Krummholz

An old Bandera (Flag) Tree

Krummholz (German: krumm "crooked, bent, twisted" and holz "wood")
Chances are, anywhere you have strong directional winds you will find trees that have decided to give up trying to grow against the flow.  Because of their tendency for growth on the leeward side only, these trees have been coined Flag or Banner trees. If you think the winds are strong in the "Roaring 40's" latitude... head to Tierra del Fuego and check out the power of the "Furious Fifties"!

Bandera (Flag) Tree and the Beagle Channel

My Solar Solution

My next trip is going to be a bit more off the beaten path with lots of opportunities to photograph star trails all night and animals and landscapes all day in battery draining cold weather.  A challenge for any camera battery to be sure.  Add in the fact we'll be camping and our vehicles are going to be horses... well, I needed a light weight solution to keep the power going! 

I'm glad that I actually started planning well in advance of my trip on this one.  There always seems to be one crucial piece that the manufacturers sell separately and never tell you that you'll need which inevitably leads to a rush order.  Rush avoided and products tested!  It works!

My solution:
Brunton Solo 7.5
PowerFilm F15-1200 20 Watt
RA-1 Male Cigarette Lighter Adaptor
Nikon MH-21 Quick Charger for EN-EL4 & EN-EL4a batteries

Brunton Solo 7.5 Amp

PowerFilm F15-1200 20 Watt

The missing piece: RA-1 Male Cigarette Lighter Adapter

The Brunton Solo acts as my power storage.  I could leave it at home and use the solar panel with the inverter to trickle charge my batteries during the day, however, if we have a cloudy day, the battery will likely never charge fully.  Using the Brunton Solo I'll be able to leave the solar panel set up and collect the power it generates for charging later in the evening. Today was a mostly sunny California day and I was able to fully charge the Brunton Solo with the Solar Panel despite the wind closing half the panel for an unknown length of time. Tent pegs or rocks will prevent that from being a problem in the field.  From the power I collected I was able to recharge my camera battery and have plenty of power left over to charge my iPhone and iPad so my tunes in the wild will be uninterrupted!

While this set up works for me you should do some research as there are larger and smaller versions of these units depending on your power/weight needs.

Set up to charge

Solo feeding charger through the inverter

The complete set up weighs in at less than 5 pounds.

Product websites:
http://www.brunton.com/
http://www.powerfilmsolar.com/

January

Looking back on the images I created in 2010 was a terrific exercise in editing and it also reminded me of many special encounters I've had with the creatures I love to photograph. It also reminded me that I should look back... take stock and see where I've been and so I checked out my Januarys past and discovered a developing trend... A year abroad, a year home. Hope you enjoy the selection!


January 2006 - Costa Rica
I spent a few weeks with researchers from the LA Museum of Natural History looking for nudibranchs. We spent 8+ hours daily snorkeling and diving, scouring the ocean for the tiniest sea slugs. Our fingers wrinkled from the water and lost feeling from the slug toxins... except when we accidentally grabbed a fire worm instead... felt those!! We collected many specimens for the museum, even a few that had not yet been described. It was a wonderful trip but one of my fondest memories was coming up from a dive to discover this little Capuchin monkey had opened my back pack on the beach and was attempting to make off with my camera... He had the strap slung over his shoulder and in cartoon fashion was running in place, digging himself into a hole in the sand because the camera was twice his size and far, far heavier than he could drag. He wasn't about to give up his prize though... not until we coughed up a bit of cantaloupe. Cheeky little monkey.

January 2007 - California
The shot that taught me to head into the field even if it's raining... the extreme tides in winter provide for wonderful viewing opportunities of creatures who normally spend their lives hiding. This January morning boasted a very high tide that coincided with the sunrise and so a friend from my camera club and I headed out to see what we could capture. We were disappointed in the rain but decided to throw on our rain coats and walk the trail in the Palo Alto Baylands. When this California Clapper Rail appeared, so did the sun! He spent just a few moments in the open before disappearing back into the pickleweed. At just about the same moment the rail disappeared, the sun made it's exit behind the rain clouds but Connie and I didn't care - we got our shots.

January 2008 - Falkland Islands
The year and a half wait from signing up for this trip until the actual day we departed seemed like an eternity! New Years on Carcass Island is my fondest NY celebration and starting the year with Penguins and Albatross... it doesn't get much better!

January 2009 - California
I've spent a lot of time exploring Elkhorn Slough in Moss Landing and every time I go back I discover something different. In Jan 2009 my friend Enrique and I actually got the tide right for a nice relaxing paddle up the slough. We were able to sneak up pretty closely to this Lesser Yellowleg as it explored the Eel Grass near the shore. On other outings we discovered that paddling on days when you don't check the tide can be a painful experience...

January 2010 - Tasmania
The image my mind conjures when I think of a remote island paradise is not exactly what most people would think of... 2010 was spent with my favorite birds... Albatross. Hard rock instead of white sand beaches, LOUD clicks and claps and honks instead of peace and quiet, the smell of a sea bird colony instead of coconut tanning oil, dehydrated camping rations rather than 5-star cuisine and of course the fleas from the little blue penguins who share the island with the Albatross... but no bed bugs!!

January 2011 - California
TBA
So now I need to get myself away from editing & planning and get into the field for some shooting!!

2010 Photos in Review: Water

My 2010 was a year dominated by the power of water, from ocean waves to salt evaporation ponds, tidal zones to ice bergs and even the break down of my kitchen facet. You never really think about water until you are missing it. Today, 70.9% of the earth's surface is covered in water yet there are many areas in the world where people still struggle to find safe, clean drinking water. Would you like to help? http://www.charitywater.org/ Go ahead, visit the site & see what you can do... this blog will be here when you get back.

All done? Feels good to help out someone in need doesn't it? Well then, without further ado... My top 2010 photo picks.


Clashing Wanderers
Wandering Albatross, (Diomedea exulans)
Kaikoura, New Zealand
It might be the fault of the movie "The Rescuers" or the poem "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" but the Albatross has held a long lived fascination for me. I've been lucky enough to meet many albatross from Black-brows to Laysan, Shy to Black-footed and in January 2010 I met the king: The Wandering Albatross. With a wingspan of 8.5-12 feet, the Wanderer holds the record for largest wingspan of any living bird.


Wave Rider
Josh Loya, 3rd heat
Mavericks Surf Competition, Half Moon Bay, CA
Waves up to 50 feet feet dominated the competition. Even though my boat was outside the break zone we bobbed around like a cork which made photography challenging to say the least but worth every minute out there.


Tender Leviathan
Humpback Whale, (Megaptera novaeangliae)
Silver Bank, Dominican Republic
A safe place to raise a baby whale. I was amazed at how tender these incredible creatures were with their young. At one point I watched as a female cradled her calf in his flippers as any human might hug her child.


Badwater Sunset
Death Valley National Park, CA
At 282 feet below sea level, Badwater Basin is at the lowest elevation in North America. With an average of 1.58 inches of precipitation a year you would think water doesn't play a large role in Death Valley, an you'd be wrong. Any rain that falls dissolves the salt in the lowest point of the valley. As the water evaporates, the salt crystals reform. Without this constant rebuilding, the salt flats at Badwater would eventually turn dark and weathered as they are at the Devil's Golf Course.
 
First Day Out
American Avocet, (Recurvirostra americana)
Palo Alto Baylands, CA
It might have been the first day out for this little guy and he explored his home in the tidal flats and pickleweed of the San Francisco Bay but really, this was my first day out with my new Nikon gear. After frustration with my Canon gear I finally made the switch to Nikon and this adorable little puff ball was the subject of my first day out.


Mouthful
Tufted Puffin, (Fratercula cirrhata)
St. Paul Island, Pribilof Islands, Alaska
I had been hoping to get images of Puffin bringing fish to their burrow but the entire trip we saw none... until the very last day. I spent 3 hours glued to one burrow, waiting for mom & dad to bring home the bacon... errrrr fish and my patience was rewarded by a mouthful!


Beauty at the Beach
Baker Beach, San Francisco, CA
Another first for me... my first location shoot. Lucky for me I had a patient model willing to get her feet wet, a beautiful location, gorgeous weather and perhaps most importantly.... amazing assistants! I couldn't have done it without the help of Leonard Brzezinski and Jon & Victoria Bonney. Many hands make light (and a hell of a lot of fun) work! Thanks guys!


Cathedral at the End of the World
Lemaire Channel, Antarctica
The sheer grandeur of the landscape of Antarctica was overwhelming. Looking at a huge ice berg like this one and knowing that what we saw above the water was a mere 10% of what lurked below was humbling.


Out for a Stroll
Gentoo Penguin, (Pygoscelis papua ellsworthii)
Antarctica
I love all of the close images I was able to capture; the nests, the pebbles, the eggs, the fights, the cuddles, the thefts and the gifts but to me... this lone penguin marching across a sea of endless white snow epitomizes the isolation and starkness of this amazing continent.