Viewing entries tagged
fotografija
Pred časom sem si zamislil, da bi bilo nekoč fino fotografirat nekoga, ki dejansko zna vrhunsko plezat in da bi bilo super, če bi bila to ženska. Vmes sem se moral še malo priučit pritiskat na sprožilec, a se je kmalu ponudila priložnost, ki sem jo z veseljem izkoristil...
V splošnem imam rad ljudi. Še rajši imam življenje. Posebno mesto v mojem srcu pa imajo tisti, s katerimi preživljam prosti čas in z njimi doživljam avanture v gorah. Zato je najbrž logično, da rad vidim ljudi in življenje tudi na fotografijah. Tistih, ki jih posnamem sam, kot tudi drugih...
It's been a while since I last reviewed a piece of gear that I really really liked. My main passions being outdoor sports I usually write reviews of rad climbing, skiing, speedflying and other outdoor sports gear and gadgets. But over time I started finding myself more and more on the other side of the lens, being photography or videography documenting my adventures around the globe. I am an avid adventure photographer/videographer, mainly using my gear for alpine climbing, ice climbing and freeride skiing. Meaning I have to carry all the gear along to far-away places and use it in awkward places such as hanging from ropes, standing on small ledges or alike.
As my cameras grew in size and weight from the smallest point and shoots to DSLRs, pockets were getting outgrown, over-the-shoulder bags became impractical and uncomfortable and following the natural evolution for carrying heavier loads was next - backpacks. I've previously owned and used many backpacks of different brands, but most extensively used were Clik Elite Contrejour 35 and the LowePro PhotoSport. Both had side access, which at the time I found crucial to reach for gear. However, the Contrejour's problem was that it was too big and when loaded, side access got "twisted" in a way I could not easily retract the camera. The LowePro PhotoSport suffered the same. Reading some really nice reviews I started thinking of the F-Stop Loka. Seeing the backpack in person during Samo Vidic Pro Photography Workshop, I made up my mind in an instant.
Loka of mine had since then been pretty much around the globe and in all kinds of environments: scorching sands of the West Sahara, humid Indonesia, Sailing in the Mediterranean, sharp Californian granite and spiky limestone of the Dolomites as well as infinite powder runs and loads of ski-moutaineering trips plus overnight sleep-under-the-stars adventures. And so, after roughly a year of use everywhere, I believe I have enough history with this pack to feel confident writting a proper review.
This is the single best photo backpack I have used so far, mainly due to flexibility, durability, wearing comfort and practical no-fuss design. If you care for more - keep on reading.
Leaving the obvious women's attributes aside, I like keeping things minimal and simple. Being a climber sooner or later gets you to the point when you figure out that all the bells and whistles usually catch on rocky outcrops, mean more weight is being carried (usually to no advantage) and more things get broken. Which is why it is best to omit it in the design from the beginning. Loka has a back access to the gear, which is absolutely perfect. Big strong and easy to slide zippers seem to be bombproof and after a year of use from -25ºC to +35ºC, they seem to be intact. I believe there is also a lifetime warranty on the zippers, so you should have a peace of mind. It is also the small little details that count, such as elastic bands that hold the free end of the straps in place. You'd think that it is not important, but only as long you're not climbig at 80 km/h+ winds when those "not to worry" straps start slamming your face ferociously. And it actually hurts, as it did on a frigid cold and ferociously windy day this February climbing above Chamonix.
What I don't like with the design of my 2013 model Loka, is the bottom part detail... two edges which protrude (from the bottom side of ICU) on the outer side, exactly where the nylon material meets the bottom super-sturdy and durable material. That is the exact point where the backpack sees most use - when being offloaded to the ground in order to take out gear or even leaving it stand. And as I often need to take gear out leaving my backpack on rocks in the mountains and elsewhere, that is where I see a potential for design improvement, as it only needs a tiny bit of shifting the sewing to either side. I have to note though that except visible signs of wear all is structurally and integrally perfect. The second thing I personally don't need and/or find no real use for is the vertical pocket that runs along the front of the backpack. If it were me, I would simply ditch that, get some weight saving and make backpack even simpler. I find it too shallow to actually stuff something useful there except lighter clothing, but then again that can easily be stored inside the main compartment. Having this pocket too stuffed with anyting hard would also mean that everytime you put your backpack down to take photo/video gear out, it would either be in way and could possibly tumble the backpack to the sides or crush the hard goods in the front pocket.
Though F-Stop produces other backpacks which have beefier padding, I find Loka extremely comfortable to carry, even with heavy loads. Moreover, I find the F-Stop Loka more comfortable to carry when heavy than many of my climbing/mountaineering backpacks, which was quite a surprise. I would however like to see Loka improve ice-axe attachments but as it seems from the pictures online, the new series keep improving and already have that taken care of. Great job updating so quickly!
As far as climbing comfort goes I can only praise how good it actually performs. Be it climbing or doing anything which includes rising your arms above shoulder level for that matter. Shoulder straps are wide enough to balance the heavy load comfortably, padded great and yet are soft enough to follow shoulder movement. Utilising side compression streps and having properly balanced backpack is of course of crucial importance when climbing, as it is with any backpack and goes without saying.
Loka uses the ICU or internal camera units and is therefore almost as good as the old saying one-bag-does-it-all. When on a mission when I carry all my gear for climbing and shooting without pre rigging (which is 95% of the time) I use the Medium Pro ICU, which fits my 5D3 with either 16-35 mm f2.8L or 24-70mm f2.8L attached and the other on the side, plus one additional lens and Zacuto Z-finder and miscellaneous, such as filters, extra batteries etc. And now out of apx. 37L total capacity I would estimate there is about 20L or even 25L left for other gear. That means i can have all my climbing gear plus clothing stored inside, ice-axes and ropes on the outside and still have some place left. I'd even managed to fit over-night bivy gear along the aforementioned, but I do have to note it was minimalist and superlight top of the range gear, without unnecessary bulk.
Should I go on a shooting where I drive my car to or close by, I simply pull out the medium ICU and put the Large one inside, which fits additional lenses, on-camera flash and other extras. That is ONE bag, multiple ICUs and you are covered for literally everything. And the one that is not in my backpack gets used as a gear organiser and fits under the couch. Perfect!
Mesh pockets on the sides provide quick access to drinks (which I usually have inside in the dedicated hydration bladder pocket) or - as it is my case - a safe and sound way to carry tripod on the outside. As I almost always have to either climb or at least hike with all the gear on my back, I try to minimise weight and use the Gitzo Series 1 carbon fiber tripod, which fits awesomely. On the other hand, the huge Sachtler tripod for videography does not fit in the bottom mesh on the side and is therefore a bit more of a nuisance to carry as it is harder to attach it in way that it does not shift. But with numerous straps available I always find a way of securely attaching it to the backpack.
If you are investing in a long-lasting and flexible solution to carry around your gear in a form of backpack for the great outdoors - look no further! Yes, the Loka is a tad more expensive, but it's all in the details, well thought design and build quality. And to tell you honestly, you'll be saving loads going for the top of the class from the beginning instead of numerous iterations I had to make before ending (happily) with F-Stop Loka.
Kadar najdem kaj prostega časa, se skušam ozreti v preteklost in narediti nekakšen mesečni fotografski povzetek celotnega prejšnjega leta. Po več iteracijah in parcialnih vložkih časa v to, da bi naposled pripravil nekakšen pregled in fotozgodbo, kot jo sicer pripravim vsako leto, sem zdaj naposled prispel do srečnega konca: izbral po nekaj fotografij in trenutkov vsakega meseca, ki so se mi še posebej vtisnili v spomin in spisal komentarje. Objavo sem imel sicer v mislih prve dne januarja, a enostavno nisem utegnil in do zdaj po malem krpal in dopolnjeval. Izbrane fotografije niso nujno meni najbolj všečne fotografije, ki sem jih naredil, temveč tiste, ki me najbolj spomnijo na določen mesec leta, ki je za nami... Vsakoletni pregled minulega leta me vsakič znova opomni, kako hitro beži čas, in da kako koristno je živeti za danes in vsak dan posebej, in ne tavati v prihodnosti... Predvsem pa sreče in zadovoljstva ne pogojevati s stvarmi, denarjem in lastnino, temveč z doživetji, občutki in zgodbami, ki me notranje bogatijo in izpopolnjujejo.
Ob kliku na fotografijo se odpre fotozgodba s komentarji pod vsakim utrinkom, le-ti pa so razporejeni kronološko, od prvega do zadnjega dne v letu 2013. Prijeten ogled.
Zlata motika, odlična družba, smeh, zabava, občni zbor, zadovoljstvo in prijatelji … To bi bile nekako uvodne ključne besede letošnjega osrednjega društvenega dogodka, ki se je odvijal minuli vikend nad Vršičem v vselej prijetni Koči na Gozdu. Nekaj kandidatov nas je že konec tedna odšlo v snežno pravljico. Cesta je bila na debelo zasnežena, smreke so se šibile pod težo belih oblačil, v zraku so se lesketali snežni kristalčki. Po uvodnih zapletih s prevozom smo vendarle krenili na pot in mimo Erjavčeve koče in tam prisotnih reševalcev in njihovih reševalnih psov na vajah odcapljali proti Nad Šitom glave. Ves čas smo se držali poraščenih predelov ob desnem grebenu in se tako skrivali pred plazovitimi predeli. Kljub vsej opremi danes razpoložljivi varnostni opremi - od snežnih kukavic, balonov, žoln, sond, lopat, vrvic, dihalnikov in vsega ostalega - smo se na višini ca- 1900 m usrali od strahu. Tam od 20 - 40 cm debela oddeja snega na poledeneli kloži je bila prenevarna in odločili smo se za spust. Če zavoljo lepe sončne svetlobe ne bi tako priganjal, bi eventuelno naredili še kakšen zavoj več, ampak se je več kot splačalo. Enkraten pršič do kolen, redka dreveščka in popolna zima. Kot bi mignil smo bili v koči in prvi večer se je lahko začel. Počasi se nas je do večerje nakapljalo prvih dvajset članov in po dobri hrani nismo več dolgo vztrajali na nogah. Pobrala nas je noč. Prihodnje jutro je šlo zares. Najprej dostava celih kubikov prtljage, polnih nahrbtnikov in ostalega za več kot 70 parov nog, ki so prišli bolj ali manj točno ob dogovorjeni uri, ko se je pričel seminar plazovne varnosti z Volontarjem in ostalimi člani GRS. Mahnili smo jo na delovišča in se razdelili v 5 skupin po 15 ljudi. Po besedah Volontarja nas je bilo ko Rusov :) Po skupinah smo na vseh deloviščih delali različne vaje ob pihljanju severnega vetra na minus 13. Bilo je … frišno! Ampak nič ne de! Vaje so bile več kot koristne, udeleženci so bili navdušeni in ker je ostalo še nekaj ur dneva so jih vsi izkoristili za lovljenje poslednjih sončnih žarkov onega dne na različnih vrhovih okrog Vršiča.
Tradicionalno smo v goste na uradni del našega zborovanja povabili tudi zunanjega predavatelja. Tokrat nas je v Himalajo in na številne himalajske odprave popeljal njih vodja - Tone Škarja. Z odprtimi usti smo poslušali prenekatere zgodbe časov pred našim rojstvom in z zanimanjem spremljali pripovedi z in izpod najvišjih svetovnih vršacev.
Sledil je uradni del z volitvami in pozneje imenovanjem novega podpredsednika društva. Po predstavitvah vseh treh kandidatov se je obetal tesen izid, a vendar je na koncu s prepričljivo večino (takšno, da ni bil potreben drugi krog) povedel Džani, ki je torej do prihodnjega leta naš novi podpredsednik. Njegov protikandidat je že napovedl hud boj, saj prihodnje leto sledijo obče volitve in se bo menda tudi predsedniku zamajal stolček.
Družabni program z obilico smeha so tokrat pripravili letošnji alpski mucki. Po duhoviti retrospektivni uvodni predstavitvi so sledile razne preizkušnje in predstavitev novosti z letošnjega R&D oddelka. Vse novosti je pokupil mogotec na mobilnem telefonu, njegov PRovec Jaka pa je na dražbi z velikim naskokom pokosil vse tekmece, ki so stegovali jezike. Omejena serija zlatih smuči, rokavice za plezanje, gretje in kot nadomestek derez ter izjemno lahka, zložljiva vetrovka z varjenimi šivi - vse top ponudba! Večer se je prevesil v noč in po zmrzovanju na svežem ledenem zraku večjih razvratov ni bilo pričakovati. Za tste, ki je zmanjkalo tudi ležišč na tleh, so se odpravili nazaj domov, ostali smo odpujsali v postelje. Nedelja je bila namreč dan za ture TTS, NTTS ter seveda izpite zimskega dela AŠ.
In kako zaključit? Bilo je super, za nami je še eno čudovito leto društvenega blagostanja, družbene harmonije in lepih avantur. Malo poetično, ampak ni daleč od resnice. Všeč mi je še posebej to, da postajajo mladi aktivni, da se v aktivnosti društva vključujejo tudi pripadniki stare garde (ne po letih temveč stažu) in da se še vedno znamo kulturno zabavat in poveselit. Čeprav so letos manjkali ključni akterji razvpitega nočnega življenja zavoljo bolezni, slabega počutja ali česa tretjega, smo se vendarle prebili čez zabavno noč in obrnili list v našem društvenem koledarju, ki letos piše svoje 9. leto. In ker smo društvo in ker ne želimo, da gredo naši lepi skupni trenutki in doživetja v pozabo, na tem mestu še bodica, da bi si v prihodnje želel videti več objav na naši spletni strani, ki že od naše ustanovitve služi kot dnevnik in ustvarja društveno zgodovino! Srečno in vse dobro do prihodnjič in hvala vsem, ki ste prišli in tistim, ki ste želeli pa zaradi tega ali onega niste uspeli!
Celotna objava z vsemi fotografijami pa tukaj.
Nekaj kičastih trenutkov na Silvestrovo 2012/2013 ... S pogledi smo se razvajali nad Vršičem. Več o tem in fotogalerija pa na društveni strani Freeapproved.
Pred dobrimi desetimi tedni sem pričel s fotografiranjem. V tem času sem po sicer 7 letnem premoru prvič prijel za fotoaparat ob drugačnih priložnostih kot za družinsko fotografiranje pihanja sveč na torti in podobnega neizvirnega šklocanja. V teh 10 tednih je nastalo nekaj fotografij, ki se mi jih je zazdelo še enkrat izpostaviti. Predvsem zase, da vidim kateri motivi so mi všeč in kje se še lahko potrudim in kaj naučim. Zahvala za mojo vnemo in tele povprečne rezultate gre tudi Samu Vidicu za nekaj najinih šnel kurz lekcij po telefonu med vožnjo v službo.
Zaporedje fotografij je kronološko - od najnovejše do "najstarejše".
Ker sem še vedno brez kamere (in tako bo do jeseni) sem se malo zamislil nad fotografiranjem. Sedaj, ko malo slikam znova vidim, da je časovni vložek za fotografiranje napram snemanju-montaži-postprodukciji - zanemarljiv. In kar sam sebe malo obsojam zdaj, ko na tak "poceni" način pridem do fotografije, op cop, 10 min pa je že vse online.
Do jeseni, ko pride kamera, se bom torej malo "švercal" in pač objavljal samo fotografije ...
Nekaj zadnjih fotogalerij je sicer na voljo v moji spletni picasa fotogaleriji na katero se lahko tudi "prijavite", da vas ob novih fotografijah obvesti ...
Lambada, Sveča in Najvišji slap
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Nekaj v Krnici
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Grapa med Travnikom in Šitami
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Travniška grapa
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V soju čelnih svetilk smo gazili nazaj proti izhodišču. V pravljični igri plesočih snežink, ki so z močnim vetrom plesale predvsem vodoravno, smo uživali ob vsakem koraku. Za seboj smo puščali stopinje v čarobno mehki plasti snežnih kristalov, ki jih je vetru navkljub gravitacija naposled potegnila k zimskemu počitku.
Mojster Samo (podobno kot gasilec Samo :) je danes pohajkoval po Bohinju. Vmes je s svojim trotlfotlcem naredil tudi nekaj svežih fotografij mojega drugega doma ...
V tej "jesenski" seriji je pripravil kup noro dobrih fotografij, ki jih spimpam, pošejpam in ob priliki objavim tudi tukaj, sicer pa vabljeni k ogledu fotogalerije.
