July 2009 Featured Member: Daniel Bayer

Photo.net featured member by Josh Root

Daniel Bayer: Outdoor Life Photographer

Daniel was born in England, raised in Southern California. He has been shooting for 34 years, 18 professionally. Based in Aspen, Colorado for the past 11 years. He shoots advertising, stock, editorial and fine art. Not content to just document the outdoors, he makes the activities and environments he shoots part of his life. As such, he has have climbed all 54 of the Colorado “Fourteeners” and Mt. Rainier. He uses a variety of formats including Nikon for digital, Leica, Nikon, Hasselblad in 6×6 and panoramic 35mm for film. When asked to describe himself he will often say, “I don’t shoot for a living, I simply live what Sam Abell calls “The Photographic Life”.

What draws you to do outdoor photography? Which came first, your interest in the outdoors, or your interest in photography?

DANIEL: As a kid, you could not keep me inside. I was not much of a T.V. watcher, there was just too much tactility to be had under the sun. So having said that, the outdoors came first. One of the main reasons I do outdoor photography is that it is a great excuse to be patient and listen to nature. I often hear people complain about good or bad weather for shooting outdoors, I just don’t agree with that – I get outside and let chance favor my prepared mind.

Daniel Bayer

Many of your outdoor images seem to be about people doing things in the outdoors, rather than just pictures of nature itself. Do you think that makes a difference in the quality of your images? How much of this stuff do you do yourself?

DANIEL: I think it is easy to respond to an outdoor scene for it’s latent beauty or impact, but when you have people in the scene, it gives it context we can all relate to. Images with people in them also sell better in terms of both editorial and advertising context, trees don’t buy photos of them selves. As far as participating in the activity, I do quite a bit of the things I photograph like snowboarding, mountaineering, etc.

Many people feel that outdoor or nature photography requires long lenses or massive backpacks full of gear. What equipment do you typically use on an average project?

DANIEL: I think the best outdoor images are when you are on an incredible outdoor endeavor and the camera only comes out at the best times to make a shot. In other words, I see a lot of guys hauling around the same 30 LB photo trekker and set up for the same shot by the lake shore. That is generally not the way I operate. I make the outdoor pursuit the first order of business, that way, when I do make an image, it is unique and to the point. I keep it as light as possible so that if I want to move quickly, I can. But sometimes the Hasselblads come along and it does start to get weighty. I tend to not use really long glass on wildlife as I want to put the power of the image into context, show something of the animal’s surroundings instead of getting the usual “Mug-shot” that could have been shot in a zoo for all the viewer knows.

Daniel Bayer

In terms of landscapes, I only go really wide when that is the only option, otherwise, super-wide lenses tend to push all the intimacy of a scene away from the viewer and frankly, look cliche. Typical gear sets include a 17-35, 60 macro and a 105 2.5 if I am shooting Nikon. I also use Hasselblad in both 6×6 and 24mm x 65mm, XPan.

Why is using film so important to you in photography in an industry when digital imaging is rapidly becoming the norm?

DANIEL: I love the process and I love the result. I hear a lot of the print mattering the most and I don’t always agree with that. I use a lot of digital, have been for over 15 years, but it is getting to the point that I really enjoy all of it and can use any of it to make my images happen. There is less battery dependancy with my film cameras when I am out in the field too. I can go for days, weeks or months without needing to recharge anything. Film also sets forth both limits and consistencies that one can play off of creatively. It also requires a confident technique in that you have to make your choices, make your shot and then move on.

Talk about the Kodachrome Project and what drove you to create it.

DANIEL: Ah, the Kodachrome Project.. Well, it is one of those things that at first seemed crazy, “why am I doing this?”, all that jazz. But then it just starts to resonate with you if that is your thing. I started using film when I was 9, Kodachrome when I was 13. The film is unforgiving and in that you really learn about light quickly, especially how subtle changes as perceived by the human eye make a more than subtle difference in the final image on film.

Daniel Bayer

So when I found out that Kodachrome 25 had been taken out of production, I knew it was only a matter of time until all of it fell to the same fate. But the big thing that made me open it up to people is the notion that the film could conceivably be shot in it’s 75th year. I knew I was going to use it as an excuse to shoot some strong essays with, but I did not feel right in not inviting everyone else to the “party”. So here we are at 74 years, we will be shooting it next year in it’s 75th year as a medium.

But the main thing is that the Kodachrome Project spoke to me as a life long image maker as a clear opportunity to explore, re-aqaint and fully utilize a medium as unique as Kodachrome and to bring a powerful and relevant conclusion to the era. I still think it has got to be one of the craziest and riskiest things I have undertaken as a photographer and businessman, but I have loved every minute of it.

The big thing now is securing funding and a book publisher. I am spending the next month with my grant writer and web guru and then the rest of the year shooting it in terms of further story development. But come next year, it is Kodachrome Project full time even if I have to eat Ramen Noodles.

Where did you gain your outdoor photography skills and knowledge? What resources or advice do you have for beginning outdoor photographers?

Daniel Bayer

DANIEL: I used to say I am self taught and still do I guess to some degree. But the reality of it is that life and studying the work of great photographers is what taught me about photography. I learned very early on what spoke to me in a photograph and what did not, that all adds up in how you see the world. I also tended to day dream a lot in grade school and started noticing the smaller pairing and scaling of things in life that might get overlooked. Even when there is not a camera in sight, I am still making photographs because I am still seeing, all the time.

As far as resources go, there are good sites, like this one that embrace a variety of topics. Going to a large public library and just sitting down with some good photo books help. But the main thing is to have a balanced diet of information, look at photography and not just tech articles all the time. Galen Rowell’s “Mountain Light” is one of the best resources for an outdoor photographer who wants to get beyond the gear and look more into the emotive context of why an outdoor image is made.

As far as being out in the elements or doing outdoor activities and dealing with your own safety as well as the safety of your gear, what advice do you have for other photographers?

DANIEL: Be attentive to all that you might encounter as a person in the outdoors. Put photo gear and photography second and make sure that you physically, are well taken care of. When I do a climb or a remote trip, I rarely carry photo specific devices like camera bags, packs, lens pouches or other bulky one trick pony photo gear. I tend to shove lenses in socks, wrap camera bodies in a fleece. In other words, nothing in my pack serves only one purpose, that is counterproductive as a person being safe in the outdoors. I strongly believe that the less you make your outing about management of photo gear, the more unique your photos could end up being and the less of a liability you are to your self or those who are with you.

And finally, the question we ask everyone: While this article is primarily directed towards your outdoor photography, there are many other genres represented in your portfolio. With that in mind, what would be your ‘dream project’ if you could work on anything in the world?

DANIEL: Dream project? Well, if you would have asked me this before the Kodachrome Project, it would be to spend a month photographing the Earth from orbit. But now, if I could get enough funding to just take off full time to shoot the Kodachrome Project and all the places it could take me, I simply can’t think of anything better in terms of what I dream of. I suppose a month at the International Space Station shooting portraits of the Earth with Kodachrome in 120mm would be the ultimate.

Some Examples of Daniel’s Work

Daniel Bayer	Comet Hale Bopp. One of the things that got me into photography was astronomy. I wasted a ton of film on photos of the moon that appeared as fuzzy tennis balls. So when 1996 came around and I shot the great comet, it all seemed to pay off, all of those bad shots. I used a Nikon F5, 85mm 1.4 at 1.8-ish, Fuji 800 Super-G color neg film pushed to ISO 2,000. I also lit up the windmill with my pickup using blue gels over the heard lights.
Daniel Bayer	Untouched Mine This was the result of putting an outdoor adventure first and making a photography outing of it, secondary. It was a particularly dry year so the snow that would normally cover opening to the mine was not there this time. I stopped to wipe off my fogged sunglasses and a black dot in a rock band about 3 miles away caught my eye. I looked on my topo map and made my way over to the opening. The scramble up the last 200 feet was a bowling alley of loose scree at best. When I entered what I figured was a mine opening, I was kind of spooked. There were simply no signs of any recent entry for ages. I was stunned with my mouth wide open when my headlamp struck the handle of an old pick ax. After showing the image to many local mine experts and historians, they were floored! Judging by the examination of a large print, it has not been touched since the prospectors left some 123 years ago. I have not been back since and have not told a soul where it is. Nikon FM3A, 17-35 2.8, Fuji 200 color neg, using my pack as a tripod and light painted the inside with my headlamp.
Daniel Bayer	My first paragliding flight I was in New Zealand for a month. I was having lunch and I noticed this little boat pulling a paraglider out to the middle of the lake. Then when they got to about 2,500 feet, they detached from the line and off it went. So I gave it a try, in tandem of course. Shot with a Nikon F100, 16mm fisheye, Fuji Velvia.
Daniel Bayer	The Maroon Bells in full moonlight I was trying for a star lit scene above the Maroon Bells in the wee hours of the morning. At first, I was not too happy about the clouds, but then I saw the direction they were moving was kind of nice, so I shot a few frames. Nikon FM3A, 24mm 2.0, 5 minutes on Tmax 100.
Daniel Bayer	A Monk’s Peace with the Day’s End I had very little time to get this shot as the light was waning very fast. I put my F100 to spot metering, 1/50th at F / 2.8, 17-35, Velvia.
Daniel Bayer	Nature Rules This is one of those situations where photo gear as a priority was a distant second to where I was going and what I was doing. The place this was taken is actually very remote in the Colorado Rockies, so much so that the locals simply never mention it to visitors as a means to keep them out of trouble. The black peaks off in the distance are the famed Maroon Bells. Hasselblad XPan, 30mm 5.6, Fuji Across 100.

Links

• Daniel’s member page
• Daniel’s gallery page
• The Kodachrome Project
• Photo.net’s Nature forum
• Photo.net’s Film & Processing forum