The Blog

Tripod & Ballhead Rant

OK, I’m uploading some files for a website I’m designing and I just need to vent a little. I’m looking to update my tripod/head combo and I’m experiencing buyer’s paralysis. I bought some legs early last year and ended up buying way more than I need. They’ve been great studio legs, but they are not the kind of tripod legs you grab and take on a hike….unless you don’t mind lugging around six and a half pounds of tripod legs (that’s not even including a head). The legs are made by a Chinese company called Induro; I got a closeout deal on their A313 model. Really nice legs that are sturdy, well-made and seem like they’ll last quite a while. Without the center column extended, they’re 61 inches tall. I love that about them.

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Remembering Don Gale

Photo © Don Gale

A coworker just told me that Don Gale passed away on December 21, 2010. I’d never met Don, nor did I ever attend any of his well-respected photography workshops, but I am a fan of his work and the news made me sad. I liked checking in on Don every few months to see his newest images. To put it simply: he was a great landscape photographer.

About five years ago I was surfing around the net—looking for any photography input I could find—when I stumbled upon several excerpts from one of his instructional videos that featured Don shooting around Lone Pine, Big Sur and the eastern Sierras, and I really enjoyed his approach to teaching; he was so conversation and the images he produced were nothing short of beautiful. Each time I go out with a camera, I’m thinking about things Don mentioned and I try to bring some of his sensibilities to my work.

To all who knew and loved Don Gale, I offer my sincere condolences. He will be sorely missed in the world in general (he seemed like a great guy), but I’m sure many in the photographic community feel they’ve lost a compass point in their quest to produce inspiring images.

Check out Don’s YouTube channel for some great videos that should get your shutter finger itchin’.

Herbie Hancock's 70th Birthday

Herbie Hancock’s 70th Birthday

I was 11 in 1983 when Herbie Hancock’s Rockit hit me square in the eyeballs one day while watching MTV, and in a very significant way I was changed. The tone of that video was heavy and weird and angular, but the song…oh, that song. I’d never heard sounds like that before. It definitely opened doors regarding the music I would be willing to let in. So, yeah, Herbie is a badass and I was happy to get a chance to catch his 70th birthday party at the Bowl. Here’s the thing that really had me excited—perhaps even more excited than seeing Mr. Hancock: the guy playing drums for him lately, Vinnie Colaiuta, is one of my favorite drummers. Vinnie has played with everyone from Joni Mitchell to Megadeath, but mostly it was his work with Sting in the ’90s that taught me a lot about time and feel at a point in my own drumming where I really craved that information. I think I listened to the right guy; Vinnie is widely regarded as one of the go-to guys in the recording industry. A master behind the kit.

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