Thanks Carlos! It sure is nice to be able to experience these locations, but without the pressure of missing things when the conditions are perfect. Sometimes it's nice just to soak it all in and to get to know the place. Hopefully the light will be a bit better when I revisit this canyon.
So beautiful to watch, Ben. Your videos are very therapeutic; they calm me. That second composition is perfect. When you get the light you seek, it’ll be truly magical. Thx again. 👍🦘🇦🇺 PS. Always makes me chuckle when you stab your walking sticks in the ground, then wave them aside like mosquitoes.
Thanks Peter! It sure was a wonderful scene, and I look forward to giving it another shot next year. Thankfully it's quite close to camp, so I won't have a lengthy hike back at the end of the day!
Thanks Nick! It sure was a fun scene to put a composition on, and I really look forward to the possibility of photographing it with better light next time! I just hope the foreground doesn't change too much in a negative way. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Thank you! It truly is a beautiful location. I just wish the weather was mild for a longer period of time. It can be so incredibly hot during the summer and very cold during the winter, which leaves only the spring and fall. Perhaps that’s why it’s so alluring though.
As a photographer myself, a lot of it ends up as serendipity. You’re exploring a new area for the first time and sometimes you’re just extremely lucky and other times you just hit the scene at the wrong time. Now that I’m 65, I can’t do the hiking I used to do, but I’m enjoying my new photography genre in street photography. Although sometimes I push myself too hard even here. Been retired for six years now and I get to do what I really love. 🖖
Thanks for watching Ben, and that sure must be wonderful to pursue exactly what you love, and for all the right reasons. Having to earn and income from something you love always muddies the waters a bit. You're very right about exploring a new area. There is so much learning, and so much of it is left up to chance. I also have a tendency to leave certain subjects behind as something to photograph on my next visit, which gives my return trip even more of a sense of purpose. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Thanks Brie! It sure was a wonderful scene to find. I'm debating if I should bring my heavy wide angle lens with me next time to see if I can shoot that scene any better with that lens. It's probably worth it, and would give me a wonderful excuse to revisit that first canyon.
Thanks Loren! It has also lost some of its leaves through the years with a few of the branches going barren. It is truly fascinating to see how much they change over a relatively short period of time.
Thanks Alberto! That's one of the wonderful things about photographing in the canyons. The reflected light can change so much from one moment to the next. Thanks for watching and commenting!
That last composition is really nice Ben. Under better conditions that one holds some great potential. When you first arrived at the scene I imagined an even tighter composition than what you ended up with, but I also liked what you framed up.
Thanks Larry! Thankfully it's rather close to camp because I suspect it's one that will benefit from late evening light-and hiking through a strange canyon in the dark can be a bit creepy. :-) A nice balance of reflected light and some blue light from the sky will do that scene very well. I'll certainly keep my fingers crossed for next year. Thanks as always for watching and commenting!
I so, so much enjoy these series. I had occasion this evening to search on the web for information about your camping gear, and stumbled across one of your blog posts from over ten years ago, wherein a cris was averted. You may be sure that I'm gonna be on the lookout for that mahoganny end table!
Haha! That sure is an old post, that's for sure! I've changed my kit significantly since then, but I'll do an updated video in the coming weeks with my current kit. I now carry about a third of the weight that I did on my first couple backpacking trips.
Thanks Kit! Although both shots are fine as they are, they can be so much better with just the right conditions. It also gives me a wonderful excuse to return to both canyons. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Thanks for taking me along on your journey. I’m inspired to figure out how I can take such journeys myself. Thanks for taking the time to make these videos. I always look forward to them.
The potential for that second shot is really, really high. Can’t wait to see you realize your vision on that one, Ben. It’s always fun to see the Easter Eggs in your videos, too!
Thanks Sean! I'm really looking forward to my return visit to that canyon. I just hope the foreground doesn't change too much. It was nice to have the little bit of water there. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Thanks Sander! The wonderful thing about it though is that it gives me an excellent excuse to return. That and all the other beautiful subjects in the canyon.
Thanks Caleb! The wonderful thing about it all is that it just gives me an excuse to head back there again. Thanks as always for watching and commenting!
Great work Ben. The tree composition was a great one for sure. Looking forward to the different iterations on this because I think you’ll definitely be back!
Thanks Brian! I'll definitely be back there for sure. It also has me thinking about how that tree would look during the fall... assuming I could get the timing right for fall color.
Thanks Ash! It sure was a wonderful scene to find, and I look forward to revisiting it next year with (hopefully) better light. Thanks as always for watching and commenting!
Thanks Ryan! It sure was a lot of hiking on this trip. I was averaging about 15 miles a day. It's no wonder at a certain point my legs decided to call it quits and make me sit and relax for a while.
Hello Ben Horne, I see that you like to photograph small subjects and very close ones most of what I saw in your videos. I saw a location that you walked passed in the canyon with high walls and trees where you stopped and looked around before setting up camp. I thought with the large format camera that you use how detailed of an image of the canyon walls and the surrounding boulders and trees would have looked being photographed with it. Anyway just my thoughts here. Cheers.
Thanks Luigi! Often times when you seen a scene like that in the video, it's because I also found it to be very interesting, but there wasn't a clean composition to be found. The canyon was incredibly beautiful, though it was also quite chaotic, which makes it difficult to find a clean and simple composition. Who knows though, perhaps on a future visit I'll look at those same canyon walls and come up with a solution. Thanks for watching and commenting!
As always excellent video and photos! I got a question, at about minute 16:25 (I’m sure you’ve mentioned it before) I believe you pulled something out of you pack to frame a possible composition? I might be wrong, but what or how do you know where to actually set up? Any advice would help. Thank you!
Ill be honest I don't necessarily like all your photos, just as I don't like all my photos either, but the two you showed today I like a lot. Personally I like wind movement in trees in photos. It adds a spirit of life. Also not sure I agree with you on the lighting being bad. O.K it might be flat but why is this bad? How much contrast does an image need? I call this soft lighting and for me its peaceful.
Thanks Tony! I know it might seem picky of me to reject that photo because of the lighting, but the difference is significant, and photography is all about light. When photographing in these canyons, reflected light on a subject is incredibly dimensional. It's a mixture of warm light and cool light coming from different directions. Blue light from the sky, and warm light reflected off a nearby canyon wall. The result is warm, inviting, and very painterly. Imagine taking a portrait of someone in an office environment with the overhead fluorescent lights. The light will be flat, the color will be a bit weird, and the angle of the light isn't ideal. Sure, you could convert it to B&W and probably make the photo work just fine, but now imagine that same person lit by beautifully warm and nuanced dimensional light coming from just the right angle. It radically transforms that photo, elevating it to another level. In some locations, soft diffused and neutral lighting might be ideal, but not for a location like this that can produce so much more beautiful light when the conditions are right.
It was quite interesting to see the progression that morning. It went from a calm morning with blue skies, to a single tiny cloud overhead with a slight breeze, then as the wind continued to build more clouds began to form, and it culminated in the crazy dust storms with overcast skies. What a differences a few hours make. In any case, I'm certainly glad I was back at my truck when the wind really kicked up! Thanks for watching and commenting Romie!
It is indeed a new camera, though up until this trip I haven't posted anything about it. The new camera is a Chamonix Alpinist X 8x10. It's my new backpacking camera, and it will also serve as my backup camera to my Arca-Swiss F Metric. It's quite nice to have the balance between the two very different cameras.
Thanks Michael! Yes, that's the new Chamonix Alpinist X 8x10. It's an absolutely fantastic camera and was a joy to work with. Now that I've spend some time with it in the field, I'll do a view review of it at some point in the coming weeks.
Hi Randy! I really haven't any time along the Oregon coast, but it's an area I'd love to visit at some point! Seascapes are tricky with large format since there are so many bits of equipment I need access to while shooting: film holders, light meter, gray cards, etc. When shooting in a desert environment, it's easy enough to spread things out a bit on the ground, but that doesn't work as well when shooting seascapes. There are certainly some creative solutions, and not all compositions will be in the line of fire, but it makes for some more creative thinking for sure. Thanks for watching and commenting Randy!
Thanks Patrick! Where I live in California, the gas prices are significantly higher than the neighboring states, so it usually takes just one tank of California gas until I reach some places with more reasonable prices. I'm glad I decided not to visit the Redwoods this year though. The gas bill for that trip would have been significant having to drive the length of the state and paying California prices the entire way. I was hoping to visit the bristlecone pines again this summer, another California location, but we'll see how I'm feeling about that when the time comes. With film being more expensive AND gas being a LOT more expensive, I might have take it easy on those spur of the moment trips.
22:53 "With the veil of perfection lifted" I love that.
Thanks Carlos! It sure is nice to be able to experience these locations, but without the pressure of missing things when the conditions are perfect. Sometimes it's nice just to soak it all in and to get to know the place. Hopefully the light will be a bit better when I revisit this canyon.
So beautiful to watch, Ben. Your videos are very therapeutic; they calm me. That second composition is perfect. When you get the light you seek, it’ll be truly magical. Thx again. 👍🦘🇦🇺 PS. Always makes me chuckle when you stab your walking sticks in the ground, then wave them aside like mosquitoes.
Thanks Peter! It sure was a wonderful scene, and I look forward to giving it another shot next year. Thankfully it's quite close to camp, so I won't have a lengthy hike back at the end of the day!
That second composition is brilliant! In fact, I like it so much, it has me considering a bit of canyon photography! Thanks for sharing, Ben!
Love the composition of the tree between the boulders…in the right conditions, should provide a magical image
+1 as they say!
Thanks Nick! It sure was a fun scene to put a composition on, and I really look forward to the possibility of photographing it with better light next time! I just hope the foreground doesn't change too much in a negative way. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Another enjoyable video with your special touch. That 2nd canyon looks like a fabulous location. Look forward to seeing more.
Am I the only one that saw the funny face on the boulder to the right of the tree? Great video and shots, as always!
Now I can't unsee it. :-) Thanks for watching Greg!
Thanks again for another well produced video containing relaxing and informal subjects. best.
Thank you so much!!! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Another wonderful video, Ben! I'm enjoying this series. What a beautiful spot!! I can't wait to see that second composition with the right conditions!
Thank you! It truly is a beautiful location. I just wish the weather was mild for a longer period of time. It can be so incredibly hot during the summer and very cold during the winter, which leaves only the spring and fall. Perhaps that’s why it’s so alluring though.
As a photographer myself, a lot of it ends up as serendipity. You’re exploring a new area for the first time and sometimes you’re just extremely lucky and other times you just hit the scene at the wrong time.
Now that I’m 65, I can’t do the hiking I used to do, but I’m enjoying my new photography genre in street photography. Although sometimes I push myself too hard even here.
Been retired for six years now and I get to do what I really love. 🖖
Thanks for watching Ben, and that sure must be wonderful to pursue exactly what you love, and for all the right reasons. Having to earn and income from something you love always muddies the waters a bit. You're very right about exploring a new area. There is so much learning, and so much of it is left up to chance. I also have a tendency to leave certain subjects behind as something to photograph on my next visit, which gives my return trip even more of a sense of purpose. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Antonov above you during the first shot :D great work as always!
They must have had a great view from above!
Wonderful video. I love southern Utah. An enchanting place.
Thanks Jack! It truly is. There's so much to see, to explore, and to appreciate.
That white rock in that first canyon is 🤩. Thanks for taking us along Ben!
Thanks Brie! It sure was a wonderful scene to find. I'm debating if I should bring my heavy wide angle lens with me next time to see if I can shoot that scene any better with that lens. It's probably worth it, and would give me a wonderful excuse to revisit that first canyon.
I’m sure it’s worth a try! I’m sure your creative instincts will steer you in the right direction.
Vous êtes un grand photographe ! Merci
Thank you Doume!
Ben, that tree and boulder composition is pretty breathtaking!
Thanks Dan! It sure was a wonderful scene to find, and I look forward to revisiting it next year!
The shot came out really good man. Nice work.
Thanks Rhawi! It sure was wonderful to spend some time down in the canyons.
You video was a quiet and contemplative break on a wind Saturday afternoon, thank you 🙂
Thanks Andrew! I'm glad you enjoyed the moment of peace and quiet!
Cool to see that tree in such different light (4:47)
Thanks Loren! It has also lost some of its leaves through the years with a few of the branches going barren. It is truly fascinating to see how much they change over a relatively short period of time.
As always, thanks for putting so much effort and thought into your compositions and storytelling.
Thanks Peter! Much appreciated!
It’s very interesting how you explain the effect of the light hitting the rock, and the final result on the sheet!
Thanks Alberto! That's one of the wonderful things about photographing in the canyons. The reflected light can change so much from one moment to the next. Thanks for watching and commenting!
The second image is my favorite Ben. I am looking forward to many more. Thanks for taking us all with you.
Thank you as always Mark!
That last composition is really nice Ben. Under better conditions that one holds some great potential. When you first arrived at the scene I imagined an even tighter composition than what you ended up with, but I also liked what you framed up.
Thanks Larry! Thankfully it's rather close to camp because I suspect it's one that will benefit from late evening light-and hiking through a strange canyon in the dark can be a bit creepy. :-) A nice balance of reflected light and some blue light from the sky will do that scene very well. I'll certainly keep my fingers crossed for next year. Thanks as always for watching and commenting!
I so, so much enjoy these series. I had occasion this evening to search on the web for information about your camping gear, and stumbled across one of your blog posts from over ten years ago, wherein a cris was averted. You may be sure that I'm gonna be on the lookout for that mahoganny end table!
Haha! That sure is an old post, that's for sure! I've changed my kit significantly since then, but I'll do an updated video in the coming weeks with my current kit. I now carry about a third of the weight that I did on my first couple backpacking trips.
@@BenHorne looking forward to it!
I would have been over the moon with both shots, Ben. Beautiful location, and images. 👍👍👍
Thanks Kit! Although both shots are fine as they are, they can be so much better with just the right conditions. It also gives me a wonderful excuse to return to both canyons. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Enjoyed the peaceful hike with you and, as always, your detailed search for those perfect and unique images.
Thank you as always Juanita!
4:48 & 4:57 - I see what you did there Ben!! 😉
Thanks for taking me along on your journey. I’m inspired to figure out how I can take such journeys myself. Thanks for taking the time to make these videos. I always look forward to them.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it Larry! Thanks you as always!
The potential for that second shot is really, really high. Can’t wait to see you realize your vision on that one, Ben.
It’s always fun to see the Easter Eggs in your videos, too!
Thanks Christopher! It sure will be nice to see that scene with some nice reflected light on it. Perhaps next year!!
definitely worth a revisit. the composition is on point.
Thanks Sean! I'm really looking forward to my return visit to that canyon. I just hope the foreground doesn't change too much. It was nice to have the little bit of water there. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Really like the second composition, shame the weather was not cooperating. Know for sure you will nail it the next time!!!
Thanks Sander! The wonderful thing about it though is that it gives me an excellent excuse to return. That and all the other beautiful subjects in the canyon.
Beautiful as always, even if you didn’t get a photo that you’re happy with. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Caleb! The wonderful thing about it all is that it just gives me an excuse to head back there again. Thanks as always for watching and commenting!
A magnificent new location Ben, I can see why you enjoyed making that second image. I really enjoy the exploration in these trips!
Thanks as always for watching! It sure was a wonderful canyon to explore!
Great work Ben. The tree composition was a great one for sure. Looking forward to the different iterations on this because I think you’ll definitely be back!
Thanks Brian! I'll definitely be back there for sure. It also has me thinking about how that tree would look during the fall... assuming I could get the timing right for fall color.
Another really enjoyable video. And my trekking poles behave exactly the same way when I park them.
Haha! I give them a moment or two to see if they will cooperate, then swat them aside if they give me any funny business. :-)
Wonderful video Ben and love both images, especially the 2nd one. Thanks for sharing
Thanks Ash! It sure was a wonderful scene to find, and I look forward to revisiting it next year with (hopefully) better light. Thanks as always for watching and commenting!
wow that's lots of hike.. Thanks for another relaxing video. I am just chilling with this video while editing my video.
Thanks Ryan! It sure was a lot of hiking on this trip. I was averaging about 15 miles a day. It's no wonder at a certain point my legs decided to call it quits and make me sit and relax for a while.
@@BenHorne that’s really tough and long hike! but the photos look worth it!
Hello Ben Horne, I see that you like to photograph small subjects and very close ones most of what I saw in your videos. I saw a location that you walked passed in the canyon with high walls and trees where you stopped and looked around before setting up camp. I thought with the large format camera that you use how detailed of an image of the canyon walls and the surrounding boulders and trees would have looked being photographed with it. Anyway just my thoughts here. Cheers.
Thanks Luigi! Often times when you seen a scene like that in the video, it's because I also found it to be very interesting, but there wasn't a clean composition to be found. The canyon was incredibly beautiful, though it was also quite chaotic, which makes it difficult to find a clean and simple composition. Who knows though, perhaps on a future visit I'll look at those same canyon walls and come up with a solution. Thanks for watching and commenting!
As always excellent video and photos! I got a question, at about minute 16:25 (I’m sure you’ve mentioned it before) I believe you pulled something out of you pack to frame a possible composition? I might be wrong, but what or how do you know where to actually set up? Any advice would help. Thank you!
Ill be honest I don't necessarily like all your photos, just as I don't like all my photos either, but the two you showed today I like a lot. Personally I like wind movement in trees in photos. It adds a spirit of life. Also not sure I agree with you on the lighting being bad. O.K it might be flat but why is this bad? How much contrast does an image need? I call this soft lighting and for me its peaceful.
Thanks Tony! I know it might seem picky of me to reject that photo because of the lighting, but the difference is significant, and photography is all about light. When photographing in these canyons, reflected light on a subject is incredibly dimensional. It's a mixture of warm light and cool light coming from different directions. Blue light from the sky, and warm light reflected off a nearby canyon wall. The result is warm, inviting, and very painterly.
Imagine taking a portrait of someone in an office environment with the overhead fluorescent lights. The light will be flat, the color will be a bit weird, and the angle of the light isn't ideal. Sure, you could convert it to B&W and probably make the photo work just fine, but now imagine that same person lit by beautifully warm and nuanced dimensional light coming from just the right angle. It radically transforms that photo, elevating it to another level.
In some locations, soft diffused and neutral lighting might be ideal, but not for a location like this that can produce so much more beautiful light when the conditions are right.
Looks like you got back to the car just in time.
It was quite interesting to see the progression that morning. It went from a calm morning with blue skies, to a single tiny cloud overhead with a slight breeze, then as the wind continued to build more clouds began to form, and it culminated in the crazy dust storms with overcast skies. What a differences a few hours make. In any case, I'm certainly glad I was back at my truck when the wind really kicked up! Thanks for watching and commenting Romie!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and works. For some reason I don't remember that camera, is it different or am I just having a senior moment...
It is indeed a new camera, though up until this trip I haven't posted anything about it. The new camera is a Chamonix Alpinist X 8x10. It's my new backpacking camera, and it will also serve as my backup camera to my Arca-Swiss F Metric. It's quite nice to have the balance between the two very different cameras.
Another well done video, Ben! Thanks for taking us along on your journey! Is this a new Chamonix you've added to your backpacking kit?
Thanks Michael! Yes, that's the new Chamonix Alpinist X 8x10. It's an absolutely fantastic camera and was a joy to work with. Now that I've spend some time with it in the field, I'll do a view review of it at some point in the coming weeks.
Do you ever make it up the Oregon Coast to the Boardman Corridor area for Seascapes?
Hi Randy! I really haven't any time along the Oregon coast, but it's an area I'd love to visit at some point! Seascapes are tricky with large format since there are so many bits of equipment I need access to while shooting: film holders, light meter, gray cards, etc. When shooting in a desert environment, it's easy enough to spread things out a bit on the ground, but that doesn't work as well when shooting seascapes. There are certainly some creative solutions, and not all compositions will be in the line of fire, but it makes for some more creative thinking for sure. Thanks for watching and commenting Randy!
Great video as always. how has gas prices influenced your future photography expeditions?
Thanks Patrick! Where I live in California, the gas prices are significantly higher than the neighboring states, so it usually takes just one tank of California gas until I reach some places with more reasonable prices. I'm glad I decided not to visit the Redwoods this year though. The gas bill for that trip would have been significant having to drive the length of the state and paying California prices the entire way. I was hoping to visit the bristlecone pines again this summer, another California location, but we'll see how I'm feeling about that when the time comes. With film being more expensive AND gas being a LOT more expensive, I might have take it easy on those spur of the moment trips.
Feels like a crime to watch these videos in my tiny phone
But it's far easier than trying to put a 4k TV in your pocket. :-) Thanks for watching!