I can't believe it's been over a year since I've blogged. What a year it's been. 2020 has changed the way that photographers shoot, travel, work and live. This past year has seen every International trip I had planned, cancelled. Considering what most folks have gone through, that seems like a minor and petty inconvenience. I still have my day job so I suppose I'm one of the lucky ones in the world of photography that has not gone without income. But it has been a challenging year none-the-less. The travel all but stopped, the band photography came to a halt, along with all live music shows. Weddings and family gatherings feel like a thing of the past. These's such a feeling of disconnect that I can't even rap my head around it. However, 2020 has not been entirely doom and gloom. There were several occasions where I was able to hop in the FJ and head to my favorite mountains, the Sierra. This is an image from upper Yosemite during a summer storm that was purely magical. It is a reminder of hope. That no matter what happens, there is still beauty in the world just begging to be noticed. I accomplished a goal that I didn't even know I had. A friend had acquired permits to summit Mt Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous US. The trail was closed due to Covid until early July, then closed again due to an earthquake. The trail re-opened the week of our permit. A string of summer storms kept those up until the day before us from summiting the peak. We were welcomed with gorgeous weather and pristine conditions. Although 2 in our party did not make it, at 4:21pm, my brother and summited. It was one of the most incredible moments of my life and something I will cherish forever. So, in the bleakness of what has been a year for the record books, came a very special moment that I will hold dear in my heart for the remainder of my life. At the end of the storm, comes the rainbow.
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It's my favorite time of year.. fair time! I just love everything about the SD County Fair from the food to the livestock to the bands and rides. But of course, my favorite is the International Photography competition. This year I told myself that I was only going to enter a few, which turned into 18 (cringe). 12 made it to Tier 2 (printing them and bringing them to the fair). I dropped them off and held my breath. Last week, I went to the awards ceremony and much to my delight, "Ice Climber" won Best of Show ! I am so honored and excited to have achieved something grand. This image was from my trip to Banff last December and was taken at the Upper Falls in Johnston Canyon. I don't know who the climber is, but was happy to find him there when I reached the ice falls. I wish I knew who he was as I would definitely love to share this honor with him!
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I am so proud and honored to officially be a part of team Cokin USA! I have been using their soft-grad filter for quite awhile now (which also happens to be my most-used filter). After many posts on social media tagging and bragging on their product, they began to take notice of my work. While in Patagonia last month, I was able to test out the new EVO filter system along with the Nuances Extreme ND and grad filters. After 3 weeks of using the system in the field, I was hooked. The filter holder slides on with incredible ease. There is no screwing filters on and off. The polarizer is applied to the outside of the system, not directly to my lens which I absolutely love. I can turn the polarizer with ease, even when used in conjunction with an ND and grad attached. This was never possible before and when shooting intense fall color under ever changing weather patterns, I found this to be very user friendly. There was no blue color cast to the ND's which makes getting the color correct in camera much easier . Having a system meets my needs in the field is my number one priority as I tend to find myself in precarious, icy, windy and wet conditions, often. I am so excited to see what new images I can create and could not ask for a better partner to do it with ! Please feel free to send me any questions you may have on using or caring for your filters, I would be happy to help!
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This past December, I spent the Christmas holiday photographing my favorite place. I'm often asked, "what is the best time of year to photograph Banff?" Well, there is never a bad time of year to photograph Banff! By late December, most of the lakes have frozen over solid. Slightly lower in altitude and slightly warmer in temperature, Canmore still had some flowing water, but not much. The temps hovered around -8C, so dress warm and prepare yourself carefully before heading out to shoot. You definitely want to be mindful of things like pulling your gear out from a warm car to frigid outside temps. Allow your gear to acclimate for a few minutes inside of your bag before taking it out. The same goes for putting it away when you are finished. Rapid temperature change can create moisture build-up, causing issues with your gear. If this happens, pull the battery out of your camera and let it dry out, slowly.
A polarizer can be a great tool for winter photography, giving you more definition in your sky and popping any color that may exist in your frame. Otherwise, a wintery scene can tend to become very bland and gray. In the above image, I used a Cokin 3-stop grad along with the Cokin circular polarizer.
Tripods can also fall victim to freezing temps. If the legs become wet and frozen, you may find that they won't retract when you are finished. Again, allow them to warm in the car a spell. Hopefully once defrosted, the legs will retract. Be careful not to force them before they are ready. My current tripod is the Sirui W2204 and I can honestly say that I have never had this problem. It's one of the only waterproof tripods on the market and is also very affordable, a great value for the money!
Finally, remember to bring plenty of charged batteries with you. My grandma used to place her small cell batteries in the refrigerator to extend their life. So... one might think that the cold weather will have the same affect on their camera batteries. Not the case. The frigid temps will actual drain your battery much faster than normal. There is nothing worse than defying the cold temps to hike through hip-deep snow only to have your battery die! So, charge them up and have back-ups before heading out.
As always, please feel free to e-mail me with any questions you may have related (or unrelated) to this post and happy shooting!
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This past October I had the opportunity to travel to both Switzerland and Italy to photograph the Matterhorn and the Dolomites. This was a bucket list trip that I would highly recommend to not only fellow photographers, but to anyone who enjoys beautiful scenery, mountain biking, culture or just an old fashioned good time.
I would definitely rate this trip as a little more strenuous than some of the previous trips I've done. There was a tremendous amount of hiking to reach the "coveted" spots that any photographer would crave. But as you can see.. well worth the effort involved. The small towns of both Seceda and Cortina are quaint beyond belief. My favorite moments always involved cows and horses with bells on :)
As always, traveling with Mr Timothy Poulton never proves to be dull. The humor, laughs and amazing times with great friends is always one of the best parts. If you have any questions on traveling to this part of the world, please feel free to shoot me a message, I'm always excited to help. For more behind the scenes stories and commentaries on my travels.. give me a follow on IG @lahorstman. Safe travels everyone and enjoy!
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I've just returned from my 7th trip to my absolute favorite place, Canada. It's hard not to go to all of the usual spots, because they are famous for a reason. However, I find myself digging deeper with every trip, backpacking more and seeking out lesser known spots with far fewer people. As this is Banff's very busy tourist season, it was nice to get away from the crowds a bit. I started in Canmore, which is just before reaching the actual park of Banff. Canmore is fantastic, with it's breathtaking views and small town charm. From Canmore, I met up with a dear friend and we heli'd from the Mt Shark pad to Mt Assiniboine. I was here last September, but was caught in a snow storm that shrouded the mountain in fog the entire trip. This time around, I was able to complete the hike to the Nub (a peak that faces the spectacular range). We hiked this twice, both at sunrise and sunset. I know I say this about everyplace I've been, but this was truly an awe-inspiring moment. Although the "hot-spots" were very congested, most people never leave the car parks. One very fun hike I highly recommend is to leave from Lake Louise at sunrise and head up to the Lake Agnes Tea House. If you get there early, you can avoid the crowd and the views are spectacular. From there, head all the way up to the "Big Bee-Hive". Again, breath-taking views that overlook both Louise and Agnes from far above. To really avoid the crowds, head down the backside towards Lake Loiuse which is approx 5.7 km, but will take you under the 7 glaciers (I did not see another person on this last leg of the hike.. and the views were extraordinary}. If you are traveling to this area in July, prepare yourself for wide swings in weather patterns and plenty of mosquitoe repellent! If you have not been to the Banff/Jasper parks, do yourself a favor and add it to your list. I am always available to answer any questions or help you plan your visit. Next up: Switzerland and the Dolomites in a short 7 weeks.. Stay tuned!
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I woke up Friday morning to an e-mail that nearly every photographer dreams of. National Geographic had sent an e-mail informing me that my image of a Texas Longhorn entitled, "Quintessential Texas" had been chosen as their "Photo of the Day". Like a scene in a comedy, I laid back down.. closed my eyes and drifted back to sleep. About 5 minutes later, the gravity of what I had read sunk in. I flung the covers off, ran to my computer and waited very impatiently as it hummed along.. booting up. Right there on the home page of NatGeo.. there he was! All I could think was, "Holy Cow" (seriously.. I can't make this stuff up!) And to make things even cooler, this all happened on "National Women's Day". As I looked at him on my screen.. him looking back at me.. I can almost hear him say to me, "you go girl".
Tech stuff: Canon 5D Mark III, EF 200mm f/2.0, 1/100 sec, f/2.0, ISO 400.
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Hello everyone ! It's been a tick since I've posted on my blog. Things have been busy as usual, but no year is complete without another trip to the great north. I have now officially visited Canada in all but one season, the Spring. It would be virtually impossible for me to pick a favorite season as they all have their unique and special qualities. This time around, I traveled with a group of fellow photographers from Australia. Let me tell you, this had to be one of my favourite (as they would say) trips of all time. I always leave with the thoughts of what images I am hoping to capture along the way. This time around, the images felt secondary to the laughter and adventures that ensued. Our on-again/off-again heli trip to the top off Mt Assiniboine (due to the unpredictable wildfires) ended up on-again. What were weren't counting on was the blizzard that would meet us for the entire 3 days we were up there. All 6 of us huddled inside a hut at night, trust me.. you realize rather quickly who snores (among other things..lol) At one point, we decided that a "reality show" that would follow 6 complete strangers along on a 3 month photographic adventure would be the most hysterical thing ever. In the end, I came home completely beat-up, wore out and with the fondest of memories. The next trip to round out my seasons in Canada is already booked and I can't wait to get back up there. Oh ya.. there were some pretty great images too :)
This image:
First trip out for my new Canon 5D Mark IV (which I love btw)
Canon EF16-35mm f/4.0L
Sirui W2204 (most trusty tripod EVER)
Lee soft grad
f/22 , 0.8 sec , ISO 100
All post in PSCC and Sleeklens
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It was a banner year for LA Horstman Photography at the San Diego County Fair ! Top prize in the "Winter Landscape" category went to my image, "Reflecting in Iceland". My image "Longhorn" (which can be seen in the wildlife section of my website) won a 2nd place. Two images, "Lake Louise" and "Sea Turtle" took home the 3rd place prize in their respective categories. "Kicking Horse" took home the Kurt's Camera Vendor achievement award. And finally, "Fire Sunrise" took home an honorable mention award. It was such a special night at the awards ceremony as I had my dad with me. After all, he did buy me my first camera when I was 16 (a Minolta SRT101, which I still have). It is because of my great dad that I get to do what I love so much. Thanks dad :)
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Recently, I was asked to try and review a new set of landscape actions offered by Sleeklens. The "Landscape Adventure Collection" is a comprehensive set of actions specifically designed for the landscape photographer that are compatible with either LR or PS. Classically trained in film, I found myself starting over as our industry transitioned to digital. I have always thought that if Ansel Adams were alive today, he would have loved working in digital. He was the original master of landscape, lighting and manipulation. The tools available to us now enable us to take our landscape images to a whole new level. LR/PS do not replace quality photography by any stretch, but do allow us to enhance what nature has already provided us, even on a dark and dreary day. The image attached to this post (Vestrahorn, Iceland) was taken at sunrise. All of these colors were there, but hidden in what was an over-exposed image with a lot of foreground shadow. I specifically chose this image to test the Sleeklens actions as I knew there was potential hidden in the RAW file.
I brought this image into PS after only a couple of basic adjustments in ACR. After installing the Sleeklens Adventure actions into my PS/CC, the first thing I noticed is how organized and easy to follow the panels are. Everything is separated by what the out come of running the action will be (exposure, base, tone, all-in-one, enhance, specialty, temperature, web-saving). It clearly informs you whether the outcome will impact the image, or if the affect is to be applied to the image via a brush. The opacity is completely controlled by the artist and can be increased or lowed to taste. I found the results to be extremely realistic, especially where the sky is concerned. I am not a big fan of the over-saturated/ nuclear look. I found that by either apply a blending mode or opacity adjustment, I was able to easily enhance the natural beauty of my image. The colors and tones that I remember in person were easily recaptured in only a few adjustments. I literally spent less than 5 minutes on this image from start to finish. To achieve this final result, I applied:
All None - Dawn Rising 15% (masked and painted off of the upper left cloud and peak to avoid over-saturation)
Dull Weather - 10% (on the bottom black ice)
Enhance Dramatic Sky - 50% to entire image
Detail Enhancer - painted on th edge of the ice to give it a "pop"
Warm Hilights - painted on sky and mountain
That is it.. it really was that simple. The actions will not replace all of your normal editing practices, but are a great tool to have in your arsenal. My favorite thing about the the Sleeklens actions, how natural the outcome is and how easy they are to understand and use. After only 4 images, my muscle memory had already taken over, knowing exactly which actions to use to achieve a desired result.
Bottom line.. 2 huge "thumbs-up" for a great product developed with all levels of Landscape artists in mind. I have already incorporated the Landscape Adventure collection as part of my regular, everyday workflow.
Happy Editing!
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Well, if there's anything one can say about life.. it's that it can be very unpredictable! A couple of weeks back, I was invited to shoot Kyle Busch during his race at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA. Ironically, I was born in Fontana, and quite frankly, never expected to return there. But here I was, in the pits photographing one of the top NASCAR drivers of our time. My comfortable realm of 30 second long exposures was not going to cut it here. I learned very quickly that to capture a guy that is moving at 200+ mph.. I was going to have to increase my shutter speed to the tune of 1/5000. To compensate, I also raised my ISO into some uncharted territories. In hindsight, I wish I had brought my second body as the downtime between pit-stops was just as fun to shoot. But.. it required some quick setting changes in between. I can't thank KBM, @Pelican_Life and Buggy Whips Inc enough for making this unexpected dream come true!
To see more images from NASCAR Sunday.. please visit my full gallery located in the commercial section of my website !
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Photographing the lava flow from the active volcano - Killauea was the experience of a lifetime. It is not easy to get to. The trek involves miles of biking and hiking, but once there.. is worth the effort. We left Kona at 11pm and made our way to the south side of the island. You are only allowed to go so far in a vehicle as the land becomes privately owned. We pulled the bikes out of the back of our pick-up and continued as far as we could. Once we reached the lava beds, travel by foot was the only way we were able to continue on. The hardened lava is tricky to hike on, footing is everything. Once a very "approachable" location, ropes have been put into place to keep visitors a safe distance back. Prior to my trip, a "shelf collapse" had occurred, sending acres of new land back into the sea. All of the effort was well worth it when this full moon scene unfolded before our eyes. What an incredible thing to see in person, I am already planning my return trip to the Big Island !
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Northern lights, reindeer, ice caves, glaciers.. what an incredible experience this was! Myself and 10 of my photog buddies hopped on a plane and (in the immortal words of Led Zeppelin) headed to the land of the ice and snow. The first day of shooting, I found out the hard way (literally), that rubber boots and ice are not the best match. I slipped and in an effort to save the camera, let my forehead take the blow to the ice. 6 stitches, black eye and one cool Icelandic doctor later.. we were back at it. Of course, many creative nick-names ensued (black-eye'd pea, viking ninja, rocky.. just to name a few) but somehow this lifted my spirits and became a badge of honor.
Each day we were here blew me away a little more. I brought my waders (thank-goodness) and stood in the waves, photographing the icebergs on the beach at Jokulsarlon. We hiked into an ice cave and shot the most beautiful color of blue I've ever seen. And 4 weeks before Christmas.. I know where the reindeer are :) Our final night was the cherry-on-top with the most incredible display of dancing and twirling northern lights imaginable. I will have sweet dreams of this one for a long time to come.
p.s., that Zeppelin song is now stuck in your head.. isn't it?!
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I am very excited to be able to announce that my image "Xmas on the Merced" has been chosen as The Nature Conservancy's Grand Prize winning photo for 2016. Over 17,800 images were submitted to this year's contest. To have been recognized for such a top honor by an organization that I admire so very much is an absolute dream come true. To see all of the amazing images that placed in this year's contest and to read the full story behind my image, please visit www.nature.org. Thank-you TNC !!
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You didn't think I'd be out of the cold, wet tents for long... did you? I was home from Japan for a whole 12 weeks when the inner adventure bug began gnawing at my brain. I have a photography friend that lives in Edmonton, so I called him from work one day to let him know I was coming. I have only been to the Canadian Rockies in the winter, which I love.. but have never seen all of those incredible teal and turquoise lakes (as they have always been frozen). It was a quick trip as I have taxed out most of my vacation pay for the year.. so I was determined to make the most of it. We went straight from the airport to the Rockies. We pitched our tent and then headed out for sunset. Up first was the incredible Sunwapta Falls. I was so excited to reach this bucket list location that we stayed there until dark. We got back to the tent just as it began to rain. Even thought it's summer, it still gets pretty chilly at night (remember, I'm from San Diego). My friend set the alarm and announced, "see you in a couple of hours". Wait.. what?? Yep, it was already 12:30am and the sun had just set. We would be back up by 3:30am for sunrise (now I know why I always come here in the winter). The trip was an epic one with the usual laughs, adventures and stories that will last a lifetime. We hiked to glaciers and went to lakes that brought tears to my eyes. I'm not much of a wildlife photographer (as I'm usually too excited when I see wildlife and forget to focus..haha). But.. we were lucky enough to have safe, distant encounters with moose, elk, bear, big horn sheep and my fav.. the loons. If you've never traveled to this part of the world.. do yourself a big favor and go.
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In 2015, my youngest moved to Japan. Sad as I was.. my inner traveler was elated that I now had a new destination spot! To be honest, I'm not sure if Japan would have popped up on my radar as a place to go had she not moved there. I've always been so drawn to the mountains and cold weather that this was a bit out of my comfort zone (if out of my comfort zone means not freezing in a tent in the snow). So.. off I went. It was quite the feet to even reach her as it took 2 planes, a bus and 25 hours to get to my final destination. We hit the ground running with our train cards and vending machine drinks (yes, thats a big thing in Japan). The trains can be very confusing at first, we jumped on and off (and back on) more than once. Thankfully, the people of Japan are the kindest I've met in any country I've ever traveled to. Missing trains themselves just to guide us as we had that pathetically lost look on our faces. Getting that down was the ticket to freedom however as the trains can take you just about anywhere. We traveled to Kyoto for the Sakura festival and Kawasaki for the Fertility Festival (sorry I can't post any photos from that on here.. Zenfolio would ban me for life). We traveled to Hakone and went into the natural hot springs and too many temples to list. The food was top-notch, the people as amazing as one can imagine and the adventures were plentiful. Sakura season was a very busy time to travel to Japan, but worth the trouble. It only lasts for about 7 days, but if you can hit it just right.. you will have sweet dreams of little pink blossoms for a long time to come :)
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The San Diego Natural History Museum is hosting a gallery exhibition that will run from April 30, 2016 through the end of August. Over 250 photographers from around the world submitted a combined total of over 1600 images for consideration in the very prestigious Ordover Gallery. I am very proud to announce that 2 of my images were selected to be featured in the exhibition! In addition, 1 of my images was chosen to represent the event! I am so very proud of this accomplishment and hope to see everyone there on Saturday the 30th. These images are available for purchase by contacting me directly.
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This past Xmas, I did things a little different. I loaded up the car and headed for the mountains. The lodges were all full as this was kind of a last minute thing, so I rented a tent in Curry Village. Xmas Eve it snowed.. hard. As I sat in my tent that night doing everything possible to stay warm, I seriously began to question what in the world I was doing in a tent, alone, on Christmas Eve. The next morning I got up early and headed for a sunrise spot along the Merced. The skies had cleared and fresh snow blanketed the valley. On this Christmas morning, I captured what is now my favorite image. A very special Xmas gift from Mother Nature to me :)
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I just returned from my trip to Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. What an incredible experience! I was able to go with 3 fellow photographers this time. The weather was cold... seriously cold. I packed my suitcase with 20 lbs of warm clothes and 29 lbs of "body heat warmers", narrowly escaping the heavy baggage fee. But in the end, it was well worth it. Banff was filled with early morning sunrises and crazy beautiful sunsets over mountains and frozen lakes. The other photographers all left me a day early, so I took this opportunity to both look for some wildlife (which we surprisingly had not seen much of) and of course.. shop :) At Two Jacks Lake, I came back from a hike to find my car surrounded by goats... licking the road salt from the sides of my car! I snapped a couple shots and then slowly headed on my way. Two hours later, I headed back to Lake Minnewanka to shoot the sunset when low-and-behold (in the rear-view mirror) there they were... chasing my car down the road! Well, I stopped long enough to capture this image and then proceeded on my way. Notice how the adults kept the little ones safely tucked in the middle. What a charming way to end an incredible week :)
I will absolutely be heading back to Banff the first chance I get!
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What an amazing adventure ! The trip started off with a heli-camp trip atop Lemon Glacier. We put on our crampons and glacier trekked to some amazing ice caves. I don't think I have ever photographed anything as beautiful as blue glacier ice. This is a photo with my guide, Brad. All I can say is, if you're gonna take a "selfie", do it with a Canon 5D Mark III in an ice cave... haha :) We then took a float plane to Admiralty Island where we were treated to two nights of Aurora Borealis, bio-luminescence and grizzly bears. Does it get better than that? Please check out my landscape and seascape galleries to view some of the amazing images from Alaska 2015 !
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I'm getting so excited about this year's Del Mar Fair Tier 2 Finalist shots ! This is last year's winning shot in the "Wildlife - Bird" category.
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