The blog of adventure photographer Michael Clark

The 2013 Red Bull Illume Image Quest

04.23.13

I don’t normally promote photo competitions on my blog but the Red Bull Illume Image Quest is the grand-daddy of them all for adventure photographers. And there are only seven days left to enter your images in this contest. Winning any of the categories in this contest can help to kick start your career as the images will be seen by potential clients. This contest has literally helped kickstart a few photographer’s careers. If you shoot adventure images, I highly recommend that you enter the competition. It is free to enter and while it does take some time to format the images end enter all the info it is worth it in my opinion.

I know a few folks have had some reservations after reading the fine print for this competition. Red Bull does not ask for your copyright or anything like that. And as is standard with any photo competition they do ask for the rights to use the winning image(s) to promote the competition. That is pretty standard for any photo contest. Basically, Red Bull just wants to find the most insane, stellar adventure sports images out there and promote them and the photographers. And the overall winner wins a Leica S2 medium format camera system worth over $20,000.

I have already entered quite a few of my images – a few of which can be seen above and below here. While I shoot for Red Bull on occasion, and the image below was shot while on assignment for them, I am not promoting this event just because I work with them, but rather because it is a top-notch, class event. Thanks to Red Bull for promoting adventure photography in all it’s forms.

To enter your images in the contest got the Red Bull Illume website.

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Michaelclarkphoto.com updated to a brand New HTML 5 Website

04.11.13

I am very happy to announce the launch of my new HTML 5 website at www.michaelclarkphoto.com. I have been working on this new update to my website for a few months now in between assignments and workshops. It has been a long process but the end result is a better website that looks the same across all platforms. This new HTML 5 website was built using the stellar APhotoFolio Design X HTML 5 template.

In the process of updating my website, I have also gone in and revamped all of the web galleries to show off some of my latest work. The Portfolio, in particular, has been reshuffled completely and I feel that it is stronger than it has ever been. In addition to the Portfolio reshuffle I have also reworked the specific image Galleries to include new work and a whole new category entitled “Industrial.” Over the last few years, I have been hired to shoot a number of green energy industrial sites including a recycling plant in the Netherlands and wind turbine sites in Kansas. It seems that my climbing skills as well as my lighting and portrait techniques have caught the eye of a few green energy companies and I have gotten the call to shoot for them. While climbing up a ladder inside of a 400-foot wind turbine is fairly mundane when compared to hanging off a 3,000-foot cliff, it is still quite cool to stand on top of a modern wind turbine and take in the view.

Of note, the only internet browsers that will work with HTML 5 websites at this point are Safari, Firefox and Chrome. In my testing, Chrome rendered my images the sharpest and surpassed all of my expectations. Safari, on non-Retina monitors, rendered my images quite soft when compared to Chrome and Firefox. Hence, to get the full experience of the new website, I highly recommend viewing it in either Chrome or Firefox. Also of note, the new website is optimized for Retina screens on the MacBook Pro and it looks phenomenal on those machines in all three browsers.

One of the main attractions to the new HTML 5 format was that I could have full screen images cycling on the home page as can be seen in the following three screenshots. These images appear fullscreen and I made sure that the menu and top logo was still clear and readable as the images cycle through.

One of the main reasons I switched over to the new HTML 5 template was that the images load incredibly fast – much faster than they did on my Flash website. Basically, as fast as you can hit the “next” arrow the images load without hesitation and these images are even larger than those on my Flash website! The images are sized so that they look great on a 27-inch monitor or the new 15-inch MacBook Pro laptops with the Retina screens. Below are a few new images on the new website.

Below is the opening image and a screenshot of the new “Industrial” web gallery. This image was shot while on assignment for NEXTera Energy in Kansas.

I have to say that the fine folks at APhotoFolio are continually improving their offerings and they are so great to work with that I can’t imagine using any other website service. My thanks to Rob Haggart and the folks at APhotoFolio for the new template and working with me on this new updated website.

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Guest Blog Post on Asportinglife.com

03.12.13

A modified version of my Photoshop Insider blog post entitled “Embracing Risk” went live a few weeks ago on asportinglife.com.

This article takes three paragraphs from my book Exposed: Inside the Life and Images of a Pro Photographer and expands on the “Embracing Risk” theme presented in that book. It also tells the story of how I started out as a pro photographer. It wasn’t always an easy or financially pretty path in the beginning, but few freelance stories are a cakewalk.

Also of note there are quite a few other very interesting guest articles on asportinglife.co from well known sports photographers Brad Mangin, Chase Jarvis and others. My thanks to asportinglife for featuring me on their site.

Visit asportinglife.co to read the full blog post.

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NEW e-book: Location Lighting for the Outdoor Photographer

02.06.13

Click here to purchase Location Lighting for the Outdoor Photographer

I am very happy to announce my new e-book entitled Location Lighting for the Outdoor Photographer. This e-book is a 277 page e-book and is packed with pretty much everything I know about using artificial lighting in the outdoors. If you are looking to take your photography to the next level and want to incorporate artificial lighting into your images then this book will give you all the tools to do just that. This e-book is filled with detailed lighting diagrams and examples, an extensive chapter on equipment and flash accessories, advanced flash techniques and so much more.

There are so many lighting books to choose from these days you might be wondering, “How is this one different?” This is the first book that I know of that concentrates on lighting techniques for the outdoor and adventure photographer specifically. This book gets down to the nuts and bolts of using artificial lighting in remote locations. As with my other books, I hold nothing back and tell it like I see it. The opening chapter has a detailed analysis of all the battery-powered strobes on the market today and compares them head-to-head to help you make a smart decision when considering new gear. In that chapter, we also discuss flashlights, reflectors, and Speedlights. I can honestly say that I have not seen any other book on the market today that includes as much detailed and comprehensive information as this e-book does on using artificial lighting for the outdoor photographer.

If you have read any of my other books or e-books then you know I pack as much as possible into them and cover all the bases. This book is no different. I have held nothing back and in this book I share with you all of my lighting secrets and techniques.

This Location Lighting e-book discusses a wide range of topics including:

An overview of Lighting equipment for Outdoor Photographers

Detailed information on Flashlights and Headlamps

Detailed information on Reflectors and Diffusers

Detailed information on Speedlights

A detailed analysis of battery-powered Strobes

Light modifiers for Speedlights and Strobes

Recommended Flash Accessories

Choosing a lighting system

The ABC’s of Lighting

The Physics of Light

Shaping and balancing the Light

Creating Dramatic Lighting

Lighting Techniques and Lighting Diagrams

Examples of images created using Flashlights, Reflectors, Speedlights and Strobes

When and Where to use Speedlights

When and Where to use Strobes

Working with one or multiple Speedlights and Strobes

Basic Flash Settings

Advanced Lighting Techniques

Hypersync with Strobes

Mixing Strobes and Speedlights

Lightpainting…and much, much more.

Download this e-book and take your photography to the next level. If you’d like to see a sampling of what is included in Location Lighting for the Outdoor Photographer you can download the intro and table of contents here.

This e-book is best viewed in Adobe Reader. Also, please note that this PDF is searchable and the Table of Contents are linked to the pages for quick and easy access to any part of the e-book.

The e-book is a downloadable PDF file that can be purchased for the low price of $21.95. It is an entire week-long workshop in book form.

Below are a few sample double-page spreads from the new book. As you can see the layout and text has been optimized for reading the book on an iPad, iPhone or a laptop computer. And of course the e-book is also a high-resolution document and prints very well.

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Michael HoodFebruary 6, 2013 - 5:20 pm
Does the review cover Paul Buff’s new Einstein strobe? I’m considering purchasing that one.
Michael ClarkFebruary 6, 2013 - 5:23 pm
Michael – I only talk about battery-powered strobes in the e-book. I do talk about the Alien Bees strobes that can be used with the Vagabond but I do not discus the Einstein strobe.
Kevin SteeleFebruary 6, 2013 - 7:09 pm
Nice, Congrats Michael. Looks thorough! I do use Einsteins for fast action (short pulse) location strobes, with the mini Vagabond on each they replace the profoto AcuteB 600 handily.
Michael ClarkFebruary 6, 2013 - 7:29 pm
Michael and Kevin – I didn’t realize the Einsteins could be used with the Vagabonds. Good to know. When I update the book here at some point (a few years from now hopefully) I will have to mention that.
Michael ClarkFebruary 6, 2013 - 7:30 pm
Michael – I think there is a lot of useful info in there above and beyond just the gear stuff though. So you might find the e-book informative.
amilyshurtzFebruary 10, 2013 - 9:06 pm
I’ve read some article says that there are a number of picture styles which can be used when shooting in modes such as manual, aperture and shutter priority. The creative control modes can only be used as their own independent modes, but you can increase or decrease the level of their affect.
Random Bytes 130211 | PixSylated | Syl Arena's Photography Blog on Light & ImagemakingFebruary 11, 2013 - 10:13 am
[…] Location Lighting (eBook) by Michael Clark—Adventure photographer Michael Clark published a 277-page ebook on location lighting this week. Michael is an experienced shooter with a long client list. This beautifully designed eBook covers the use of big and small lights in a wide range of outdoor locations. Check it out on his blog. […]
Seth EisenbraunFebruary 11, 2013 - 3:59 pm
This looks like an amazing resource! I love using lighting for location and outdoor portraits. It looks like you have covered just about everything.

Thanks!
Michael ClarkFebruary 11, 2013 - 4:11 pm
Amily – Not quite sure what you are getting at with the picture styles comment?
Mike McKinneyMarch 15, 2013 - 9:28 pm
Excellent book Michael, very thorough. I would find myself asking a question to myself but you’d answer it later on in the book. I’ve also purchased and read Exposed and love it as well. My only complaint is the format for your books, kind of “clunky” for lack of better term. I’m used to books on Kindle, and I realize there may be issues with licensing etc. but it’s a minor critique for an otherwise great book.
Michael ClarkMarch 16, 2013 - 9:01 am
Mike –

Thanks for the comments on the e-book. The format is kind of clunky being that it is a PDF. I suppose that is old school. The reason that I format my e-books as a high res PDF is that many e-book readers, especially Kindle, cannot handle the high resolution images and they tend to place the images in strange places or cut them off. Also, e-pub formats massively reduce the image quality and I want people to be able to zoom in and see the images in detail. Kindles seem to do a great job with novels that don’t have any images but not so well with other books.

By the way, if you bought the e-book version of Exposed that book was formatted by PeachPit. And I believe they offered multiple versions for just about every e-reader. I have only seen the PDF version. Would be interesting to see the epub version on a Kindle.

Winter 2013 Newsletter

01.28.13

The Winter 2013 issue of the Michael Clark Photography Newsletter is now available for download. If you’d like to sign up for the Newsletter just drop me an email and I’ll add you to the mailing list.

This issue includes an editorial about how the learning process never ends, an equipment review comparing the Nikon D800 and the Phase One IQ180, an article about an assignment I shot last fall for NEXTera Energy Resources, a perspective article entitled “It’s Not About the Camera,” and much more.

The Michael Clark Photography Newsletter goes out to over 6,000 thousand photo editors, photographers and photo enthusiasts around the world. You can download the Winter 2013 issue on my website at:

http://www.michaelclarkphoto.com/winter_2013.pdf

If you’d like to check out back issues of the newsletter they are available here.

Please note that the newsletter is best viewed in the latest Adobe Acrobat reader which is available for free at www.adobe.com.

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On Assignment: NEXTERA Energy Resources

01.21.13

Late last year I was contacted by a green energy company about photographing a few of their wind turbine sites in Dodge City, Kansas. That company, NEXTera Energy Resources, was looking for different types of images than the standard beauty shots of wind turbines and the surrounding landscape. Of course, I still had to come back with some stellar images of the wind turnbines themselves, but the landscape in Kansas wasn’t exactly exciting.

Dodge City is one of the windiest locations in North America and there are at least 1,000 or more wind turbines surrounding the city. As an adventure sports photographer this assignment was quite far off the beaten track for me but I was keen to help promote green energy and also to climb up to the top of a giant wind turbine. Strangely enough, in the past few years, I have shot three energy related assignments. As you can see from the image below, my rock climbing skills came in handy even on an industrial assignment like this one. For this assignment with NEXTera Energy, I spent three days shooting at three different wind turbine sites. As usual, each day had me out shooting well before dawn to get the best light on the wind turbines.

Having never shot wind turbines before I was blown away by how elegant these giants are and how beautiful they appear on the landscape. The giant Seimens wind turbines at two of the sites reach up to an amazing 436 feet (130m). The blades are each 174 feet long (53m) and the tower holding the hub and the nacelle is a whopping 262 feet (80m) above the ground. When the baldes swish by you at the base of one of these wind turbines they are remarkably quiet for such a huge device. I have to think that these are one of mankind’s most beautiful collective works of art and hundreds of years from now these wind turbines dotting the landscape will be just as remarkable visually as the old windmills from the 1800s.

It is great to see so many wind turbines going up and the increasing amount of green energy being produced here in the USA. It was also quite nice to learn about how these wind turbines work and to see them up close. These wind trubines are technological marvels and they are already a significant percentage of our energy production, along with solar energy, here in the USA. Working with NEXTera was a great pleasure. The art director was very engaging and responsive to my ideas and I checked in with him several times during the assignment. My thanks to the fine folks at NEXTera Energy, the site managers and everyone that helped me out to create these images.

Look for a more extensive article with a larger selection of images from this this assignment in my Winter 2013 Newsletter, which will be out soon.

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Feature Article on my work in Digital Photo Magazine (Germany)

01.15.13

It is a great honor to have an 8-page feature article and interview about my work in the January 2013 issue of Digital Photo Magazine (Germany). The article features quite a few of my images (as can be seen in the double page spreads shown here) and has a lengthy interview (in German) with Ana Barzakova. The article includes some very kind comments on my work. The sub-title on the opening spread states, “The American photographer Michael Clark is one of the most well-known extreme sports photographers in the world. Why he chose this dangerous genre and how he creates his spectacular action shots, he reveals in an interview with Digital Photo.”

The first paragraph continues, “Michael Clark wants to be open and has no fear to share his knowledge and experience to all photo enthusiasts. Hard work and a pinch of self-criticism are always for him the essential ingredients for successful images. For over 16 years, he has been one of the most prestigious American action photographers.” This opening line refers to my latest book Exposed: Inside the Life and Images of a Pro Photographer, where I am quite open about the trials and tribulations that have gone into my career over the last 16 years.

These quotes were translated from the German text. If you speak German and would like to read the entire article you can download a PDF of the article from my website.

My thanks to Ana and the editors at Digital Photo Magazine for tracking me down and featuring the me and my work in the magazine.

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