Haida Anti-Fog Lens Belt Review & Test + Christmas Lights & Astrophotography!

I just received this lens belt as a Christmas gift, and the last few nights I've been glad I had it during the huge winter snow storm we're currently experiencing here in the Pacific Northwest. I've found the lens belt to be highly effective. It's a pretty simple device, so I feel comfortable recommending it after only a couple of photo shoots with it.

Foggy winter afternoon in Mosslandia

In the deep heart of winter, dense fog settles on the muddy, sleeping rainforest of the Pacifc Northwest. Mosslandia is quiet, a quiescent landscape of dark evergreens and leafless maples, these solemn hues of fog and dormant trees contrasting sharply with the emerald blanket of moss that coats every surface in vivid hues of glorious green.

Soaring over the Snow Frosted Mountains

 

Winter has finally arrived in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest, and with is the delicate frosting of snow that settles over forests, peaks, and valleys. As the sun lances through the temporary retreat of the storm clouds that so filigreed the subalpine landscape, the snow melts where the light touches revealing the shimmering green hidden beneath the monochrome veil that so concealed it mere moments prior.

This video and the following gallery of photos serve as something of a documentation of how beautiful this area is right now. Sadly it's all owned by private timber companies, and within the next few years will be butchered and made unrecognizable by clearcuts. 

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has in the past proposed acquiring part of this land as a wildlife area, but little progress has been made in that direction. Please write to them and ask them to expedite the expansion of the Mt. St. Helens Wildlife Area, and to include in that project the land on either side of the highway to protect the scenic canyon of Hoffstadt Creek, as well as the hills and mountains rising above it:  lands@dfw.wa.gov

The Toutle Mountains across the valley are owned by the Washington Department of Natural Resources, and are also in danger of logging. Ask the WaDNR to set the Toutle Mountains aside for conservation and recreation: ampd@dnr.wa.gov

DJI Mavic 3 Low Light Test - Christmas Edition!

With its large, micro 4/3 sensor the DJI Mavic 3 is potentially one of the best drones ever made for filming in low light conditions. In this video we see how the camera of the Mavic performs in highly challenging conditions filming Christmas lights at night! I also filmed the intro with the DJI Action 2, so this is also really a low light test for that as well.

Sunrise and Sunset with the DJI Mavic 3

 

Day dawns late in the high latitudes of North America come winter, and when conditions hit that illusive goldilocks zone of atmospheric circumstance, the sky comes alive with the flaring glory of a burning bright sunrise. This video services as a test of the DJI Mavic 3's impressive Micro 4/3 camera. It was edited in Adobe Premiere, and I'm impressed by how easy it was to bring back dark and bright areas of this extremely high contrast footage.

River of Fog in the Rainforest

Swirling out from among the titanic trees of the rainforest, a river of fog flows down from the ragged peaks of the mountains to pool in valleys to mix with the tendrils of salt spiced mist pooling on the shores of the ocean. The summer sun soon burns through the shining veil and sends the fog sliding back into the secret mossy hollows from which it emerged.

Family of Ducklings at Schwabacher Landing in Grand Teton National Park

The idyllic ponds of Schwabacher Landing in Grand Teton National Park are famous for their spectacular views of the towering mountain peaks that loom overhead. It's the perfect spot to capture the sunrise, and also the perfect place for a Greater Scaup to raise her ducklings. Wildlife thrives in this slice of paradise.

Dog Creek Falls

Dog Creek Falls is a little slice of paradise tucked into the towering basalt cliff of the Columbia River Gorge. Flowers line this little oasis on the drier edge of the transition between the desert East and rainforest West.  The water tumbles in a cooling cascade that washes away the summer heat and fills the air with its soothing roar.

Night Skies over the Pacific Northwest

The great shining band of the Milky Way flows like a river of light from horizon to horizon, bisecting the dark sea of night over the Pacific Northwest. The ocean of stars glimmers fitfully over mountains, lakes, and sagebrush plains, it's inky depths plied by satellites and shooting stars, the latter flaring in fleeting glory before dissolving silently into infinity.

The Palisades - Epic FPV Drone Flight

The Palisades are a spectacular columnar basalt canyon deep in the Cacade Mountains. Rising about the wild Cowlitz River they tower as an imposing wall of stone hundreds of feet tall. Only with a drone can the true scale of this place be truly appreciated. 

National Museum of Wildlife Art

Built into the windswept hills of Jackson Hole on the edge of Grand Teton National Park, the National Museum of Wildlife Art is a stunning structure that blends into the landscape and which features an amazing collection of sculptures and other art. It's well worth the time to stop and explore.

Exploring the Bob Bammert Grove

The Bob Bammert Grove is a stunning remnant of the ancient forests that once blanketed the Capitol Hills, but of which precious little remains. This lush, legacy forest and the work of its namesake DNR manager who fought to save it from destruction should serve as inspiration for the current leadership of the state agency to preserve the handful of other places like it that still exist on our state trust lands. It's vital that our government act to save legacy forests before it is too late.

To learn more and find out what you can do to help visit: https://www.c4rf.org/ 

Save Ole Creek Ancient Forest - Stop the Serenity Now Timber Sale!

South of the gently steaming, truncated summit of Mt. St. Helens, lies a hidden wilderness that has stood the test of time through fire, volcanic ash, Ole Creek has largely been forgotten by chainsaws and is part of one of the last unprotected wilderness areas in Washington State. Sadly, this rainforest paradise may soon have its heart ripped out by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, who intend to clearcut 147 acres and build miles of roads through virgin forest and sell it off in the "Serenity Now" timber sale. 

 

The Sunset Mists of Spring

May this year in the Pacific Northwest has been a month of rain and mist, the fog swirling in after the clouds have passed to lay a low blanket over the landscape. From this shallow sea of vapors rise trees like haunting ships sailing through the translucent waves, and hills become looming islands, with distant continents glimpsed over the distant water haze.

Cliff Diving with the DJI FPV

 

Towering cliffs from which waterfalls plummet and trees cling soar upwards over distant rivers and forest valleys. Down these vertical slabs of rock I dove with my drone, risking near certain destruction should my frail craft strike the crumbling stone walls along which it cruised. However, the DJI FPV drone was up for the challenge!

Dingweed Dodging with the DJI FPV

 

The alpine forest in winter is a seussian wonderland of trees frosted by the cold winds that coat the fragrant needles of the silver firs with elegant serenity. Buzzing through this maze of mountain splendor with the DJI FPV was a ton of fun, despite a few close calls!

Forest Cruising with the DJI FPV Drone

 

Cruising through the complex web of the temperate rainforest with the DJI FPV drone, one discovers just how grand our wild forests truly are. Layer upon layer of green and growing things living together in perfect harmony, which every level from canopy to the mossy carpet of the forest floor being it's own secret world thriving with an ecosystem that twines together in a sprawling interconnected web of life. Join me as I embark on this journey of discovering through the woodland realm.

DJI FPV - Troubleshooting activation issues

 

The DJI FPV Drone is a fantastic device, but activating it for the first time can  be the source of frustration and headaches. In this video I'll help you troubleshoot two of the big sources of difficulty typically encountered when activating this drone. Hopefully after watching this you'll be able quickly and easily take to the skies!

DJI FPV Motion controller - Setup Guide & First Flight Video

I put together this how-to video on setting up the DJI FPV motion controller, and included my first flight with it. It's a ton of fun, and way easier to pick up and fly than I had expected. It's remarkably intuitive and makes flying feel more natural and immersive, though it will take some getting used to for me to be completely comfortable with this input method. I do have a few complaints though, it's really easy to hit the record button by accident (hence why the footage from the drone picks up midway through the flight!), and it was pretty annoying having to bind the controller to my account and activate it. Overall though, this controller is pretty cool. I'll be making a review video about it when I've had a chance to really get to grips with it.

Mountain Surfing with the DJI FPV Drone

 

I packed my my DJI FPV drone up into the mountains for its second flight ever this past week. It poured down snow for most of the trip, so I was worried I wouldn't get a chance to fly, but fortune favored me and I was granted a 15 minute break in the weather to cruise through the snowy alpine forest and try my hand at mountain surfing right at the edge of a wall of falling snow.

Now, as some may point out, this isn't a traditional long range mountain surfing video which typically begin with an ascent from the foot of a mountain and end with the descent in one long cinematic experience. Since the DJI FPV drone is limited to 500 meters above its takeoff point, this isn't really possible for this drone. For me this hasn't become a serious limitation yet, as I'm still getting used to flying FPV at all, and I don't feel comfortable taking it far away from me or trying really daring high speed stunts. For this video I aimed to get the feel of mountain surfing more than the full lengthy experience of long distance mountain surfing.

Next up I'm going to try flying in thick forest, so stay tuned for that!

DJI FPV Drone - First Flight

I finally got my DJI FPV drone activated, updated, and took it out for a spin - my first time flying FPV! I've got to say, as someone coming from the Mavic 2, even just flying in N and S modes with this thing is quite a thrilling experience. I honestly hadn't expected to be flying through fairly tight spaces and doing close passes to the ground so confidently after just a few minutes.

I'm not even going to try to fly in Manual mode until I can find a decent flight simulator to try on Android/PC - I had planned to learn via the DJI flight simulator, but I don't own an IOS device. To be honest, I'm perfectly happy with N and S modes right now, since they allow me to get that FPV style footage that I want to capture. So, first impressions from my first flight are very positive indeed - I love this thing and am already thinking of a dozen different places that would awesome to fly at.

DJI FPV Drone - Unboxing & Troubleshooting

I realize there are a bazillion DJI FPV drone unboxing videos out there, but I couldn't resist filming my own since this is such an exciting new piece of tech! I picked up the drone plus the fly more kit (which I know from experience I will end up buying anyway), and the motion controller (which was too cool to resist!). Unfortunately, I couldn't get through the activation process in time to take it for a spin on the day I filmed/edited the video.

For anyone else having trouble with these issues I'll explain what happened and how I finally solved the problem.

Wild Birds in the Snow

In the lowland temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest snow falls but rarely, and when it does the wild birds that hide themselves in thickets and brush come out to forage in profusion. It is surprising that these delicate creatures, even hummingbirds, used to a moderate and gentle climate survive through such harsh conditions, yet their song seems all the louder for the snow.

Reclaimed Centralia Mine - aerial footage of a proposed Widlife Area

 

Once a vast, barren strip mine, the difficult and lengthy process of reclamation has turned the Centralia Coal Mine in Washington into an enticing landscape of wide prairies, young forests, and many shimmering lakes glittering in a sea of green meadows. Huge herds of elk now roam, and bald eagles wheel through the skies. In this place once utterly obliterated by human industry, life has returned in force.

Now the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife wants to acquire the former mine and transform it into a Wildlife Area to help restore endangered species and open it to the public for outdoor recreation such as hiking, kayaking, and fishing. This is a fantastic opportunity for the region, and if you live in Washington I would greatly appreciate it if you wrote to your state representatives and the WDFW in support of the project. 

I recently took a drive through this landscape along the county road, and though public access to the land is currently strictly prohibited I was able to get a tantalizing peak into this intriguing place with the help of a drone. I look forward one day to hiking through wildflowers and along serene lakeshores where once was naught but a barren wasteland.

For more info, about this and other WDFW land acquisition projects go here: https://wdfw.wa.gov/about/wdfw-lands/land-acquisitions

Soothing scenes from the wild coast of Olympic National Park

The ceaseless pounding of waves upon the rocky shores of the wild Olympic Peninsula both soothes the troubled mind and thrills the adventurous spirit. Here in Olympic National Park nature rules and the shoreline throngs with life in overwhelming abundance. One might sit for hours by the shore entranced by the ever changing motion of the surf, its roar mixed with the plaintive calls of sea birds and the scuttling of crabs hurrying upon their secret missions.

Transforming the Centralia Coal Mine - A Golden Opportunity for Wildlife and Recreation

Past Washington’s only coal fired power plant, now in its final few years, lies a vast landscape of lush prairie, rolling hills, and glittering lakes - a former coal mine now healing and gradually transforming into a unique wild refuge. Under a WDFW proposal, the reclaimed Centralia coal mine would become one of Washington’s newest and largest wildlife areas. Such a protected area would offer great potential both for conservation of endangered species, and for building a strong outdoor recreation economy in the region.

Scenes from the Temperate Rainforest

The leaves may be long gone from the sleeping winter rainforests of the Pacific Northwest, yet their dormant boughs still shine with the emerald green moss that shines through the dim woods like a beacon. Only in a realm so often watered by the frequent storms that wash over over the quiet lowland hills to crash against the Cascade Mountains could such vibrant and diverse greenery thrive.

Raccoons in Olympic National Park

Inquisitive and industrious, the masked bandits of the animal kingdom prowl the rain slicked tidal rocks of Olympic National Park. The Raccoons that dwell here on this Wilderness Coast scan briny pools for tasty morsels washed in from the Pacific Ocean by the ceaseless pounding of waves.

Waterfalls and Waterfowl

 

The heavy rain of Winter in the Pacific Northwest brings quiescent waterfalls to roaring life and soaks the mossy walls of woodland gullies in a billion delicate tendrils of shimmering silver cascades. Down they flow to broad rivers on whose mercurial expanses glide the waterfowl in their joyful multitudes.

New Years Flood

Here in the Pacific Northwest we rang in the New Year with pouring rains and rising waters. 2021 began with a wild tempest, and to see nature at its most extreme is always an inspiring thing to behold. Though the waters have receded since I filmed this video, we can likely expect more and larger floods to come throughout the remainder of the winter and spring as the snow melts and swells the rivers with fresh and frigid runoff.