Adventure Journal Main Menu: Esper E-letter #24, Aug/Sep 2009

Wildernesscapes Photography with Johnathan Esper eLetter #24, Aug/Sep 2009. Topics: Icelandic Adventure Photography; upcoming photo shows

Another summer has passed, and the fall foliage season is now upon us! Here at Wildernesscapes Photography, I'm busy photographing this beautiful season in the Adirondack Mountains, and attending a premier adventure photography workshop out in Wyoming the next 2 weeks. I've been back in the USA almost three weeks now, after my Iceland travels, but unfortunately I still haven't sorted through my ~20,000 images I shot. However, I have edited a collection of adventure/hiking photographs from Iceland in prep for this upcoming workshop, so here's a few Icelandic adventure images for you to enjoy. I've been experimenting with the QTVR photo format (.mov) for a more immersive web viewing experience as well, so I've included a sample video in this format for you to check out. Tell me what you think - should I make a separate gallery on my website of just these types of photos?

I've always said that to truly appreciate the quality of my images (many of which are composites from multiple frames in order to increase resolution or dynamic range), you need to see in person my large-format fine-art prints. Here's your chance - without having to purchase one first! In the Adirondack region of New York State, I'll have a booth selling my work at 2 art fairs this fall. The first weekend in October I'll be in Warrensburg, at the "World's largest garage sale" where hundreds of vendors line the streets selling everything imaginable, and the second weekend of October I'm at Gore Mt's fall festival, in North Creek. So, if you're in the Adirondacks or northern NY region, be sure to stop by! Several photographs are also accepted in 2 juried art shows currently displaying at A Point of View Gallery, and the Arts Center, Lake Placid, Adirondacks, for anyone to view. I also have a gallery exhibition for the month of December in the Blue Mountain Lake center for the Arts, in case you're up here in the winter.

I've done a little photographing since being back, too, so here's one of my recent photographs - over the popular region of Lake George. It's a unique view from the top of a spruce tree on Buck Mt.'s summit. From the summit rocks, one cannot view both the northern and southern ends of Lake George simultaneously. This photo is a composite of over 20 individual shots - all shot handheld, with one hand, while hanging onto a swaying treetop in waning light. The sky portion of the photograph is made from a row of photos stitched together, that were exposed for the brighter sky, taken about 10 minutes after the sequence of shots for the land, which were exposed more to retain detail in the dark pines. The final result is this amazing high dynamic range, flawlessly stitched panorama, that is over 21,600 pixels wide by 8,700 pixels high (188 MP equivalent), large enough to print with photographic print quality up to 65"x144" (5.5 ft x 12"). The astounding colors of the sunset are natural, not computer-generated, and result from using multiple exposure bracketing HDR techniques.

Enjoy the fall season! Cheers!
Johnathan Esper