Hands on with the Canon 1D Mark IV

Don’t worry. This is not turning into an equipment blog. It has always annoyed me when someone has looked at one of my best images and said, “What camera did you use? I should get one.”

Last I checked, my camera doesn’t venture out by itself. Or, if it does, it seems to forget to take the memory card with it.

I also think that a truly stunning image is more art than science. If we obsess only about the equipment, we act as if there’s no difference between photography and a chemistry equation: Camera X + Lens Y + Exposure Settings Z = Pulitzer!

That said, I got a new camera — a Canon 1D Mark IV — and I thought I’d share what I’ve learned in the first couple weeks of using it.

Looking back, looking forward

While tearing apart my office this week in a frantic effort to find a Windows recovery CD – long story – I found a 20-page book. Each page showed off one of my best images from 2001.

I made books like that every year the first few years after I became a serious photographer. They were a way to celebrate my accomplishments. I also used them to get my first few gallery shows.

I don’t know why I stopped, but I’m going to start doing it again. I saw that photographer Jim Goldstein is compiling a directory of the year’s best images from a number of photographers. It seemed like a fun project, but it’s also worthwhile.

One of the things I discovered in compiling my 12 — just 12; I’m also a better photo editor now — is that I do my most creative work either while traveling or in the first few weeks after I’m back. One of my goals this year is to bring that creative approach to the things I see every day.

Check back in a year to see how I do. In the meantime, here's my best work from 2009:

Open mind, open camera bag

Some of my best bald eagle images have come from British Columbia on a little levee in a little town between the sea and the mountains.

Once I saw four eagles share a log, just hanging out, watching the river flow by. Another time, a bald eagle flew right by me, fresh salmon in tow, then land and eat lunch maybe 30 feet from where I set up my camera.

Up, Click and Away!

There’s nothing quite like standing on the top of a mountain, admiring a view that stretches for hundreds of miles. Looking out an airplane window is a close second, and with a little work, you can get some stunning images — even from a seat in a commercial jetliner.

A sunset without the sunset

The sunset last night was absolutely incredible — one of the most dramatic I've seen in a while. I had a feeling early on that it was going to be good. I noticed thin wispy clouds high in the sky early in the afternoon and made plans to be down by the water at sunset in case the sky lit up.

Into the sun

The vast majority of my images are captured at sunrise or sunset when the golden light makes the landscape look magical. However, sometimes shooting at the golden hour just isn’t possible. One trick to make dramatic images in the middle of the day is to use the sun in your image.

By the light of the moon

I've been out late a lot lately. I've done more night photography in the past couple months than I have in my entire career.

It's not that I'm changing my style or anything. Sometimes that's just how things work out.