Mike Walton's Photos

Teton Morning

2011-10-06T03:25:00.002-06:00

12mm f/4 1/125 sec ISO 320

Rare Sighting

2011-09-27T16:32:00.000-06:00

12mm 1/1000 second f/4 ISO 100

It's A Bit Grainy If You Look Closely

2011-09-23T22:53:00.004-06:00

Teton Canyon

2011-04-08T15:04:00.003-06:00

Don't Jump

2011-04-08T14:43:00.001-06:00

te•ton pan•o•ram•a

2010-09-17T23:55:00.002-06:00

pan•o•ram•a |ˌpanəˈramə; -ˈrämə|
1. an unbroken view of the whole region surrounding an observer: e.g.: the summit of the grand teton offered a wonderful panorama of Idaho and Wyoming.
2. a picture or photograph containing a wide view.

This is the view from the summit of the Grand Teton. After hiking and climbing and hiking some more for nearly 12.5 hours, Steve Kugath, Josh Kugath, and I stood on top of the 13775 ft. mountain at 3:15 PM on September 3rd, 2010. The climb was challenging, and at times even grueling, but it was awesome. I had climbed the Grand several years ago and had forgotten just how physically demanding it actually was. For the last 3 miles of the 18ish mile trip my vision was blurry, my fingers were swollen, my head was slightly achy, my knees were hurting, and my feet were throbbing. I thought several times as I my body hurt with every step down the steep switch backs, "I don't think I need to do the Grand from parking lot to summit to parking lot again." Well, like many long distance runners, mother's after giving birth, and general old people, I suffer from short-term memory loss, particularly of the negative kind, and Steve and I have planned the next trip up that grand piece of rock. I'll be writing a more detailed post on the climb soon. (And when I say detailed, I mean my kind of detail, not my sister Lisa's kind of detail.)

This photo is actually 8 photos stitched together using Photoshop's ridiculously slick tool Photomerge. I know many of you already know how to use this, but my next post will go over exactly how I made the above image.

Two Minute Difference

2010-09-13T18:00:00.008-06:00

14mm (cropped) 1/10 second f/4 ISO 125 Shot at 8:29 PM

Here is an example of how rapidly lighting, color, and mood can change around sunset. This photo was actually taken 2 minutes before the photo below. You'll notice that the aperture and shutter speed is much different than the later photo. I had my camera set to aperture priority at f/4, thus making my shutter speed 1/10 of a second, while I walked around and occasionally looked through my view finder to frame my shot. I usually do this when I don't have my tripod set up yet and I'm just hand shooting to test the composition. After I realized what I had in front of me it took me two minutes to set up my tripod, attach my camera, change my camera settings, and readjust my composition (to remove the yellow parking line on the pavement), but by that time the sun had sunk below the mountains and made everything a cooler (temperature wise) blue color. I like the colors of both shots, but ultimately like the one below more because it's sharper (I was using a tripod) and because of the narrower f/14 aperture (wider depth of field = more in focus).

The Rexburg Temple's Reflection Pavement

2010-09-12T21:45:00.001-06:00

17mm 1.6 seconds f/14 ISO 125 Shot at 8:31 PM

For the past few weeks we've had these cool late afternoon storms roll in from the west. On the evening of one particularly gray and rainy day the sun broke through the clouds and turned everything a warm orange color a few minutes before sunset. I ran down stairs and outside to find a sweet double rainbow! What did it mean?! I ran back inside, grabbed my camera, keys, and jacket, but when I came outside the double rainbow was gone, so I took off for the Rexburg Temple in the remaining light. I know, I know, the temple is over-shot. So I decided while driving up the hill that I would shoot from a new angle, and after a few minutes of walking around the temple, I found this gem. The wet black pavement created a sweet reflection of the temple and the moody sky. I like the contrast between the light temple and deep colors of the pavement.

Flash Freezing

2010-09-01T01:20:00.000-06:00

12mm 1/6 sec f/5.6 ISO 200 Flash camera left on iTTL triggered with CLS

Here are a few examples of minor Flash Freezing. Flash Freezing is when you flash your subject with your camera's flash or an additional flash, like a speed light, while dragging your shutter to give the impression that they are still while the background is slightly moving around them.

Here's what to do: Switch to P (Programed Auto) and check to see what settings your camera would use to properly expose the scene. Now switch to M (Manual) and switch your aperture and shutter speed to what it said in P mode. Now turn on your flash. Now shoot! You may want to drag your shutter speed to increase the blurry effect. You'll want to pan at about the same speed that your subject is moving, and to follow through even after your pressed the shutter release to help reduce a blurry subject. Give it a try, and post a link to your photo in the comments!

Lighting Makes a Big Difference - Mesa Falls

2010-07-12T02:39:00.001-06:00

12mm 1/13 second f/22 ISO 100 Taken at 4:15 PM

Alright, so these photos demonstrate the importance of appropriate lighting. I say appropriate lighting because direct sunlight might be perfect for another type of shot, but in the case of landscapes with silky smooth water direct sunlight is evil; direct sunlight makes our photos look like snapshots. Sure, we could run this photo through Photoshop or Lightroom to make it nicer, but that's lame. Now scroll down.

12mm 8 seconds f/22 ISO Taken at 8:11 PM

Ahh, this is much better. 4 hours can make a big difference, huh? By 8:00 o'clock the sun had dropped below the mountains and left us with some nice even light. For this type of photo: EVEN LIGHTING IS KEY. And there was less light, so we were able to drag the shutter to 8 seconds giving us that cool flowy water effect that I heart so much. Also, I set my aperture to f/22 to make sure everything in focus.

12mm 8 seconds f/22 ISO Taken at 8:11 PM

Okay, now lets take a brief look at angles and cropping. So, the original photo just didn't seem right to me and I couldn't figure out why, until I realized the water looked like it was breaking the laws of physics and flowing uphill right before it flowed over the waterfall. Now scroll up to compare the two photos. Maybe it's just me, but this crop seems much better. What do you think? One way I could tell it wasn't level was the trees. Generally, trees grow straight up, so if you're ever in need of a natural level out in the field or in the digital darkroom, check with the trees. I made the mistake of leveling my view finder grid with the top line of the river, when in reality is should be sloping slightly.

What tricks do you use to make sure your landscapes are level?

Classic Rexburg Rodeo

2010-06-24T10:39:00.000-06:00

12mm 1/320 second f/4 ISO 250

12mm 1/250 second f/4 ISO 250

12mm 1/200 second f/4 ISO 250 Flash Camera Left

12mm 1/60 second f/4 ISO 250 Flash Camera Left

Think for a moment the last time you saw a clip of men hurling logs or those people who chase that wheel of cheese down that really steep hill and thought, "what a weird sport." Now think of your local rodeo. Muttin' bustin'? Bull riding? Chicken chasing? Cash cow? Dunk tank? Yeah, I don't think it should be up to Americans to decide which sports are weird and which are normal. Side Note: I'd love to go to the Gloucestershire cheese rolling at Cooper's Hill.

Fast Shutter (it's a drop of water)

2010-06-23T10:19:00.000-06:00

24mm 1/1000 second f/4 ISO 100
Location: Weeping Wall? Zion National Park, UT
This photo demonstrates how a fast shutter can capture things we don't typically see with our natural eye. Instead of shooting in S or Shutter Priority like you might typically think of doing when trying to freeze action, I set my camera to A or Aperture Priority so I could choose my widest aperture possible (lowest number like f/2.8) and let the camera choose the fastest possible shutter speed for the given light. This is a photo of a drop of water landing in a shallow muddy puddle after falling some 100 feet. Pretty cool huh? I love the ripples on the dome.

Narrow Aperture

2010-06-21T09:00:00.001-06:00

12mm 1.6 seconds f/22 ISO 100

Location: Mouth of The Narrows, Zion National Park, UT

This photo demonstrates the effect of a narrow aperture (large number f/16+). I shot in A or Aperture priority so I could set my aperture to the highest number (and therefore, the smallest opening). As a result everything is in focus. But just because it's in focus, doesn't mean it's sharp! You'll notice my wind-blown trees are a bit blurry, and then of course my water isn't sharp, but that's the effect of I was going for. As a side note, I didn't have a tripod so I used a local tree (which you can see in my frame on the right). Mike's Tip on using a tree: Pick a nice solid tree that is at least the diameter of your camera. Mature Spruce: Good :) Bamboo: Not as good :(

Cool Temple

2010-05-03T12:42:00.003-06:00

12 mm 1/5 second f/4.5 ISO 100 Lr

Right now Rexburg is in that weird in-between stage of Winter and Spring. Yes, you read correctly, WINTER and SPRING. It's sort of like that goofy adolescent stage between childhood and adulthood that produces some fun pictures, but sometimes you just wish they would grow up. That was a terrible analogy. Anyway, Rexburg has been cold and rainy lately, but it's produced some cool clouds. Even still, grow up Winter!

Lightroom edits: I reduced the saturation on this photo and changed the tint to be a little more blue than it originally was. I was trying to convey how chilly it was outside.

Lo-Res Larger Format Test

2010-05-03T12:23:00.001-06:00

12 mm 120 seconds f/22 ISO 100

Here is an old photo of Vancouver, British Columbia, that I never posted before. Shot from the Seawall in Stanley Park.

El Taco Buso

2010-01-30T15:01:00.003-07:00

25mm 1/160 f/4.5 ISO 200

Lr: Increased contrast, clarity, vibrance. Decreased saturation. Added post-crop vignette.

This is Herman, owner and operator of the famous Rexburg Taco Bus on 2nd North by Cal Ranch. Herman was nice enough to let me take his photo when I was there for lunch last week (the pork taco was delicious). He and his wife bought the bus and converted it into a mexican restaurant on wheels five years ago. To help boost winter sales he renovated the inside and included some stools, tables, heaters, and a red camping chair. The cell phone in his hand, which he never put down and rarely took his eyes off of, is part of his new 'wireless mobile' business.

How do you say: "Look right here at the camera for just a sec..." in Spanish? Kidding, he understood me. Which makes the fact that I have so many where he's looking down even funnier.

Thanks for your time Herman!

Handy

2010-01-20T13:02:00.002-07:00

12mm 30 seconds f/14 ISO 200

Location: Surrey, British Columbia

Pride Rock

2009-12-10T00:47:00.002-07:00

12mm 1/80 seconds f/8 ISO 110 Lr

Rexburg, 11:58 PM: Rush hour

2009-10-10T20:30:00.001-06:00

50mm 30 seconds f/14 ISO 100

Oswald West

2009-08-15T17:46:00.009-06:00

12mm 1/6 second f/20 ISO 200 Lr

Brian and I stumbled across this photogenic cove on the Oregon coast a few months ago. We spend a good part of the late afternoon jumping across barnacle and seaweed covered rocks looking for cool things to shoot.

Mesa Falls: Same Angle As Everyone Else

2009-07-18T04:27:00.001-06:00

12mm 20 seconds f/9 ISO 500 Lr

Looks peaceful doesn't it? Well what you can't see are the dozens of mosquitos hovering around my head, waiting for me to stop moving long enough to kamikaze in to my neck, head first. I would press the shutter release then shake, boogie, swot, and chop to keep them from sticking me. From a distance I probably looked like a coke addict doing the robot dance, but at least I got a shot right?

Too Light!

2009-07-13T01:39:00.006-06:00

Here are a few photos from the storms that came ripping through the valley tonight. They're grainy, out of focus and don't do the storms justice, but here they are. Just for you! The third one down was the brightest lightening strike I've ever seen. All of these were shot in almost complete darkness and are unedited.

12mm 30 seconds f/8 ISO 500

12mm 419 seconds f/8 ISO 500

14mm 30 seconds f/4 ISO 320

12mm 117 seconds f/4 ISO 320

My View

2009-07-02T23:09:00.002-06:00

While Steve and Melissa simultaneously rapped off Morning Glory Arch, I caught the action from part way down a third rap on the main cliff wall. For the record, I am wearing more than just socks and shoes.

12mm 1/60 sec f/4 ISO 640

Watching And Learning

2009-07-01T22:31:00.003-06:00

Some slightly nervous canyoneerers watch as their leader makes the first decent into a secret canyon somewhere near Moab, Utah.

12mm 1/80 sec f/8 ISO 640

They Wed

2009-06-02T23:48:00.001-06:00

50mm 1/1600 sec f/1.8 ISO 100 Lr

7 Minutes

2009-05-16T19:48:00.007-06:00

50mm 1 second f/22 ISO 100

70mm 25 seconds f/22 ISO 100

Odyessy Trip

2009-05-14T11:12:00.003-06:00

12mm 1/3 sec f/20 ISO 250

Bloomin' Blossoms

2009-05-12T09:25:00.001-06:00

12mm 1/125 sec f/4 ISO 100

Lost MetaData

2009-03-29T19:54:00.002-06:00

12mm approx 7-9 minutes f/5.6? ISO 400?

Happy 6th Decade

2009-03-27T13:02:00.000-06:00

Here are just a few old photos of a few great memories. More to come soon!

I Use To Be The Bee's Knees

2009-03-18T20:29:00.002-06:00

12mm 1/640 f/16 ISO 400

Safety In Numbers

2009-03-16T23:54:00.002-06:00

18mm 10 seconds f/22 ISO 100 Lr

Jaradite Mask?

2009-03-15T22:05:00.000-06:00

50mm f/1.8 1/10 ISO 250

Rest Stop

2009-03-14T02:09:00.000-06:00

24mm 1/250 f/5.6 ISO 200

Callaway

2009-03-02T18:00:00.000-07:00

13mm 1/2 f/5 ISO 200

Natural Vignette: Yikes

2009-03-01T18:25:00.000-07:00

12mm 1/320 f/4 ISO 200

Lower Lynn Falls

2009-02-28T18:05:00.000-07:00

17mm 9 seconds f/20 ISO 100

Congratulations Kell and Lindsay

2009-02-12T13:19:00.000-07:00

12mm 1/6 f/4 ISO 800

October Sky

2008-11-03T00:20:00.001-07:00

12mm 1/1000 sec f/4.0 ISO 100 Lr

Seeing Spots

2008-10-28T23:20:00.000-06:00

12mm 1/200 f/7.1 ISO 100

Le Tétons

2008-10-26T02:45:00.000-06:00

12mm 28 seconds f/18 ISO 100

Something While I Work

2008-09-26T13:28:00.000-06:00

24mm 1.5 Seconds f/22 ISO 100

Seattle Streets

2008-08-26T23:22:00.000-06:00

15mm 30 Seconds f/11 ISO 100

Van City

2008-08-20T00:14:00.000-06:00

One Fat Prince

2008-07-22T23:52:00.000-06:00

2008-07-15T23:14:00.000-06:00

12mm 8seconds f/7.1 ISO 250

Open Horizon

2008-06-08T05:06:00.000-06:00

14mm 1/60 f/5.6 ISO 100 flash camera left ps

Bad Apple Brothers

2008-06-08T05:04:00.000-06:00

12mm 1/60 f/7.1 ISO 100 flash camera left ps

Boken Sunset

2008-06-01T03:17:00.000-06:00

50mm 1/4000 f/1.8 ISO 100

The North Star

2008-05-19T04:04:00.000-06:00

12mm 9mins f/11 ISO 200

Moonlit Meadow

2008-05-19T04:02:00.000-06:00

12mm 2mins f/11 ISO 200

Raccoon

2008-03-12T01:28:00.000-06:00

I came across this raccoon taking a nap in the snow last Saturday.

Hoback Wyoming

2008-02-27T22:55:00.000-07:00

1st Place Unedited - Photographic Society

2008-02-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

Above Freezing

2008-02-27T11:49:00.000-07:00

Temple Traffic

2008-01-21T22:57:00.000-07:00

Golden Ears Trail

2008-01-01T23:34:00.000-07:00

Sunlight Through Some Trees

2007-11-29T10:27:00.000-07:00

Entering Alcatraz

2007-11-29T10:20:00.000-07:00

Dallin rappels the 200 ft. cliff into Alcatraz Canyon off the bumper a suburban.

Larry's Exit

2007-11-14T00:24:00.000-07:00

Eardley Backflip

2007-11-14T00:15:00.000-07:00

Keith Larson back flips into a chocolaty-pea-soup colored pothole in Eardley Canyon, Utah.

Chicken Parmesan With Peas And Boken

2007-10-30T13:41:00.000-06:00

Published Work In A Real Newspaper

2007-10-25T23:21:00.000-06:00

Jade Swartzburg, a friend of mine who goes to BYU-I, asked me to take photos for her article she wrote in the summer. I was pleased as punch to fly along and take some photos. It was a difficult assignment because of how small the plane was. I was really tempted to open the window and hold my camera out the window so I could shoot through the windshield to get a better angle, but the though of somehow fumbling my camera at 2500 ft kept my camera inside. The article was published in two newspapers; one in Coquitlam, and one in Pitt Meadows.

Freezing Canoe Expedition

2007-10-18T22:13:00.000-06:00

Dance Battle

2007-10-18T18:13:00.000-06:00

Bowling Blur

2007-10-06T00:26:00.000-06:00

Check out my journal for more photos.

Copper Frog

2007-09-26T15:32:00.000-06:00

Brandon Takes One For The Team

2007-09-20T21:42:00.000-06:00

No Something

2007-09-20T21:39:00.000-06:00

Serpentine In The Desert

2007-09-20T21:36:00.000-06:00

Calf Creek Falls

2007-09-20T21:28:00.000-06:00

Sunset Kayaker

2007-09-15T20:20:00.000-06:00

Self Portrait

2007-09-15T19:25:00.000-06:00

Artesian Aquifer

2007-09-10T13:55:00.000-06:00

The water was just coming up out of the ground!

Black Tusk Stream

2007-09-10T13:47:00.000-06:00

Ashton Barn Door

2007-09-10T01:58:00.000-06:00

Zion Storm

2007-09-10T01:22:00.000-06:00

As Amy and Travis made dinner I hiked to the road to capture a few cars passing under some electrically busy clouds.