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Wasatch Powderkeg 2009

The Wasatch Powderkeg is a ski-mountaineering race that covers nearly 6,000′ vertical feet of climbing and skiing. That is, skiers start from the bottom of Alta ski resort and ‘skin’ (i.e. hike on skis) nearly 2,000′ to the top before racing back down. Repeated 4 times on 3 different peaks. The top racers often finish in under 2 hours.

While I’ve raced the Powderkeg several times in years past (including a Rec division win my first year!), I’ve always wanted to photograph it. Coming down with a chest cold this year offered a perfect excuse to finally pull out the camera.

As the race covers a lot of terrain, I debated for a few weeks about where to shoot from – thinking I’d photograph the racers as they zoomed by. However, the day before the race it struck me that what I’d really like to do is capture the racers immediately after they finish, in a series of portraits. Luckily my 8×10 holders were already loaded!

Since the finish line was more than a 1/4 mile up the hill, my assistant Kealan and I had to haul about 400lbs of gear up the hill (backdrop, cameras, film, tripod, etc.)

The portraits were mostly shot on 8×10 film, which is somewhat akin to burning $20 bills, with some of the later images shot on my Graflex 4×5 Series D.

Enjoy!

Link to the Portrait Gallery

Posted 17 March 2009 † Matthew Turley § images § outdoors § photography ‡ Comments (9) °

Spiral Jetty

Travelled out to the Great Salt Lake last weekend to see Robert Smithson’s ‘Spiral Jetty’.  Being my first visit (not counting the times I’ve flown over it), it was only natural that I first see it and photograph it at night.  That is, I seem to have a penchant for first visiting landmark locations while at night.  For example, I made three trips to photograph Delicate Arch before finally seeing it in daylight.  The same could be said of Mt. Timpanogos, Lone Peak cirque, and many others.

Seeing a natural (or manmade) form for the first time in the dim star- or moon-light adds a dimension of mystery.  It’s as though the brain hasn’t quite resolved everything, leaving more room for the imagination to run free.  Mountain walls loom taller overhead, sandstone arches feel thoroughly lunar, and a singular spiral jetty in the desert evokes extraterrestrials.

Unfortunately, my beloved Subaru blew out its turbo-charger on the way home, making these photos worth at least $1,500 :)

Posted 10 March 2009 † Matthew Turley § outdoors § photography § trip reports ‡ Comments (6) °

Viva la Polaroid!

I love Polaroid.  It’s a fact.  Unfortunately, not enough people feel the same way I do (or at least they don’t vote that way with their wallets), which has resulted in Polaroid recently discontinuing all their instant films.

Consequently, I’ve spent the last year or so stockpiling their instant films whenever I find it (and can afford it :) .  Suffice to say, it’s getting more expensive: a 20-exposure box of Type 55 used to sell for around $75, and now regularly sells for $150 on eBay.  15-exposure boxes of T809 that sold for $225 are listed for over $600.  $40 per shot – ouch!

Anyway, here’s a few of my favorite polaroids from over the years.  Enjoy!

Portrait of Jim from December 2008:

Green Monster crack, Rock Canyon, Utah (Type 59 – polaroid lift):

Skógafoss, Iceland

El Tajín, Mexico

Posted 16 January 2009 † Matthew Turley § equipment § industry § news § photography § thoughts ‡ Comments (1) °

Portraits of Jim from this morning

I’ve know Jim for several years now, and have wanted to photograph him for almost as long.  He and his wife have spent the past 15+ years living in a cabin up in Big Cottonwood Canyon, and are faithful members of the LDS Brighton Branch where I attend church.

Finally got around to photographing him this morning, assisted by my friend, Ashton Rogers.  Jim hauled us in on his Polaris, along with two pelican cases of gear and a tripod towing behind in a utility sled.

Jim is an absolute inspiration – he has the enthusiasm and vitality of men a quarter of his age.

We shot a box of Polaroid Type-55 and about 40 sheets of Portra.  Until that all gets processed and scanned, however, the digital shots will have to suffice…



Posted 10 December 2008 † Matthew Turley § images § photography § trip reports ‡ Comments (12) °

Death Valley

Headed down to Death Valley for a few days to shoot some stock images.  Kept running into herds of photographers, which was actually a good thing: free models!  It was a bit laughable, though, when they kept looking over their shoulder trying to figure out what I was taking pictures of.  Or when other photographers would come over and try to shoot from my location, only to leave in disgust because they realized someone was in the shot!

Still editing through the 4×5 film, should have some more shots ready to go shortly.

Posted 10 December 2008 † Matthew Turley § images § photography § trip reports ‡ Comments (5) °

Proprietary Information

About 7 or 8 years ago, while still in school and when all my aspirations as a photographer centered around skiing and mountaineering, a skier-friend suggested that I meet a buddy of his who was an established photographer within the outdoor industry – and even offered to look into it for me.  ”Sweet!” I thought, and couldn’t wait to hear back…

When I followed up with my friend a couple weeks later, he sounded disgusted and said something to the effect of, “You photographers are all a bunch of selfish idiots.”  Apparently his buddy had balked at his suggestion, stating that he had no intention of associating with ‘the competition’.

Lame.

Years later, I encountered a much different philosophy while working with a successful advertising photographer.  Even though he was well aware of my intentions to eventually go out on my own, and knew that we would likely compete for jobs (which we have!), he nevertheless shared generously from his wealth of knowledge in order to help me succeed.  He was, and continues to be, a great friend and mentor.  And, while his success is obviously a result of his creative talent and wise business skills, I like to attribute at least a part of it to good karma.

Ironically, the latter photographer probably had much more in the way of ‘proprietary trade secrets’, and thus much more to ‘risk losing’ by sharing.  He also happens to be much more successful of the two.  I think there’s something to be learned here.  I think we as photographers often assume the stance of the former, reluctant to share our knowledge and know-how with others.

Now, I definitely recognize that maintaining proprietary information has its place.  The magician’s motto of never sharing secrets has a striking parallel with photographers.  We are, in a way, hired to do the same thing: magically produce surprises out of our little black boxes in a way that no one else quite can.  Incidentally, I believe this explains why so many photographers are upset about the preponderance of cheap professional-quality digital cameras.  It’s like magicians getting upset because WalMart now sells magic kits.  But that’s just it.  They confuse the box itself with the ‘magic’ at work behind it.  There’s no way we can coast along if our craft can be reduced to simply a specific camera, lens, lighting scheme, or Photoshop filter.

In the end, I think it has to do with relationships.  I’m frequently asked how I do what I do, and my responses vary widely, usually depending on who’s asking :)

Posted 25 November 2008 † Matthew Turley § photography § retouching § thoughts ‡ Comments (7) °

Fortune Small Business story

Last month I was assigned to photography Black Diamond exec Peter Metcalf and his QA manager, Kolin Powick, on an early morning climb up the south ridge of Mt. Superior (11,132′) for a feature story in Fortune Small Business magazine.  We also shot several BD employee/climbers testing winter gear high on Hidden Peak, and taking test-falls on their own gear in Big Cottonwood Canyon.

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Super fun shoot!  I had along a great assistant (photographer/climber Paul Richer), who helped me lug around the heavy 4×5, 8×10, & digital equipment.

Plus, the BD guys were all great to work with.  I’ve got a lot of outdoor gear, much of it made and/or designed by Black Diamond right here in Salt Lake City, so it was fun talking with Peter about the history of his company and his optimism for its future.

Check out the article written by Jonathan Blum in this month’s issue (Nov, ’08) of Fortune Small Business!

Posted 16 October 2008 † Matthew Turley § images § photography ‡ Comments (7) °

Switchman Studio: Organization

I often get asked which Adobe Photoshop actions I use to get ‘that look’.  While I’m not really sure what constitutes ‘that look’, the short answer is: none.  My opinion is that images should be dealt with on their own terms.  Automation, at least when it comes to photography, is bound to eventually reduce quality.  (That’s not to say that I don’t use Adobe Lightroom’s ‘Sync RAW Settings’ feature extensively, as I consider optimizing a RAW image and even applying a Lightroom ‘preset’ to be very different than full-on retouching).

 However, I do have a few actions that I use everyday.  Three, in fact.  What are they for?  Organization.  My actions simply populate the layer stack with all the elements I need to retouch an image, whether it’s a simple global color adjustment, or a 12-image composite.  It’s color-coded, hierarchal, expandable, and best of all, consistent.

Organization goes hand-in-hand with non-destructive editing and is especially important when retouching with tons of layers (often more than 30!), or when working in multiple sessions as often happens when clients enter the scene.  I’ve often had to return to an image after several months and been very glad that layers were well-named and were right where I’d expect them to be, saving me time and my clients money.

Of course, this system wasn’t developed overnight, which means I’ve also had the experience of returning to images I worked on years ago and wading through a swamp of unnamed layers, complete with nested masks, and funky blending modes.  Sometimes I feel I’m better off starting from scratch.  Either way, it can be pretty frustrating when all you were trying to do was round up a few images for a stock request!

Posted 07 October 2008 † Matthew Turley § photography § retouching § tutorial ‡ Comments (3) °

SKI Magazine feature

This month’s issue of SKI Magazine (October ’08) features a 12-page article I shot last March in Revelstoke, BC, and written by Christopher Salomon. This article has just what a photographer likes to see: tons of huge photographs! Big thanks to Sarah LaVigne, the photo editor at SKI who was always a pleasure to work with.

Andria Huskinson graces the opening spread

Outtake of Andria cruising the south boundary

I also had a great time working with ski-athlete, Andria Huskinson, and my good friend and assistant, Ed Maginn.  We only had one day of good shooting weather, and Andria nailed it every time when we needed it most.  Not only is she a talented skier, but she understands what it takes to get the shot, and I’m looking forward to working more with her this season!

 

Ed Maginn 'hard at work' on the Asulkan Glacier

Ed Maginn 'hard at work' on the Asulkan Glacier

Ed had already been a tremendous help on several shoots, including a then-recent tour through central California for Travel Leisure + GOLF.  Ed is proof that being a good assistant has more to do with being good company and possessing a healthy dose of common sense than having a light-meter for a brain.

Afterwards, Ed and I managed to stay a few extra days and got some deep turns at Rogers Pass :)

Posted 07 October 2008 † Matthew Turley § photography § trip reports ‡ Comments (3) °

Take Advantage Of Your 27-hour Days

I’ve had some late nights recently.

Actually, I stay up late all the time, putting-off sleep in a form of procrastination that (ironically) allows me to do more.  That’s the general idea anyway…

I’m interested in the mood, drama, and color inherent in artificial light, especially when it plays out in ways that those who placed the lights didn’t likely anticipate.

While I’m very surprised at how well my 1DsMkIII renders scenes in low-light, these images have also allowed me to experiment with HDR, with which I’ve never had much success in the past.

HDR images have always seemed to have a plastic-like quality to them, much like a 3D CG-rendering.  Turns out all they need is a little coaxing after converting the HDR images back to 8-bit…

 


Posted 07 October 2008 † Matthew Turley § images § photography § thoughts ‡ Comments (1) °