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Greetings,
I ask "Is this Spring?" because the only signs of it around here are the blossoms and flowers and the increasing frequency of needing to mow the lawn. We get a day or two of sunny and slightly warm weather and then it's back to cold, wet, and windy.
The silver lining is that the mountains are getting more snow to supplement the snow pack.
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Spring Tips
Since it is spring (sort of), and now that we’re all getting back out there to photograph, here are a couple of “spring cleaning” tips.
Make sure the date in your camera is set correctly. If you haven’t checked it lately, take a look. It could still be set to standard time or perhaps the time zone of your last photo adventure.
I just checked mine. They were both still set to Mountain Standard Time from my trip to Bosque and White Sands last December. D’OH!
If you haven’t done so already, be sure to update the copyright date information in Lightroom or whatever program you’re using to manage your images. Each year I create a new metadata preset in in Lightroom, and it’s applied to all the new images I import.
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One spot left in Palouse workshop
It's getting close to Palouse time. Cliff Zenor and I now have only one space remaining in our June Palouse workshop (limited to 8). I was able to get our room block cut-off date extended, but that date will be coming up within the next couple of weeks. So if you're interested in visiting the Palouse this June, check out the details on my Palouse page.
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Space still available in aurora tour
The week before last, I attended a virtual “Aurora Science Workout” presented for Northwest Territories tourism professionals. It covered the hows and whys of aurora displays, some ways to make predictions, and solar cycle readiness.
The solar cycle section was especially interesting. You may have heard about the 11-year sun cycle. Sunspot activity, which leads to the exciting aurora displays, is on a roughly 11-year cycle. When there are lots of sunspots and large eruptions, those translate into more active displays.
And we are now entering the more active part of the current cycle and this year is predicted to be good. That means that more areas (lower latitudes) will likely be able to see more auroras.
The thing is though, areas under the Auroral Oval, like Yellowknife, typically see good displays in every year of the solar cycle. This means that despite what phase of the sun cycle we happen to be in, Yellowknife is always a good bet for viewing auroras.
I can attest to this. The last “peak” of sunspot activity was in 2014. I was there. It was amazing. Since the peak was in 2014, that means years like 2018, 2019, and 2020 would be the low point of the cycle.
I was also there in 2018 and 2019 during the low points. 2018 was great, and in 2019 I saw some of the best displays I’ve ever seen in. Sadly, because of the pandemic, I don’t know how the displays were the last two years.
But travel is looking up for this year, and John Barclay and I are heading back to Yellowknife. And we have a couple of spaces remaining in our second tour. If you’re interested, visit the Aurora Tour page on my workshops site.
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Tool Tip!
From time to time every photographer needs to tighten a lens plate or tripod leg, replace a screw, or open a nice box of fine wine. Having all the tools you need in one place means you’ll have what you need, when you need it.
Your toolkit need not take up a lot of space. Mine is in a small Outdoor Research zippered bag that measures about five by six inches (see photo). I have several of these in different colors; one for tools, one for filter accessories like step-up rings and Cokin adapters, and one that serves as a small first aid kit.
You can find small bags like these at just about any outdoor/travel/camping supply store like REI.
So, what’s in the kit? Here’s a list of what I have and why I have it:
- Allen wrenches (the standard size we use is 5/32”). We all need these for tightening lens plates and other things like custom tripod collars. Have at least one for every size Allen screw in use.
- Cut off 5/32” ball driver. I’ve taken a 5/32” hex-head ball driver and cut it off so it’s small enough to fit in the bag. For me, this is easier to use than the standard 5/32” Allen wrench.
- Special L-shaped Torx wrench for my Gitzo tripod legs (this came with the tripod)
- Small screwdrivers (as needed for tightening small screws)
- Small adjustable wrench for tightening various nuts.
- Rubber bands for loosening recalcitrant filters.
- Sensor cleaning supplies. Just a couple things for use in the field:
- SensorKlear pen
- Lighted Sensor viewer (this thing really works! And it’s inexpensive.)
And because I teach workshops and need to be prepared:
- Generic Kirk camera plate (for loaning to students)
Other things to consider:
- 5/16” nut driver. The leg locks of many Bogen/Manfrotto tripods are tightened with a nut. The plastic nut driver/holder supplied with the tripod is simply too wimpy.
- Locktite 242 Threadlocker (the medium strength version, blue liquid) to secure things that keep coming unscrewed.
- Extra terminal caps and screws. If you’ve already experienced a lost screw or cap, the best way to prevent that from happening again is by buying extras and keeping them in your tool kit.
By putting a small toolkit together, you’ll not only have all your tools in one place, they’ll also be portable. If you have more than one camera bag, it’s easy to move your tools from one to another pack, or stuff in a jacket pocket. At workshops I often put my kit in my pocket so that I always have tools at hand when somebody experiences leg looseness or head wobble. When flying, I put my toolkit, along with my Swiss Army knife, in my checked luggage, which eliminates the headache of dealing with security and the risk of losing needed tools.
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Topaz Quality Bundle on sale
 There are still a few days left to get the Topaz Labs Quality bundle. Until May 6, Topaz Labs is offering $99 savings on their Image Quality Bundle: DeNoise AI, Sharpen AI, and Gigapixel AI.
I regularly use DeNoise AI and Sharpen AI for my everyday processing. Both of these apps to a remarkable job and I consider DeNoise AI as essential, especially with high ISO images such as with night and low light wildlife photography.
Sharpen AI has rescued images I’d have otherwise just deleted. Images that are soft with atmospheric haze or from the soft end of a zoom lens or from slight motion blur or slight focusing issues can now be recovered. How many times have you gotten a great shot only to zoom in and see that your autofocus system just missed? Give Sharpen AI a go at those images.
And Gigapixel AI is extremely valuable when enlarging image for big prints.
Seriously, I consider these apps some of the best money I’ve ever spent on photo related gear or software.
You can get the Quality Bundle here. That's an affiliate link! If you buy something I get a small commission and it doesn't cost you any more. Win win! If fact, you can get another 15% off by using the discount code FRIEND15.
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Lastly
 Last month I mentioned the possibility of putting together a late October photo tour to two of Oregon’s iconic locations: Silver Falls State Park and Bandon. Enough people expressed an interest for me to schedule it and to look into hotel rooms. The hotel arrangements are still pending but I’ve set the dates for October 24-28. If mother nature cooperates, that should give us good fall color at Silver Falls and, perhaps big crashing waves at Shore Acres State Park, near Bandon (The tides will be right, at least).
If this sounds interesting, reply to this email and let me know. Those who’ve already expressed interest will get first chance at this trip, which will be limited to seven.
Ok, that's all. Go do something nice for yourself!
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