Showing all posts tagged #photography:


Travel Light

Posted on October 6th, 2014


Last week I took a three day trip to Chicago for the Story Conference. As per normal, I choose to travel light. A few people commented on my setup so I figured I’d take a photo and share about the contents I carried on my back.
  • Arc'teryx Axios 25 Daypack - I love this backpack. I have had it for 4 years and could not be more happy with my choice to purchase it. Ask me more about this and perhaps I can dedicate a post to it…
  • One pair of pants is all you need, otherwise a complete change of clothes for each day. Additionally a pullover for chilly mornings.
  • Toiletry bag is a nice little bag from REI. Tootbrush, toothpaste, deoderant, aftershave lotion, hair wax, q-tips, bandaids, etc. My lip balm I always keep in the pen pocket for easy access.
  • I carry my Moleskine journal with me.To write in this, I use my Uni-ball 207 black .38 tip pen. I rarely ever use paper; but for the discipline of journaling I enjoy my good pen on Moleskine. I also write longhand notes to people from time to time. My wife got one from this trip.
  • I have my iPad Air. I take all my conference notes in GoodNotes with my Adonit Jot Pro.
  • My Moo business cards were in the easy access hip belt pocket.
  • Attached to the inside clip, I had my card case (swag from Story2010) for collecting business cards and receipts.
  • Attached there as well is my key fob for returning to my car on the way home.
  • In that same outside pocket, I keep my headphones and sunglasses.
  • Buried deep in the bag were my charging plugs/cables. I also have the Jackery portable charger. I was on Twitter all through the sessions and was tethering often; therefore this was a great safety net to make sure my phone stayed alive.
  • My Fugi XE-2 is a fun addition. I love using this mirrorless camera! Not able to be seen is its case which I used to prop up the backpack. I have a great portable tripod, but choose not to take it on this trip. I knew I’d be struggling for time to use it and therefore made the choice for a slightly lighter pack.
  • Finally, my Contigo Thermos. I have owned this for 7or8 some years. It’s so durable. It doesn’t spill. It keeps coffee hot through to the afternoon. When I’m done with coffee, I use it as my water bottle.
Everything I need; nothing I don’t. Travel light; enjoy the journey.

Perspective of life is revealed in beauty of nature and people

Posted on July 11th, 2014

I read this prayer this morning and have found encouragement in it. I've been contemplating it as my morning moves along.

"Heavenly Father, our lives are full of distractions and our focus on you is sometimes lost. Today, let us stop to behold your majesty, revealed in the beauty of nature an in your children. Amen."

Here are a few photos (that help me consider those thoughts and remember perspective) from last week's camping trip with some dear friends of ours.



Live Production and Landscape Photography Similarities to Study and Apply

Posted on March 10th, 2014

Last night, I watched a video presentation* about landscape photography. There were many great thoughts that I certainly consider beneficial for me to consider as a photographer. Some is a little boring with how basic it is - but always good to remind myself of the fundamentals. Some I knew (and can actually say that I've been attempting to apply) intuitively and is encouraging to me that I've been on the right track. Other ideas totally make sense as I think about them; and leave me itching to test them out...

One of the greatest takeaways is something that I can't help but doing in any field of my artistry: Never settle for a good shot; a great shot is there if you look for it. I know I often can drive my friends and colleagues nuts with my constant unrest as I search for the greatest degree of beauty. It's inherent to my personality and strength mix I think - an "unconscious competency" is a term that may be applied. Well, the presenter spent some time in the middle of the presentation discussing shot composition and I couldn't help but hear brilliant articulation of what I strive for in every artistic discipline I am involved in. Never settle for a good [mix or lighting look, or typeface, or whatever] but keep experimenting through rehearsal and find the great.

I'm often asked (actually more and more, I am blessed to be hired as a consultant for) my thoughts for how I approach production design. If you have been around me for a while, you have probably heard me talk about the "2° and the 2%". I am most concerned with the beginning of an idea - where there's the opportunity to point the concept in the exact direction where I see it having the greatest opportunity of becoming something amazing. This is the vision and the design stage. If you start the project in the right direction, you'll succeed more often than not. 2° of difference in compass bearing may not seem like much in the short term, but it can be miles away from the ideal finish line when it's time to open doors...

I also am charged up by the opportunity to finesse the final tweaks that give the magical touch. This is the 2%. It's the difference between good enough and inspiring; the difference between bland and profound. I'm often cited as having the eye for it. Perhaps I do have a special aptitude for the artistry of seeing what works and where an improvement could be made. However, I believe most of it is my work ethic. I hate settling for less than excellent. Excellence is making the most of our resources. If we have more time to give, we should use it to make the product better.

The analogys of "taking in the scene" and "seeing the light" are so great. We all have the potential to create something amazing. What resources do we have? How can they be focused on to help tell the story that is there? See the potential and figure out the best strategy for highlighting it. Then, never settle for a good [mix or lighting look, or typeface, or whatever] but keep experimenting through rehearsal and find the great.

I was actually running sound last night and one of my students asked me during run-through, "it sounds amazing, why are you continuing to make adjustments?" Two reasons: First, it's live audio; therefore the variables are always changing. The mix engineer has to constantly stay focused on how to best reinforce what's coming from stage. Second, if I'm going to be in the chair during a rehearsal regardless, why settle for a B+ when I could find the tweak that takes it to an A- or perhaps even an A? To me, the idea of settling for mediocrity is detestable. If you're going to be involved, be all there... Anyway, the difference between some of the really good photos and their amazing counterparts are the patience and persistence exhibited by the photographer who is disciplined enough to pursue capturing the epic image that we want to hang on our walls.


*The entire video was really good:
http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/how-to-take-dynamic-landscape-photographs/
40-45min is the location that inspired this post.

A Real Camera Really Can Make A Difference

Posted on March 4th, 2014

So thus far, I have only posted #iphone5 photos to @instagram. It has been a good exercise for me...

I'm going to break the streak in the days to come though by posting some images from our recent vacation to Hawaii.

This #latergram is a good segue as it shows my new camera (Fugi X-E2) preparing to capture a pre-sunrise exposure.


Late November Backyard Phone Photography at Dusk

Posted on November 30th, 2013

I've played football with my boys in the yard the last couple evenings. In spite of the cold, it's surprisingly fun.
Braving the winter weather has afforded me the opportunity to be outside to experience such beautiful skies as these images reveal. Each night, I paused the game for a moment and snapped these exposures with my phone in HDR mode. A few filter adjustments in Snapseed and Instagram for sharing.
Note the duck in the foreground of the shot (bottom) from the first night - he was a bonus. The second night, I took the reverse angle shot (top) from the bridge. I love how in both shots the texture of the snow that adds depth to the experience.


Notice the beauty of each new day

Posted on September 24th, 2013

I ignored the routine for a few minutes when I saw the sun shining through the fog. I invited my son to come outside with me and enjoy the beauty for a bit. We had to hurry when we got back inside, but it was worth it.

Michigan in the fall is gorgeous.

Upgrading My Camera (Selling My Lens)

Posted on July 19th, 2013

So, I'm wanting to get a new camera before going on my backpacking trip to Glacier later this summer. My 20D has given me enough warnings that it's lived past its lifespan and I don't want to have it decide to give up on me the second day on the trail.

Ideally, I want a full size sensor - I'm thinking 5D older gen - though I'm actually contemplating the idea of going mirror-less.

However, to make such a purchase happen, I need to sell my lens (and ideally flash too - I only use them for wedding photography, and really don't do that gig these days) to justify the expense. I think it's the right move. Landscape photography is my primary passion and the wedding lens isn't right for that task...

First, if you know anyone who might be interested in a great lens, please send them my way. Also, I welcome any suggestions you think I ought to consider; so please comment.


My First Post With Postach.io

Posted on July 8th, 2013

This is a sentence to test how a line of text reads. I'll add this line to see how italics or bold turns out.

This is a photo I imported from my iPad:
Yes, that's me (atop a beautiful pass in the Sierras) in the photo that my friend took using my camera. All rights reserved.

What happens if I want to add a checkbox?
This one is unchecked
This one is
*Checkboxes apparently don't read as anything with Postach.io so I'm making the edit to the post with this sentence, a strike-through of the original text, and I've now checked both boxes for my Evernote workflow's sake.

Here is a bullet pointed list:
  • Point A
  • Point number 2
  • And finally, D
What if I typed #2 instead of "number 2" above there? Is that how tags happen or do tag them in Evernote tags? I'll test out tags by including "blog" and "photography" (each tags that I already use in Evernote) along with "published" on this note. *So, tags work as well as could be hoped for - whatever is tags (besides "published") I use in the Evernote note, become associated tags in the post searchable from my postach.io site. Brilliant! Only downside is that I will have to adjust my workflow a little. Currently I use the tag "blog" for potential blog posts. I've kept that tag on notes even after I've copy/pasted the post to my Tumblr blog. Therefore, I'll need to adjust how I use such tags in Evernote. Not necessarily hard. I'll probably just do something like have a tag "potential blog" and switch it to "published" when I take it live.

That's it for this test.

*Update: Everything seemed to work except for the checkboxes (see strike-through and inline edit in italics). Thus far, I'm liking the vision of how I might use this blogging platform. Here's to more posts as I test out how to incorporate it into a workflow...

sunrise highlighting frost on branches and fog on the creek

Posted on February 6th, 2013

Loved the sunrise this morning as it highlighted frost on branches and fog on the creek






I took Reese for a photo walk in the fog this afternoon. His camera’s battery was dead, so I let...

Posted on December 4th, 2012

I took Reese for a photo walk in the fog this afternoon. His camera’s battery was dead, so I let him use my DSLR. Great memories teaching him how to use it!














Eric G Wolfe

Creative Director | Process Architect. Design Strategist. Leadership Coach.