Backpacking Gear #3 - Enlightened Equipment Revelation

My Quilt is Here!

Enlightened Equipment Revelation

My Enlightened Equipment Revelation 20 Degree Quilt arrived today. It's amazing how light the shipping box was. It's like I bought some air! I did try to weigh it on our bathroom scale but it wouldn't register. I weighed it on my little kitchen scale and it weighed as advertised - 1 pound 3 ounces.

It arrived stuffed into its storage bag. They supply both a storage bag, where the quilt is not compressed very much, along with a stuff sack more suitable for use in a backpack. The stuff sack does not compress the quilt to the maximum extent possible; I've seen videos of other people getting a compression sack to store it in for the pack.

It did loft up after I took it out of the storage bag. I sat it on my torso and quickly heated up under it. Note, however, that I'm in Phoenix and the air conditioning was set to 76 degrees Fahrenheit so it's not like it was freezing anyway. (Yeah, we're still using the air conditioning at only a week or so away from Halloween.)

I like the way the fabric feels. It's synthetic but it's very soft. I am hoping to try it out this coming weekend at Mt. Lemmon near Tucson, AZ.

The pictures below show what the quilt looks like in both of the bags with a beer bottle for size comparison. The text on the storage bag is washing instructions (like I'll ever wash it, ha ha).

Enlightened Equipment Revelation
in the stuff sack

Enlightened Equipment Revelation
in the storage sack

My Backpacking Gear

I think I'm done getting stuff. The party's over. Now it's time to hit some dirt. My last post went over my gear. The only thing I'm still up in the air over is my puffy jacket, either keeping the Outdoor Research Transcendent Down Hoody that I've got or to keep the Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer Down Jacket that I've ordered and is coming soon.

That said, here's a picture of my pack with everything in it and then with everything out. I weighed it the best I could on the bathroom scale at 18 pounds 13 ounces. That's actually with a little food in it, but not with the jacket in it. But still, I'm looking at about a 20 pound pack which is pretty good!

My Gregory Baltoro 65
Loaded

My Gregory Baltoro 65
Unloaded

In the picture above you'll see these items: 

• Gregory Baltoro 65 backpack with Paliston Caribiners
• Map of Mt. Lemmon 
• 1 full change of clothes in the red dry bag 
• Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2 3-Season 2-Person tent
• Enlightened Equipment Revelation 20 Degree quilt
• Various food items in the yellow dry bag
• Outdoor Research Transcendent Hoody
• REI Flash Insulated Sleeping Pad
• 750 pound capacity paracord and OLight charger in the blue dry bag
• Sawyer water filter in the mesh bag
• Snow Peak cooking pot containing my Toaks folding spork and BRS 3000T stove
• MSR fuel canister (peeking out from under the puffy jacket)
• Marmot Precip hard shell jacket
• Tyvek tent footprint
• Empty bags for trash, etc.
• Toiletries and first aid
• Black Diamond Trail Ergo Cork Trekking Poles
• Suunto compass
• OLight S1 Flashlight
• Leatherman Signal Multi-Tool, and finally, the 
• Therm-a-Rest Z-Seat Pad.

Some Links I've found useful

I'd like to provide some links to at least some of the sites or YouTubers that I've found useful while gathering these goodies. I've spent a lot of time looking at reviews from both review sites as well as from people that have bought and used the gear, and I appreciate the information they've provided so that I hopefully didn't buy a lot of stuff I don't need or which is of inferior quality. 

In no particular order, I like these websites or backpackers listed below. I've looked at a good number of other sites too but I find these sites have good prices, good reviews

• https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/ - Gear comparison
• https://www.rei.com/ - Gear reviews, supplier
• https://enlightenedequipment.com/ - supplier
• https://www.steepandcheap.com/ - discount supplier
• https://www.backcountry.com/ - supplier
• https://www.sierratradingpost.com/ - supplier, some discounts
• https://www.antigravitygear.com/ - supplier (tyvek)
• https://smile.amazon.com/ - I use smile.amazon and donate to the Nature Conservancy. Amazon does have good prices on some things but you have to look for them
• Darwin onthetrail - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC18exdGWh7piVWisrnDXiZg
• Lots of good tips and gear reviews. Darwin is from New Mexico has hiked the AT twice and parts of the CDT and AZT. He is planning to hike the PCT in 2018.
• Outdoor Adventures - https://www.youtube.com/user/FrozensAdventures
• Good tips and gear reviews. Has a great video series for beginners like me!
• Backcountry Edge - https://www.youtube.com/user/BackcountryEdge
• Good gear reviews and comparisons of a lot of equipment
• Homemade Wanderlust - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQhqmV26773qZhzqJz4VFcw
• Good tips and gear reviews. Dixie has done the AT and PCT.
• Hike Oregon - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClmtRlQX9GvG6vQohRcRoSg
• Good tips and gear reviews. Franziska lives in Oregon and besides her basic info, I like seeing pics of Oregon since it's where I'm from and where my kids and grandkids (a lot of them) live.
• Keith Foskett - https://www.youtube.com/user/rampantapple
• Keith is English (don't call him British) and goes by his trail name Fozzie. I've read a couple of his books - his PCT and AT books are great. I've got another downloaded and ready to go. 

More about Backpacking Gear

Off the Photography topic...

Like my last post, this isn't directly related to photography but my plan is that it will become what enables me to get better shots: backpacking. I am spending time researching and acquiring some backpacking gear and thought I'd share more about it.

You can view my gear list at: https://lighterpack.com/r/a2e9f9

The Big 3

Backpack

My Gregory Baltoro 65 and
Black Diamond Trail Ergo Trekking Poles

As I mentioned in my last post I've selected the Gregory Baltoro 65 backpack. It is a large capacity (not the largest), and probably larger than required for a 2 night trip which I'm likely to take (Friday and Saturday nights on a weekend). But, I should be able to pack in camera gear.

It's also heavy compared to the pack I see experienced backpackers gravitating to, the ZPacks Arc Blast or one of the other ZPacks backpacks. I am REALLY tempted to switch to one of those. The Arc Blast weighs 21 ounces - 1 pound 5 ounces - compared to the 5 pounds 8 ounces of the Baltoro 65, a savings of 64 ounces (4 pounds)!

As I order equipment and fill up my bag, I am still wishing it had an additional web pouch on the back like the Osprey packs, as well as the trekking pole attachments. ZPacks offers some trekking pole attachments which I may pick up down the road once I actually get out of my house and onto some dirt with the pack.

The other thing that ZPacks offers that I may try to integrate is large hip strap pockets. The pockets on the Baltoro are not very spacious. I put my new Suunto compass in one of the pockets and it about fills it up.

I also don't know where to put a map. None of the pockets seem logical to me for storing a map. The lid pockets aren't really big enough unless you fold the map (which is okay but seems cumbersome). I've kind of decided to use the large back pocket for the rain gear sorts of stuff (that's where the included back rain cover is) so it doesn't seem logical for also storing a map in.

Shelter

My Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2

I've also already mentioned my shelter selection, the Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2 3 season 2 person tent which weighs 1 pound 15 ounces.

I've received my copy, from SteepAndCheap.com, where I got it for a really good price. When you're looking for backpacking gear I recommend checking that site out. They're apparently a discount / closeout site for Backcountry.com and you can find really good deals there similar to the REI Garage.

I made a Tyvek footprint and left some ground covering in the vestibule which I can fold under the tent's bathtub in the event of rain. I got a great price and quick service on the Tyvek from AntiGravityGear.com and recommend them too.

The Fly Creek does not come with enough tent stakes for all of the fly outs and other anchoring points. I'm still mulling over whether I want to get additional stakes and if so, what type.

Sleeping System

REI Co-op
Flash Insulated
Air Sleeping Pad

For my sleeping system, also mentioned previously, I've opted for an Enlightened Equipment Revelation 20 Degree quilt with the 850 DownTek fill, regular length / wide, Navy on the outside and Red on the inside, weighing 1 pound and 1 ounce. Also as I mentioned before, I bought a custom made version (as compared to off the shelf). I ordered mine on October 9, 2017 and it will be delivered tomorrow, October 22, 2017. That's a 2 week turn around and I'm not complaining. I am getting exactly the quilt I ordered! I'll try to post a picture of it once I have it in my normal sized hands.

Moon Lence Pillow

Along with the quilt, I decided on the REI Flash Insulated pad in the wide width like the image on the right, weighing 1 pound 3 ounces.

To finish off my sleeping system I also added a Moon Lence Ultralight Inflatable Travel/Camping Pillow from Amazon, weighing in at 2.8 ounces. I was turned on to this by Darwin On The Trail. He's given me a lot of good tips.

I think I'm set for getting some good sleep if I ever get out on a trail. But even if I don't backpack I know I can still use this gear when I stay in the back of my Explorer!

Kitchen / Cooking System

You can't go out overnight without eating. Or at least I can't. But, I don't want to eat gourmet; I want to eat anti-gourmet or at least light weight. Here's what I've boiled things down to (poor pun intended)...

BRS 3000T Stove

I switched from my Primus stove to the BRS 3000T Ultralight Mini Camping Stove, which weighs in at a whopping 25 grams!
I can't believe how small and light this stove is compared to my old (1 year old) Primus!

It is a canister stove so I'll still need to carry a canister or two but such is life - at least until I switch to an alcohol system or to just eating cold food.

Snow Peak Mini Solo
Titanium Cookset

I am sticking with my Snow Peak titanium pots for the time being, mainly because I still have room in my pack and they're not terrible anyway, which tip the scales at 5.5 ounces. Snow Peak apparently no longer makes the model I have with a 28 fluid ounce pot and 10 fluid ounce cup, but I found it at OMCGear.com if you're interested (probably not because they want $65.95 for it).

This pot is supposed to be able to carry the small canisters in it but I don't have any that fit. Nor do I have a cozy to aid in fuel optimization - I plan to work on that once I start getting out.

Toaks Titanium Folding Spork

I'm not convinced I want to get down to a single pot like other, experienced backpackers do. I think I want to continue to be able to eat my oatmeal from a pot while having some coffee at the same time. But we'll see...

And finally, I upgraded my spork to a TOAKS Titanium Folding Spork that weighs an almost invisible 0.6 ounces. My old Snow Peak spork wouldn't fit inside my cooking pot but this one does.

FYI, I was turned on to this by Jason from Outdoor Adventures. Thanks! He's got a lot of good information on beginning backpacking. He's the one that has me thinking about going to a single pot but he still carries a collapsible cup too, so, as I stated, I'm not jumping at that change yet.

Light My Fire Firesteel 2.0

To start my stove I have a butane lighter as a backup for my cool little Light My Fire Swedish FireSteel 2.0. I've been using this for a bit and just love it! I'm not worried about wet matches, a lighter that won't light, or a lighter that leaks. This thing is cool!

I also added a couple of LOKSAK OPSAK 12" x 20" bags to help with the anti-bear and other critter fight. I haven't really used them so don't have much to say about them.

Clothing

I think I'm set for clothing although I'm still working on a jacket. I've talked about my clothing before in posts from a year ago but thought I'd add some new items here...

Jacket 

Mountain Hardwear
Ghost Whisperer

I bought a Outdoor Research Transcendent Hoody but it's an athletic fit and is a bit snug around my less than svelte stomach; it's hooded with an untreated 650 fill goose down and weighs 15.4 ounces. I've ordered a Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer to try it out; it's also hooded and is Q.Shield treated 800 fill down jacket that weighs less than 8 ounces. If one of those works out I'll send the other one back. If neither work out then I'll have to guess which one I'll be able to fit into the soonest. I think I like the OR jacket better due to the additional pockets and adjustments but if it doesn't fit as well then I'm facing a conundrum.

Shirts

Trailside Supply Co. Long Sleeve Shirt

I had been wearing Wrangler shirts that I like a lot. They're a synthetic / cotton blend, long sleeve, button down shirt that I think look good. However, I wanted full synthetic but wasn't enthused about spending the money for shirts from Columbia or other manufacturers. 

I stumbled on this Trailside Supply Co. Men's Standard Quick-Dry Nylon Breathable Convertible Long Sleeve Fishing Shirt on Amazon and really like it. I see the price has gone up since I got mine for $US 22.71 but they're still cheaper than Columbia or others.

Other

As mentioned before, I'm using these items: 

• Black Diamond Trail Ergo Cork Trekking Poles
• Vasque hiking boots
• Darn tough socks with Fox River sock liners
• Ex Officio under garments or unmentionables
• Terramar long johns (top and bottom)
• Columbia Silver Ridge Convertible britches

Other Goodies

Besides the major systems mentioned above, here are some of the other goodies I've added.

Navigation

Suunto M-3 Compass

I have considered a GPS but somewhere I read that if you think you need a GPS then you'll also want a backup because a GPS runs on batteries. And if you need a backup, then why carry the GPS in the first place - just get, and learn to use, a map and a compass.

I used maps a lot in the Navy (where we called them "charts") and am comfortable with them, if a bit out of practice. So I did a bit of research and decided to get a Suunto M-3 Compass. I don't need the "global" compass, or if/when I do, I'll get it. Otherwise, this compass gets high marks for accuracy and durability.

As for maps, at the Ranger station on Mt. Lemmon I have picked up a nice map of the are by Green Trails Maps which I plan to use to hone my map navigation skills once I start camping there..

Lighting

Olight S1 Baton Flashlight

I have tried to use a headlamp but I just don't like them. I don't like the strap but more importantly I don't like the way they reflect in my glasses, and I have to wear glasses in order to see. Thanks to Darwin On The Trail, I've switched to the small Olight S1 Baton flashlight that clips to a ball cap and weighs 1 ounce.

This flashlight has 5 modes, a magnetic base to mount it to anything with some iron in it. The only thing I wish it had was a red lens.

And even though the size is small, it can put out 500 lumens or more! I say "or more" because some literature I've read claims it can put out 600 lumens.

At the time I got mine from Amazon I also included a 2-pack of the higher output and rechargeable 14500 batteries which weight 22.7 grams each. I was hoping I could recharge them with my charger but in the end I decided to also get their portable magnetic USB charger that weighs 20.5 grams.

The total cost for this system is $US 61.80, not including tax and shipping, but it is really powerful, well built, and rechargeable. I don't think I'll need another flashlight. I already know I like the flashlight but I haven't actually worn it clipped to a ball cap yet.

Paracord / Bear Hanging

GOLBERG 750lb Paracord

If/when you're in bear country you're supposed to hang your food bag, and any other items that have bear attracting odors, from a tree. ZPacks offers a kit for this but I chose to make my own. I decided to get some paracord that could be used for other purposes such as helping get someone up a hill if they fell down (like the scene in the movie "A Walk in the Woods" near the end).

I selected 50 feet of a 750 pound capacity orange paracord from Golberg which weighs an incredible 4 ounces. I had picked some paracord up from WalMart but it wasn't rated as strong, weighed more, and was bulkier. I like the Golberg paracord much better.

I also needed a caribiner for the bear hang. Again I had some cheap WalMart caribiners but found out that they can twist in the wind making it impossible to retrieve your food if you've hung it using the Pacific Crest Trail method.

Paliston CE 25kN Locking Caribiner

I decided to get a caribiner that 1) was locking so that the issue with the twisting didn't happen; 2) the locking nut was knurled to grip easier if it gets wet; 3) had the strength capacity to work to help haul someone up a hill. That meant I needed a locking caribiner rated for climbing.

I found a great price for a pack of 3 Paliston CE 25kN(5600lbs) Ultra-Light Locking Climbing Carabiner that are wonderful. Each caribiner is made of aluminum, is about 3.9 inches by 2.4 inches, are rated for 5,600 pounds (that should hold me, even with some bouncing), and weighs just under 2 ounces. I originally thought I'd end up with only 1 on my pack but these are so light and sturdy that I'm not going to bother with any of the cheaper caribiners and will just use all 3 of these.

I also have a small mesh bag like the one in Jason's video and use some dry bags to store my food and other items.

Therm-a-Rest Z-Seat Pad

I read a while ago that every outdoorsperson has to have at least one piece of North Face gear and I think the same is true for backpackers and Therm-a-Rest. Here's my obligatory piece, the silver and yellow sitting pad.

I've only tried it out on my bedroom floor so far so I can't say how much it really adds to the sitting experience.

I can say that I don't think I'd like to have only this material for sleeping on. However, since I hope to camp on the Arizona desert floor at some time, I may get one of these to stick under the REI Flash pad mentioned above in order to keep thorns out of the inflatable pad.

Leatherman Signal Multi-Tool

Leatherman Signal

I got the Leatherman Signal a couple of months ago, weighing 7.5 ounces, and really like the quality of this tool. I thought it made sense for backpacking. However, since getting it, I wish I'd opted for a Wave instead.

The main reason is that on my Victorinox Super Tinker, which I've had for probably 20 years and weighs only 3 ounces, the main things I use are the scissors and the small knife blade, in that order. I also use the toothpick a lot.

The Leatherman Signal doesn't have scissors but the Wave does. This means that, with the Signal, if I want to have some scissors with me I need to also carry my Victorinox and if I have to carry it then why do I need to carry the Leatherman? Another conundrum. I can't send the Signal back now, either. And I don't feel like shelling out another $100 or so for the Wave. Hmmm...

Woohoo! New Gear!

A Nikon D850?

Okay, it's not a Nikon  D850 (at least not yet), but I'm getting some new gear to help motivate me to get out and take some photographs. At least that's the plan.

I've really lost the motivation to shoot this year. I shot a few photographs at Saguaro National Park on January 1, 2017 but haven't done anything since. Well, that's not quite true. I took a trip with my son in July to northern Arizona where I shot some snaps with my iPhone. But nothing to speak of with a DSLR since New Years Day. And that's including my first visit to Antelope Canyon!

So what is this new magically inspiring gear? I'm getting into backpacking. It's a whole new world and one that I hope will get me back out in the wilderness with my camera.

I know the rest of this blog isn't about cameras but I hope you find this somewhat interesting; my plan is to have backpacking equipment that will allow me to take photography gear to places I wouldn't normally get to. Places that are more than 20 steps away from a parking lot. And if it inspires me to just get back outdoors, that alone should also lead to some more photographs. Even if they're just of me and my trekking poles!

Backpacking Research

My Gregory Baltoro 65 and Black
Diamond Trail Ergo Cork Trekking Poles

I always enjoy researching the technical aspects of something once I get attracted to it. That includes woodworking, baseball, photography, and now backpacking. The interwebs certainly provide a lot of information and some of it is good and useful! I've found a lot of sites that I'm using to get an understanding of the backpacking gear as well as comparisons between manufacturers and models.

In backpacking they talk about the different major "systems" of your equipment: backpack, sleeping system, and shelter (I used to call it a tent) are the "big 3" systems. I have made my purchases of the big 3 along with a few of the smaller items.

For a backpack I selected the Gregory Baltoro 65. It seems like a good size, perhaps a bit overkill for weekend hikes, but I will be packing my full frame Nikon D610, maybe 4 or 5 lenses (I haven't figured out how to take the AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR lens yet). And, I also need to strap on a tripod! I won't have to carry film, however.

I was torn between this pack and the Osprey Atmos AG 65 but ended up going with the Gregory because of its "A3" suspension. Either of those packs are top of the line, although they aren't what is referred to as "ultra light" gear. I got the medium (after being properly fitted by the REI folks in Chandler, Arizona) which tips the scale at 5 pounds and 1 ounce. You quickly learn how important weight is when you start researching backpacking gear.

Sleeping on it

Enlightened Equipment
Revelation Quilt

I found a website that I like as a great starting place for comparing gear, called OutdoorGearlab.com. When researching a sleeping system - which means some sort of sleeping bag and an air mattress until you start using bigger terms for common articles - I decided to get a product from a company in Minnesota called Enlightened Equipment.

At Enlightened Equipment, you get to decide what options you want such as color, temperature rating, fill and weight, and then you order the item they make it for you and send it to you so it can take some weeks before you get it. I chose what is called a "quilt", their "Revelation" model and it's on order. It's a real custom quilt!

I ordered a regular length, extra width, 20 degree with 850 down quilt. I ordered Navy on the outside with red on the inside. It should weigh about 1 pound and 4 ounces. I can't wait to get it although I'm contemplating changing it to a 10 degree bag which they allow you to do if they haven't got it completed by the time you call them. How cool is that? I wish I could get a Nikon D850 with 2 XQD cards! Or with zero video capabilities!

With this type of sleeping "bag" you really need a decent air mattress. I've decided on the regular / wide REI Co-op Flash Insulated Air Sleeping Pad. It has an R factor (insulation property) of 3.7 which is pretty good, especially for the price. It weighs 1 pound and 3 ounces. Compare that to my other REI pad that I use in my Explorer - it weighs 6 pounds and 3 ounces! Almost 6 times as much!

Gimme some Shelter

Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2 

And for my shelter, I also was swayed a lot by the Outdoor Gearlabs sight. I got an inkling about this tent from that site and then found a lot of positive reviews from others that have the tent so I've got it on order: a Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2. This is what they call a 3 season tent, meaning it's not designe to handle heavy winter camping in the snow. It's also called a 2-person tent meaning it should sleep 2 people. I've seen videos where it takes a whopping 2 or 3 minutes to set the tent up! It bursts the scales at 1 pound and 15 ounces! I'm adding some titanium stakes to cut that down a bit...

I'm okay with this tent but I'm questioning it on the following two points and may end up going a different route...

1. My wife has decided that she wants to get involved and I've read a number of reviews that say it's cramped in this tent with 2 people.

2. I've found out about a tent I really kind of want but I'm having a hard time justifying the price right now. It's the Zpacks™ Duplex Ultralight Two Person Tent. This tent just seems amazing and it should for $600! It's made out of a tough material called "Dyneema Composite Fabric" (also known as "Cuben" fiber). The entire tent weighs in at 1 pound and 5 ounces! Part of the weight saving is due to it using trekking poles for supports instead of separate tent poles. Maybe someday I'll get it...

The Big 3

My total weight for the Big 3 is (or will be when I get it all) is 5 lb 1 oz for the pack, 1 lb 4 oz for the quilt, 1 lb 3 oz for the pad, and 1 lb 15 oz for the tent, for a total of 9 lb and 7 oz! Even I should be able to handle that! And, it helps make up for the camera gear weight!

Chiricahua Camping Trip - Post Mortem

We Went, We Saw, We Left

Chiricahua National Monument
NPS Photo

Well, we did make it to the Chiricahua National Monument a couple of weeks ago. I got a site at the Bonita Canyon Campground for 2 nights. We got there late Friday night and I put up our brand new tent in the dark, using the Exploder's headlights.

It was still toasty when I was done at about 10PM. It must have still been about 90 degrees Fahrenheit  warm. It took us forever to fall asleep. It didn't get cool (and by that I mean maybe 70 degrees or so) until about 4 AM. When we climbed out of the tent around 6 AM or so we did not need a jacket, which was what we were hoping for.

By 8 AM it was already too warm to enjoy sitting at the camp site so we piled in the trusty Exploder and drove up to Massai Point. We drove to the other 2 parking areas up there before heading to the visitor center. I got my National Park Passport stamped, signed the registry, and we bought some souvenirs. We then visited Faraway Ranch before heading out of the park.

My wife was interested in the Willcox Playa because I have talked about it. So, we took the long drive completely around the southern end of the playa, through Sunizona and  Pearce / Sunsites after turning south onto Highway AZ 181 from the park entrance and then to Highway US 191.

At the crossing over the railroad track, about 4 miles south of Interstate 10, we decided to get off of the pavement and followed the road alongside the railroad tracks a bit. We hit one wash where the Exploder got pretty sideways; wifey thought she was going to be hitting the dirt after we rolled over. We made it past, and we made through there again on the way back. That turned out to be the most exciting part of the visit.

We took Interstate 10 back to Willcox, got a burger at the MacDonald's to eat at the town park, then headed back to the campsite, arriving there in the early evening.

We tried to stay through the night but after many debates, at about 9:30 PM we decided to pack it up. Again, in the dark, I broke the tent down and loaded the Exploder. We were out of there by about 10 PM. We got home about 2:00 PM.

I hadn't got a camera out of the bag the entire trip. I didn't even take a cell phone picture. I just didn't feel it. I didn't have the motivation to position myself anywhere for a sunrise or sunset picture. I didn't end my photography funk. I am glad I went; I always like the Chiricahuas. But, I wish I'd found inspiration to get my Nikon D610 out of it's bag!

An Uphill Battle. Again.

Stairway leading to the Grand Canyon Lodge
North Rim, Grand Canyon National Park

Some Familiar Things Aren't

Here it is in July, 2017 and I have been ignoring my photography since January, 2017. It's not that the photography did anything bad to me, I have just been involved in software development and that has taken precedence over my photography. I've been spending my evenings and weekends studying new software development technologies.

I've missed getting out with my camera, though, and it's never far out of mind. I've got a weekend trip planned to the Chiricahua National Monument that I'm using to kick off my new plan.

Last night I decided I'd charge all of the batteries for my photography gear. Wow. Two batteries each for two cameras. Update and charge the Tether Tools Case Air. Charge the tablet, the Kindle, the portable USB power supply, the RavPower File Hub. I'd forgotten all of those things (could be due to my age).

As I was charging things I did a bit of cleaning. Not that anything was that bad; I'd cleaned things after my last outing to the Saguaro National Park in January. As I was handling my cameras, I couldn't help but wonder about how much I'd remember once I was out trying to shoot a picture. Sure, all the buttons looked familiar and the Nikon D610 still feels good in my paws, but could I still take a picture?

Hit the Trail More Often

Start of Transept Trail
North Rim, Grand Canyon National Park

Until I lose my desire for studying software development, I'm going to at least limit it to the weeknights and then I'll get out on the weekends to return to my photography excursions. I'm hoping that this plan will provide a balance that I think I've been missing. I really enjoy getting out of the house but my computer has enticed me to stay inside.

I have to admit, however, that I also feel like I may be burned out on shooting desert landscapes in Arizona. I am going to try to figure out how to overcome that. There is a lot that is interesting about Arizona, that you don't see anywhere else, so it shouldn't be hard to keep interested. I think that what I need is a different perspective.

Striving for a Fresh Start

I have continued to watch photography related videos, as well as reviewing my photographs. One thing that I've noticed is that it takes more and more to "wow" me with a photograph. They all kind of blur together for the most part. I really want to create images that are striking, different. But what does that mean and how can I accomplish that?

One thing I know is that I really want to be more minimalist. I want to focus on one or two things in the image and not present a big confusing mess. Even the images of Bryce Canyon seem cluttered. Tony and Chelsea Northrup recently had an image on one of their photo review YouTube videos with a shot of the ocean, some "God Rays" where one of the rays was pointed at a small and solitary sailing boat. I really liked the simplicity. I want to try to shoot more like that, or at least that sort of clear vision. Perhaps that is due to also enjoying the conciseness of the new C# programming language constructs!

For starters, though, I am at least going to just try to get back out of doors. This picture below is of one of my favorite memories from the last few years of photography. It's nothing special but I just loved sitting in that meadow along Arizona State Route 67 between Jacob Lake and the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Me, wilderness, warm sun, my camera. I can't wait to get back!

Me and my Nikon
Near Forest Service Road 611 and SR 67
October 7, 2015

Updates to my FREE Intro to Lightroom and Photoshop e-book

Those who can't...

Randall Morter's Introduction to
Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop

For some reason I can't figure out or shake, I have not taken a photograph since January 1st of this year, 2017. I keep watching my YouTubes or other videos trying to get motivated but to no avail.

What I have been doing, though, is working on a brief text to use to teach an introductory class on Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop at my workplace. My employer has arranged for all of its employees to have the full suite of Adobe software including the Photography Plan applications.

I have offered to teach an introductory class that will briefly cover Lightroom, Photoshop, Camera Raw, and Bridge. I don't plan to go into great detail regarding post processing, and I will only barely touch on Bridge since I don't really use it.

I decided to write down some information in my own text for this class. It's still a work in progress; I have barely touched on Photoshop yet. But if you're interested it's available for free on my Dropbox site at:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1r2msmmqcef4707/RandallMorterMVCNotes.pdf?dl=0

If you do look at it, I'd like to hear your thoughts. You can post comments below. Thanks for looking!

No more DJI Phantom 3 Advanced

My Failed Drone Experience

My DJI Phantom 3 Advanced

After a little over a year my drone experience has come to an end. I got the DJI Phantom 3 Advanced in January, 2016. Yesterday, March 17, 2017, after about a year of not using it, I sold it. It just wasn't for me.

I will say up front that I lost about $800 on the experiment but at the same time I'm glad I got something out of it when I sold it. I bought it shortly after DJI lowered their prices, which, as it turned out, was due to the imminent release of the DJI Phantom 4. The value of used Phantom 3's dropped considerably.

I really wanted to like it but I just didn't.

I didn't enjoy the flying aspect much at all. I didn't fly it much so I never got comfortable with it. I had a hard time seeing it very far away and during one flight I lost sight of it completely. I worried about crashing it and immediately being out the cost of the unit. I didn't get any kind of kick out of just flying it even when it wasn't very far away.

Gillespie Dam and Bridge, Arizona

I had bought it to use it for still photography and to try to take pictures that I couldn't get from standing on the ground. I really wanted to use it on some of the cliffs in Arizona to try to get unique perspectives. I was able to get some shots such as the one at right but I didn't like the image quality (IQ) at all.

Every shot I took had so much noise that I didn't even want to look at them. The camera uses a 12.4MP 1/2.3" sensor which is close to a 6x crop compared to a full frame sensor. I don't know if the photosite size was the issue or if it was software that was the problem but the IQ was just not acceptable to me for anything other than small sized images suitable for Facebook or the like. And that's not what floats my boat (or drone).

I shot it RAW (DNG) and tried processing with different software (Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, and NIK noise reduction). I shot in bright light conditions (I live in Arizona where we rarely get overcast days). I tried blending multiple exposures to average out the noise. Even if that had worked it was so much effort that I really wasn't interested in doing it. The still just weren't of any use to me and that's the only thing I wanted the drone for.

I thought the video looked okay, within my videographer limits. But I wasn't interested in shooting video. I did that years ago for a company and I don't want to do it again. I really like still photography because I can make prints that hang on a wall and which don't require a machine to be viewed. I got into photography for stills, not to make movies. I don't think I have even used the video on my Nikon D610 (I shot a short video with the D3200).

I watch Tony Northrup quite a bit on YouTube and saw a video of his comparing some DJI drones and the images. All of the images he showed had more noise in them than I would want and I was somewhat surprised that he didn't complain about the noise level since he does remark on it in some of his DSLR reviews or comparisons. The video just re-affirmed that I don't think that drones, of this level anyway, are useful for still photography.

I guess I don't have to worry about it now. I am conflicted about getting rid of things I purchase but this was a no brainer for me. I just wasn't going to use it for still photography. I didn't want to do video and I don't enjoy it from the pure flying aspect. It really just wasn't going to be used. After the initial month or so of practicing with it I flew it 2 times in a year and one of those was basically to demo it to the person I sold it to. That person is a video person - an independent movie producer - and he has an immediate use for it. Have fun!

Which came first, Pre-Sharpen or Noise Reduction?

What is the best initial Nik workflow order?

I go back and forth when working with the Google Nik plugins and my workflow in Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom. Should I use the pre-sharpener first, as the Google Nik Workflow suggests, or should I use DFine noise reduction first, as others and myself believe to make more sense? Does it make any difference?

It seems to me that if there is noise present in an image and you use the pre-sharpener first, you'll be sharpening the noise, which seems like it would then be more difficult to apply the noise reduction. It seems like the blurring would have to be greater.

Nik's workflow doesn't really offer any reasoning for applying the pre-sharpener first, but it makes sense to me that it would be easier to detect where to sharpen before any noise reduction basically blurred the image to a small extent.

I decided to try both approaches to see if I could find any differences.

Experimenting

I used one of my photos from Bryce Canyon National Park that has some shadows that likely need a touch of noise reduction. The shot was taken at sunset where most of the hoo doo area was in shadow but, as you can see, the distance is still in sunlight. I really wanted to sharpen this image to add some more detail.

I opened this image in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) to import it in to Photoshop as a smart object. I did not apply any noise reduction or sharpening in ACR. By opening it as a smart object I was able to use the same image and to modify the Nik processing.

You should be able to click on these images to get the full size version. Note that they are JPEGs so there is additional processing beyond what I could see in Photoshop.

Bryce Canyon NP - Noise Reduction followed by Pre-Sharpener

Bryce Canyon NP - Pre-Sharpener followed by Noise Reduction

In the first image I applied noise reduction first and then the pre-sharpening. In the second image I applied the pre-sharpener first, followed by the noise reduction. I didn't do any other processing - I wanted to see what the difference is between the two approaches, if any. I used the Nik DFine noise reduction at it's default settings in both cases.

For the pre-sharpener, I set the Sharpen Areas -  Sharpen Lines balance towards Sharpen Lines, with the slider basically above the "N" in the word "Normal" below the slider. Note that when you use the Nik plugins without closing Photoshop in between uses, they open with the previous settings applied. When I switched the order (by deleting the filters in Photoshop), the pre-sharpener opened up with exactly the same setting applied. Everything else was set to the default settings.

Conclusion

If you download both of these images and open each one in a preview panel (I don't know how to do this on a Mac), you can set both preview panels the same by clicking Windows Key + [Left / Right] Arrow Key to get them side by side on your monitor. Then click the Actual Size button on both windows to set the images to 100% and to display the same area of the image.

In my opinion, there is not a lot of difference. It looks to me like there is pretty much identical sharpness in the details, which is good. The little difference that I see is that there are some red pixels creating a color noise artifact in the shadows that appear more defined and sharper in the version where pre-sharpening was applied first. In other words, from this experiment on this image, it appears as though it is (barely) better to do the noise reduction first.

The Adobe Photoshop CC Book by Scott Kelby - Review

Short Review: The Adobe Photoshop CC Book

I have watched a lot of Scott Kelby's YouTube videos, including his weekly show called "The Grid". I like his show and his guests. I have picked up a number of good tips from him such as the one that led me to purchase the Tether Tools Case Air. He's shown me a number of good ideas for using Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. When he came out with this new Photoshop CC book I decided to try it. I was hoping to get even more cool tips.

I got this in January, 2017, from Amazon. It's a decent sized book, clocking in at 360 pages. Almost every page is split into two - images and screenshots on the inside of the page and text on the outside of the page. The text illustrates a concept and the images or screenshots show the steps or results of the steps.

Pros (or is it "prose"?)

The book covers probably everything you'd need to know to edit photographs using Adobe Photoshop. He concentrates on using Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) for the basic edits, and, in my opinion, rightfully so. I don't remember if he mentions it, but if you shoot RAW, you'll probably be working with greater bit depth which generally works better with the edits. The more you can do in ACR the better.

I liked his writing style and the book format. He doesn't waste a lot of space or writing. He provides a short explanation of a problem and how it can be addressed then explains the steps to accomplish the task. Not much nonsense. It makes for a book that can be a useful reference - if you need a refresher on how to do something you can turn to that section and you'll quickly get the instructions for completing the edit.

Most of the individual edits take only 1 or 2 pages including the images. There are some that span a few more pages.

He provides some quick tips at the end of each chapter that are usually a few sentences at most. These can include keyboard shortcuts.

The book is printed on nice, glossy paper. I think I only saw one or two spelling errors.

Cons

I only have one personal minor complaint about the book, and one comment.

My complaint may not apply to everyone and I also don't know that much can be done about it without making the book more expensive. I had problems seeing some of the details in some of the images with my old eyes. I don't think I would have had the same problem some years ago. If the images were larger, however, it could double the size of the book and that would make it even more expensive. The only suggestion I can offer is that maybe it'd be cool if all of the images were available online (he does have a companion website for the book but I haven't visited it - perhaps the images are already there).

My comment is also self-centered... I did read the book cover to cover, although I skimmed over the sections pertaining to portraits since I don't shoot them. I found that I already knew most of the material. I picked up a few things that were new but not many. I've been using Photoshop for a couple of years now and have watched a lot of videos plus I have the Martin Evening Photoshop CC book (the 2013 edition) so I've learned a lot about processing images. I was just hoping that I'd pick up even more "insider" tips.

The Bottom Line

I like this book a lot. There's a lot in it, Scott's writing style is easy to understand and follow. It doesn't cover every filter or every menu item, just the ones you're likely to use when editing a photograph. Note that it is listed as NOT targeting beginners so there are some steps he doesn't cover such as a lot of the preferences, how to use Adobe Bridge, etc.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants a thorough guide to Adobe Photoshop CC for editing photographs.

Manfrotto 055XCCSB Short Center Column - WOOHOO - Update, 2/26/2017

Manfrotto 055XCCSB Short Center Column

Manfrotto 055XCCSB - Yippee!

I have been looking for the short center column for my tripod for a couple of years but they haven't been available. I decided that I'd try getting the full length version and cut it down to the size I want, and when I went online to order one I found the short column! Oh goodie!

I like my Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod a lot. I've had it a few years now and it looks and operates about the same as the day I got it. But for some time I've been wishing it didn't have that center column that also swings out 90 degrees. I've used that feature a few times but for the most part I dislike having to swing it out when trying to get my camera low to the ground. I've been considering a Platypod for that reason.

I found the official Manfrotto 055XCCSB available at manfrottospares.com for $59.99 (along with every other part for the 055XPROB tripod). That price includes free shipping, which is pretty cool considering that the part is coming from the United Kingdom!

Now I just may have to get another ball head...

Update - 2/26/2017

I received this item earlier this week, after about a 2 week delivery time. Not bad considering Manrotto said it could take 3 weeks due to clearing customs.

I switched my ball head onto this short column and mounted it on the legs without any issue. You do have to remove the little rubber cap on the bottom and the replace it when it's installed in the legs. The fit is perfect.

My only wish is that it was even shorter. I may cut it off more after I actually get outdoors and try it out. It still sticks down enough so that when the legs are in their flattest position, the center column hits the ground. But, if desired, you can pull the rubber cap back off (I may just leave it off) and swing it to the 90 degree position. That also gets the camera even lower since the ball head is then laying horizontally.

I think this will work to get my camera lower. My other choice is one of the Platypods but then I'd have a second thing to carry and I'd almost certainly need another ball head.

Adobe's "My Portfolio"

Basic Training

Adobe Portfolio Website

Okay, I haven't been out shooting since New Year's Day, but that's a different story. Instead, I've been working on some post processing practicing, including buying Scott Kelby's Photoshop CC 2017 book. I'm about 1/3 of the way through it and may write a bit of a review later.

Besides his book, I have watched a lot of his "The Grid" videos (http://kelbytv.com/thegrid/) and get quite a bit of information from his show. On his recent episode about "Is Your Presentation Killing Your Photography - Episode 269", he mentioned the Adobe Portfolio hosting as a great option for photographers.

I thought I'd check it out this weekend...

I like it

Okay, I gave it away. I'm not planning on writing a long bit on this host, at this point anyway. I just started using it this afternoon and after about 6 hours it looks promising. So much so that I may just use it instead of my SmugMug site.

Before getting much farther, check out my new site at: https://randallmorter.myportfolio.com.

I have a few of points to make...

Free for Adobe Photographer CC Subscribers

This was the thing that Scott Kelby mentioned which caught my attention. If you're paying the $10 per month (and he has a discount available, by the way), you get a free hosting account! 

Simple Layouts

There aren't a boatload of layouts available but there's probably enough because you can customize them quite a bit. I'm using the "Marta" layout. You can see my site looks different than their examples.

There are some customizations I wish were available but aren't. But I seem to have gotten around them okay so far.

Notable Benefits

Here are a few things that I immediately like:

• It's free for me and other Adobe Photo CC subscribers!
• It's got a "responsive" design - it scales nicely for my iPhone. There are previews on the editor to let you see how it will look on smaller monitors.
• It's freeish!
• There aren't a lot of options and the ones that are there are pretty intuitive, at least if you've used any other WYSIWYG editor (I've used SmugMug and jAlbum).
• You can order your images manually.
• It beats writing your own web site!
• It doesn't cost me any more because it's freeish!

Notable Limitations

Here are a few of the limitations:

• No shopping cart. It won't work for selling your photography directly.
• No way to put any of your own scripts in the site - you can't embed 3rd party shopping carts.
• I wish there was a way to limit vertical orientation photographs so that they fit on the viewer's screen. You can kind of get around it with a lightbox but I wish that extra level of button clicking wasn't necessary.
• You can't enter text on a "gallery".
• The site doesn't use any of your photo's EXIF data.

What took me so long?

I wasn't aware of it, but I'll bet there was information about it in one of the Adobe newsletters that I get but never look at.

As for the time required to set it up, I found out you can kind of automate things almost like the SmugMug plugin for Lightroom. You have to set up and enable syncing to Lightroom mobile. Once you do that you can create a collection in Lightroom that is "syncable", add images to it, and they're automatically uploaded to an Adobe Lightroom site. From there you can import them into your portfolio after you create a "project".

I'll post more about this after I've used it a bit more...

Following the NIK Post Processing Workflow

Saguaro National Park

Saguaro National Park Sunrise

I was able to get out to Saguaro National Park last weekend, which I've already posted about to some extent (actually, that post was more about the Tether Tools Case Air). I only got about 20 captures, and processed 5 of them that I've uploaded to my SmugMug site.

I have been working on a free online document where I put my post-processing notes, and as I work on things I update the document. When processing the Saguaro National Park photographs, I decided to once again try the Nik collection of Adobe plugins (now free from Google). I had kind of stopped using them for a while and have mainly been doing post in Lightroom.

My Modified Nik Collection Workflow

In my post-processing notes, I have a Workflow section in which I list a few different post-processing workflows including the Nik Collection Workflow from their online documentation. I basically copied it but I swap a couple of their steps (I tend to do the noise reduction before the pre-sharpener).

I decided to use the Nik plugins on the Saguaro National Park shots just to see how they compared to my Lightroom processing (note: you can use the plugins in Lightroom too). I have to say I was pretty pleased with the results!

In addition to the Nik workflow, I added the Elia Locardi High Pass Sharpening technique that I also outline in my document. While doing so, I took the time to learn and document how to create a Photoshop Action for creating a new High Pass Sharpening layer. I really like how this sharpening works.

I also added a layer for my watermark but that's not too difficult. I was hoping to create an action for that too but I don't see how. You apparently can't import an image using the file system directly into a layer.

The Workflow in Action

Saguaro National Park Sunrise - SOOC

I used Lightroom to browse the RAW files after importing them. I still don't find that I use Adobe Bridge for much; I've only used Bridge when I want to open multiple RAW files in ACR (Adobe Camera Raw) at the same time. Here's the SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera) version of the image above:

As you can see, it's pretty dark! Let's get to work on it to see if it's of any value...

In Lightroom, I right-clicked on the image and selected "Open as object...". By opening it as an object in Photoshop you can make adjustments with ACR or Nik plugins which get saved and allow you to re-edit them. The alternative is to open the image as a background layer and when you apply a Nik plugin and save it, you won't be able to re-open that plugin with the settings restored.

One other note - it is sometimes easier to do any cropping and straightening in Lightroom before you go to Photoshop. Any such edits will be preserved when you open the image in Photoshop.

Exposure First (in ACR)

I made my overall exposure adjustments in ACR (again, following my Exposure notes in my document) by double clicking on the Smart Object (which opens ACR).

Then I followed my modified Nik workflow:

• Dfine for noise reduction .
• Raw Presharpener. 
• I did apply a bit of additional overall brightening to the foreground as well as some minor dodging and burning using Viveza.
• In Color Efex Pro I used the Detail Enhancer, Pro Contrast, and Vignette: Lens filters, adjusting each to my taste.

After those steps, I used my High Pass Sharpening action to add a new layer with sharpening and adjusted the opacity down a bit.

Finally, I added another layer for my logo, copied and pasted my logo from another PSD, resized and re-positioned it.

This is actually a fairly quick process, although not one that may lend itself to duplicating directly from one image to another (which I rarely do). In fact, I was so pleased with the results I went back and processed some other photos I hadn't touched before and ended up being pleased with them as well, such as this one from Picacho Peak State Park in Arizona:

Picacho Peak Sunset on Cholla