Amateur Moments
Amateur Moments
By Ryan Montgomery
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I know some people crave and need titles like intermediate photographer or outdoorsman but truth be told, regardless of the level of your expertise we all have amateur moments- a term first brought to my attention by Ian Plant but thereafter perfected by yours truly through action.
On my most recent trip to Death Valley National Park I witnessed some of the most spectacular amateur moments I’ve ever seen- some committed by me and some by others. These are a short list of my classic “oops”.
Manly Beacon, Death Valley National Park at ISO 1000- Ouch!
1. Shooting at the wrong ISO- We’ve all done it- admit it. If you won’t I think you are lying. Admit it, you take some nights shots the night before and you leave the ISO at a higher setting than should be used for the following morning sunset. Yep, that was me. I nailed that morning sunset from Manly Beacon at a classic 1000 ISO. Thank goodness for the NIK Software noise reduction to correct my amateur moment.
Pantamint Puddles without footprints
2. Making an image has some of the same etiquette as golf. BE QUIET while I am putting and don’t walk across my line on the green. Seriously, if I am shooting during the scarse 5-10 minutes of alpenglow on the Pantamint Mountain range, I really don’t want to stop an answer a question about what does composition mean or where the on/off button is on the camera and I definitely don’t want to answer that same question three and four times….what about you there T-Nip? As for the putting green, remember as you are setting up a shot you can’t- well shouldn’t- walk in front of the person shooting. Much like a footprints on a green, footprints really are (I know surprisingly) damaging to a shot where the foreground includes some soft mud playa- 240lbs will leave footprints in the mud. Who knew?
Upper portion of Darwin Falls, Death Valley National Park with a lens cap somewhere
3. Secure all gear while shooting- Here I go again! Too entrenched in my shot of Darwin Falls, a waterfall in the desert, I never noticed my lens cap sliding off an adjacent rock until it was headed down the chute of water under my tripod like a 4-year-old on a water slide. At least, I didn’t notice it until I heard “there goes your lens cap”. I came to find out quickly that those don’t float regardless of whether you shoot Nikon or Canon. I wonder if they make a string that hangs from the lens cap to the camera body. Guess I will never know.
Moonrise Mono Lake, California at 5 Degrees Fahrenheit
4. Pack appropriate clothing for the shoot- While my trip to Mono Lake was a somewhat spontaneous excursion, it doesn’t change the fact that I could have used some long johns or additional clothing. When I pulled out of the hotel in my The Northface hiking pants it was ZERO degrees. Lucky for me it warmed up to a balmy 5 degrees while shooting. Three hours in that cold would wear anyone down. Thank goodness for the snot-sickle-mustached Greenbay Packers and Galen Rowell fan next to me who saved me with two warm cups of Huckleberry tea. At least I wasn’t the only one that didn’t know the weather. My amateur moment was limited to this one spontaneous morning. In the desert we experienced temperatures ranging from 50 degrees in the day to below 25 degrees at night. I saw one other photographer that had nothing more than a long sleeve shirt and a fleece vest for that 25 degree weather. Isn’t there a weather app out there or do you have to at least have a cell phone to download that?
5. As days pass and the lack of sleep sets in, my amateur moments become more frequent and more frustrating. By my last day, I swear the legs on my Really Right Stuff Versa Tripod (one of the easiest to use) had a mind of its own, Not only would they not move where I said to go but I think they may have actually fought back a bit. Nothing says amateur moment like having a tripod kick your butt! Guilty as charged!
Star Trails over Red Cathedral, Death Valley National Park
6. Don’t make the mistake of thinking or saying “if you’ve seen one sunrise/sunset then you’ve seen them all”. In my opinion, each is special and unique. Contrary to some peoples’ belief, bright sunny days generally are not the best option. Get up early and stay late. One morning my alarm range at 2:30am and was on the trail by 3:00am to get a star trails shot of Red Cathedral. Oh, and if you are in a workshop group don’t make the
Nissan Versa is not Awesome- Awesome is Trying to be a Nissan Versa!
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