ON THE PLANE TO PATAGONIA

 
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I'm writing this with Stacey beside me on the first of three long flights that will take us from fall color in the Northwest to spring flowers in Punta Arenas near the southern tip of Chile. The Sub-antarctic! Several rows behind are our friends the incomparable photographers John Eastcott and Yva Momatiuk who have travelled these southern granite mountains and glaciers many times over the past 3 decades. If you haven't explored their website's galleries and read Yva's stories from the road, then you really should. Over the years John and Yva have evolved from friends to mentors and then become family to Stacey and I.

This adventure is exciting for a number of reasons. Of course it is a photographic journey I've dreamed of for years, but it is also a very special family trip. Stacey and I are bringing a new little life along inside of her. We are expecting our first child in February. A boy. 

Stacey and I can't think of a better way to season our new little guy for his arrival than by living for a month in rented vans driving through some of the planet's most spectacular mountains, lakes, and glaciers with his Uncle John and Auntie Yva. So... with our doctor's "arched-eyebrow-blessing" we are off. These four duffles are in the hold. My brand new F-stop Sukha bag is overhead with the D810, D750 and a lot of glass. Tripods, cookstoves and warm clothes are in the hold. I'll share as much as data connections in the wild allow.

Let the Adventure begin...

MY GEAR FOR EUROPE

Yep, this is taken in my new studio with the big epson in the background.

Stacey and I are gearing up for a Europe trip to Turkey, Greece, Italy and France next week while working on a book about the art of travel photography. It’s always a balance between traveling light and comfortably and having the gear you really need get the images you envision. For this trip I’m limiting myself to a 10kg carryon and 20kg checked bag. Here’s the list of what makes the cut.

CAMERA:

LENSES:

SUPPORTS:

BAG:

STACEY’S GEAR:

Sony A7s with Sony 24-70mm F4 

Stacey will be shooting video and stills with this little lowlight monster. I may play with it in some dark situations as well... :-)

 

-Hudson

 

OUT ADVENTURING: DEATH VALLEY AND MOUNT SAINT HELENS

 

Nikon D800 multi-frame panoramic merger from Mount Saint Helens' crater rim.

This past few days I was hoping to be up on Mount Saint Helens camping, skiing and doing some panoramic work . However, after an entire winter of spring like weather, the cascades are finally getting some colder storms. I am so excited to test out my new F-stop Satori EXP bag on an overnight ski trip that I've had it packed for over a week now as you can see below...

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Gear for a multi-day ski touring adventure. Click to see bigger.

I've been wandering in the mountains long enough to respect their moods, so... I'm pivoting and taking off with Stacey for Death Valley today. A non-profit client is hosting an event down there and asked us to come photograph it. I love Death Valley in the Spring.

We'll be back Monday. If the mountains are in a better mood, then I'll be headed up Saint Helens on Tuesday. Fingers crossed...

-Hudson 

Death Valley's Racetrack Playa

Death Valley's Racetrack Playa

On1 PERFECT PHOTO SUITE 9.5 CLEARED FOR LAUNCH!

 

I've had the pleasure of using the soon to be released Perfect Photo Suite 9.5 and I'm excited to tell you that it comes with a whole host of fun improvements. One of my favorites is how good they've dialed in the Fast Preview features of Perfect Browse. It saves me so much time in the culling process at the front end of my workflow that I created this Perfect Inspiration video showcasing it; although I didn't state it in the video, I'm using a beta version of Suite 9.5.

Fast preview's overhaul isn't the only enhancement though. The Perfect Browse and Perfect Portrait have each received a host of feature and performance improvements and there are new layer and effect tools like luminosity masking. There's a lot to be excited about. You can read more about it at this on1 Blog post!

-Hudson