There are two types��of��adventurous souls��who are��easy to buy gifts for: those who have told you in exact terms what they want, or those who you're so close with that you know their size, their favorite color, the terrain and climate in which they regularly hike, and whether or not their jacket�����ܲ�����have pit zips. For the rest of the people on your list, we would like to make the case for one gift that never fails: the coffee table book. It doesn't sound all that sexy, but it always does the trick. You've got choices for every outdoors obsessive in your life. You only need a basic understanding of their interests to find a book that says, “Hey, I get what's important to you, and I want you to be able to share it with the world through a tasteful conversation piece.”��And the concept really doesn't age out—you can't argue with the��allure of the hard cover, the oversize pages, and the beautiful photos.��

Here are our all-time favorites that come with a 100 percent recipient-satisfaction guarantee.

For Cyclists

‘Velo 3rd Gear: Bicycle Culture and Stories’ by Sven��Ehmann

Bicycle design is a fascinating rabbit hole—endlessly customizable to fit rider personality and purpose, while utilizing the latest technology and still staying true to the original two-wheel design.���ձ������3�������ұ𲹰���illustrates the most current innovations in some of the world’s most covetable bicycles, features stories from cyclists, and provides an introduction to the next generation of products and accessories��evolving to meet the growing demand for pedal power.

For #VanLifers

‘Home Is Where You Park It’ by Foster Huntington

Huntington documented the campers of travelers he met on his own 80,000-mile, two-year North American road trip. He published about 100 of his favorite shots in this coffee table book. Each van is a lifestyle enabler and reflects the personality of its owner. Read: the photos are very fun. This one is sure to inspire wanderlust in anyone who still can't resist #vanlife inspiration (rest assured, we all know this person).��

For Climbers

‘Fred Beckey's 100 Favorite North American Climbs’ by Fred Beckey

The climbing legend shares intimate knowledge of his favorite climbs, mixing photographs, route descriptions, hand-drawn maps, historical information, and influencers from the sport in this guidebook. It acts as the ultimate reference book, offering climbing beta and a comprehensive tick-list for every alpinist.��

For Photographers

‘Infra: Photographs by Richard Mosse’ by Richard Mosse and Adam Hochschild

​

Photographer Richard Mosse captures conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo using Kodak Aerochrome, an infrared color film originally used for military reconnaissance. The film’s infrared light turns lush green landscapes into an array of electric crimsons and hot pinks. The book documents not only the country’s topography but also the conflict between rebel groups and the country’s national army, telling the Congo’s story through a completely unexpected look.

For Generalists

‘Going Out Is Going In’��edited by Jeff Johnson and James Joiner

When you’re gifting for a true Renaissance outdoorsperson, Going Out Is Going In has your back. You get a whole spectrum of the outdoor world, from kayaking to climbing to hiking, oceans to arctic landscapes, extreme adventure to natural serenity. The book features work by leading adventure and outdoor photographers including Becca Skinner, Chris Burkard, and Forest Woodward.��

For Off-the-Grid Obsessives

‘Cabin Porn: Inspiration for Your Quiet Place Somewhere’ by Zach Klein, Steven Leckart and Noah Kalina

Inspired by the Tumblr blog “Cabin Porn,” this book features some of the site’s most popular photographs of handmade homes around the world, nestled away from civilization. The book showcases unique architecture and idyllic settings, offers tips for setting up a quiet escape, and provides a sense of peace that simply can’t be quantified with Insta likes.

For Startup Enthusiasts

‘The ���ϳԹ���rs: New Outdoor Creativity’ edited by J. Bowman, S. Ehmann and R. Klanten

Hiking, biking, paddling, and other outdoor pursuits are more than hobbies—they inspire entire lifestyles and cultures. The ���ϳԹ���rs documents the rise of the creative outdoor entrepreneurs helping cater to these passions, featuring interviews with gear manufacturers, industry innovators, and explorers and adventurers.

For Wildlife Lovers

‘On This Earth A Shadow Falls’��by Nick Brandt

This is the third book in a trilogy Brandt created to document East Africa’s wildlife, capturing elephants, giraffes, lions, and gorillas in sepia and blue-tone photos without the aid of a telephoto lens. The result is a portfolio of intimate wildlife portraits. This installment has a darker tone than the previous books��in the series and provides a starker view of the plight of East Africa’s rapidly disappearing animals.

For Surfers

‘Surfing: 1778-Today’ by Jim Heimann

Graphic designer Jim Heimann charts surfing’s culture and history through more than 900 images, starting in 1778 and tracing the evolution of the sport and lifestyle to present day. Historical and contemporary photographs, along with essays by surf journalists, create a visual history of surfing, its athletes, and its influence on the world through fashion, film and music.��

For Conservationists

‘Genesis’ by Lelia Wanick Salgado and photographs by Sebastiao Salgado

There are still places in the world that are unchanged by humans as though trapped in the time of Genesis. Sebastiao Salgado spent eight years finding and documenting these mountains, deserts, oceans, and animals relatively untouched by modern society. He traveled by foot, canoe, and even balloon through extreme conditions to create the black and white images in this love letter to the planet.��

For Entertainers

‘Craft Cocktails’ by Brian Van Flandern

Mixologist Brian Van Flandern shares some of his favorite recipes created while working at New York’s Per Se restaurant. He includes other recipes from famous craft cocktail lounges in the city. The book covers exotic ingredients found in many of Van Flandern’s famous drinks, as well as garnishes and glassware for crafting your own cocktails at home.��

For Travelers

‘Oxford Atlas of the World’

Gone are the days when hard-backed reference books were considered practical, but Oxford’s atlas should still have a place in every geography nerd's home library. The annually-updated book is filled with urban and backcountry maps, illustrated tables and graphs, and striking satellite images. And yes, it’s still a helpful resource for trip planning.��

For Fly Fishers

‘50 Places to Fly Fish Before You Die’��by��Chris��Santella

The thrill of the pull on the line while fly-fishing is matched only by the beautiful places the sport can take a devoted angler. 50 Places takes readers to some of the most stunning and famous spots in the world among devoted casters. Seek tarpon in��Jardines��de la Reina, Cuba, cast for peacock bass in the Rio Negro in Brazil, and reel in��taimen��in Mongolia—no permits necessary.

The post The Case for the Coffee Table Book: Solving All Your ���ϳԹ���-Gift Crises appeared first on ���ϳԹ��� Online.

In 2013, Colorado-based photographer was shooting��professional skier Caroline Gleich at Grizzly Gulch,��a backcountry spot near Alta Ski Area,��when the temperature��suddenly dropped, squeezing the last drops of��moisture from the snow and making it float like dust. The sun took on a��rich,��late-afternoon hue. Doran knew he needed to capitalize on��the prime conditions.

“Go hike, hike!” Doran told Gleich.��She scrambled up the slope, then came ripping down, laying��one perfect turn in a dreamlike haze of snow and sun. The result��would become a Powder magazine cover shot, as well as the publication’s 2014 Photo of the Year.��

Photos like that��are the unicorns of the ski world, requiring perfect snow, perfect light, and a perfect turn. If any of those elements are missing, you have a Facebook image, not one fit for print. They require luck, but they also require a huge amount of skill, which Doran has in spades.��We caught up with the pro��last week to��find out more about how he captures hero shot after hero shot.

The Gear

Every day,��I ski with a Canon 1DX or a Canon 7D Mark II because of their high frame rates. The 1DX shoots 12 to��14 frames per second, and the 7D Mark II goes up to ten.��With each,��I can shoot a skier all the way through a turn instead of just getting one shot and hoping for something good. Both cameras also have incredibly fast autofocus systems that let me lock onto a skier.

My lenses are all Sigmas: 12-24mm��f4.5-5.6, 24-105mm f4, and 70-200mm f2.8. I like the 12-14mm because it’s wide enough to help me set the scene so the reader knows exactly where the shoot took place. The 24-105mm is a great versatile lens—it’s wide enough for scene setters but tight enough for action. And the 70-200mm is pretty much all action all the time. I carry all three lenses every day. I went with Sigma because the company delivers professional-quality results at a fraction of the price. Full disclosure:��I bought my own Sigma lenses, and now they sponsor me.

I also carry spare batteries, all my lens-cleaning stuff, and up to 128 gigs of memory cards, which is enough for a couple days of shooting in the backcountry when I don’t have access to a computer. Most days I also carry a beacon, shovel, probe, skins, water, and food. It makes for a joyful pack that weighs about 35 to 40 pounds.

The Bag

I use a to haul all my gear. It’s��meant for cameras but carries extremely well—more like a technical pack than a photo pack. At 40 liters, it’s big enough for everything I need. In snowy weather,��the bag protects my gear inside, but I don’t cover the camera in my hand while I’m shooting because I don’t have time to fiddle around with extra gear. By the end of the day, when it’s dumping, everything is pretty wet. I always take my gear back to wherever I’m staying and dry it off really well. I wipe everything down, take off all the caps, and make sure it’s in a warm, dry spot overnight. ��

The Snow

In a perfect world, the snow comes in warm and wet and leaves cold and dry. The warmer snow covers everything so the skier can’t feel the old snow underneath. But the colder snow creates that vapor trail behind the skier’s��turn.��In terms of depth, I like��eight to ten inches.��Any deeper and��you can lose your skier in a white cloud as it flies up around them. That might create a cool look for editorial work, but if you’re shooting for a catalog, you need to see something. And, of course, you want to avoid anything with a wind crust or breakable crust on top. Running around and searching for that storm and then getting the right snow in the right moment is a big part of the game.

The Skier

Communication is a huge part of ski photography. When you are really pushing for your best stuff and you have the light, it’s very much a game of inches. I need the athlete in an exact spot, which can take a lot of planning. And it changes as you get on the slope. For example, the athlete and I might start at the bottom of a slope and find��the best line, but then the athlete will get to the top and realize they have to go right instead of left, which means I have to change my position��and what my background looks like. There’s a lot of talking before any photos get made.

The Moment

You want the light to be��directional��and hit��your subject from an angle instead of above, which creates hard shadows. Early in the year,��you can get away with shooting throughout the day because the sun is at an angle. As the season goes on and you get into mid-February, you have to be cautious and shoot��on the edges of the day so the light is at a better angle.

South-facing slopes get way too bright��by late morning, so you have to shoot those early in the day. Later in the season, I also like to shoot north-facing slopes,��just as the sun pops over the top,��because that kind of light creates a nice texture.

The Story

I always start with a super-wide-angle lens. That gives you a sense of place. A good opener makes the reader want to be skiing in the location you’ve photographed. After that, I can start going a little tighter with a longer lens. A good, tight��action shot��makes the viewer want to be that skier because the action is so intense. I also try to shoot everything around the skiing—the food and the après scene—because you have to tell the whole story, especially if it’s a travel piece.

The Advice

Find a spot with a good backdrop and have��your skier come through the shot. For example, if you have an angled ridgeline with blue in the background and the skier coming through the frame, the skier is really going to stand out against the blue. You can capture the power of the turn. The worst thing you can do is put your athlete in the middle of the bowl, because they just disappear. Also,��be sure to use a fast shutter speed—1/1000 or higher—something��that will capture the action.

To see more of Liam Doran’s work, check out his .

The post How to Shoot a Magazine-Worthy Ski Photo appeared first on ���ϳԹ��� Online.

It was a routine ride for mountain biker Graham Agassiz. He’d done it 100 times. It was 2013, in British Columbia, when the then 23-year-old pro free-rider charged down a steep, scrubby single track that would change the trajectory of his career.��

He clipped a sagebrush plant and suddenly��tomahawked��off his bike. He landed hard on the ground, face-first,��rolled over and remained still, struggling to catch his breath. His lung had collapsed, and his neck was broken.

The freak accident could have been a career ender—or worse. Instead it marked the start of a battle in which Agassiz would need to do more than fix his body to return to the top of the sport. He’d have to reconsider his lifestyle. The spirit of his four-month recovery is depicted in , a narrative-documentary concept film from Sherpas Cinema that launched . With riveting, surrealist visuals, the film aims to convey a total reconstruction of self. “I feel like I was given a second chance,” Agassiz said in an email, “which just added fuel to the already burning blaze inside of me.”

Agassiz grew up in Kamloops, British Columbia, considered the birthplace of free-ride mountain biking. He follows an incredible lineage of mountain bikers the city produced and has been hailed as the latest great rider from the area. He started racing BMX at 7 years old, mountain biking at 14, and went pro at 18. Two years ago, just months��before his injury, Agassiz wowed his fellow competitors at the . By all accounts, Agassiz is an amazing athlete, says Eric Crosland, film director and a co-founder of Sherpas Cinema. “He's a style master.”

But skyrocketing to stardom in extreme sports can lead to extreme lifestyle choices. Before the broken neck, Agassiz had fallen into a world of partying and��drinking.*��Coming back wouldn’t just mean healing physically, it would mean coming to terms with the temptations and distractions—demons, as they're called��them in the film—that haunted the rider during the early years of his career.��

“It’s what a lot of young riders in action sports struggle with,” Crosland says. “There is this sort of rock star status that comes along with these young pro athletes. It’s not a conventional sports system,” like in pro football or baseball, for example. “There’s such a huge lifestyle component.”

That kind of narrative is what drew the interest of Sherpas, Crosland says. It’s deeper than the “athlete recovers from injury” narrative. “I want to grow the culture of the sport, so I found it very natural to explore the things based around the sport that’s not just the riding.”

To capture Agassiz’s metamorphosis, Sherpas splices together dreamlike shots of temptation personified with intense free-riding scenes filmed in surreal landscapes in Iceland. In one example, we see Agassiz reclining in steaming hot springs while a trio of naked women feeds him candy, then suddenly we're in the middle of a��shaky sequence��of the man tearing through black volcanic sand on his bike. A long, slow-motion shot of Agassiz cycling across a wet cement drive, his body��on fire, is similarly striking.

“We’re always looking for excuses to draw in crazy visuals,” Crosland says. “We want to create a mood where you’re watching it and where you get sucked in and taken to another place.”

The otherworldly landscapes of Iceland presented the perfect setting, Crosland says, in part because no professional studios have successfully filmed mountain biking there. Shooting on the island was wet, sometimes miserable, and logistically challenging. Agassiz and the filmmakers were dropped by helicopter into the country's interior and simply hiked and biked from one location to the next, camping in the open. It was Sherpas’ way to set the film's imagery apart from the conventional Utah scenery��most mountain bike films feature, Crosland says. The unearthly setting, along with Agassiz's fast, aggressive riding style, blurs the boundaries of what is real and supernatural.

They filmed using a combination of aerial vehicles—drones and helicopters—and analog cable camming. That’s where a cameraman, strung on a cable between trees, glides along the line, tracking Agassiz as he rides. The jostling camerawork puts you alongside Agassiz and gives viewers a sense of being on the bike, Crosland says.��

The result is a fragmented story of rebirth and redemption. It was four months after his neck injury before Agassiz got back on the bike, and the accident changed him, he said. He returned to riding more determined than ever. (He again qualified for the Rampage in 2014, but tore his MCL before the final event.)��Coming back from an injury is not just about getting your strength back, it’s about finding your confidence, Agassiz said. “In your mind you know you can ride a certain way, but convincing yourself to do so is a battle. I needed to get back on track and I did, digging deep inside and looking at the big picture.”

*An earlier version of this story��inadvertently implied that Agassiz was involved with drugs before his accident. That implication has been removed.

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The first camera adventure photographer owned was a disposable Kodak panoramic. She took it on camping trips, rationing the 23 pictures she could take by meticulously dividing the frames by the days of the trip.

At 18 years old, she bought her first underwater housing for a pro-level camera and shot images while playing in the surf near her home in Queensland, Australia. Eventually she started photographing��surfers, but realized shooting only one sport was��tiresome. She expanded her repertoire and now shoots rock climbing, BASE jumping, skiing, and freediving. Regularly found in the pages of ���ϳԹ���, the now 28-year-old's��work can be seen��in countless publications��all over the world.

We caught up with her to talk the about taking pictures while��freediving��and why there aren’t more women adventure photographers.

OUTSIDE:��What’s your favorite sport to photograph?��
WRIGHT:��It varies. A lot of people know me for my BASE-jumping work and I do love it, but it’s hard seeing so many friends lost to the sport and I probably won’t shoot it for a while with all the recent tragedies. Someone asked me if I’d stop shooting it all together, but if you lose a friend driving a car, you don’t stop driving. So I’ll come back to it. I love freediving too. I’ve always loved the ocean and taking it to that next level and am hoping to work on that this year.��

How do you stay in shape to photograph top athletes in such a variety of sports?
It’s just trying to find time for your fitness. I love rock climbing, but I know I’m not going to climb any 5.14-rated routes. I don’t have the time to dedicate to train for that. Often it��depends on the terrain but you can usually hike to a vantage point to shoot, or if I’m on a really difficult crag I can get on a rope and jug up to get into position. Ultimately it comes down to having good cardio and good strength.

How do you freedive and shoot images?
I’m restricted to 12 meters with my camera equipment. I prepare my��camera and make sure it’s technically set. With the water housing you can’t change things super-fast. Then it comes time to float on the surface, get a breath and head down with the athlete.��

How much time do you have to get a shot while underwater?
If you're pursuing a specific shot, you��just keep going up and down.��At first you head down and you might hang out for a minute. But you get fatigued and after multiple dives you might want to stay down only 10 seconds. You don’t watch the time, you go with your body. Some days if you aren’t feeling it, you might only be down there for like 15 seconds or other days you might hang out for a minute or longer. For me,��I always want to be down there��for much longer, but that will take some serious training.��

What are you looking for as far as composition when shooting underwater?
My favorite images tend to be really simplified—a��single figure and the background is almost one tone. I want to capture what the athlete is feeling. Sometimes it is just playing with the water quality, whether it’s clear or foggy. Other times if we are diving around caves or reefs I have other things to play with.��

What do you like about freediving yourself?
I love the meditation of it. It’s nice to clear out all the distraction in your life, because if you are distracted, that’s a factor that makes your dives more difficult. For me being in the water, it’s like a second home. I feel so calm and relaxed.

Women are breaking all kinds of barriers in adventure sports. There are badass female climbers and skiers, yet there doesn’t seem to be a lot of women adventure photographers. Is that something you notice? And why aren’t there more women in the field?
For sure it’s something I notice. People ask ‘Where are the women?’ Well we are here. But we are entering a very male-dominated industry. I’m pretty competitive and stubborn. I want to be up there with the best guys. I want my work to speak for itself. The intimidation can be a factor. I think some people think ‘I can’t run as fast as the guys so I don’t deserve to be there,’ but just own it and keep after it. I’m 28 and see friends having kids and settling down and I know there are some women that haven’t pursued their career��after having kids. It’s just a different life choice. Some people call me a trailblazer which makes me uncomfortable because I’m just doing my own thing. I do think a wave of younger women in their early 20s are coming up and pushing themselves. Perhaps it will just take a little time to see a change in the field. Getting good at photography does take time. And being a freelance photographer is a challenging lifestyle to pursue. I haven't��had��a home for three��and a half years. It does scare a lot of people, not just females but also guys.��

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It’s finally time for that summer adventure you’ve been dreaming about all year. But just throwing your camera in the car isn’t enough to create envy-inspiring photographs. We caught up with three of our favorite outdoor photographers for tips on what you need to capture the images that will ignite your memories long after the season ends.

Corey Rich

What’s Always on the Packing List
When you talk about running, all you need are shoes. Photography is the same way. You need a camera and a love of capturing the world around you. You also definitely need a bag that fits what you are doing so you can have it with you. If you have the camera and you don’t have the bag, you are more likely to leave the camera behind. Then, to think beyond the camera, if you are super-hot, thirsty, cold, or getting sunburned, it doesn’t matter how good the shot is—you are going to eff it up because you are miserable. So if you are going to wild environments, watch out for your personal needs.

What Every Photographer Needs
If I could only bring two lenses with me, I’d bring a and a . With two good lenses, you have enormous potential. If there were a third lens, it would be a 50 mm lens. It’s really compact and can shoot well in low light. Try not to use a tripod unless you really have to, because it slows you down.

What’s Worth the Splurge
That quiver of lenses allows you to do some stuff like vary the focal length. If you want to up your game in outdoor-adventure photography and you are at the enthusiast level, once you have the bag and the camera, the lenses are the next step. Don’t buy cheap knockoff lenses. Buy the lenses engineered for your camera. You don’t buy a Porsche and then go buy the cheapest tires at Walmart.

Jimmy Chin

What’s Always on the Packing List
I use a lot of F-Stop gear to carry my equipment, like the and the . They’re designed by outdoor photographers and work incredibly well in the field. I think a lightweight carbon-fiber tripod is nice to have in the bag, as well as some small light panels for light painting, lighting up tents, and providing a little fill. I always have a headlamp on me since I’m often wrapping shoots after dark. I also use a variety of solar setups and batteries for charging camera batteries and my laptop on location.

What Every Photographer Needs
A good shoulder camera-carrying case. I use the F-Stop .

What’s Worth the Splurge
Good glass. Nice prime lenses can really make a difference, not only in resolution quality but also for shooting backlit images and low-light conditions. I carry the Canon , Canon , and Canon . For a high-quality zoom lens, I carry the Canon .

Chris Burkard

What’s Always on the Packing List
I like to travel light and efficiently. That’s what made me choose mirrorless cameras. They are small and light and always fit into a carry-on bag or in the car. My cellphone is another one that never leaves my side. It’s another way to post photos and share images, but also a great source for editing photographs and doing other things like that. I’ve always got an on me as well. That’s just another awesome way to document the world around me. I tend to try to get as off the grid as I possibly can, so I bring some sort of solar charger with me, and that helps me get farther out there. I always have a tent with me. If I get a chance to sleep outside, I take it. The best photos aren’t the ones taken near the hotel room. It’s also about keeping your gear safe and clean. I always laugh when I see people with those tiny little lens cloths. I buy those big you use to clean yourself when camping; I cut them into squares and keep one on me at all times.

What Every Photographer Needs
Every photographer should have three things. One is a good, fast, wide-angle lens. I love a 24 mm lens with an aperture range down close to f/2. That’s the most versatile lens ever. Then you need a polarizer and a graduated neutral-density filter to help control light and color intake into your lens. I never want to be out in nature without a 24 mm lens, a polarizer, and a graduated neutral-density filter. Oh, and a tripod.

What’s Worth the Splurge
Good, fast lenses. A 24 mm prime is probably one of my favorite things I have on me. I know I can shoot night exposures and landscapes. A good lens will change your photography.

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In second grade,�� won $500 in a photography contest. With a disposable camera, he captured a��friend in midair while jumping on the bed, hair standing straight up, a look of joy on his face. Rogers wouldn't think much more about photography in the coming years, but he did get serious about��sports—namely��rock climbing and slacklining. Actually, he took up almost any sport that seemed crazy, like highlining and BASE jumping.

Things had come full circle by the time Rogers turned��27. With so much knowledge about extreme sports in his back pocket, he decided��it was time to start taking pictures of his friends again. Except this time, instead of jumping on the bed, they’re running off cliffs.��

Staring��danger in the face—and seeing it on his friends’��faces—gives the Moab-based adventurer��unique insight into what motivates us to push boundaries. We asked him how he captures those intense feelings in one shot.

OUTSIDE: You’ve participated in the��sports you shoot. Does that give you an advantage as a photographer?
ROGERS: It��negates the need to establish trust with these athletes.��They are already my friends. There are precise��moments in these��sports that are about building your understanding of fear—like the first step onto a highline or that first moment you jump off a cliff. I know all of these moments firsthand.

How do you convey what it’s like to be on a highline to someone who has never done it?
My goal is to portray a person’s relationship with fear. You may have never been on a highline, but you’ve applied for a job. You’ve broken up with someone or been broken up with. We all go through things we are uncomfortable with. We all take chances. That’s kind of my goal—to show that this is another way to identify fear in your life and take control. To do that, I focus a lot on feet, because that’s what we use in this sport. Then I look at eyes and facial expressions, whether it’s a deep, intense focus, or a calmness, or any kind of observable fear.

With highlining, falling is really cool to capture,��because once you fall, it’s kind of like all the fear goes away. The fear is there in every step you take, because you have to keep working to succeed at walking that line. Every time you fall, you’re giving up a little,��and there’s kind of a release. I see a lot of people smiling when they’re falling because they are happy they can take a rest and chill.

How do you decide where to set up your shot?
I understand exactly where the parachute is going to open, or I know where someone is going to be struggling the most on the highline. Sometimes it’s real quick��and you just snap off a couple of photos. You can’t anticipate everything. And sometimes those spur-of-the-moment shots are the ones I like the most.

What kind of gear do you use?
It’s nice to have really fast lenses, specifically with BASE��jumping, because it happens really quickly, and it takes a long time to reset that shot if you miss it. Not only does your subject have to get back to the site and��repack their parachute, but the conditions have to be right. It might be three days before you can shoot from there again.

How do you capture the enormity of these settings?��
If you were to just take a landscape photo, there’s no sense of scale, but with a human in the shot, that immediately gives a sense of scale.��

Do you ever worry about dropping your gear?
I insure all my gear. I clip gear into a climbing leash. I also have a few bags with interesting openings that allow��me to pull stuff out without gear falling out. And you try to hold on for dear life, because that would ruin your day if you lost your gear.

Do you still get to participate in the sports when you’re shooting?��
A lot of the time, I’m shooting with my group of friends, so it’s very much a group effort. Particularly with highlining, it takes a lot of work to rig it up, and it takes a lot of gear. It’s very rare that��I’m able to show up with just a camera. It’s good, but it’s also distracting and challenging, but I enjoy it because it allows me to do both.

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Paul Nicklen grew up on Baffin Island in Canada without television or radio. He spent his days outside where the world felt authentic��and he could sit and observe wildlife. His love of animals led him to a career in wildlife biology studying species like Canadian lynxes and polar bears. Unsatisfied with telling the stories of animals through data, .��

The National Geographic photographer has��documented rare animals like narwhals and spirit bears and shown how melting sea ice is impacting polar bears. He uses his images, in the magazine and through his organization, , to visually tell the stories of climate change and its impact on wildlife.��While some photographers are underwater specialists and others are known for their pictures of forests and peaks, Nicklen, 46, prides himself on his ability to capture entire ecosystems—from mountain summits to rainforests to 250-feet below the surface. His assignments take him to remote and often cold places, sometimes for months at a time.��

We caught up with Nicklen, based on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and recently off-assignment documenting climate change on the Saint Lawrence River, to talk about his work and how to best capture your own amazing wildlife shots.��

OUTSIDE:��How does your science background influence your photography?
Nicklen:��What it really gives me is credibility. I’ve been out there and studied [wildlife]��as a scientist. I’m seeing change and I understand it. It also really helps me to see the importance of ecosystems.

How do you tell a story while photographing wildlife?
All it involves is stepping back and saying, 'What is the story here?' And there are stories everywhere. It could be the life of a bear and��how many highways it has to cross or��what ranches it has to pass. It could be a story on the whole ecosystem. So many people buy camera gear and say ‘I’m a photographer and I must go to Africa, that’s where the animals are.’ But really there are stories right in your backyard.

What are your favorite animals to photograph?
My favorite animals are the ones that connect people to ecosystems, like polar bears. I use them as bait, luring people into a den, and then once in the den, I force them to learn about climate change and melting ice. Or I photograph leopard seals, lure in people who think it’s a vicious animal, and then I dispel the myth.

Aside from your ability as a photographer, what skills do you need to capture images in the extreme environments where you shoot?
Surviving, for me, has to be second nature. You have to be comfortable at��minus 45 degrees Fahrenheit��in a blizzard, otherwise you spend 90 percent of your time just trying to stay alive. I’m going to spend 90 percent of my time shooting and the other 10 percent getting comfortable. I can eat raw seal meat. I know when I lose feeling in my feet how much time I have before I’ll get frostbite. I know when my core body temperature changes how much time I have before I get hypothermic and have to abort a mission. I know these types of things and that helps me survive.

What gear do you bring on assignment with you?��
Every shoot is custom, but I need to be dry and I like to be warm. I don’t need to be cozy warm, I need to be functioning warm. I need a good tent, a good warm sleeping bag. I’ll carry a little more weight on my back to have a nice Therm-A-Rest since I’m often working on the ice. I need to pull out a good down jacket that keeps me really warm. I use ��[to protect cameras], which is crucial. I cannot afford to fail. I cannot afford to have gear fail. I buy the best I can afford.��

Any tips for people who want��to photograph wildlife?
It’s time in the field. Whenever you think you’ve waited long enough, double that. I take about 50,000 images for a 12-picture assignment. Also, really get into making images and not taking pictures. You make an image by imagining what the light is you want and what your subject is going to be doing. Sometimes you wait a month. It took years before I got time with the narwhals. I saw the spirit bears for three days out of three months I was there. I always let the wildlife dictate my encounter. If I’m next to a grizzly and it doesn’t want to hang out with me, I let him go. I always sit in the same position and the same spot and let them know I’m there. I talk to them a little bit and let them hear my voice. With animals you can’t act scared and you can’t act aggressive.�� They have incredible body language. They will always let you know how they are feeling. If you’ve stressed out the animal, you’ve lost your photo.

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Out of the hundreds of endurance events San Francisco-based photographer has covered, last month's in Eilat, Israel, might be the most remarkable with its scenery, challenging course, and the area’s rich history. It should be on every adventure racers’ bucket list, says Rosa. He should know. Since 2006, on a tip that multi-sport racing was the next big thing, Rosa started shooting about 25 endurance races a year—ranging from Ironman triathlons to ultramarathon trail runs and 24-hour mountain bike races. We caught up with Rosa shortly after he returned from Israel to find out what it takes to shoot the big races.

OUTSIDE: How did you end up specializing in shooting endurance sports?
Rosa: I love to be in the midst of an event. I love the energy, the travel, the people. I like to verbally encourage the athletes. I like to witness it. I just find the endurance multi-sport athletes to be a special breed and somewhat unique. I keep finding interesting subject matter with these types of athletes.

How is shooting an endurance race different from other races?
You are looking at eight hours minimum. Preparing myself physically and mentally is important—to be able to withstand the rigors all day with all that camera gear. And it’s about capturing more than just the physical part. I want a little glimpse inside the mind of the athlete. I think that’s what separates the endurance athlete form the shorter-distance stuff. It requires a lot of mental fortitude.

How do you tell a story beyond who just won the race?
Prior to the start, I look for emotional faces. Everyone shoots the action stuff, but get someone praying before the race, or the kiss from the son to the dad. Those are things that tell a story. Everyone has seen someone running, but how do they get ready? When they come in 100th are they laughing because they finished or crying because they didn’t come in 99th? That’s the story. ��

Obviously you have to shoot the action too, how do you come up with unique photographs of people running and biking?
The place and landscape are so important. I try to capture those postcard moments so you can feel the heat, smell the smells, and taste the air in my photographs.

How are you able to capture the feel of a race?
As a subpar athlete, I know what it's like to be pulled from a race. To really effectively shoot anything you have to understand your sport. That person struggling on the bike, or the person cramping, holding their hamstring on the wall, all of those show the story of how difficult it is. I look for that kind of stuff.��

With so much ground to cover, how do you decide where to shoot and budget your time at different locations during the race?
It depends on my assignment. But if there is going to be a massive steep climb at 20K into the bike, I know people will be walking. I stage myself to show how it's so steep that people have to walk. If there is a turn, chances are there is going to be a crash at the end. There’s going to be carnage. I drive the course the day before. I also look at what prior photographers have shot. If everyone has a picture of this one hill, it’s clearly important, but I need to figure out how I can put my stamp on it.��

What equipment do you always have on hand?
I challenge myself by limiting the gear I have with me, but I always have a wide lens, long lens, two bodies, and a flash or fill to bring out some details on the faces, as athletes are usually wearing hats and helmets.��

Often times extreme weather conditions are part of endurance racing. How does that impact you?
The uglier, the nastier the environment, the better. If I get some real extreme weather it brings out a different feel for the athletes and the photos. My gear is built to withstand the snow, the sand storms, and the mud. It’s also about preparation. Very rarely will something surprise me. I’ve been in it all, and like the athletes, you learn to compensate for changing conditions.��

Any tips for people shooting running or biking?
My pet peeve on bike photos is to see the knees parallel. I like to have one leg at a 90-degree angle. That shows strength, power, and just aesthetically makes everything look right. On the run, avoid the down strike. Regardless of how little body fat you have, when your foot hits the ground so does everything else, and it doesn’t look flattering. Watch the arms. When the arms cross the body, usually both feet are off the ground. And change your angle. Don’t keep shooting straight on.

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