Shutter-life|Adaptive photography and more, by Henrik Johansson

Just plain good, originally uploaded by henrikj.

One of my most memorable hikes ever took place in Yosemite back in 2007. I’d hoped to hike the four mile trail to Glacier Point but I had to change my plans since the trail was still covered by snow. Instead, I opted to hike to the top of Yosemite Falls, which I reached around noon. The falls are mostly obscured from the top and I had to do with this view instead…

After eating some snacks, I decided to push on towards North Dome, the rock that sits directly opposite of Half Dome. I watched the time closely and decided to stop at Indian Rock, just before North Dome. The views of Half Dome were still great, and stopping short bought me some more time to enjoy the scenery. I was completely alone, and, judging from the lack of foot prints on the snow covered ground, probably the first person make this hike towards North Dome for almost a week. It’s moments like these that stays with you forever – savoring one of the most beautiful views on earth, all alone after a strenuous hike.

I dared to stay at Indian Rock for almost before an hour before turning back. I reached the valley floor just before sunset.

It bleeds until I am free, originally uploaded by henrikj.

Some years ago, I climbed the impressive Svolvaergeita on the Lofoten Islands in Northern Norway. The climb (as most climbs) looks a lot harder than it is. After the climb, I grabbed by camera and ran to an opposing hill to catch last climber in another party before he abseiled down from the top.

Towards a grand adventure, originally uploaded by henrikj.

The Wave, North Coyotte Buttes, Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona

Enough is enough, originally uploaded by henrikj.

When we walked along the beach on Fuerteventura less than two weeks ago, we noticed some beautiful sun rays. I find it hard to made good photos sun rays, especially over water, since the image often needs some more element than just the rays and the water. This time, I noticed some branches in the vicinity and I put one of them in the image as the main object. I used f/9, but since the branch was quite close, the rays is out of focus which adds to the photo in my opinion.

Watch this world for me, originally uploaded by henrikj.

There’s a lot of photos of the magnificent Horseshoe Bend. This is one of mine. The clouds over the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument provided a nice backdrop this day.

Single shot, no HDR. Canon 17-40/4L at 17 mm on my venerable 5D Mk.I.

Log in, originally uploaded by henrikj.

This is a view upwards in the Hyatt Regency atrium in San Francisco. The hotel is a great spot for photography, especially when the holidays are approaching since they put a huge installation with a lot of Christmas lights in the atrium. On one of the upper floors, there’s also a an emergency exit that leads to a nice view of the Ferry Building and the Bay Bridge. However, you need to be careful since it impossible to open the door from the outside.

Destinations, originally uploaded by henrikj.

This is a photo from one of the most beautiful and toughest hikes that I’ve ever done. If you see a trail on a Norwegian map, you should never expect that it’s actually there in real-life – especially when you could really benefit from it (like areas with dense mountain birch or marshes).

In the photo, you can see the the lake Kongsvatnet (kings’s Lake/King’s Water) and Svolvaer, the main city on Lofoten.

Alone, originally uploaded by henrikj.

Round Valley Regional Park is one of those great parks with a lot of lonely trees and wonderful hills. Well worth a visit.

Expectations, originally uploaded by henrikj.

One drawback with vising Yellowstone in May is the abundance of steam that often hides the spring/pool/geyser that you’re trying to photograph. Still, there’re good photos to made, and the amount of color hidden inside the RAW files are often enough to save a photo.

No change of heart, originally uploaded by henrikj.

This is a photo of a coyote in Yellowstone National Park. Talking to some other photographers, we realized that we were a bit late as we missed when the coyote hunted for rodents lived below the snow. After slowly approaching us for about five minutes, the coyote became visibly disturbed by the people that had gathered in the vicinity and ran away.