The "No iPhone / No GoPro" Challenge: Hiking Photos Without The Easy Button
If you've seen any of my blogs about hiking in Yosemite, or the Oregon Coast Trail, or pretty much anywhere, you know I take photos like they're going out of style. I'm always striving to capture a moment in time that not only preserves the memory, but conveys the atmosphere. Conveys how that scene feels to be immersed in. It's an endless pursuit, and damn near impossible sometimes (see: Bryce Canyon National Park).
Devices like my iPhone and my GoPro make it easier to capture something on the spot, without much brain power. Frame it up. Shoot it. Done. That presents a conundrum when you're an amateur photographer and you always have the "easy button" readily accessible.
Well, I want to grow as a photographer, so today I decided to explore a brand new hiking trail with only my Canon DSLR slung around my shoulder.
No iPhone (not even for navigation). No GoPro. No easy button. Whatever caught my attention and captivated me had to be captured with my Canon.
The trail I chose is the Redwood Nature Trail, along the Chetco River in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. Mainly because I've driven by the trailhead 7 times on my from camp to the beach.
The entire trail is under a vast canopy of trees: old-growth Redwoods, Oregon Myrtles, Douglas Firs... which means uneven, dappled lighting everywhere. Composing the shot was straightforward – nailing a shot that wasn't washed out by the sun or dark from shade was tricky!
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Anyway, despite deleting more than half of the shots, it felt like a positive learning process. One I'll repeat in the future. I'm happy with a few of them, so I figured I'd share those favorites with you below:
I adore lace lichen, especially when sunlight shines through it. I'm especially happy with the shot on the right!
That's it for this one, but let me ask you a question:
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