Photog Adventures Podcast: A Landscape Photography and Astrophotography Podcast

We decided to re-make our original Patreon video by hitting up classic landmarks of Southern Utah in one weekend. Between Friday evening and Saturday evening we hit Goblin Valley State Park, Monument Valley National Park, Natural Bridges National Monument and Balanced Rock up in Arches National Park while getting weathered out of stops at House on Fire Ruins and Goosenecks State Park. Then a few days later we added even more miles and hit the Bonneville Salt Flats to complete the full video. It was a tremendously fast trip with amazing sights! We talk about the challenges of the trip, the failures, our sunrise at Monument Valley along with news of our Listener Survey and PhotoPills contest. Note: adding Listener Photog Adventure image link here shortly! See the PhotoPills contest here where you can win 1 of 3 free copies of the PhotoPills app by simply posting an image to your own instagram: https://goo.gl/9wYbuj Help us out by taking the 2-5 minute listener survey here: https://goo.gl/forms/CDIuPcidC2P4213Y2

We hangout with world renowned Australian Photographer Mark Gee and talk about the incredible patience and planning it took for him to capture his famous video of the full moon rising on top of silhouettes of people enjoying the view at a lookout in Wellington, New Zealand. If you haven't watched the video yet, go to the link below and watch it right now! Everything was so well planned out and perfected over months of trial and error. It is awe-inspiring! We also go over the scary and the hilarious of getting out with your camera at night and absorb all the wisdom and info Mark is willing to impart for how he deals with noisy foregrounds, captures timelapses and when is best to travel to New Zealand for the best view of the core of the Milky Way. See Mark's inspiring 4-minute film "Full Moon Silhouettes" here: https://youtu.be/ehulHtKfpuM The Timelapse+ that Mark uses for Timelapse photography: http://www.timelapseplus.com/

We go into the details on why we decided to start a Patreon, the options we have been trying to get us funded and the specifics of the many rewards we offer for those that join us. Then we go over our goals for the future of Photog Adventures and what getting properly funded will mean for the YouTube channel and podcast. Thanks for taking the time to listen to this episode and we really hope many of you will join us and become Patrons of Photog Adventures! SEE THE PATREON VIDEO HERE: https://www.patreon.com/photogadventures

Aaron talks about the Listener Adventure where we went to capture the Milky Way at the House on Fire Ruins and Natural Bridges National Monument in Southern Utah. Kathy Henehan and Jeff Pedersen join Aaron for a weekend of photography and we are able to capture one of Kathy's first Milky Way images. Carson LumiLoupe Series Pre-Focused Stand Magnifier https://goo.gl/06R0k6 BelOMO 10x Triplet Loupe Folding Magnifier https://goo.gl/SKAmv1

NOTE: Astro Photog Episode 3 is halfway done being edited and I will upload it later today the 16th! Aaron details the reasons he uses four apps and websites to plan his Milky Way Photography. DarkSiteFinder.com, Stellarium, PhotoPills and ClearDarkSky.com. For Gear Time Aaron is joined by Eric Benedetti to talk an awesome telephoto Rokinon lens for Deep-Sky or close-up Milky Way Astrophotography. Rokinon 135mm F2.0 ED UMC Telephoto Lens https://goo.gl/trhCpg DarkSiteFinder.com Map: https://goo.gl/iI82WG Stellarium: https://goo.gl/cVXopQ PhotoPills: https://goo.gl/i1c0XN ClearDarkSky.com: https://goo.gl/a7OQrl SkippySky.com.au: https://goo.gl/vzTo0S

We talk about our "a bit too early" trip up to the Grand Teton National Park and the drawbacks of long lens timelapse photography. The clouds were amazing and dynamic hovering over the Grand Teton but we spent most of the sunrise and sunset with clouds blocking the pictoresque peak. Scouting around on the few roads that were open we discover the location of the famous John Moulton barn and try our hand at a sunset shot at the barn. Listener Photog Adventure of the Week is in Scotland with Ross Campbell. Power banks recommended in Gear Time with Brendon: Jackery Giant Power Bank 12,000 mAh https://goo.gl/5LhK9U Anker PowerCore+ Mini 3350 mAh https://goo.gl/0IbXYw Links to the Emergency Recovery Tracks, both a metal and rubber option: Rubber Option 2 for $40 amzn.to/2nzGbV4 Metal option 1 for $40 amzn.to/2nXTGJh

PictureMonk Jordan Younce talks design principles in Photography with Aaron & Brendon and his new YouTube series called "The Road to Full Time" about his pathway to doing Photography Full Time. Aaron shares a design style guide that he used from his time at Disney when he worked on the game Disney Infinity. Referencing the style guide, we talk about how we can all use basic design principles to help our landscape photography have the kind of balance and interest that well-designed logos or marketing assets have. Jordan Younce's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/picturemonk Remember PLEASE add your comment if you watch his video, thanks! :D  Jordan's Gear pick of the week: Smatree Full Aluminum Hot Shoe Mount Adapter for GoPro https://goo.gl/rZUnD4 Fotasy SCX2 1/4-inch Hot Shoe Adapter https://goo.gl/9g74Lt Jordan's Porfolio http://www.photographynorthcarolina.com/ Picturemonk http://www.picturemonk.com/

Royce Bair returns to the podcast and talks about his Milky Way capture over at Hanksville Butte, answers listener questions live over Facebook, civility among photographers and gives us an update on the National Parks considering joining Arches and Canyonlands with banning light painting and night photography workshops. F&V Z96 UltraColor LED Light (Same as Aaron purchased but as of today, out of stock.) http://amzn.to/2oZGyHj In-Stock option for F&V HDV-Z96 II Z-flash LED Light http://amzn.to/2oZsm1d Larger Capacity Battery for F&V light http://amzn.to/2opJU86 Apps recommended by Royce for planning are PhotoPills & SkyGuide. Find Royce's workshops and Photo Walks here at http://nightscapeevents.com/ or https://www.meetup.com/NightScape-Photography/

We sit down with Astrophotographer Eric Benedetti who has made a name for himself exclusively using star tracking equipment for his Milky Way photography. Eric's image of Wild Horse Cave has been featured in Digital Photo Magazine. We discuss the hardware and mindset required to do tracking astrophotography and we get Eric's recommendations on the gear you need among some lenses he recommends for Astrophotography. Gear recommended for tracking: SkyWatcher Star Adventurer Astro Package with Declination Bracket included $329 https://goo.gl/VLdx4d SkyWatcher Star Adventurer Equatorial Wedge Base https://goo.gl/Yj8ZPy SkyWatcher Star Adventurer Counterweight Kit https://goo.gl/ShxymX Cameras for the beginner: Nikon D7200 https://goo.gl/8yiR0F Canon T5i https://goo.gl/UEiaMk Lenses: Rokinon 16mm f2.0 https://goo.gl/7oSP1w Rokinon 24mm f1.4 https://goo.gl/1rpaFi Sigma Art 35mm f1.4 https://goo.gl/E9U6fKS Optional tracker that is slightly less expensive: iOptron SkyTracker Pro Camera Mount with Polar Scope $299 https://goo.gl/UuojC9

We try to take advantage of the Full Moon at beautiful Temple Square but we are faced with the challenge of getting a great shot that contains the moon and an interesting foreground subject. The Listener Photog Adventure image will be posted to the show notes on PhotogAdventures.com real soon. Most likely by the time you are reading this. Links to the Emergency Recovery Tracks, both a metal and rubber option: Rubber Option 2 for $40 http://amzn.to/2nzGbV4 Metal option 1 for $40 http://amzn.to/2nXTGJh

Announcing the Astro Photog Podcast! The Photog Adventures show entirely focused on Astrophotography! Every Thursday Aaron King will bring you an Astro-centered episode to help make those 7-days between Photog Adventures Podcasts a little less boring! Beginning each podcast with the Astro Primer, Aaron will talk about what the night sky is doing so you have a quick 5-minutes or less place to hear whether you should be catching up on sleep in preparation for a long night out under the Milky Way! This alpha episode talks about the motivation about Astro Photog, the content here and on YouTube everyone can expect from Astro Photog as well some behind the scenes stories in creating content. Next week's episode will feature Travis Eggett and Daniel Lindhardt as they talk about our first three Milky Way outings of the season. Here is the link to Roger Clark's comprehensive writings on how to keep a natural color of the Milky Way in your image processing: http://clarkvision.com/articles/color.of.the.night.sky/

After getting forced from Yosemite early due to weather, we make the most of the drive back home by making stops at Death Valley National Park and Nevada's Valley of Fire State Park. We test Canon's 70-300mm lens out at Badwater Basin and then discover a stupid rule at Valley of Fire State Park while trying to capture the sunset. Here is the Goal Zero Yeti 400 Aaron was talking about: Goal Zero 23000 Yeti 400 Solar Generator http://amzn.to/2oPvFFd

Hanging out with my Brother-in-Law Travis Eggett, we talk about the hike to Donut Falls back in January. Up Cottonwood Canyon, Donut Falls is a short hike which makes it crazy popular in the winter. Despite being surrounded by deep snow we didn't require our snowshoes and then we complain about the crazy high dynamic range of a white waterfall and black cave.

Jeff Harmon of Photo Taco fame guest hosts to discuss with us the expectations and things learned as a Presenter or Participant of the recent Improve Photography Retreat. We share funny stories from the retreat and what we all learned from our 4-day adventure in Phoenix. Come learn what you can expect from a photography conference like this or photography workshop. That is, what you can expect from the great people over at Improve Photography. The Improve Photography Retreat 2018 will be in Charleston, South Carolina.

We share the remaining untold photog adventures from our trip back home through Zion National Park. Returning from the Improve Photography Retreat, we hang out in Zion with Rusty Parkhurst and do one last hike with him up to Kanarra Creek Falls. We go over our successes and missteps hiking Kanarra Creek Falls and capturing sunsets from the Canyon Overlook in Zion and the Cedar Breaks. We also announce the contest to earn the FINAL COPY of Royce Bair's eBook Milky Way Nightscapes! See Rusty's work at RustyParkhurst.com