It was with some amazement that I realized it had been a year since my last newsletter. Time flies indeed. I remember when a year seemed so impossibly long that anything beyond it was almost unreal, as if not even a part of this lifetime. I write this on the anniversary of Galen Rowell's death. It was some recent mention of his name that prodded me to verify the date and note that a year had indeed passed. I picked up my old copy of Mountain Light and was again reminded of Rowell's amazing talent and charisma. Every article and musing as relevant and enlightening today as it was all those years ago.

I will not venture to sum the events of an entire year (not even just those pertaining to photography). Instead, I will share a few more thoughts in the hope that they inspire you to head into the wild and see what bliss and inspiration await there. This has and will continue to be the reason for these writings.

As those of you who received previous editions undoubtedly noted - I decided to offer the newsletter in HTML format. The mass emailing of PDF files proved to be a questionnable proposition in this age of spam, viruses, and worms, triggering a lot of bounced messages and blocking my outgoing mail. I hope this new format will help remedy these problems.

Guy Tal

The Digital Exodus

Photographers have a curious preoccupation with what other photographers are doing. For many this obsession may even surpass the very purpose of making images. I suppose one could produce a fascinating study on the underlying psychology but to me a more interesting aspect is the equipment rumor mill, continuously speculating on who is switching to what. It used to be Nikon vs. Canon, Fuji vs. Kodak, Manual Focus vs. Auto-Focus etc. With technology making such a large part of our lives, those advances often described as disruptive seem to carry with them the effect of poking a stick into a beehive. The buzz and furor upstage any previous activity, whether industrious, leisurely, creative, or just mundane. Few things seem to matter as much as which big name photographer (not that I consider myself one) made what gear choice when and why.

A subject of many recent discussions has been the constant speculation on who switched from film to digital, followed by a remarkably impressive uproar, triumphant "aha!"s, tearful acknowledgements of defeat, doomsday prophecies mourning the passing of an era, eulogies of the death of a craft, the end of the world as we know it. Get a grip, people!

Trying to keep a level head while having a factual discussion about my own choices (which I am all too often called to account for) has proven almost futile. Even close friends reacted with theatrical drama to the following announcement: I bought a Canon 1Ds Digital SLR.

No no no! I did not switch, I did not fall victim to the dark side, I have not lost my way, I did not forsake my roots, I have not betrayed my fans, and I am not making any bombastic statements about the quality of digital vs. film. I just bought a camera!

OK, deep breath...

Obviously the above was written in jest but I have to admit the initial responses to my announcement were quite overwhelming, so - I decided to come clean here and give you my unbiased look-me-in-the-eye account of things before I find myself a victim of the gossip underground yet again.

Why Digital?
Three reasons:

1. Cost of film and processing - not every image needs the quality advantage of Large Format
2. Convenience - many images I am able to make with the smaller format would not be feasible or possible with a view camera
3. Options - a digital camera excels in areas where film capture may not be ideal. Specifically the ability to use handheld, to extend dynamic range, to receive immediate feedback for difficult composition and exposure decisions etc.

• Big bright viewfinder
• Clean capture with great dynamic range

• It's big. How big? Freakishly big! So big it should be illegal to make small-format cameras this big. Are photographers really clamoring for these behemoths? Cant the same sensor live in a normal size camera? (Note: shortly after writing this article I saw Canon's announcement of the 5D - definitely a move in the right direction)
• Mirror lockup. Every other manufacturers has this right except Canon. It's a control I use often and one that makes me fantasize about taking revenge on the engineer who dreamt up the Canon Custom Function system every single time I need to switch it on/off.

A Time for the Mountains

The searing heat of Summer struck the high deserts of the Southwest with a vengeance, as it has for untold millenia - a familiar cycle to all life forms who have made a home in these parts. Some have become accustomed to its extremes and endure them with stubborn conviction while others, more nomadic in spirit, follow their hearts to new pastures with the changing of the seasons.

To me Summer is a time for the mountains. After months of roaming the red rock canyons and mesas, I can appreciate the respite of verdant alpine meadows, crystal clear lakes and streams, colorful displays of delicate wildflowers, crisp pine-scented air, and bellowing afternoon thunderstorms.

This year my friend (and climber-extraordinaire) Mark Hudon and myself set out to seek beauty in the mountain ranges of Utah and Wyoming.

It is no secret that my heart lives in the desert. For whatever reason I have bonded with the red rocks, the sagebrush, the cacti, the ravens, and the canyon wrens in a way that I never have with other places; still - the mountains do hold a different kind of fascination for me. Both settings offer opportunity for beauty, solitude, and inspiration. How fortunate it is that each is at its best at a different time.

On my birthday earlier this month, Mark and I camped below the summit of Utah's Mt. Timpanogos. The route took us through several miles of steep mountain trail, traversing blooming meadows, snow fields, and waterfalls, with moose and grouse and mountain goats for company.

Late in the day the sun was low in the sky, radiating a warm glow in the wake of thunderstorms. Sweeping views of the Wasatch mountains and canyons unfolded to one side, and the precipitous summit of Timp rose sharply to the other.

We were on a small green island perched some 5,000ft above the surrounding canyons. Nearby a herd of over fifty mountain goats (adults and kids) were grazing, climbing impossibly steep walls, and running playfully in the snow. At the time of my birthday we raised a glass of Merlot and soaked in the warm afternoon glow. It was a good day.

Birthday on Mt. Timpanogos

Upcoming Workshops

Michael Gordon and I are preparing for our Fall workshop in the Sierra Nevada. At this time the workshop is sold out, but be sure to check our Workshop Page for upcoming events. We are tentatively planning a Spring outing in Utah's spectacular Grand-Staircase Escalante National Monument next year. Be sure to let us know if you're interested!

Odds and Ends

If you haven't been to the Scenic Wild website in a while - a lot of new work was added in recent weeks. Also, if you can find a copy of the British "Digital Photographer" magazine, Issue 31 features several of our images in an article on various photographic formats (note this is a different publication from the US magazine of the same name).