It took 3 days for this video to show up in my feed. The amount of work you put in is nearly insane. Filming yourself climbing that wall, knowing you had to come down, get the camera, climb it again is a LOT of work, I am grateful you share it with us.
RUclips can certainly be finicky at times since I don't run ads or do clickbait. Gotta love it when you're punished by the man. :-) Thanks as alway for watching Danny!
Thanks as always Nigel! That was a very interesting scene to try and put a composition on. I walked all around it checking it from different angles with different focal lengths, only to find that particular angle where everything lined up quite well.
What a spectacular place - conveyed, as always with generosity and skill. And yep - that image of the lone tree against the cliff is gorgeous. Thanks, Ben.
Thanks Peter! It sure was a fun scene to compose, and the conditions that morning were absolutely perfect. It's nice when subjects like that are located only a couple minutes walk from where I was camped. :-)
I have all but stopped watching photography stuff on YT...except your work. No one else celebrates a clear blue sky like you do, and I have learned to like them thanks to that. Your storytelling has changed, and I like the direction. Keep it up.
Thanks Travis! I really appreciate hearing that, and that really strikes at the core of why I produce the videos the way I do. My aim is to simply share the experience ,and show the results without the pretext of trying to teach anything. I figure people can take from it what they will, and it allows me to stay true to myself. Thanks for watching. :-)
@@BenHorne my own videos, when I am inclined to make one are about the experience and the location. I am not trying to teach anyone...plenty of options for that and I am not needed in that realm.
Thanks! That is a wonderful section of the canyon, though also quite difficult to photograph because it becomes a wind tunnel nearly every afternoon. Perhaps I'll have to try for a composition similar to the thumbnail for this video on a future trip, and just hope for calm wind. Thanks as always for watching and commenting!
So cathartic watching you visit these locations and compile your photography. One day I would love to photograph the location... such beautiful shapes and contrasts. Looking forward to watching the next in this series. Thank you for sharing Ben.
That Juniper image is fantastic! Difference in the color of rock and sand creates depth and matrix. And the small plants at the base of the tree form a circle, centralizing the main subject even further. Excellent! Love it!
Thanks Xi! It sure was a wonderful little desert zen garden to find, and the added bonus was that it was only a few minutes walk from my campsite that morning. :-) Thanks as always for watching and commenting!
Thanks Michael! It sure is a wonderful canon, which certainly makes the video side of things a bit easier. Thanks as always for watching and commenting!
Thanks! It sure was a lovely and calm color palette to work with for that scene. I've taken a lot of photos in these sandstone canyons, but the soft pink tones were a nice change of pace.
I grew up in Utah and it wasn't until I moved away two years ago that I truly began to appreciate how beautiful Utah is. That realization and appreciation of beauty is what got me into photography, shooting film in particular. I live in England now, which on first sight, is much less beautiful to me so I have learned to pay attention to the beauty in the little details around, partially due to your meticulous compositions. Thanks for the great videos 😊
That's very interesting to hear how you grew up in Utah and are now living in England. It sure is such a difference between the two, and it's very interesting to hear how your change in location brought a greater appreciation for the beauty of where you once lived. It is so very true though. When we're surrounded by a particular type of scenery, we become accustomed to it, and we have to work harder to notice the smaller details. Thanks for watching and commenting Sam!
@@BenHorne I hope to make a photobook sometime over the next year that highlights the simple, sometimes hidden beauty here; that's assuming I can afford the film.
Thanks Simon! I've photographed that tree in the past, though it was in the morning when the light was a bit different. I wouldn't mind photographing a wider view of this canyon when the light is as it was in this video, but it's almost always quite windy at that time of day, so that gets to be a challenge. Some day perhaps though!
Thanks Matt! And also since this is a backpacking trip with limited ability to recharge, that's a lot of power to use too. :-) Thanks for watching and I'm glad you appreciate the work that goes into it!
The story telling is amazing! immediate rewatching this one. Natural gardens are the best, great capture of that Juniper. Cannot wait for the next video
Thank you as always Mitch! It sure was a wonderful little garden, and one I hope to revisit on future years just to spend some time with. Thanks as always for watching and commenting!
Wow, the juniper tree is truly outstanding! I have to say, your trips to Southern Utah are always my favorite. Somehow, these images have a very particular vibe that speaks to me 🌈 Cheers from Germany
Thanks Andreas! The backpacking trips definitely have a different sort of vibe to them, and it sure is wonderful spending time down in the canyons. It's also quite nice to have a canyon all to myself.
Hey Ben, it's been a while since I've seen one of your videos. Since my first son was born seven years ago I've had to give up my film photography hobby. It really put a smile on my face to see this video appear in my youtube feed, and I decided to click on it. I gotta say, it makes me so happy that you're still doing what you're doing, and sharing it with so many people. We're both a bit grayer, though. I just wanna say I really appreciate everything you do. Keep up the good work
Once again, a satisfying video producing beautiful images. As a Utah native now living in New Jersey, these photos make my terribly homesick. The juniper tree is also my favorite.
I hope you had a good night's rest. it is great to see that nature also shows its splashes in spring. AMAZING love it. The last photo is awesome I can not say more , great . Perfect
Thank you! It was definitely a very restful nights sleep. Nothing quite like the sound of cottonwood leaves in the breeze overhead and the sound of a nearby river after a long day of hiking.
Thanks Luís! It's definitely one of my favorite sounds. I know some of the species of birds there, but there are still so many that I'm trying to learn. It's tough to identify them based on the sounds alone, and they very rarely show themselves.
Thank you as always Andrew! It sure was great to find a composition for that Juniper. It caught my eye last year but I couldn't quite find a way to photograph it. I'm glad I spent some time with it this year.
Hah! Yeah, that would have been great! Although the Prius passing clip didn't make it into the video this trip, it did indeed happen on my way there. It wouldn't be a photography trip without it.
Thanks John! That area with the boulders is very interesting indeed, and I really should try to find a composition there. It receives some very nice light before sunrise.
Just when I think I know which photograph of yours I want to hang on my wall, you release yet another brilliant video. That lone juniper tree piece is brilliant; all the detail in the "zen garden" around it, as well as the textures in the bark of the tree itself, is wonderful. Not to mention the blueish tones of the flora on the ground - really wonderfully done, Ben. Always outdoing yourself.
Thanks Cody! It sure was a wonderful scene to find, and it's nice that it was located so conveniently close to camp. I look forward to revisiting that Juniper next year to see how it's doing.
Thanks Dimitris! I photographed that tree in morning light a few years back. The afternoon light is also quite beautiful, though the challenge then is the wind. That canyon is often quite windy in the afternoons, making it very difficult to photograph those trees. Perhaps I'll be able to find a wider view of the canyon similar to the view in the thumbnail in this video. We'll see! Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@BenHorne Tnx for noticing, I do appreciate the wind issue being a canyon (I.e. a Venturi tube) certainty doesn’t help :-)) Faster film and/or pushing it in development maybe the only hope.
The final juniper image is amazing. I also dig the b-roll images of the dead juniper on right at 7:07 and the bowing tree at 11:15. Thanks for sharing as always, Ben.
Thanks Bryan! That bowing tree is definitely one I hope to photograph at some point. I spent time time with it on this trip trying to decide when the light would be best. I suspect it's an early morning photo, but I'll need to see it in that light to know for sure. Thanks as always for watching and commenting!
Wow - that image of the juniper is truly wonderful. Great shapes and textures, and the soft colour palette just make it one I keep coming back to. I was assuming that the light was nicer than it looked in the video, and yup - for sure. No wonder it's your favourite photo!
Thanks Andy! That's the tricky thing about filming the video. I film in a very low contrast mode to try and keep things looking very natural, but that low contrast mode also muddies up the tones a bit and doesn't quite reflect how the subject actually looked. When you compare that to slide film which adds a bit more contrast than real life, the difference can be significant at times. It makes for an interesting surprise at the end of some of the videos. :-) Thanks for watching and commenting!
The juniper tree is definitely one of my all time favorite images of yours! It’s so hard to decide which one I would like to have on my wall one day. 🙈 Your Trips to southern Utah are always a bliss to watch. 🙋🏼♂️
Thanks Daniel! That print will definitely be in the box set this year. I've done a few test prints of it and it looks beautiful on paper. It was such a wonderfully calm scene, and so very perfect for photography. I sure was lucky to find it!
Wonderful images Ben. The 1st one is definitely special. Great to have a new series of videos and images to look forward to every week. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you as always Ash! And although this series wasn't as long as some of the others, my fall trip is only about 4 months away, so there's that. :-) Perhaps I'll sneak away somewhere this summer as well... depending on gas prices of course.
Thanks Robert! Yup, I definitely included a few Easter eggs in this one. It sure is fascinating to look back at past subjects and to see how they've changed.
Awesome Video as always. I agree with your favorite photo. It looks amazing! It looks like your creative social media break did his job well :) Regards and looking forward to the next episode! Stefan
Thanks Stefan! The break from social media before the trip was definitely a good one, and I suspect I will make those breaks a regular thing. It's a difficult balance because I do need to remain somewhat connected since this is my career, but it is quite nice to set it aside for weeks at a time.
Thanks! The Z-Packs Plexamid sure was a nice addition to my backpacking kit this year. Fast to set up, and it made sleeping so much nicer than the bivy I'm accustomed to.
Thanks for sharing! I do lave that last juniper composition. Again, I’m so impressed you got your whole pack down to 35 lbs with a large format kit! Look forward to seeing more.
Thanks Caleb! It sure was nice hiking with such a lightweight pack. I made some sacrifices to keep the weight down, but everything worked out very well. I'll do a video outlining my complete kit in the coming weeks.
Thanks! Yup, you'll definitely be seeing more of this camera, including a video review where I share my thoughts. In short, I'm incredibly satisfied with it. Lightweight, compact, precise and solid.
Thanks Mikael! I will definitely do a video about the new camera. I wanted to put it through the paces in the field to form my opinion of it, and I must say I'm EXTREMELY satisfied with it. Such a wonderfully designed and constructed camera.
Thanks for another wonderful video. I have been looking forward to this series. Still love the background birds and winds. I noticed a few of your older shots. I assume that was planned. Liked the tent. What brand? First shot was my fav as well. Keep them coming.
Thanks Larry! Yup, I love throwing in some clips of past subjects since it's fascinating to see how they change with time. Even the subjects one might think are very consistent will change. My tent is a Z-Packs Plexamid one person tent. It was an absolute joy to use, and I liked having the clean indoor space at the end of a long day. The tent weighs about the same as the bivy I've used for quite a few years, but having the added space sure was nice.
Great work Ben! Inspiring to see the dedication to keep returning to a location with the intent to get the absolute best work out of yourself. Makes me inspired to find areas to go back and improve at a number of places. Also, I have to personally disagree with your best of the day… that salt pattern on the sandstone is awesome!
Thanks Brian! That salt pattern was a wonderful subject to find, though it's a tough one to work with in photoshop. It just feels like something is missing, though I'm not sure what that might be. Perhaps I'll have another opportunity to photograph a similar subject on a future visit. Thanks as always for watching and commenting!
I'm a fan of the plaid long-sleeved shirts I've seen you wearing in many of your videos. This video is a brown (?) & white shirt, I think. I've seen a lavender (maybe?) & white shirt, too. What brand are you wearing?
Thanks Alan! The shirt is made by Columbia, and is the Silver Ridge 2.0 series. There are quite a few patterns available. I generally like ones with natural colors that blend in with the landscape. I wear long sleeves at all times on my photo trips for sun protection, and these shirts work very well in both warm and cool conditions.
Hi Ben, how are you and foremost how’s your doggy 🐶 I guess he hasn’t completed his training to start being your hiking buddy! May I ask about your tent, if I’m not mistaken it’s a seatosummit single? Wouldn’t you be better off getting the two person tent so you do have more room for yourself and gear? I believe it’s not much more weight. Happy trails my friend from sunny Florida bunnies.
Thanks Frederic! Oliver is doing fantastic, though I'm not sure he'll be a companion on my trips. It would add another level of complexity and greatly limit where I could go. It's legal to bring dogs to these canyons, but other places like Zion and Death Valley would be off limits for the parts of the park I visit. Thankfully he does very well when I'm away and my wife is at work.
Hi Ben, didn't realize that you switched to a Chamonix camera, kinda missed that somewhere but I'm curious on your take on it. I am a happy 4x5 Chamonix user and thinking of adding an 8x10.
Hi Koen! Yup, I've indeed added a Chamonix Alpinist X 8x10 to my kit. The Arca-Swiss will remain my primary camera, with the Chamonix pulling double duty as my backpacking camera and also for situations when I want to carry a bit of a lighter load. I'll have a video review on the Alpinist X in the coming weeks. In short through, I'm extremely satisfied with it and it's very well designed. I'm definitely a fan of Chamonix.
Beautiful scenery! Great slot at the 8:15 timeline. Did I hear you mentioned f36? No chromatic aberration like in digital when shooting a high f number - stopped down?
Thanks Thomas! The wonderful thing about large format is that there is very little magnification necessary to get from the film to the final size of the scan or the print. As a result, we don't see the same sort of lens artifacts that higher magnification systems like full frame will show. Producing a 16x20 inch print from 8x10 film would be like producing a 1.8 x 2.8 inch print from a full frame camera. At that size, you won't see color fringing or other lens artifacts. With that being the case, nearly any lens you buy for large format will be incredibly sharp and free of optical issues. There are some exceptions though. With wide angle large format lenses, it's quite normal to see some degree of vignetting, but that can actually be an asset to some images. Depth of field is tricky though. f/36 might sound like a lot when you compare it to a full frame system, but since many of my lenses go to f/128, shooting at f/36 will give a relatively shallow DOF, perhaps a bit like f/5.6 or so on full frame.
@@BenHorne I could understand that after watching another large format vid & realizing the ratio from LF lenses to 35mm. Makes one realize why a large format photo has such a high quality. Thanks for the reply.
Wow, 34 pounds with 8x10 system, food and cooking gear, tent, sleep system, etc that's phenomenal! My 4x5 kit alone weighs 22 pounds and that's with the Intrepid. With the Zone 6 it's 26 pounds.
Thanks! There were definitely some sacrifices to be made, but it sure was nice hiking with such a lightweight pack. If I wasn't carrying any camera gear at all, I can only imagine how light my pack would be. :-) I'll do a video outlining what I brought in the coming weeks.
@@BenHorne I didn't think I'd be sidelined at 59 years old, but a hereditary heart condition says my backpacking days are over. But I'm still up for about 3-4 mile day hikes, and even with a 20-25 pound pack, as long as the elevation gain/loss is less than 500 feet. The last time I went for a 5 day pack into the Eagle Cap Wilderness my pack with camera gear was 70 pounds, and that was just a DSLR kit! So you have actually accomplished a miracle with that system. I very much look forward to that video! It's great to be young enough and healthy enough to make those sacrifices, don't take it for granted! (I know you don't.)
Ben I'm head back to Zion for the third time this year, hopefully to get some fall colors this trip. Need some of your help what weeks to try. We were in Capital Reef 12 hours before the flash flood this summer in the canyon
Hi Jeff! Typically the middle of October is a pretty good time for the higher elevation sections of Zion and the main canyon often has best color by the first week of November, though it can vary a fair amount from year to year.
Amazing, amazing place! Another enjoyable adventure, so thx for that. Q if I may? You answered last time when I queried the 35mm equivalence of your lenses, and thank you for that. Now I'm a bit curious to know why larger format lenses never go below f2.8 (120mm) and are up in the 4~5.6+ on larger. Are these equivalent to wider apertures in smaller formats? And if so, is an f5.6 depth of Field the same as a wider dof on a smaller format? Ben, if there is a link with this info that you can share, I would be grateful. And it'll save you from having to spend time on my question. Thx as always.
Thanks Trevor! When it comes to wider aperture lenses, you're very correct that f/4 to f/5.6 is about as fast as they come, and that's considered blazing fast for large format. One limitation is size. My fastest lens is a 300mm f/5.6. It's considered a normal lens, so the focal length it's wide or long, it's right in the middle. With the f/5.6 aperture, it has a filter size of 95mm and weighs about 3 pounds. It's a monster lens. Any faster, and it would be even bigger and heavier. Now, if one were to take a photo with that lens at f/5.6, the DOF is paper thin. I almost always shoot it at f/45 to gain some degree of depth of field, but that f/5.6 aperture is quite useful when looking through the ground glass under the dark cloth. It makes for a decently bright (well, in the context of using a view camera) ground glass. If I were to stop it down to f/45 and look through it, you'll hardly see a thing on the ground glass. To get a better sense of the DOF, here's a quick way to visualize it. Imagine you were taking a portrait of a person with an 8x10 lens at a 300mm at f/5.6. The subject is perhaps 5 feet away. This is about the same as putting a 300mm lens on a 35mm camera, also standing 5 feet away, and taking a grid of photos then stitching them together to get a wider field of view. Not that anyone would do this, but shooting a 300mm lens on a full frame camera at f/5.6 at closer range will yield extremely narrow DOF. I hope that makes sense!
Beautiful, as always Ben. Really enjoy your videos and your work. BTW: Just acquired the Alpinist X and am still searching for a good bagpack. What bag did you use on this trip?
Thanks Markus, and congrats on the camera. They sure are fantastic aren't they? The beauty of the Alpinist is that it will fit inside pretty much any backpacking type bag since it folds down so small and comes with the padded case. On this trip, I was using an ultralight Z-Packs Arc Haul Zip backpack, which has now been replaced by the Arc Zip Ultra: zpacks.com/products/arc-zip-ultra-62l-backpack I can fit the camera with 4 film holders quite easily in the bag, and then I wrapped the lenses, meter and other stuff in my dark cloth and stuffed that in the top. Although this worked very well, and serves double duty for backpacking (so long as you don't need to hike with a bear canister), I would also take a look at the Atlas Adventure pack. It's somewhere between a hiking pack and a camera pack, and features a padded camera compartment that can expand or compress depending on how much gear you're taking with you. In short, I can put my lenses, meter, etc in the camera compartment, then put the Alpinist and some film holders in the top part and it all fits very well. I purchased that bag mostly for my video kit when out scouting, but I later found out that it fits my Alpinist kit just fine as well.
Good eye! Yes, it's a Chamonix Alpinist X 8x10. I sold my digital kit few months back and used the proceeds to purchase the Chamonix as my new backpacking camera.
It's a very beautiful scene indeed, but also very windy there in the afternoon. I've photographed the tree at the far end in the morning, but wouldn't mind a wider view of that canyon as well. Someday perhaps!
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Beautiful images and beautiful landscape. Southern Utah is my favorite place on earth. The solitude, shapes, and colors sooth my soul.
Thanks Jack! It sure is a wonderful environment. One could spend a lifetime exploring and never see it all.
It took 3 days for this video to show up in my feed. The amount of work you put in is nearly insane. Filming yourself climbing that wall, knowing you had to come down, get the camera, climb it again is a LOT of work, I am grateful you share it with us.
RUclips can certainly be finicky at times since I don't run ads or do clickbait. Gotta love it when you're punished by the man. :-) Thanks as alway for watching Danny!
That 1st photo was amazing Ben. Really liked the diamond shaped foreground in front of the tree. And the light was lovely.
Thanks as always Nigel! That was a very interesting scene to try and put a composition on. I walked all around it checking it from different angles with different focal lengths, only to find that particular angle where everything lined up quite well.
What a spectacular place - conveyed, as always with generosity and skill. And yep - that image of the lone tree against the cliff is gorgeous. Thanks, Ben.
Thanks Peter! It sure was a fun scene to compose, and the conditions that morning were absolutely perfect. It's nice when subjects like that are located only a couple minutes walk from where I was camped. :-)
What a location! So jealous. Love the juniper image.
I have all but stopped watching photography stuff on YT...except your work. No one else celebrates a clear blue sky like you do, and I have learned to like them thanks to that. Your storytelling has changed, and I like the direction. Keep it up.
Thanks Travis! I really appreciate hearing that, and that really strikes at the core of why I produce the videos the way I do. My aim is to simply share the experience ,and show the results without the pretext of trying to teach anything. I figure people can take from it what they will, and it allows me to stay true to myself. Thanks for watching. :-)
@@BenHorne my own videos, when I am inclined to make one are about the experience and the location. I am not trying to teach anyone...plenty of options for that and I am not needed in that realm.
Love the cloud abstract.
Thanks Cameron!
the scene at 13:30 is to die for, and I love the image of the oak tree - so much to take in
Thanks! That is a wonderful section of the canyon, though also quite difficult to photograph because it becomes a wind tunnel nearly every afternoon. Perhaps I'll have to try for a composition similar to the thumbnail for this video on a future trip, and just hope for calm wind. Thanks as always for watching and commenting!
So cathartic watching you visit these locations and compile your photography. One day I would love to photograph the location... such beautiful shapes and contrasts. Looking forward to watching the next in this series. Thank you for sharing Ben.
Thanks as always Wendy! It sure was a wonderful location, and I really look forward to returning next spring!
That Juniper image is fantastic! Difference in the color of rock and sand creates depth and matrix. And the small plants at the base of the tree form a circle, centralizing the main subject even further. Excellent! Love it!
Thanks Xi! It sure was a wonderful little desert zen garden to find, and the added bonus was that it was only a few minutes walk from my campsite that morning. :-) Thanks as always for watching and commenting!
The scenes where you walk by old locations are definitely my favorite. It’s seems like meeting your old friend and checking in on how they’re doing :)
Thanks Shashank! That's definitely one of my favorite parts of revisiting locations. It is indeed like visiting an old friend.
Wow, I can't remember such cinematic footage from you like at ~11-12 minute. What a place.
Thanks Michael! It sure is a wonderful canon, which certainly makes the video side of things a bit easier. Thanks as always for watching and commenting!
I do love your third Image of the Juniper tree it is soo tranquil.
Thanks! It sure was a lovely and calm color palette to work with for that scene. I've taken a lot of photos in these sandstone canyons, but the soft pink tones were a nice change of pace.
What a lovely start to what I am sure is going to be a wonderful trip, Ben! I also really like the the juniper image.
Thank you for sharing 😄
Thanks! That sure was a wonderful scene to find, especially since it was only a short walk from my campsite.
I grew up in Utah and it wasn't until I moved away two years ago that I truly began to appreciate how beautiful Utah is. That realization and appreciation of beauty is what got me into photography, shooting film in particular. I live in England now, which on first sight, is much less beautiful to me so I have learned to pay attention to the beauty in the little details around, partially due to your meticulous compositions. Thanks for the great videos 😊
That's very interesting to hear how you grew up in Utah and are now living in England. It sure is such a difference between the two, and it's very interesting to hear how your change in location brought a greater appreciation for the beauty of where you once lived. It is so very true though. When we're surrounded by a particular type of scenery, we become accustomed to it, and we have to work harder to notice the smaller details. Thanks for watching and commenting Sam!
@@BenHorne I hope to make a photobook sometime over the next year that highlights the simple, sometimes hidden beauty here; that's assuming I can afford the film.
Loved the last image. Your videos are wonderful
Thanks Laurel! That juniper sure was a fun one to find. Thanks for watching and commenting!
The tree in the background at 13:26 would have maybe made a nice subject. Thanks for the video, very much enjoyed it!
Thanks Simon! I've photographed that tree in the past, though it was in the morning when the light was a bit different. I wouldn't mind photographing a wider view of this canyon when the light is as it was in this video, but it's almost always quite windy at that time of day, so that gets to be a challenge. Some day perhaps though!
...climbing the incline at 6:10, then having to go back for the video camera... Appreciating your adventure.
Thanks Matt! And also since this is a backpacking trip with limited ability to recharge, that's a lot of power to use too. :-) Thanks for watching and I'm glad you appreciate the work that goes into it!
The last shot of the lone tree is beautiful! Great work as always.
Thanks Jay! It sure was a wonderful canyon to visit. Now it has me thinking about a fall trip there. We'll see. :-)
The story telling is amazing! immediate rewatching this one. Natural gardens are the best, great capture of that Juniper. Cannot wait for the next video
Thank you as always Mitch! It sure was a wonderful little garden, and one I hope to revisit on future years just to spend some time with. Thanks as always for watching and commenting!
Excellent! That’s my Sunday morning sorted
Fantastic! Thanks as always Andrew!
Wow, the juniper tree is truly outstanding! I have to say, your trips to Southern Utah are always my favorite. Somehow, these images have a very particular vibe that speaks to me 🌈 Cheers from Germany
Thanks Andreas! The backpacking trips definitely have a different sort of vibe to them, and it sure is wonderful spending time down in the canyons. It's also quite nice to have a canyon all to myself.
Hey Ben, it's been a while since I've seen one of your videos. Since my first son was born seven years ago I've had to give up my film photography hobby. It really put a smile on my face to see this video appear in my youtube feed, and I decided to click on it. I gotta say, it makes me so happy that you're still doing what you're doing, and sharing it with so many people. We're both a bit grayer, though. I just wanna say I really appreciate everything you do. Keep up the good work
That's so cool to hear, and the time sure has flown by hasn't it? I hope all is well with you!
thanks for so nice and relaxing video! love the last photo of sand stone... (but also like other photos for sure)
Thanks as always Ryan!
Once again, a satisfying video producing beautiful images. As a Utah native now living in New Jersey, these photos make my terribly homesick. The juniper tree is also my favorite.
Thanks Douglas! It sure was a wonderful scene to photograph. Such a beautiful little zen garden.
I hope you had a good night's rest.
it is great to see that nature also shows its splashes in spring. AMAZING love it.
The last photo is awesome I can not say more , great . Perfect
Thank you! It was definitely a very restful nights sleep. Nothing quite like the sound of cottonwood leaves in the breeze overhead and the sound of a nearby river after a long day of hiking.
Beautifully recorded video. I don't know why but in these southern Utah videos the birds singing always sounds lovely!
Thanks Luís! It's definitely one of my favorite sounds. I know some of the species of birds there, but there are still so many that I'm trying to learn. It's tough to identify them based on the sounds alone, and they very rarely show themselves.
You are right Ben that Juniper image is superb , it’s going to make a great print , looking forward to the next instalment
Thank you as always Andrew! It sure was great to find a composition for that Juniper. It caught my eye last year but I couldn't quite find a way to photograph it. I'm glad I spent some time with it this year.
Really enjoyed this one
Thank you as always Forrest!
Yet another quiet, calm, contemplative video with your usual outstanding photography. Thank you.
Thank you Thomas! It sure was a wonderful place to explore!
that is a lovely image, Ben.
Thank you Prashant! It sure was a wonderful subject to find!
I was waiting for a Prius to pass you on that dirt road.
Hah! Yeah, that would have been great! Although the Prius passing clip didn't make it into the video this trip, it did indeed happen on my way there. It wouldn't be a photography trip without it.
Can't wait to see the rest of this series. Maybe one day I'll visit here. That rock garden at the beginning of your hike needs a sheet of film.
Thanks John! That area with the boulders is very interesting indeed, and I really should try to find a composition there. It receives some very nice light before sunrise.
Just when I think I know which photograph of yours I want to hang on my wall, you release yet another brilliant video. That lone juniper tree piece is brilliant; all the detail in the "zen garden" around it, as well as the textures in the bark of the tree itself, is wonderful. Not to mention the blueish tones of the flora on the ground - really wonderfully done, Ben. Always outdoing yourself.
Thanks Cody! It sure was a wonderful scene to find, and it's nice that it was located so conveniently close to camp. I look forward to revisiting that Juniper next year to see how it's doing.
Your narration is as artful as your photography - can’t beat this masterful combination! 📷
Thank you as always!
The tree at frame 13:25 catching the light seems light an interesting frame. Maybe for next year :-)
Thanks Dimitris! I photographed that tree in morning light a few years back. The afternoon light is also quite beautiful, though the challenge then is the wind. That canyon is often quite windy in the afternoons, making it very difficult to photograph those trees. Perhaps I'll be able to find a wider view of the canyon similar to the view in the thumbnail in this video. We'll see! Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@BenHorne Tnx for noticing, I do appreciate the wind issue being a canyon (I.e. a Venturi tube) certainty doesn’t help :-)) Faster film and/or pushing it in development maybe the only hope.
The final juniper image is amazing. I also dig the b-roll images of the dead juniper on right at 7:07 and the bowing tree at 11:15. Thanks for sharing as always, Ben.
Thanks Bryan! That bowing tree is definitely one I hope to photograph at some point. I spent time time with it on this trip trying to decide when the light would be best. I suspect it's an early morning photo, but I'll need to see it in that light to know for sure. Thanks as always for watching and commenting!
Wow - that image of the juniper is truly wonderful. Great shapes and textures, and the soft colour palette just make it one I keep coming back to. I was assuming that the light was nicer than it looked in the video, and yup - for sure. No wonder it's your favourite photo!
Thanks Andy! That's the tricky thing about filming the video. I film in a very low contrast mode to try and keep things looking very natural, but that low contrast mode also muddies up the tones a bit and doesn't quite reflect how the subject actually looked. When you compare that to slide film which adds a bit more contrast than real life, the difference can be significant at times. It makes for an interesting surprise at the end of some of the videos. :-) Thanks for watching and commenting!
Thanks for taking us with you Ben.
Thanks as always for watching Mark!
The juniper tree is definitely one of my all time favorite images of yours! It’s so hard to decide which one I would like to have on my wall one day. 🙈 Your Trips to southern Utah are always a bliss to watch. 🙋🏼♂️
Thanks Daniel! That print will definitely be in the box set this year. I've done a few test prints of it and it looks beautiful on paper. It was such a wonderfully calm scene, and so very perfect for photography. I sure was lucky to find it!
Beautiful as usual masterly photographed- thank you I enjoy your work a lot.
Thank you so much!
Wonderful images Ben. The 1st one is definitely special. Great to have a new series of videos and images to look forward to every week. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you as always Ash! And although this series wasn't as long as some of the others, my fall trip is only about 4 months away, so there's that. :-) Perhaps I'll sneak away somewhere this summer as well... depending on gas prices of course.
What a lovely image (your favorite) - well worth the efforts
Thanks as always Loren! It sure was a wonderful scene to find, and quite close to camp too! :-)
Love the photo of the juniper tree! And I think I recognize some Easter eggs from your earlier work here, too?
Thanks Robert! Yup, I definitely included a few Easter eggs in this one. It sure is fascinating to look back at past subjects and to see how they've changed.
Awesome Video as always. I agree with your favorite photo. It looks amazing!
It looks like your creative social media break did his job well :)
Regards and looking forward to the next episode!
Stefan
Thanks Stefan! The break from social media before the trip was definitely a good one, and I suspect I will make those breaks a regular thing. It's a difficult balance because I do need to remain somewhat connected since this is my career, but it is quite nice to set it aside for weeks at a time.
Love the juniper shot! Nicely done!!
Thanks Tom! It sure was a wonderful scene to find, and it sure was fun to compose.
Nice shots, nice tent!
Thanks! The Z-Packs Plexamid sure was a nice addition to my backpacking kit this year. Fast to set up, and it made sleeping so much nicer than the bivy I'm accustomed to.
Thanks for sharing! I do lave that last juniper composition. Again, I’m so impressed you got your whole pack down to 35 lbs with a large format kit! Look forward to seeing more.
Thanks Caleb! It sure was nice hiking with such a lightweight pack. I made some sacrifices to keep the weight down, but everything worked out very well. I'll do a video outlining my complete kit in the coming weeks.
@@BenHorne cool! Looking forward to it.
Love the new camera! Hope to see it on many more adventures to come :-)
Thanks! Yup, you'll definitely be seeing more of this camera, including a video review where I share my thoughts. In short, I'm incredibly satisfied with it. Lightweight, compact, precise and solid.
Juniper tree image looked great! Please do a review/overview on the new camera.
Thanks Mikael! I will definitely do a video about the new camera. I wanted to put it through the paces in the field to form my opinion of it, and I must say I'm EXTREMELY satisfied with it. Such a wonderfully designed and constructed camera.
Thanks for another wonderful video. I have been looking forward to this series. Still love the background birds and winds. I noticed a few of your older shots. I assume that was planned. Liked the tent. What brand? First shot was my fav as well. Keep them coming.
Thanks Larry! Yup, I love throwing in some clips of past subjects since it's fascinating to see how they change with time. Even the subjects one might think are very consistent will change. My tent is a Z-Packs Plexamid one person tent. It was an absolute joy to use, and I liked having the clean indoor space at the end of a long day. The tent weighs about the same as the bivy I've used for quite a few years, but having the added space sure was nice.
Great work Ben! Inspiring to see the dedication to keep returning to a location with the intent to get the absolute best work out of yourself. Makes me inspired to find areas to go back and improve at a number of places. Also, I have to personally disagree with your best of the day… that salt pattern on the sandstone is awesome!
Thanks Brian! That salt pattern was a wonderful subject to find, though it's a tough one to work with in photoshop. It just feels like something is missing, though I'm not sure what that might be. Perhaps I'll have another opportunity to photograph a similar subject on a future visit. Thanks as always for watching and commenting!
I'm a fan of the plaid long-sleeved shirts I've seen you wearing in many of your videos. This video is a brown (?) & white shirt, I think. I've seen a lavender (maybe?) & white shirt, too. What brand are you wearing?
Thanks Alan! The shirt is made by Columbia, and is the Silver Ridge 2.0 series. There are quite a few patterns available. I generally like ones with natural colors that blend in with the landscape. I wear long sleeves at all times on my photo trips for sun protection, and these shirts work very well in both warm and cool conditions.
Hi Ben, how are you and foremost how’s your doggy 🐶 I guess he hasn’t completed his training to start being your hiking buddy!
May I ask about your tent, if I’m not mistaken it’s a seatosummit single? Wouldn’t you be better off getting the two person tent so you do have more room for yourself and gear? I believe it’s not much more weight. Happy trails my friend from sunny Florida bunnies.
Thanks Frederic! Oliver is doing fantastic, though I'm not sure he'll be a companion on my trips. It would add another level of complexity and greatly limit where I could go. It's legal to bring dogs to these canyons, but other places like Zion and Death Valley would be off limits for the parts of the park I visit. Thankfully he does very well when I'm away and my wife is at work.
Hi Ben, didn't realize that you switched to a Chamonix camera, kinda missed that somewhere but I'm curious on your take on it. I am a happy 4x5 Chamonix user and thinking of adding an 8x10.
Hi Koen! Yup, I've indeed added a Chamonix Alpinist X 8x10 to my kit. The Arca-Swiss will remain my primary camera, with the Chamonix pulling double duty as my backpacking camera and also for situations when I want to carry a bit of a lighter load. I'll have a video review on the Alpinist X in the coming weeks. In short through, I'm extremely satisfied with it and it's very well designed. I'm definitely a fan of Chamonix.
Beautiful scenery! Great slot at the 8:15 timeline. Did I hear you mentioned f36? No chromatic aberration like in digital when shooting a high f number - stopped down?
Thanks Thomas! The wonderful thing about large format is that there is very little magnification necessary to get from the film to the final size of the scan or the print. As a result, we don't see the same sort of lens artifacts that higher magnification systems like full frame will show. Producing a 16x20 inch print from 8x10 film would be like producing a 1.8 x 2.8 inch print from a full frame camera. At that size, you won't see color fringing or other lens artifacts. With that being the case, nearly any lens you buy for large format will be incredibly sharp and free of optical issues. There are some exceptions though. With wide angle large format lenses, it's quite normal to see some degree of vignetting, but that can actually be an asset to some images.
Depth of field is tricky though. f/36 might sound like a lot when you compare it to a full frame system, but since many of my lenses go to f/128, shooting at f/36 will give a relatively shallow DOF, perhaps a bit like f/5.6 or so on full frame.
@@BenHorne I could understand that after watching another large format vid & realizing the ratio from LF lenses to 35mm. Makes one realize why a large format photo has such a high quality. Thanks for the reply.
Wow, 34 pounds with 8x10 system, food and cooking gear, tent, sleep system, etc that's phenomenal! My 4x5 kit alone weighs 22 pounds and that's with the Intrepid. With the Zone 6 it's 26 pounds.
Thanks! There were definitely some sacrifices to be made, but it sure was nice hiking with such a lightweight pack. If I wasn't carrying any camera gear at all, I can only imagine how light my pack would be. :-) I'll do a video outlining what I brought in the coming weeks.
@@BenHorne I didn't think I'd be sidelined at 59 years old, but a hereditary heart condition says my backpacking days are over. But I'm still up for about 3-4 mile day hikes, and even with a 20-25 pound pack, as long as the elevation gain/loss is less than 500 feet. The last time I went for a 5 day pack into the Eagle Cap Wilderness my pack with camera gear was 70 pounds, and that was just a DSLR kit! So you have actually accomplished a miracle with that system. I very much look forward to that video! It's great to be young enough and healthy enough to make those sacrifices, don't take it for granted! (I know you don't.)
Ben I'm head back to Zion for the third time this year, hopefully to get some fall colors this trip. Need some of your help what weeks to try. We were in Capital Reef 12 hours before the flash flood this summer in the canyon
Hi Jeff! Typically the middle of October is a pretty good time for the higher elevation sections of Zion and the main canyon often has best color by the first week of November, though it can vary a fair amount from year to year.
@@BenHorne thank you!
Amazing, amazing place! Another enjoyable adventure, so thx for that.
Q if I may? You answered last time when I queried the 35mm equivalence of your lenses, and thank you for that. Now I'm a bit curious to know why larger format lenses never go below f2.8 (120mm) and are up in the 4~5.6+ on larger. Are these equivalent to wider apertures in smaller formats? And if so, is an f5.6 depth of Field the same as a wider dof on a smaller format?
Ben, if there is a link with this info that you can share, I would be grateful. And it'll save you from having to spend time on my question.
Thx as always.
Thanks Trevor! When it comes to wider aperture lenses, you're very correct that f/4 to f/5.6 is about as fast as they come, and that's considered blazing fast for large format. One limitation is size. My fastest lens is a 300mm f/5.6. It's considered a normal lens, so the focal length it's wide or long, it's right in the middle. With the f/5.6 aperture, it has a filter size of 95mm and weighs about 3 pounds. It's a monster lens. Any faster, and it would be even bigger and heavier.
Now, if one were to take a photo with that lens at f/5.6, the DOF is paper thin. I almost always shoot it at f/45 to gain some degree of depth of field, but that f/5.6 aperture is quite useful when looking through the ground glass under the dark cloth. It makes for a decently bright (well, in the context of using a view camera) ground glass. If I were to stop it down to f/45 and look through it, you'll hardly see a thing on the ground glass.
To get a better sense of the DOF, here's a quick way to visualize it. Imagine you were taking a portrait of a person with an 8x10 lens at a 300mm at f/5.6. The subject is perhaps 5 feet away. This is about the same as putting a 300mm lens on a 35mm camera, also standing 5 feet away, and taking a grid of photos then stitching them together to get a wider field of view. Not that anyone would do this, but shooting a 300mm lens on a full frame camera at f/5.6 at closer range will yield extremely narrow DOF. I hope that makes sense!
Beautiful, as always Ben. Really enjoy your videos and your work. BTW: Just acquired the Alpinist X and am still searching for a good bagpack. What bag did you use on this trip?
Thanks Markus, and congrats on the camera. They sure are fantastic aren't they? The beauty of the Alpinist is that it will fit inside pretty much any backpacking type bag since it folds down so small and comes with the padded case. On this trip, I was using an ultralight Z-Packs Arc Haul Zip backpack, which has now been replaced by the Arc Zip Ultra: zpacks.com/products/arc-zip-ultra-62l-backpack
I can fit the camera with 4 film holders quite easily in the bag, and then I wrapped the lenses, meter and other stuff in my dark cloth and stuffed that in the top. Although this worked very well, and serves double duty for backpacking (so long as you don't need to hike with a bear canister), I would also take a look at the Atlas Adventure pack. It's somewhere between a hiking pack and a camera pack, and features a padded camera compartment that can expand or compress depending on how much gear you're taking with you. In short, I can put my lenses, meter, etc in the camera compartment, then put the Alpinist and some film holders in the top part and it all fits very well. I purchased that bag mostly for my video kit when out scouting, but I later found out that it fits my Alpinist kit just fine as well.
another 8x10 camera? Chamonix?
Good eye! Yes, it's a Chamonix Alpinist X 8x10. I sold my digital kit few months back and used the proceeds to purchase the Chamonix as my new backpacking camera.
@@BenHorne Nice camera, as light as Intrepid 8x10, but more solid and well made.
I liked the scene you walked through around minute 13 of the video. Maybe not your cup of tea?
It's a very beautiful scene indeed, but also very windy there in the afternoon. I've photographed the tree at the far end in the morning, but wouldn't mind a wider view of that canyon as well. Someday perhaps!