Gift Ideas for Photographers

Ron NiebruggeCalifornia, Equipment, Photos, Travel 20 Comments

A shop keeper sweeping in front of a store last month in Truckee, California

A shop keeper sweeping in front of a store last month in Truckee, California

Finding the right gift for the photographer can be tough – we all have a million opinions on what’s good and bad, and often have special needs based upon our existing camera gear / brand, etc.  I thought I would throw out a few ideas of items that might be appreciated by just about any photographer.   So here goes:

Petzl E99 PG Tikka XP 2 Headlamp. This is the newest addition to my camera bag and I love it!  This tiny little light weight headlamp is super bright!  At 60 lumens, it is currently the brightest Petzl headlamp.  Because it is so small and light, it always stays in my camera bag, and sure comes in handy on the pre sunrise / post sunset hikes that photographers are often forced to make in the pursuit of light.  But, the thing that really makes this one sweet for photography is the addition of the red LED light.  The red light allows you to see your camera gear in the dark without messing up your night vision – perfect for night photography of star trails, northern lights etc.

LED Keychain Micro-Light I love these little things and usually keep one on the zipper of my camera bag, and on my jacket.  Gee, I’m noticing a light theme here – fitting for winter in Alaska.

Leatherman 830039 New Wave Multitool There is a reason you see these on the belts or in the pockets of many Alaskans – this all around tool comes in really handy!  I have been carrying mine in my camera bag for many years – this is the new and improved model of the old one I have.   I have gotten so used to having it in my camera bag that I made the mistake of leaving mine in my bag as I went through security at the airport – whoops!

Little Hotties Hand Warmers 40 Pairs We just purchased a box of these a week or so ago.  This time of year you can’t have too many chemical hand warmers – I always leave a pair or two in my camera bag.  Not only are they great for rewarming hands once they get cold – gloves are ineffective at warming cold hands, but, I will also put them in the pockets of my jacket and use this as a place to rewarm and replenish camera batteries if I’m in real cold weather.

Reflectors and defusers Most photographers can’t have too many of these.  They are great for close-up work and people photography.  You can get them in all different sizes – something for every budget.

Digital frames Most photographers love to share photos with family and co-workers, and having a  nice  digital frame for the office or home makes a great gift for most any photographer.  I can’t recommend a particular one as I don’t own one, but I have found the buyer feedback on Amazon to be pretty accurate.

An Anza-Borrego photo workshop with me.  Hey, why not?

Handheld GPS This is another great tool for the photographer.  Not only do these things tell you where you are are, but are handy for sunrise / sunset times, tides, moon rise / set times, moon phase, and many other things.  The one I use is an old Garmin that is still going strong – so I can’t recommend a specific model, but there is a wide array of choices to select from.

iPad I don’t have one so I don’t have much to add, but what in 2011, what gift list would be complete without this item listed.

Books.   I can’t own enough books, I’m running out of room to store them all.  I have books on particular animal species, books on locations, and books on photography.  Here are some of my favorites:

Outdoor photography

Galen Rowell’s classic book Inner Game of Outdoor Photography had been out of print until being re-released this year – this is a classic, and likely isn’t in the library of a newer photographer.  Another great book on outdoor photography is  Galen Rowell’s Vision: The Art of Adventure Photography

I haven’t seen this book, but know most of the contributors so feel fairly safe in recommending:  The Ultimate Guide to Digital Nature Photography

I have always loved photography books, and although I haven’t purchased one in some time, here is a list of  4 Star rated books on outdoor photography at Amazon.

Location Guides

These can be very helpful and provide a nice running head start for any location.  I like to try to find my own “hot spots”, but there is nothing wrong with getting some help finding the existing ones.  Except for the Oregon book, I have used, enjoyed and relied on these location guides:

Photographing the Southwest: Volume 1–Southern Utah (2nd Ed.)
Photographing the Southwest: Volume 2–Arizona (2nd Ed.)
Photographing the Southwest: Volume 3–Colorado/New Mexico (Photographing the Soutwest)
Photographer’s Guide to Yellowstone and the Tetons
The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite
Photographing Oregon (Phototripsusa)


Free Shipping on Prints!

Ron NiebruggeColorado, Photos, Travel 9 Comments

Autumn colors and the Sneffels Range in the San Juan Mountains, Colorado

Autumn colors and the Sneffels Range in the San Juan Mountains, Colorado

We are offering free priority mail shipping on print orders over $100 again this holiday season!  I think this is a really popular promotion – well, we always sell lots of prints this time of year, I don’t really know if the free shipping has anything to do with it, but I don’t want to find out!  Shipping on International orders will be half off. This is a Colorado photo, but we have photos from pretty much all over the Western U.S., Canada and Alaska.

If you are one of the people that put in an order on Wednesday or Thanksgiving – don’t worry, we will apply free shipping to those as well.

To access our online shopping cart, make sure you go to our main photo website – click on any thumbnail and underneath the larger version of each photo you will see a link the says Buy A Print.  Click there and away you go.  Also, you can always call us directly if you prefer.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Photos, Travel 8 Comments

A beautiful sunrise over Resurection Bay a couple of mornings ago, Seward, Alaska.

A beautiful sunrise over Resurection Bay a couple of mornings ago, Seward, Alaska.

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you in the United States.  I know I sure have lots to be thankful for!

Anza-Borrego Photo Workshop

Ron NiebruggeAnza-Borrego, California, Photos, Travel 6 Comments

Desert wildflower in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park from February 29, 2008.

Desert wildflower in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park from February 29, 2008.

I am excited to announce that I will be able to offer my weekend photography workshop in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California again this winter!  Last years workshops were really fun – I’m looking forward to doing them again.  I’m going to keep the format the same, the only change I’m making is the addition of an informal dinner gathering on Saturday night – we did that on the second workshop last winter and it was a great time.

One of the many keys for a good wildflower bloom is rain during the Fall, and much of the desert received a lot of rain in October.  I was surprised as to how green the desert was between Las Vegas and Borrego last week.  But, there are many more factors that go into a good wildflower year, and there really isn’t any way of predicting the bloom – fortunately there are lots of other cool things to see and photograph in Anza-Borreogo, so if there is a good bloom, the wildflowers will just be a bonus.

Last year I didn’t pull this together until January 19th, and yet both weekends sold out.  Since I’m getting this out so much earlier this year and keeping the cost the same, I’m thinking chances are good that they will sell out again – so don’t wait too long, and feel free to call or email with any questions.

The one question I always receive is which weekend is the best?  There is no way of telling.  Last year was very wet and cold and both weekends ended up being too early for peak bloom.  I considered pushing the dates back, but then thought back to the amazing bloom year of 2005, the peak bloom had past by the end of February – so I didn’t want to over react to one cold winter.  2008 was more of an average year – the photo above was captured on February 29th and you can see things were right at peak.  Except for 2006, there are almost always some wildflowers, and like I mentioned before, plenty of other cool things including even a few slot canyons!

For more details on costs, dates etc., check out:  Anza-Borrego Desert Photography workshop.

Moon over Mountains

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Chugach, Photos, Travel 9 Comments

Moon rising over the mountains of the Chugach National Forest, Seward, Alaska.

A near full Moon rising over the mountains of the Chugach National Forest, Seward, Alaska.

This was from Wednesday afternoon.  I have thousands of variations of this scene, but I just can’t help myself.  It is funny, but when you see these amazing mountains day after day, they lose a bit of there impressiveness – I begin to take them for granted just a little bit.  I must say, after spending 6 weeks in the desert, I’m now reminded of just how beautiful these jagged peaks with a fresh coating of snow really look – they are stunning!

Summit Lake

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Chugach, Photos, Travel 13 Comments

Summit Lake, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska.

Summit Lake, Chugach National Forest, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska.

Just about every road through a mountain pass in Alaska passes by a lake with the name Summit Lake – the Seward Highway is no exception.  I must say, I have yet to see an ugly Summit Lake!

This was yesterday afternoon – water seeping through cracks in the ice melted some of the fresh snow and created what I thought were interesting patterns on the lake surface.

Hyatt Grand Champion

Ron NiebruggeCalifornia, Photos, Travel 12 Comments

Celebrity Course next to the Hyatt Grand Champion Resort, Indian Wells, California.

Celebrity Course next to the Hyatt Grand Champion Resort, Indian Wells, California.

This was Monday morning, our last one in California before returning to Alaska.  There, it was going to be another 80 degree day.  Here, single digit chill factors!  But, it is really nice to be home in Alaska!

So what were we doing at such a nice and fancy resort?  Well, thanks to my hotel bidding on strategy on Priceline, we were able to pick up a room for $70!  Granted there was $24 more for resort fee, and $10 for parking, but it was still just as cheap as a Holiday Inn Express!  And much nicer.

I say this every time at the end of our fall trip, but this time I think I mean it.  🙂  I try to post a photo here 5 days a week, but with a busy office load, and a reduced shooting schedule, I anticipate my activity will slow down to just a couple of times a week.  I’m usually wrong, but this time I think I will need to cut back.

Judging from the many emails, lots of people are interested in the 2011 photo tour / workshop schedule and as of right now we don’t have any thing being offered except for the sold out bear tours.  We hope to have the 2011 schedule in place soon, and recently received tentative approval to offer the the Anza-Borrego workshops again this winter – I will blog about that, and my Alaska tour schedule as soon as I have it completed.

I’m also working on some other very new things that I’m looking forward to sharing, but for now, I need to buckle down and get caught up on the office work – I could blog about the office work, but I really don’t think that would interest anyone.  🙂

Spring Preserve

Ron NiebruggeLas Vegas, Nevada, Photos, Travel 4 Comments

Springs Preserve, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Springs Preserve, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Here is another cool thing to do in Las Vegas that most visitors haven’t heard of and that is the Springs Preserve.  This is a really well done  museum that covers lots of natural history and local history information with interactive exhibits, gardens and live wildlife exhibits – tons of interesting  information about the Mojave Desert.    To learn more, visit their website at:  Springs Preserve.

Springs Preserve, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Springs Preserve, Las Vegas, Nevada.

On another note.  The next few days will have us busy putting our trailer away and then making the long travel back to Alaska.  We should be home in the middle of next week – so there probably won’t be any activity here until we reach Alaska!