October #3 - Great Smoky Mountains

October #2 - Cherokee National Forest

October #1 - Great Smoky Mountains

"Paul, how do I get that silky water look?"

Exposure: 4 sec, f/22, ISO 100

Slower Shutter Speeds result in "that silky water look."

1) Tripod - without one, don't read further.

First, go get a tripod. (Shoot me an email if you need advice on ones worth buying).

2) Set your digital SLR camera to Aperture priority (A-for Nikons... Av-for Canons). Don't confuse this with "auto."

3) Rotate the camera's dial to show a high f-stop number such as 22. In the upper right corner of the camera's LCD you should see the following... f/22, or f/29... not smaller f-stop values such as f/3.5 or f/5.6.

4)What does this mean? In short, this indicates that there is a small AMOUNT of light entering the camera. At f/3.5 there is a large AMOUNT of light entering the camera.

Thus, to balance a correct exposure your camera will automatically select longer shutter speeds.

So, when you're down in a creek bed in the Smokies or cuddled up with a Katmai Brown bear, with the camera set to f/22, expect to see shutter speeds ranging from 2-15 seconds. NOTE: Be sure your ISO is set to its least sensitive level (100 or 200, not 1600).

At such shutter speeds, your camera's "canvas" is being "painted" with each water droplet as it travels downstream. The result is "that silky water look."

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To stop the action as shown below, set your Aperture to allow larger AMOUNTs of light to enter by rotating the dial to show f/2.8 or f/3.5 in the LCD. If larger AMOUNTs of light are entering, to render a balanced exposure, the light will not need to enter for near as long. Thus, faster shutter speeds. NOTE: You may want to select a more sensitive ISO if the light is dim (800-1600, not 100)

Exposure: 1/2000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 320

Mt Cammerer Firetower

New Video - Climbing Rainier (full story)

Video telling the story of the successful summit bid by the Climb for Captives team of Mount Rainier in August of 2009. Our Seattle team put this 12 min narrated video together for the benefit dinner held in Seattle last Friday night. Enjoy the experience!

72 miles - 24 hours

A logistics nightmare, it most certainly was... but it worked! Our goal was accomplished. For more info, click here.

TV Interview - Paul's Photos and Causes

This interview aired at 9 o'clock this morning on a local Knoxville television station.

It is finished

Made it! The 72-mile run is done. Amazing stories and video coming your way next week. Your friend, Paul

Appalachian Trail Run - 24hr Relay!

September 2nd-3rd: 9pm-9pm. You may want to follow this one. Click here to see the vision behind this fundraiser adventure. It could be a logistics nightmare. Or... it could work. Stay tuned. Join us. Pray.

Watch the 2009 C4C Trailer

Mt Rainier - Flyover!

The C4C team arranged a flyover the morning of our summit push. With our exhaustion and mild oxygen deficiency, we nearly forgot about our arrangements. But the timing could not have been more perfect. The exact 10 minutes (and no more) that we were on the summit and able to bear the cutting wind and ice across our face, the plane arrived. After three passes around 12k ft, down below us, the plane spotted BLAZE (that's Robby in the blaze orange hunting jacket) and banked toward us. Our spirits surged with excitement. For a couple minutes we lost the plane and sadly assumed they must have headed home without seeing us. Then, in one swoop the plane emerges from behind the summit and cuts through the sky just 500 feet overhead. It was on this pass they snapped this photo from the plane. That's me in the yellow jacket kneeling (taking a photo, of course). Awesome!

Photos from the Climb

a) - Josh delicately tight-ropes a section along the knife edge of a burly crevasse just after sunrise.

b) - Our second rope team in the distace carefully navigates a crevasse-split section of glacier. Mt Adams looms on the horizon.

c) - Kjel continues the trek toward the summit just before sunrise (approx 12, 300ft).

d) - Paul and Jeremy squeeze out a smile amidst high winds on the whipping cold summit of Mt. Rainier at 8:48am.

Mt Rainier Summit!

(click image to see full size)

Our "Climb for Captives" team summitted Mt. Rainier at 9am this morning! More images and stories about the climb will come your way soon. But between beginning our summit push at 12:30am from base camp (10,300 ft) to this moment as I write to you, we have climbed 4,000 feet up glacier and descended over 9,000... and sleep is calling. In fact, I may hibernate until 2010.

We Support Climb for Captives

A fun way to show that you support the Climb for Captives mission is to make a sign saying so (indicating in parenthesis your location). Then, go to an intriguing place and snap a photo. Click here to see detailed instructions about how to participate as well as current photos while they come in from supporters all over the globe.

On this pre-dawn training hike for Mt. Rainier we took a steep and fast ascent up The Chimneys in the Smoky Mountains. It's always a good haul wearing my 3lb (each) Scarpa mountaineering boots. The rumors you've heard about the boots are true. Yes, it's true. They are pink. That's been confirmed. (photo below to prove it).

Climb for Captives - Get Involved!

Visit our Climb for Captives website immediately (just launched today!). When I'm back home, I will inform you much more about this Aug 14-16 mission. For now, peruse the site, be informed, get involved, and spread the word about one of the greatest joys of my whole year. We'll climb Mt. Rainier (Seattle, WA) for the FREEDOM of 18 young girls currently in slavery in Mumbai, India. Yes. Slavery. Take a minute to get involved, and with this sobering reality in your heart, have a joyful 4th of July!

Select "full screen" mode. Click "play." Then, click "HQ" to view the video in higher quality.

Tetons - Teewinot Sunrise Climb

(click image to see full size)

Thanks to a midnight start, I witnessed a stunning sunrise about 5:30am over Teton valley from a few hundred feet below the summit of Teewinot mountain. I encountered a bit of sleet in the night, but by breakfast, at the summit, I enjoyed blue-bird skies and views all around. Many breath-taking sunrise images to come in a couple days. I can't wait to share them! But for now it's off to bed. Fourteen hours on a mtn has worn me out. It's been a memorable last day climbing the Tetons, and it was complete with the gift of our most remarkable sunrise all month. Tomorrow Ill begin the trek home to Tennessee.

(click to see full size)

My route up Teewinot this morning.

Tetons - Bison and Solar Power

Today, Will and I stalked a bison in Hayden Valley...

... and photographed an historic installment of the first solar panels at the Climber's Ranch.

That's Chuck (donor) and John (ranch manager) celebrating their two years of hard work made visible.

Tetons - South Teton

On the Summit!

The view across Garnet Canyon while descending South Teton.

Tetons - Stunning Sunset

I just thought you should see the sky over Grand Teton and Mount Owen tonight. Wow!