campground and the trail is 4 feel wide and gravel, how bad could this be? We voted to start at the Cooper side and the first 4 miles were decent trail with only thick clouds of bugs to really worry about, then the trail started to deteriorate rapidly and fill up with bear scat. At first it was waist high brush and the occasional pile of bear turds, then we were seeing them every hundred feet or less. (To anyone in the area that day, it was me yelling "Sasquatch" every minute or so, I don't say "Bear" unless there is one.) By this point the foliage is 8 feet tall and completely obscured the trail to the point we couldn't tell if we were on it or not, except for the occasional marker in the trees. Still not bad, at least it wasn't raining.....I actually said that about 10 minutes before it started to rain. At least we only had 4 of 12 miles left in the poring rain in the dense undergrowth stepping over piles of bear scat constantly. Holly got to practice her clapping and I my yodeling, which confused my dogs a might bit. We reached the cabin after 5 hours of hard hiking and quickly set about warming up and getting our gear hung up to dry.

If you ever wonder if you married the right person this is the exact moment you find out. You are soaked, cold, tired, hungry and surrounded by unseen bears next to a salmon stream and only halfway down the trail and not one complaint from my much better half. In fact I think she had more fun than I did to be honest. Some mint tea, chicken fajitas and a warm fire were our evening while it kept raining blew a gale outside, that cabin was our Ritz Carlton. The next morning brought a low fog and constant mist that would turn to rain at mile 2 of 9.5. The trail had great views on the way out, at least that is what the guide book says, I'm sure if you could see over the flora they are great. We didn't see a bear the whole weekend as a result of our noise making, hounds and pure luck. I can't say we had alot of fun, but covered a good bit of ground and can say that we prefer other trails.

Me at the end of 22 wet miles, my .454 Casull in its holster on my chest as always. 

NOTE: If you carry a gun in Alaska, carry the largest caliber you can shoot accurately. Practice often with the loads you carry. If you commit to shooting a bear, follow through and kill it. If you don't others are instantly in danger. DO NOT CARRY A SMALL CALIBER and think it is better than nothing. My wife and I carry both spray and my Casull in addition to our two dogs on leash in bear country. Stay safe, all of Alaska is bear country.

Sunday Morning Coming Down

A fisheye view of a rainbow trout fighting the fly fisherman.

Mike releases a small rainbow after telling me he was going to catch it not a minute earlier.

Mike Malone chats with kids out for a paddle on a slow Sunday afternoon on Irene Lake, Alaska

So this is what I looked liked to the fish.

Float tube fishing in Alaska has always been a green shrouded zen like experience for me. I could always escape the crowds of the Kenai and just float around and get a bit closer to everything.  Spotting rainbow trout far below me swimming by oblivious to my intent (an they ignored my fly for the most part) was always worth a drive. But, life got busy and float tube and hand built flyrods started collecting dust more and more. My obsession with a slow Sunday on a quiet lake refused to gather dust. Although it wouldn't help the dusty 6wt, I had to get back into those still waters, but this time my goal was just to share my obsession with the world. Mike Malone from Education Concepts (professional fly fishing instructors, yes it is ok to be jealous of that title) was kind enough to share his quiet Sunday with me. Fishing was a bit slow, but the conversation was lively and weather pleasant. I paddled along side his float tube in my trusty 7mm O'neil wetsuit towing my Canon 5D in an Ikelite housing along with a GoPro HD mounted to it (I'll do a write up on my kit later on this year).  We managed to rustle up a few rainbows and lots of green water to tread. If you have never gone fishing in a float tube, go make it happen and get a bit closer to the fish and further from the crowds.

We have made plans for our next venture where hopefully we can get into a few bigger fish and more story telling. It is fishing after all, and even if you are treading cold water for hours on end you have to tell tales.

Good Health and Travels,
David Hayes

PS Not in the photos but present was my incredible safety officer and wife Holly kayaking around the lake and getting her Zen time in as well.  And if you get the title of this post then you can pick the music for a road trip in my truck.

Greed is Good

Daryl Pederson owner of D&M Photography, image by David Hayes 

BIG DISCLAIMER: Daryl is not the subject of this post, the image simply went with my idea this week. He is in fact a generous person that I have known and worked with for over 10 years, but more about him in another post.


Greed
I am a greedy devil, probably the greediest person you will ever meet. But, my greed is not for those items that can be held. My greed is for experiences, and time for that is the only thing worthy of greed. Time allows us to learn, to experience and to travel beyond our own bonds. I weep in a library because I have not a thousand lifetimes to learn all that there is held in that one building. Give me enough time to learn all the world’s libraries. Beyond that even, I want enough time to accomplish all those thoughts held within mankind’s tomes. To listen to the symphony is not enough, I want to fell the trees, saw the planks, shape the instruments and write the music, to be performed in a structure built by my own two hands. Not to declare “Look at my work” but to say, “That is how it feels to create”. This is greed in its truest most dangerous form. For alas, I will not have the time to accomplish a mere pittance of these things. And furthermore, I would run great risk of missing out on the most valuable learning of all, the experiences of those around us.

Many a parent has missed a lifetime trying to secure the future. Like all things in life we must strike a balance, because we don’t have a thousand lifetimes, just this one fragile uncertain life. My greed must drive me to succeed but not blindly forward without regards to life itself. Everything you have in life can be taken from you, what we do with our time is the only thing we can control. Many an empty mansion could be traded for a full happy apartment. I want more, more than Gates, more than Jobs, more than Trump, because they have no more time than you or I. Their caskets may be gorgeous in the end but the results are the same. I am greedy, I make no apologies. I want a thousand lifetimes. 

Good Health and Travels,
David 

Image Info: 100 ISO TMax, Graflex Speed Graphic with Aero Ektar 172mm F2.5. Shot at 1/250 @ F 2.5

Over my head

Two weeks ago I ran 6 Mile Creek near Hope, Alaska with Nova Guides from Chickaloon. With moderate water levels we  ran all three canyons without using oar locks. This means that everyone in the boat has to paddle and pay attention. I wanted to shoot video with my Gopro HD helmet cam in addition to my 5D for still photos but the guides put this idea down like a wounded horse. In my Alaskan experience if somebody does something for a living, you listen to them. Boy, I'm glad I did. As you will see in the slide show we didn't quite make it through the last set of Class V rapids in the boat. Scary as hell to be in water that big without a boat. I had two thoughts in my mind, "I always wondered what this felt like, I've seen it on TV" and "CLOSE YOUR MOUTH STUPID." The second was the most profound statement I have had in quite some time. We all got plucked out of the river by the safety cataraft and were none the worse for wear. NOVA Alaska is a world class group of guides, if you are looking to shoot some rapids or see the back country these are your people. www.novalaska.com