Jake Peterson’s Blog

Just can’t get enough of those afternoon storms, it’s one of the best parts of summer. Shooting out over the lakes around always bring more challenge and intrigue to the situation. Dealing with the reflection is easy, a split grad takes care of the sky, so the sky matches the reflection. As for the horizon line of the lake well that depends on preference but it can be deceptive. Darn circles. In order to get a straight horizon ya gotta go off of the rest of the landscape and not the waters edge. It’s fun to play with cuz some rather unusual effects can happen.

Image captured with D3, 24-70 AF-S, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film

For the last few days we have had great thunderstorms. When i drove back from Montana on Sunday we had a great one come through the Sierra’s and i managed to catch a part of it out at Benton Crossing. The grey mass was large enough that i saw it all the way at Tonopah, it was one big cloud. Of course it wouldn’t be complete without some great lightning, combined with some thunder to produce a good spring storm. A couple quick shots and a simple conversion to make a few images.

Images captured with D3, 24-70 AF-S on Lexar UDMA Digital Film

The drive from Salt Lake City to Bozeman has always been the best part of the drive for me. It is scenic and enjoyable then the other half, but that’s just me. For the first time in years I’m up here in July which is great because it’s a time of the year that i normally don’t see and so far it has been great. The amount of vegetation and wild flowers has absolutely stunned me. I never would have thought that it would be this green, but then i always arrive at then end of August when school starts.

When i got out of the pass on hwy 287 i greeted with a shower and dual rainbows. The last time i recall seeing rainbows that strong was in the Redwoods of Northern Cali. I had to stop! I immediately started looking for the high ground to get away from the road and luckily found one place that had no traffic in Gallatin Gateway. I pulled over grabbed the camera and started shooting. I’m sure the people on the ranch behind me were wondering what that guy was doing. Looking out now i can see another good thunder storm brewin and a chase that might happen.

Images captured with D3, 24-70 AF-S, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film

Tuesday i took off on another adventure back up north, most would call it a suicide run considering I’ll be heading back to California this weekend. I know four days of driving for a couple days in Montana, why did he do it? Well there was a number of errands to take care of and living between two states that’s just what you have to do. The drive itself was very painless and quite enjoyable. Tuesdays fun came from the amount of storm clouds present as i headed towards Ely. I found a good place to pull over at a bottom of a hill and had some fun with the god beams.

The god beams stuck around for a lot longer than i ever thought they would. It was rather nice it, for it gave me more time to play with them. Oddly enough the entire time i was beside the road no cars came, i say this was odd because of the amount of traffic that was on the road that day. With a few clicks and a simple conversion in post, some black and whites were made. Just good simple driving fun.

Images captured with D3, 24-70 AF-S, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film

Just gotta love ghost towns and rustic settings, the history behind the places and the people that made them famous. The Sierra’s have had a number of mining towns some well known some not as much, Bodie is one of those well known ones. It was also one of those places i grew up as a kid. It seemed a lot bigger than, streets aren’t as long now. Just as busy now as it was than, lots of people there in the summer makes it fun getting the shots of store fronts, hurray for little waves that come and go.

The great thing is that you never know what will be dug up, something small or large. For instance the bedroom. It was just the inside of a house that the light was coming in from the side window lighting up the room, but the detail in the wall paper and the mattress made it interesting. Sometimes the smallest of elements are the most interesting when it comes to working in ghost towns not the overall town because those details reflect a person being there.

Images captured with D3, 24-70 AF-S, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film

Up here in the Sierra’s we seldom have time to visit the beach. Dad and i have been going to Mono Lake looking for birds for the last few summers chasing the Violet Green Swallows and Sage Thrashers, but for the first time in a while we went down to enjoy the scenery and not the local species. Real mind flip walking around with a 24-70 on my shoulder and not a 600, having to watch the light on the Tufa’s to get to the right spot. This one cove was of particular interest to everyone and for good reason. It had great light and a great reflection, which made for and amphitheater of opportunities. Mono being as big as it is, is never the same in one place or contains the same Tufa’s.

Around another corner of the lake, down a different dirt road leads us to more adventure. This time with Sand Tufa’s, the remnants of the high tides that the lake once rested at but are no longer seen. With great skies covering the area down to the pillars, we began our march to more opportunities and images awaiting for the plucking.

These Tufa’s are only about waste high, and are more fragile than any other around the lake. We walk through them like walking through a valley of collasping stone. Photographing them can be done in many ways, everything from the intricate details of the cracks in the rock itself to the multiple ones around. With the sky we lucked out with there was only one way to shoot, good clouds are a shame to waste. The sun popped in and out, lighting up areas clouds then fading. It never fully came out from behind the clouds permanently. We knew it was time to go when the call of pancakes was sounded, kinda flat call but then how do you play a pancake?

Images captured with D3, 24-70 AF-S, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film

For the last few days i have been playing with one of the images i took of the Albatross, among other things going on. These type of static shots i tend to get drawn to because of the seeming mystery left to the plane. I can recall watching movies where all they show is that front view and nothing of the tail or fuselage. With this particular plane the one thing stuck out in mind when shooting was nothing actually nothing about the plane itself but about The Rime of the Ancient Mariner i had to memorize and recite in high school. Where 200 sailors were cursed for shooting an albatross and the journey it took for them to get home. As we skimmed the water of Lake Tahoe, looking down at the plane’s reflection and the water that flew inside from the touch and goes, i kept that rime in my head.

Image captured with D3, 24-70 AF-S Vr, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film

Wow! Yesterday was one of those days when i was glad i had my eyes open and my trigger figure at the ready. For a long time Dad and I have been pursuing aviation photography, and our good friend Denis has a lovely HU16A Albatross that was dying to be photographed. This thing is massive, huge, and is designed for search and rescue to replace the PBY’s after WWII. Well we thought we were just going to go up and see it take off and set down, but o no we got to ride it in! Wow! Up to Lake Tahoe to scare the locals it was a blast, especially hanging out the “shooting window” as they call it.

We set down on the lake on it’s gorgeous blue water and no sooner then we do, we take off and do it all over again. We were doing touch and goes about 4 or 5 times for practice for Peter another great pilot. Dad and I are just hanging out the back blasting away with our wide angles on, he’s got the 16 and I’m using the 14-24. Of course the two of us are holding on to the camera bodies with dear life because we were unaware of this and had no straps on. That would’ve been sad fall…the card with all the images would’ve gone too. It was probably one of the best flights i have ever been on and all i did was look out the window.

Amazingly enough i keep coming back to Texas for images and ideas to write and talk about, this time is no different. Maybe it’s because it was such a good trip, or perhaps it’s because i have so many good images. It’s probably because i can draw so much from the event. One of the best parts was seeing the raptors at the hawk blind. This Harris hawk in particular was starring at the yellow flower at the end of the log and seeing it watch the flower as it swayed in the wind. It seems even the raptors can enjoy the subtleties of the life as they scarp down bits of meat.

Image captured with D3, 600f4, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film