Even though my ride on the afternoon before this shoot got canceled because of a storm and I had to wake up at 4am to hike up to Crater Lake this shoot was a total success. I limited myself to using only a super wide lens and a telephoto, I took only a 17-40mm and a 100-400mm with me. I wanted to leave out the middle range because spar pole climbing had been shot a least three other times by the other photographers on the ranch and by not allowing myself to shoot at a normal range I hoped to get some more original images. I also decided to shoot from the top of the spar pole for most of the time. I geared up, climbed to the top of the pole, and hoisted up my camera gear with some para cord and from the top the views of Tooth Ridge were unbelievable in the early morning light. This assignment was specifically to shoot a STEM crew (Science Technology Engineering and Math), these special treks are designed to teach the participants while on trek, so as the crew moves through Philmont on their 12 day trek the uses the land as an outdoor classroom. In one of the photos you can see a participant taking a sample from a large pine tree. *note in this post I have included the captions that I wrote for each photo. Captions are part of my job here and for me the hardest part, but I'm getting much better at it.
Lennard Droege climbs the spar pole at Crater Lake while the rest of his STEM trek crew watches from below. The crew almost got rained out the night before but was able to climb early in the morning on July 16, 2016.
William Howard didn't seem to struggle much at all while climbing the spar poles at Crater Lake. While on his STEM trek spar pole climbing was part of their treks program but almost got rained out due to a lasting wave of rain that cleared just in time.
Margo Lawless was afraid of heights when she got to Philmont, but its safe to say that she has at least partially conquered that fear. Lawless struggled only the slightest bit on her way to the top and when she got there she kissed the carabiner and stood confidently while taking in the view of Tooth Ridge.
Miles Reid turns a tree sample bore into a pine tree near the Crater Lake campfire bowl on July 26, 2016. This tool will drill a small hole into the center of the tree while keeping a small core in tack. Later the small intact core can be removed from the center on a tray that reveals the interior layers of the tree. "This sample is like opening a history book of that particular tree" Says STEM leader Luke Wajrowski.