‘Tis the season to ski: Nat’ Geo’ Extreme Photo of the Week and more.

Alaska, Black & White, Photography, Portraits, Sports

First things first: A huge shout out to my friend and fellow (former) Fairbanks resident, Luke Smith, who is the skier in this weeks National Geographic Extreme Photo of the Week. Photographer Ryan Kruger captured Luke skiing Frazier Basin, Bridger Range, Montana.

Here’s the image, click the link above to see the full story. I especially like the delay between the initial viewing and noticing the skier, and of course, the monochromatic image.

photo by Ryan Krueger

Photographing skiing and snowboarding is a very delicate balance for me. Often my love for snowboarding overpowers my desire to take photos on the hill. It’s easy to worry about my camera, ducking under and squeezing through trees at Skiland, where I ride, and the fartherst north chairlift in North America.

I am becomming more comfortable with it though. The hardest part is forcing myself to be less agressive while riding.

While neither of my photos offer the extreme enviornment of Krueger’s, they have their own qualities. Both with a strong sense of light, the Sun peeking out behind my friends Nils and Nick in the first, illuminated hoar frost on the lift in the second. The first image is also a pan shot, my movement, parallel with the subjects, keeps them in focus while blurring the background.

Nick and Nils gather speed for the traverse at Mt. Aurora Skidland.

Nick and Nils gather speed for the traverse at Mt. Aurora Skiland.

Hoar frost on an early morning chairlift ride.

Hoar frost and an Alyeska sticker on a chilly, early morning chairlift ride.

Music Monday: The Young Dubliners on Alaska Live

Alaska, Black & White, Music, Photography, Portraits

In an effort to increase the regularity of posting I will be creating a few themes for Far North Light. Today is the inaugural day of Music Monday, where I feature photos of the various venues and concerts I’m involved with around Fairbanks.

Capturing the essence of music in a photograph is no easy task. Obviously the biggest hurdle is lack of auditory signals. What is possible is trying to capture the symbiotic relationship band members share with one another, as well as audience members. Much like a sound wave reflecting off ceilings and walls, energy fills the studio or dance floor, it’s that energy that is possible to photograph.

Often to capture the intensity a plethora of obstacles must be navigated. Studio settings don’t offer audience members, or the added energy they bring, to incorporate into the photo. Bright spotlights accompanied with dark surroundings can easily lead to blown out highlights or indiscernible shadows. My technique is expose so no highlights have lost information, then bring back detail in the shadows. Rarely is ISO set below 1600. Another common impediment is a cramped enviornment: instruments, bodies and microphones can easily decapitate an important figure in the background. Thanks to the near unlimited picture taking ability of digital, shoot enough and there’s bound to be good frames.

As I mentioned in a previous post I’m doing a professional media internship for KUAC, Public Radio of Alaska. I assist Lori Neufeld in the production room for her show, Alaska Live, a live-music radio program feature Alaskan and visiting artists. The most recent band to play in the studio was The Young Dubliners. This Celtic-Rock band played a mellow version of their stage show. Check out the podcast here.

The Young Dubliners perform on Alaska Live in KUAC’s studio at University Alaska Fairbanks.

First Friday, Klara Maisch’s “Broad Pass”

Alaska, Arts, Photography, Portraits

My friend and artist Klara Maisch is having a First Friday tonight at Gulliver’s Books, in Fairbanks, Alaska. Her Alaskan Inspired prints and paintings beautifully capture the abstract nuances of everything that inspires her: mountains, trees, pillow lines, animals and nature of all kinds. Her work ranges from monochromatic medleys to impressionistic landscapes with vivid colors.

Check out her show, tonight March 1, from 6-8 p.m. on the corner of College and University. And check out the link to her artwork here.

Klara Maisch fills in holes on screen before screen printing.

Klara Maisch patches a screen prior to printing

Alaska Live: Tony Furtado and Peter Mulvey, Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas.

Alaska, Black & White, Music, Photography, Portraits

As part of my journalism degree I’m required to complete a professional-media internship. To fulfill this requirement I have been interning for a program called Alaska Live, part of Alaskan Public Radio, KUAC 89.9.

Alaska Live is a live-music radio program, featuring Alaskan-based musicians, as-well-as visiting artists. It is good experience learning some of the inner workings of broadcast radio, and an excellent opportunity to hear some amazing music. Although my internship is not photography based, it’s hard to resist fulfilling my photographing fetish. Two of my duties include editing audio and posting podcasts online.

Here are some images of the visiting artists.

Tony Furtado, left, and Peter Mulvey perform together Jan. 31, 2013 for Alaska Live with Lori Nuefeld.

Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser and cellist Natalie Haas on Alaska Live.

Complementary Hummers

Alaska, Photography, Street

I would like to thank everyone who’s continued visiting my blog in recent weeks despite my lack of posts. Through shooting many different subjects I have been behind on my editing and posting. Hopefully I will have many new posts in the coming weeks.

For now, to get back into the swing a things, a pair of complementary-color Hummers.

I admit, the image is somewhat flat. But after watching the red Hummer pull parallel to the green one I couldn’t resist quickly parking to run and snap a few photos.

Complementary colors are opposite from each other on the color wheel, in this case red and green. They are often considered to create pleasing effects.

It’s too bad the colors are about the only complementary aspect of these cars.

New years eve: Alaska Satellite Facility tracking aperture and fireworks.

Alaska, Landscapes, Photography

A satellite-receiving dish is seen as fireworks celebrate the end of 2012 and the start of 2013 on the ski trails at University of Alaska Fairbanks. Known also as a tracking aperture, the 11-meter dish is part of the Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF) of the Geophysical Institute’s Satellite Tracking Ground Station (STGS). The 11-meter X- and S-Band system, along with a smaller 10-meter dish, are just one appendage of a world-wide Near Earth Network, run by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The high latitude of ASF’s ground station allows for 11 connections per day with polar-orbiting spacecraft, ASF then downlinks, processes and distributes data.

I tried to correct the color of the tracking aperture, which had a yellow caste due to artificial lighting, while maintaining true hues of the fireworks. To accomplish this I set my white balance on the dish, lightened the shadows and slightly saturated the image. What made the biggest difference was a slight curve, increasing the highlights and decreasing the shadows, of the red and green spectrums. The end result, I feel is very close to what would have been seen.

My ISO was 125 and tripod shooting was essential, and exposure times were 10 to 15 seconds.

Tractor and barn illuminated by norther lights

Alaska, Landscapes, Photography

For one reason or another, the northern lights are something I don’t photograph enough. Being a heavy film shooter until recent probably played a factor, digital cameras are more cooperative in cold weather. Cold, lack of tripod, poor location and early-morning hours have all played a role in deciding as well.

As the wind whistled and the lights danced overhead a few weeks ago, I said, “no excuses.” Less then a mile to get to my house I had a revelation: the hay field about half-a-mile up the road. Seems silly I had never though of it before. Not wanting to miss a second, I decided to forgo finding my tripod and zipped to the field. I used the two-second self timer and the roof of my car. Directly off Farmers Loop Rd. subsequent cars driving by helped illuminate the farm equipment and barn. Foreground helps any picture, especially northern lights.

The image is actually two pictures placed next to each other. Photomerge, which creates panoramas, wouldn’t blend the images. The color is off and the horizon isn’t perfect, but I like it.

Worth noting, the Big Dipper is noticeable, just up and to the left of the barn.

The Nutcracker Ballet, it’s that time of the year.

Alaska, Arts, Photography, Portraits

It may not be December yet, but the holiday spirit will descend on Herring Auditorium this weekend as The North Star Ballet performs The Nutcracker. This is the 26th year the ballet has been staged in Fairbanks. Set to the classic score by Tchaikovsky, it follows the tale of a young girl named Clara, who saves the Nutcracker from the sword of the evil Mouse King. The Nutcracker then transforms into a prince, and Clara is whisked away to the land of sweets, to be entertained by dancers representing tea, coffee, Danish marzipans and of course, the Sugar Plum Fairy and her cavalier.

The North Star Ballet follows a traditional Balanchine choreography, and is a spectacular show if you’ve never seen it, or go every year. Performances this year feature returning guest dancers from Ballet West, Deanna Karlheim and Hannes Van Wassenhove as the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier.

The Nutcracker will be performed tonight, Nov. 30 at 8 p.m. tomorrow Dec. 1 at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sunday Dec. 2 at 2 p.m. Again I encourage everyone to support their local art scene and show them how much you appreciate their hard work.

Happy holidays!

Guests look on during the first-act party scene as Ian Zeisel dances the role of soldier doll.

Clara’s attention is beckoned to the guard house moments before the Nutcracker turns into a prince.

Wendy Langton and Ian Zeisel as the Snow Fairy and her Cavalier pose and snow drifts down around the dancers.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Geometry. Bridge over Tanana River.

Alaska, architecture, Landscapes, Photography, Weekly Photo Post

I wanted the image I picked for the photo challenge this week to be geometrical at it’s core, not just elements of geometry. Rectangles, triangles, trapezoids and two half-circles dominate the composition. Critically: Even with a slight crop the image holds a lot of dead space and is mostly made dramatic by the fuchsia, late-August sunset.

Here’s a link to a blog titled mustbewonderlust, with pair of striking photos from Australia of the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Opera House.

Happy Monday and a safe week to everyone.

Please click on the image to view full size.

Bridge spanning Tanana River, looking north From Nenana, Alaska. Aug. 21, 2011.

A Halloween murder… of ravens.

Alaska, Black & White, Landscapes, Photography, Wildlife

The wind whipped all Halloween. Soaring and swooping ravens took advantage of the strong drafts to have some fun. A flock of ravens is also called a murder, fitting for this last day of October.

Ravens have long held a place in lore. Tricksters and shape shifters are among the most common Alaska fables. Raven Steals The light is a popular North-West Native American story where the earth begins bathed in total darkness. Accounts vary, but the plot often involves the character of Raven pretending to be the grandson of an old man who holds all the light. Raven then steals it and shines it over earth and water.

“And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted – nevermore!” – Edgar Allen Poe